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Temporary Ground Question

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bkervaski

bkervaski

Hellloooooooo!
Testing
I received my SteinAir panel yesterday .. I'm not ready to mount it but would like to test everything out.

There is a common avionics ground (just an unterminated wire bundle right now) that at some point I'll ground on the airplane.

For testing purposes, I don't see any issues with just creating a temporary grounding block and just wire it straight to the battery.

Anybody see any issues or have suggestions?
 
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bkervaski said:
I received my SteinAir panel yesterday .. I'm not ready to mount it but would like to test everything out.

There is a common avionics ground (just an unterminated wire bundle right now) that at some point I'll ground on the airplane.

For testing purposes, I don't see any issues with just creating a temporary grounding block and just wire it straight to the battery.

Anybody see any issues or have suggestions?
Click to expand...

It shouldn't be an issue.

Sometimes power grounds and audio grounds are separated to reduce noise, but for testing it shouldn't matter. Be sure that all your radio outputs are terminated appropriately (i.e plug in the antenna). If one of your radios attempts to transmit without a load, it could be costly.
 
If you have an ADSB-OUT transponder, be sure to connect either a properly attached antenna or a dummy load (preferred). ADSB-OUT will start transmitting on its own.
 
Just to embellish Noel's point, some transponders can transmit even in the STBY position - this can be an expensive learning experience. Those power up self-test bursts can fry the transmitter. Ouch!
 
2 ?

Just my Two cents. If it is Stein panel, why do you want to bench test? Could be expensive just to see pretty lights. I think maybe install and then fire it up will be safer.
 
PilotjohnS said:
Just my Two cents. If it is Stein panel, why do you want to bench test? Could be expensive just to see pretty lights. I think maybe install and then fire it up will be safer.
Click to expand...

Thats mostly the reason .. want to play with my new toy .. but also want the get my head around everything before it's time to install .. and of course make sure it survived shipping!
 
bkervaski said:
I received my SteinAir panel yesterday .. I'm not ready to mount it but would like to test everything out.

There is a common avionics ground (just an unterminated wire bundle right now) that at some point I'll ground on the airplane.

For testing purposes, I don't see any issues with just creating a temporary grounding block and just wire it straight to the battery.

Anybody see any issues or have suggestions?
Click to expand...

If you've paid SteinAir to build the panel then surely this is a question that you should ask SteinAir. Why ask amateurs on VansAirforce for opinions when you can get a free, 100% correct professional opinion from the company that actually built the system.
 
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Amateurs, Really

Many of us on VAF have 10's of thousands of hours of experience in fields of aeronautics, science, and engineering and feel our opinions are relevant.
I chuckle at the suggestion that we are all amateurs.
 
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It's always a fun and interesting journey with this project. Since I posted this I've learned a considerable amount about how airplane electrical systems and avionics are connected and work.

And yep I got everything tested, thanks all for the help! :)
 
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