Another thread mentioned finding loose screws mounting the comm antenna reminding me I had not checked those lately. I was surprised to find the 4 screws fairly loose, not snug by any means. My ship is an early build so here was the mounting dwg. which is now obsolete.
Note the RUBBER PAD.
The drawing was revised in 2014 and now the rubber pad is no longer shown.
Question 1 is: Does the antenna perform better without the rubber pad?
Now this drawing is the antenna manufacturer's:
Shown on that drawing is the rubber pad and also a 0.060" alum back-up plate.
Question 2 is: Will the antenna perform better with the back-up plate? Or is the plate just for structural considerations?
The 4 mounting nuts and split washers are a little hard to reach through just one of the access plates. I am thinking of installing the back up plate and using 8/32 one lug nut plates mounted on the back up plate to prevent loosening of the little nuts and split washers supplied with the antenna. This will also alleviate the access problem to check the screw tightness.
Question 3 is: Any possible problem using nut plates in the application?
BTW, this post does not apply directly to the current RV12iS which uses a different antenna which mounts differently.
Note the RUBBER PAD.
The drawing was revised in 2014 and now the rubber pad is no longer shown.
Question 1 is: Does the antenna perform better without the rubber pad?
Now this drawing is the antenna manufacturer's:
Shown on that drawing is the rubber pad and also a 0.060" alum back-up plate.
Question 2 is: Will the antenna perform better with the back-up plate? Or is the plate just for structural considerations?
The 4 mounting nuts and split washers are a little hard to reach through just one of the access plates. I am thinking of installing the back up plate and using 8/32 one lug nut plates mounted on the back up plate to prevent loosening of the little nuts and split washers supplied with the antenna. This will also alleviate the access problem to check the screw tightness.
Question 3 is: Any possible problem using nut plates in the application?
BTW, this post does not apply directly to the current RV12iS which uses a different antenna which mounts differently.