Davarron Posted June 25, 2018 Report Share Posted June 25, 2018 I'm having some new avionics put in next week (Lynx, PMA450, and G5) and would like your input regarding the wiring. The avionics shop states that they typically reuse the existing coax and antennas unless they are in bad shape. Is this common practice? Or should I be getting all new wiring for these new avionics and audio panel? Also will be installing a GNC255 soon and they say the same thing about that wiring as well. My thought is that I don't want to have all this new stuff put in and then have issues down the road with the old wiring and have to take the interior back out, however, I don't know how much labor intensive it is to install all new coax with the avionics installation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N201MKTurbo Posted June 25, 2018 Report Share Posted June 25, 2018 It depends how much you want to pay. Wireing is hard work. Nobody is going to do it for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted June 25, 2018 Report Share Posted June 25, 2018 New wire is always good... and very expensive... Some wires may not be there yet... stereo type audio systems...? Lots of new type wires are available today that weren’t there before... Antenna wires RG400(?) or something like that... How many random splices do you have in there from previous boxes and cost saving installers? If this is a forever plane... much easier to do it once for the next decade or more... Some things that come to mind of a PP, not a mechanic.... being a CB makes this decision a real challenge... Best regards, -a- 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder Posted June 25, 2018 Report Share Posted June 25, 2018 I'm having some new avionics put in next week (Lynx, PMA450, and G5) and would like your input regarding the wiring. The avionics shop states that they typically reuse the existing coax and antennas unless they are in bad shape. Is this common practice? Or should I be getting all new wiring for these new avionics and audio panel? Also will be installing a GNC255 soon and they say the same thing about that wiring as well. My thought is that I don't want to have all this new stuff put in and then have issues down the road with the old wiring and have to take the interior back out, however, I don't know how much labor intensive it is to install all new coax with the avionics installation. I would replace them. I went through a full avionics upgrade to find I had one of the coax failed on the GTN after a couple of years. The panel is opened up and it is not that much more work to run the wires after you get access to them (i.e. removing the interior). I was having Bruce Jaeger come in for redoing my interior, so I ran all new RG-400 for the GTN, 255 and the VORs and then flew it over to the shop to have them put the terminators on them.This is the kind of stuff I found with the old RG-58. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder Posted June 25, 2018 Report Share Posted June 25, 2018 Also, the cost of the RG-400 isn’t bad. I used less than 100 feet and you can get it for $2.85 per foot from Spruce. http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/coaxialcableconnectors6.php?clickkey=6024Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markejackson02 Posted June 25, 2018 Report Share Posted June 25, 2018 1 hour ago, Marauder said: Also, the cost of the RG-400 isn’t bad. I used less than 100 feet and you can get it for $2.85 per foot from Spruce.http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/coaxialcableconnectors6.php?clickkey=6024 Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro 100' of coax in a Mooney? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted June 25, 2018 Report Share Posted June 25, 2018 3 minutes ago, markejackson02 said: 100' of coax in a Mooney? If it's like the guys who wired my Mooney, it's 5 feet to get to the antenna and 95 feet under the panel occupying all the possible space. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 26, 2018 Report Share Posted June 26, 2018 Unless the wires are already fairly new I would replace them. I would also remove the comm antennas and clean the skins under them. Why spend the money on nice new avionics and then handicap them with poor wiring and coax cables? You wouldn’t order a new car with bald tires would you. Clarence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenL757 Posted June 26, 2018 Report Share Posted June 26, 2018 Absolutely. I wouldn’t deploy tens of thousands of dollars in new avionics with existing (and/or even remotely-questionable) wiring. The cost for running new is nominal in the grand scheme, and as long as the airplane is apart, it’s the best time to do it. Don’t skip this this important piece of work. Marauder’s picture is worth a thousand words. You have no idea what’s going on in there, so build in the work, make it nice, and sleep better at night. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradp Posted June 27, 2018 Report Share Posted June 27, 2018 You don’t need to fully rewire but I would have them clean up and organize any rats nests and run RG-400 to improve com performance. If you know what you’re getting into that’s one thing - rewiring from scratch you’d be in 70+ hours of labor without too much benefit. Just get rid of the old outdated stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markejackson02 Posted July 6, 2018 Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 Any idea where to buy the gaskets that fit under the antennas on the 201? Either the CI-196 gaskets or the gaskets for the old 7 antennas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 On 7/6/2018 at 7:13 PM, markejackson02 said: Any idea where to buy the gaskets that fit under the antennas on the 201? Either the CI-196 gaskets or the gaskets for the old 7 antennas. I bought a new CI-196 and was looking for a gasket and even called Chief where I bought it, but was unable to locate one. I was looking because if I remember correctly the description did not state gasket included, but it did have a rubber gasket with it. I suggest you call Cobham the manufacturer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N201MKTurbo Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 https://www.cobham.com/media/5045/antennainstallationguide.pdf https://www.aviall.com/aviallstorefront/p/540685-1=2R I would just put a bead of tank sealant around the edge and screw it down to bare metal. That will give you the best performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertGary1 Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 Most older coax can’t be used for waas singles required for adsb and I think even the g5 antenna. The shielding is more on the cables spec’d for waas antennas. -Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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