Gil, the ACK says the external antenna must be used. The next sentence says the remote antenna is not for use other than when the unit is removed for portable use. I chose to read that as for mounted use the external antenna must be used. I will grant you there are antenna wizz bang experts and CAP volunteers (thanks gang) who feel very stongly about this issue. I however, am not one. I feel this piece of "technology" is overated, antiquated. As one poster stated, don't know if he was kidding or not, why don't I use a flare gun and mirror. Sounds good too me. Another stated he has done a lot of research in antenna but is merely saving for a 9A QB, but offered no other solution. Maybe because he didn't have knowledge of the 7/9 fuse. The reason I posted my obviously assinine (other good word) location was the first pic showed the antenna horizontal, another showed in in the tailcone horizontal, at least my terrible location was vertical. Yes, I'd be willing to bet my life, if I turned the orange box on this morning inside the fuselage, I'd have CAP here in, what 10 hours, 12 hours, it's still windy here so maybe 2 days. This is not a knock at all on CAP, just this little box. OK, another post said if you are so sure about this location working why don't I mount the COM antenna in the same location. My opinion only, the COM antenna will get used for something useful. No other comment needed on my part. Back to the cell phone, I carry with me a cell phone hand crank charger. If I go down in rugged country and the airplane.........rolls on it's side thereby making the antenna horizontal.....inside the fuse........OH MY (truly smiling here), at least I should be able to slide my canopy and get my cell phone. Case in point, at my flyin last year we had an incident where I am certain the ELT went off. After running down the runway to check on the pilot and passenger, I see the pilot get out, with cell phone in hand, and call his wife. Now, here was probably 20 pilots around this guy. Did even one, say turn off the ELT? No. That is how of minimal importance I see this unit. Once again, only one opinion here. We spent the rest of the day taking this airplane apart and loading it in a truck. Did we get any visitors? No. Now, the pilot may have reset it, I don't know for sure, but I sure didn't see, hear or anything otherwise any reference to an ELT. I just read an account on a CAP site where the ELT went off until the batteries went dead. The female pilot counted how many times an aircraft flew over. Maybe she had it mounted inside the fuse. That flare gun in jest comment, is sounding better all except for that exploding projectile inside the fuse. Here is another point, ACK also says the box must be mounted in a forward facing direction on a structural part of the aircraft. The skin is not an acceptable mounting location. Find a flat, structural part of this fuselage, other than the tail cone plate. No the baggage floor is not, per the instructions, an acceptable location, once again in my opinion (totally worthless in this thread). I thinking the only official configuration is to fabricate some sort of plate to fit over the second fuse bulkhead behind the baggage cover bulkhead. You can't use the baggage bulkhead because of the bellcrank. Then tie it to bottom bellcrank flange somehow, or maybe a triangle going over the second bulkhead with the tip centered over the bellcrank flange. Now add that weight and a box full of batteries way the heck aft. I don't know, that is quite obvious.
Location, location, location. Outside, so when you fly through the trees, it'll get ripped off before impact, lawn dart in so your horizontal antenna is now vertical.......even though you were vertical and now permanently horizontal (like that one
, pancake in with your internal antenna and get on the cell phone.....or pull your airplane chute, call on your cell phone on the way down, remove the orange box because you handily mounted it for optimal safety use at your feet (on a plate, not skin of course), turn off all electrical equipment, open canopy slightly..............only to land in a frickin lake with alligators........now why didn't I pack a raft?
I know long rant, but we have to have the dang things, so we have to put them in................like my parents and myself has said.........BECAUSE I SAID SO, THAT'S WHY!!!!!!!
Boy this post didn't solve anything did it.
By the way, you CAP flyers, thank you. I mean that.
az_gila said:
Ameri-King is a bit more explicit, and states that the antenna must be external to meet the requirements of TSO 91a and FAR 91.52 (page 9). They also give a vertical requirement of 20 degrees to vertical (in normal flight attitude for you acro guys...
....)
http://www.ameri-king.com/pdf/9.1.22.pdf
ACK is a bit different, allowing up to 45 degrees from vertical, but only allowing internal antenna mounting in a composite or fabric plane. It does actually say externally for metallic aeroplanes. (page 4)
http://www.ackavionics.com/images/Model_e-01_ELT_Manual.pdf
gil in Tucson
PS ... I like the cell phone ON idea.... I usually do it just because I forget to switch it off when I put it in my flight bag...