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Prewire elt remote sw.

J

jimgreen

Well Known Member
I want to prewire for an elt and buy one in a few months just before first flight.
Not my favourite technology, but I have to fit a 406 (Canada). I'd much rather spend the bucks on Spidertracks.
My question is which remote indicator/switch should I buy that will work with all/most brands? Sure would be nice to get the wires in now.
 
Just installed Ameri-King AK-451-2 ELT

If you want just the cable order this...14ft RJ12 6P6C(meaning 6 position/6 conductor) Straight Modular Cable from Cables To Go for $4.99. Mine came with the ELT pkg. Use RG-400 for the antenna. It came with it too, but I made one the exact length.

It looks like phone cable but the wiring configuration is not. It is STRAIGHT not cross wire like telephone applications. If you are facing the plug with wires coming in on opposite side away from you they will be in this order 1 on left 6 on right, 1=Brown, 2= Yellow, 3= Green, 4= Red, 5= Black 6= left open. Color order would not matter as long as they are the same when holding both up in front of you.

You can also run (unshielded) 5 conductors of 24 ga and then add connectors later.

You will need a $35 RJ12 crimping tool to install the end connectors.
 
Wayne Gillispie said:
If you want just the cable order this...14ft RJ12 6P6C(meaning 6 position/6 conductor) Straight Modular Cable from Cables To Go for $4.99. Mine came with the ELT pkg. Use RG-400 for the antenna. It came with it too, but I made one the exact length.

It looks like phone cable but the wiring configuration is not. It is STRAIGHT not cross wire like telephone applications. If you are facing the plug with wires coming in on opposite side away from you they will be in this order 1 on left 6 on right, 1=Brown, 2= Yellow, 3= Green, 4= Red, 5= Black 6= left open. Color order would not matter as long as they are the same when holding both up in front of you.

You can also run (unshielded) 5 conductors of 24 ga and then add connectors later.

You will need a $35 RJ12 crimping tool to install the end connectors.
Click to expand...

Hi Jim, thanks for lunch the other day and bailing us out of starving in the cold.

I think the ACK ELT uses a regular phone extension cable. Either way, you probably have to cut off one end to route the wire, then crimp on a new terminal. When you crimp on the new terminal, you can put it on either way, as required by ACK or AK.

Also, the AK used a straight RJ12, while I think the ACK uses a cross-over RJ11, plus separate wires for GPS connection. The most generic solution would be to run an RJ12 cable (male to male) with one end cut off at the panel end, plus a shielded 3-wire cable for GPS data. Then, you will have the ability to install either an ACK or AK. The ACK will use RJ12 cable plus a female-female coupling at the ELT end and the shielded GPS cable; the AK will use just the RJ12 male-male cable which plugs directly into the ELT.

You may now be sorry you asked!

Vern

Vern
 
vlittle said:
You may now be sorry you asked!

Vern

Vern
Click to expand...

Vern,

Only 920 hrs/13.5 months into the build and boy has this been an education(even for an ex a&p that worked on helicopters/jet engines). Not much recreation though...YET!

I would rather ask and have others ask questions now than be on the news later. Some on here are not very understanding of new guys or "dumb" questions. I try to always remember that at one time I did not know how to walk or talk. Now look at all of these super rv dreamers/builders/flyers on here. It takes up build time answering questions, but I feel like it is the right thing to do as I have learned alot from all of you.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Of course I can forget about the switch/indicator for now and just run the wire.
 
vlittle said:
I think the ACK ELT uses a regular phone extension cable. Either way, you probably have to cut off one end to route the wire, then crimp on a new terminal. When you crimp on the new terminal, you can put it on either way, as required by ACK or AK.

...I think the ACK uses a cross-over RJ11. The most generic solution would be to run an RJ12 cable (male to male) with one end cut off at the panel end
Click to expand...

Vern, I just ran a 4 wire (RJ-11 I think) phone cord for this purpose for an ACK installation. Instead of crimping on a new terminal, I just spliced into a female receptacle. Now you have me wondering if I wired it correctly. What do you mean by "cross-over RJ-11"?

I studied several internet wiring diagrams for RJ-11, and there seemed to be 50% straight through, pin-to-pin, and 50% "crossed over". with pin-to-mirror-image-pin. I figured I would have to wait until ACK ships their ELT to determine whether my flip of the coin is going to land heads or tails, but maybe you know the answer! Is the pinout or "wiring convention" that ACK uses for this telephone cord documented anywhere? If there is, I could not find it. You're saying that ACK requires pin-to-mirror-image-pin for this cable?

This is why I was hoping they would sell a preinstall kit for their E04, rather than have their customers guessing at how to wire it in advance. Screwing this up would not be good...
 
Last edited:
Noah said:
Vern, I just ran a 4 wire (RJ-11 I think) phone cord for this purpose for an ACK installation. Instead of crimping on a new terminal, I just spliced into a female receptacle. Now you have me wondering if I wired it correctly. What do you mean by "cross-over RJ-11"?

I studied several internet wiring diagrams for RJ-11, and there seemed to be 50% straight through, pin-to-pin, and 50% "crossed over". with pin-to-mirror-image-pin. I figured I would have to wait until ACK ships their ELT to determine whether my flip of the coin is going to land heads or tails, but maybe you know the answer! Is the pinout or "wiring convention" that ACK uses for this telephone cord documented anywhere? If there is, I could not find it. You're saying that ACK requires pin-to-mirror-image-pin for this cable?

This is why I was hoping they would sell a preinstall kit for their E04, rather than have their customers guessing at how to wire it in advance. Screwing this up would not be good...
Click to expand...

Read the Artex link in my second post.

They have options of using a short adapter cable to get the "crossover" function.

If you haven't selected a 406 ELT yet I would just put in the 4 conductor telephone cable with no ends on. Crimp on the ends when your ELT arrives.

The Artex document also shows that the crossover function can be obtained just by putting one of the connector ends on "upside down" from normal.
 
Thanks Gil, very helpful. OK, so the Artex requires crossover wiring in the RJ-11. Does the ACK also require crossover wiring? Is this documented anywhere?
 
What I see in their manual is that "The RCPI unit is connected to the ELT unit via means of RJ-11 standard type modular connectors". But this doesn't tell me whether crossover wiring is used, does it? What makes this more confusing is that the RJ "standard" is not so much of a standard at all. If you really want to get educated (confused), read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registered_jack

It seems likely that this MIGHT really use an RJ-14 6P4C. Maybe it will work with either wiring, I don't know. A pinout would sure be nice to answer this question! I sure would like to know why Vern thinks the ACK requires crossover wiring, as he says above!
 
Original question

The first post asked what wire to pre-place in the structure.

Just put in a standard 4 wire telephone cable for now, and worry how to attach ends when an actual ELT is purchased...:)
 
ACK ELT E-04 Pre-wiring

Since the ELT is going to reside in the aft bagage area in my RV8, I decided to pre-wire for the ACK E-04 (406Mhz). By the time I'm finished they undoubtly have the E-04 approved.
The installation/Operating manual can be found here: http://www.ackavionics.com/pdf/E-04_REV_2_SINGLE_PAGE.pdf

I used a telephone cable with female connector on the ELT side, leaving the other side open for whichever connector is needed. I also ran 24Ga shielded cable (Aircraft Spruce Part # 11-04478) and attached a 4 pin female mini-DIN jack (DigiKey Part # CP 2140-ND). The antenna cable is a prefab RG-58 with enough 'service loop' and BNC connectors to hook up to the ACK antenna.
Especially soldering the mini-DIN (for GPS connection) is something you don't want to do upside down in the back of the plane.

Johan.
 
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