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ELT brands?

Things I'd look for are battery cost, life and availability, antenna size, difficulty of mounting or wiring it up, and the biggie - whether it has a stand-alone GPS receiver and how big the antenna is.

Dave
 
First decision is whether or not you have a GPS source (for the 406 freq) that you can connect to your ELT. If you do not, my choice would be the Kannad Integra (will be going in my C-150). If you do, my choice would be the Artex ELT 345 (will be going in my RV-9A). I most definitely would not recommend ACK. LOTS of comments here about false activations, and poor workmanship and poor factory support.
 
First decision is whether or not you have a GPS source (for the 406 freq) that you can connect to your ELT. If you do not, my choice would be the Kannad Integra (will be going in my C-150). If you do, my choice would be the Artex ELT 345 (will be going in my RV-9A). I most definitely would not recommend ACK. LOTS of comments here about false activations, and poor workmanship and poor factory support.


I thought this is quite interesting for the artex......self testing.
https://www.acrartex.com/406test/

Keith
 
Be aware; if you get the Artex, the mounting hole locations on the base plate are different that what's on Vans ELT mount. I had to relocate holes/nutplates which was a real treat with it already in the airplane.

Also the difference between the regular version that spruce sells and the compact version is the length of the antenna. They don't do a great job of explaining this on the spruce website
 
ACK mystery activation

Just one data point but here it is:

First flight with wife post-Phase One an out and in to a nice country airport in the mountains.

Something set off my ACK ELT and if my alert LED was lit I didn't see it. Ground control at the destination advised me that my ELT was active. I had been using flight following the whole leg, but destination field ground was the first to pass me the heads up. I responded with apology and moving the switch from the arm to the off position. If this ever happens to you just get ready for the consequences.

To assuage the arm chair quarterbacks: I don't move the switch as part of preflight. Once armed it stays armed until the next routine test, or long period of hangering. We didn't manually turn it 'on' before flight.

The ELT network system latency and follow up phone calls will tell you it is still going off long after you shut it down, pulled the battery, wrapped it in foil....

Then there are the aggrieved Emergency POCs that were told you went down.

Home field FBO may also get called and they may be tracking you down with whatever diligence is at hand. In my case they launched a truck to go search the local hills.

You may even be so lucky as to have a helicopter out looking for you....

In short, it's a hot mess.

Took the unit back to AKC (I live in the same town) and their answer was that what seemed to have happened simply wasn't possible. They were nice enough to replace the G-switch panel at no cost, and it hasn't happened since.

We fly with a 70 lb dog in baggage. This is where the ELT is located. I suspect the dog jostled the ELT enough to set it off. ACK thought this wasn't possible, but again something did set it off that day. According to the ELT monitoring network it appeared to go off a few times on that flight. I have since installed padding around the ELT and again, no recurrence.

Nice to have an ELT, not nice to deal with a random activation.
 
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Kannad ?

[FONT=&quot]I am also looking for an ELT.
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I saw this one from Kannad last night. It has its own GPS and a BACKUP 406 tranmisssion antenna. i.e. If you break your antenna it will still work, this is a major cause of the poor performance of ELTs in aircraft incidents vs boats etc.
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]https://www.aircraftspruce.com/pages/av/elts_0elts_kannad/kannad_integra.php[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The downside is a 6 year battery life and $306 to replace them. But in the spirt of experimental.... the battery does not look difficult to replace yourself at a far lower cost.
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/avpages/kannadBAT200.php[/FONT]
 
I like Kannad but ...

I have a Kannad 406-AF compact ELT (which is no longer in production). I just replaced the battery - I was able to find one for $280.

You should verify which battery the Integra needs. Mine used the 2-cell BAT200. According to Spruce the BAT200 works with the "406AF compact or the Integra", but on the same page it also states that the 2-cell battery only works with the 406-AF Compact!

The unit you are looking at is the "Integra 406AF". On the 3-cell battery BAT300 Overview (on Spruce) this battery is "for the 406 AF, etc". So which is right for the Integra? I don't know but since the BAT300 is $1063, it would be cheaper to buy a new ELT than replace the battery.

One last point if you are still considering the Integra. According to the Q&A's, the Unit that Spruce shows as the Canada version is legal for the USA. It is cheaper and uses the whip anntenna that I like better.
 
Me too

I also had an activation of my ACK for no apparent reason, and also discovered that my panel switch was dead. I think the two may have been related. Luckily (and it was pure luck) I was able to call the authorities quickly and call off the search dogs, etc.

I would never own another ACK.

Just one data point but here it is:

First flight with wife post-Phase One an out and in to a nice country airport in the mountains.

Something set off my ACK ELT and if my alert LED was lit I didn't see it. Ground control at the destination advised me that my ELT was active. I had been using flight following the whole leg, but destination field ground was the first to pass me the heads up. I responded with apology and moving the switch from the arm to the off position. If this ever happens to you just get ready for the consequences.

To assuage the arm chair quarterbacks: I don't move the switch as part of preflight. Once armed it stays armed until the next routine test, or long period of hangering. We didn't manually turn it 'on' before flight.

The ELT network system latency and follow up phone calls will tell you it is still going off long after you shut it down, pulled the battery, wrapped it in foil....

Then there are the aggrieved Emergency POCs that were told you went down.

Home field FBO may also get called and they may be tracking you down with whatever diligence is at hand. In my case they launched a truck to go search the local hills.

You may even be so lucky as to have a helicopter out looking for you....

In short, it's a hot mess.

Took the unit back to AKC (I live in the same town) and their answer was that what seemed to have happened simply wasn't possible. They were nice enough to replace the G-switch panel at no cost, and it hasn't happened since.

We fly with a 70 lb dog in baggage. This is where the ELT is located. I suspect the dog jostled the ELT enough to set it off. ACK thought this wasn't possible, but again something did set it off that day. According to the ELT monitoring network it appeared to go off a few times on that flight. I have since installed padding around the ELT and again, no recurrence.

Nice to have an ELT, not nice to deal with a random activation.
 
In researching ELT's, I've been surprised to find out that the Artex units do not receive any ship power? They operate on internal battery only? I will have GPS location on board, so routing that data to the unit makes sense, I'm just surprised I'm not routing power to keep it charged as well. Is there a reason to avoid using ship power? Curious.
 
Before replacing my AmeriKing 121.5 which failed after 3 yrs from new, I spoke to 2 different shops servicing ELT's. Both told me the same thing. They have the fewest issues with the Kannad. Artex was second. I bought the Kannad for my 7 and the Artex for my 4 (because it was cheaper and I was selling the plane). Two trouble free years on the Kannad so far and only had the Artex for a few months before selling the plane but ok till then. FWIW.
 
Multiple points to address here...

1) the correct battery for the Integra 406AF is the BT200 2-cell battery

2) one commenter suggested fabricating one's own replacement ELT battery. This topic has been hashed to death in these forums. Bottom line is ONLY the manufacturer's approved battery is allowed - any other will invalidate the TSO approval of the device and render your aircraft non-airworthy if installed in an aircraft requiring an approved ELT. This is one area where Experimental - Amateur-Built aircraft must comply with the same requirements as certified aircraft - there is no such thing as an experimental ELT.

3) each ELT must be programmed prior to installation. Programming data includes country code and aircraft registration information. The Aircraft Spruce website contains insufficient data to explain these intricacies. When purchasing an ELT it must be programmed properly, thus if purchasing through Aircraft Spruce, caveat emptor - you have to ensure ACS fully understands your country of operation and your aircraft registration information.

4) for Canadian operators, understand that Transport Canada updated ELT regulations to require NEW installations be fitted with ELTs conforming to TSO C-126b. This new TSO has been adopted as a means of getting rid of the hook-and-loop (Velcro tm) attachment strap approved under the previous TSO C-126 and C-126a.

Specific to the Kannad Integra, the following data applies:
Installation bracket P/N S1850551-04 is the only part approved for NEW installations on Canadian aircraft. This bracket complies with TSO C126b. I worked through a large-volume ELT vendor to ensure Orolia (owner of the Kannad brand) has updated their Installation Manual and their shipping kit parts list to ensure any new shipments to Canadian vendors would include the S1850551-04 installation bracket.

Beware of "New - Old Stock" installation kits which may include P/N S1840502-02 "hook-and-loop" mounting brackets. Don't buy one. Instead, insist on an installation kit containing the P/N S1850551-04 mounting bracket in order to remain in compliance with Canadian air regulations.

For our brethren to the south, insisting on the P/N S1850551-04 mounting bracket for use with new installations is a good way to remove from your aircraft one known ELT failure mode.

I've ponied up the cash to install the P/N S1850551-04 mounting bracket in both of my aircraft - not cheap, but my life is worth it!
 
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