ECHO UAT

[Aquaman!]

Has anyone installed a uavionics EchoUAT transceiver under fiberglass nose bowl fwd of the fire wall? I am the proud new owner of an RV8 that hasn't flown in the past few years and is not ADS-b compliant. I have discussed with my A&P and considering installing the GPS antenna under the fiberglass nose cowling. I welcome any and all words of wisdom as to why or why not this is a good solution. Uavionics does not recommend a skybeacon on the wing of an RV8.
Thanks in advance for your assistance!

 

[blytle]

Curious why Uavionics discourages the use of skybeacon on the RV8 wing. That is what I have amd it works great.

 

[jliltd]

I have installed 3 uAvionix Echo UAT systems in RV's. In all three I used the external combination skyFYX-EXT GPS/Antenna unit mounted under the top cowling. Two at the firewall on a shelf and one on an engine mount. If you go with the under-the-cowl option for the GPS unit keep the it away from any high seat source. In all instances Echo was paired with a digital Garmin GTX 327 Mode C transponder in wireless sense mode, not direct wired with the Mux cable option. I have never had any issue with the wireless sensing. Here are some photos. First two are of my RV-3B and third one is an RV-7A:

One of the things I really like about the Echo UAT over the wing tip SkyBeacon or TailBeacon models is its small size and the fact it can be installed anywhere without disrupting wingtip or tail lights. More importantly it can be powered without reliance upon the Nav light circuit. I have installed two SkyBeacons and one TailBeacon and think the advertised time listed for the work is way too low to match real-world issues.

I also still find it baffling that uAvionix designed the SkyBeacon and TailBeacon without a separate wires for ADS-B power and Nav power. If they had done the separate ADS-B power wire it could still be installed the same way as the current one-wire Nav/ADS-B unit by connecting both power supply wires together at the unit. But then the installer could also opt to have a separate power leads for each so ADS-B out could be installed without having to have the Nav lights on all the time. Although not relevant for RV's, this single-lead ADS-B/Nav circuit really comes home to roost when a Beacon type device is installed in a retractable gear aircraft that dims the gear lights automatically when the Nav lights are turned on. In Pipers the pilot cannot see the gear lights during the day when they are dimmed. So there is a catch 22 as the pilot decides whether it is more important to see the gear lights or more important to not turn off the nav lights and violate the "always on" ADS-B mandate. A reasonable pilot would turn off the nav lights momentarily to see the gear lights and the ADS-B system nanny computer be damned.

Yes, there are also much more advanced and feature-rich 1090ES-based ADS-B out units, most of them fancy expensive transponders. They have their place but you seem to be asking for the easiest and cheapest option.

In summary, the simple and cheap ADS-B UAT out unit I recommend for experimental aircraft is the uAvionix Echo UAT/sky-FYX-EXT combination. For type certified I recommend the Garmin GDL 82 UAT out unit. And in both cases matched with an existing or used digital transponder like the Garmin GTX 327 but definitely in the case of the GDL 82. You can use an older tube-type transponder initially but you will likely be replacing it in a year or two after the ADS-B unit wears it out demanding information from it multiple-times a second. A digital transponder can handle this indefinitely. Used GTX 327 transponders are usually available on the used market for around $400 including tray and connector so a Echo+skyFYX-EXT bundle combined with a used GTX 327 if needed will come in at approximately $1800 component costs.

 

[Breezy]

I'm wondering the same thing about the skybeacon. Did Uavionics give any explanation?

I have mounted a number of GPS antennas under the fiberglass cowl and in the wing tip. They all worked fine. Be sure the mount is placed far enough from the firewall to avoid signal shadowing.
Not aware of any use of actual metal flakes being used in todays paints but, make sure any coatings on the cowl are not metalized.
Cheers.

 

[Aquaman!]

Uavionics didn't provide any details with their reply to the question: Is the sky beacon compatible with the RV-8 wing tip light?. Their reply was: We do not recommend installing a skyBeacon on an RV 8 aircraft. The Echo UAT was designed specifically for experimental aircraft.
Thanks for the quick reply to my post.

 

[Aquaman!]

Quick reply

I was looking for the Quick reply icons????
Thanks to all for your responses and for the photos of your installations. Super helpful!

 

[sf3543]

Echo in the wing tip

David Wagner is the EchoUAT guru at uAvionix and he sent me a picture of an installation of the entire EchoUAT in the wingtip of an RV.
I cant find the picture but if you call uAvionix and ask for David, I bet he would send you the installation picture.

 

[Tankerpilot75]

I can’t speak to the EchoUAT but I have three gps antennas (two non-WAAS and one WAAS) installed on my firewall under my fiberglass cowl. The WAAS antenna is for my Garmin 335 adsb transponder and all three have worked flawlessly. Just make sure you have some cooling tubes directing air into the general area.

 

[John RV8]

Wingtip installation

David Wagner is the EchoUAT guru at uAvionix and he sent me a picture of an installation of the entire EchoUAT in the wingtip of an RV.
I cant find the picture but if you call uAvionix and ask for David, I bet he would send you the installation picture.

I don’t have a picture, but my EchoUAT is installed inside my left wingtip. It’s been working fine for over a year and a half.

 

[azrv6]

John and Steve, in the RV8 wingtip installation, where is the monopole antenna mounted?
Thanks,

 

[sf3543]

You can mount everything inside the wingtip.
Just build a mounting bracket or two to hold the antennas. A little spacing is always good. The echo can mount directly to the side of the rib

 

[gyoung]

I've got the GRT Safefly 2020/Echo combo in my -6. The GPS antenna is mounted under my cowl and UAT antenna on the belly. I can get a GPS position and traffic inside my multi-plane hangar.

 

[Aquaman!]

MONO Pole antennae

Yes, now that I have my Echo, it looks as if the GPS antennae is the easiest of the installations, any photos of the belly mounted antennae? I'm considering the wing root inspection panel next to the left fuel tank drain. Please talk me out of it before I start drilling holes.

 

[Aquaman!]

Where on the belly???

 

[Skysailor]

Alternate location

I have the Echo UAT as well. GPS antenna is mounted under the cowl at the top on the firewall just like the picture above. The transmit/receive antenna is inside the cowl as well. ADSB antennas are available from Cumulus Soaring (glider supply site). They require no ground plane. The unit is about three inches tall with the lead coming from the middle. I mounted mine to the side of the airbox in my RV4. The Echo UAT itself is on the cold side of the firewall.

 

[Saville]

On my RV-8, my GPS antenna is mounted on the top of the fuselage to the left and a little aft of the passenger seat.

It's just far enough aft that the curved, horizontal canopy
support clears it before it dives down the canopy track.

I used Paul Dye's technique of creating a molded mounting support out of thickened epoxy. He details this in the article he wrote about "Mounting on a Curve" .

I've gotten excellent results mounting the antenna there

 

[[email protected]]

I just had the Echo installed on the bulkhead of my RV7a. I set it up as a WiFi hot spot with the 'client' being my newly installed IFD440. Seems to be working with Foreflight and IFD100 apps which can run side by side. Need to log some trip hours before I can give a pirep on the system, but so far it all works.
Mark

 

[drill_and_buck]

RV-8 Echo UAT Install

Another option.....
I am not a fan of long expensive coax runs so I installed both the echoUAT transceiver and the antenna on the left inboard wing inspection panel. The ADSB antenna is 5+ feet from the transponder antenna and 3+ feet from my comm antenna. There are no obstructions between the ADSB and transponder antenna. Works like a charm!

The SkyFYX GPS receiver was installed on the rear turtledeck. I used 20 gauge shielded twisted pair for the entire install. I purchased the SMA right angle male to BNC righ angle male pigtail on ebay for less than $10.

I'm running a Garmin 327 GTX and a Dynon D100 EFIS. Nothing hardwired to the Garmin or Dynon. I had to tweak the transponder threshold parameters via the app to get it reporting at 100%. I get a strong WiFi signal in the cockpit and the ADSB-in works effortlessly with my panel mounted IFly 740. Overall a great value and easy install.

 

[Aquaman!]

Thanks

Thanks to all for your install advice. I like Mike's idea best thanks Drill and Buck for your your idea. I'm headed to the hangar to git er done.