BloodRedSkies Posted Monday at 09:49 PM Report Posted Monday at 09:49 PM I have an E model and my number 2 radio 430w) has had poor reception from the time I got it. Going into annual in a month I want to just swap the cable and antenna while we are there. Probably a Comant 196 antenna? My number 1 GPS gets a Loss of Integrity pretty easily so I bought a new GA 35 antenna and was wondering about the cable for that as well. Looking for what types of cable/s I would need and what what to get and if the 196 new or used is the standard? Is there a difference in in the new vs used old ones ?
N201MKTurbo Posted Monday at 10:08 PM Report Posted Monday at 10:08 PM RG400 is the best cable. $$$ 1
MikeOH Posted Monday at 10:47 PM Report Posted Monday at 10:47 PM By aviation standards, not all that expensive.
EricJ Posted Tuesday at 12:42 AM Report Posted Tuesday at 12:42 AM +1 on RG-400. You can get a crimper and the little plastic stripper tool and some loose BNC (or whatever) fittings and cut it to length. 1
BloodRedSkies Posted Tuesday at 04:10 PM Author Report Posted Tuesday at 04:10 PM 15 hours ago, EricJ said: +1 on RG-400. You can get a crimper and the little plastic stripper tool and some loose BNC (or whatever) fittings and cut it to length. About how much length for a com 2 antenna do you estimate? 20ft?
N201MKTurbo Posted Tuesday at 04:31 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 04:31 PM 13 minutes ago, BloodRedSkies said: About how much length for a com 2 antenna do you estimate? 20ft? Which antenna is hooked to your COM2? The front antenna can be run to a windshield post and down behind the panel. The rear antenna runs along the inside of the tail cone to the hole by the battery and then along the left sidewall to the panel. Probably 10 feet for the front antenna and 20 feet for the rear. It would be best to measure before you buy. If you come up short, you will need to buy a longer piece or put a bunch of connectors in line which isn’t desirable. 1
N201MKTurbo Posted Tuesday at 04:35 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 04:35 PM I wouldn’t buy the 10 foot lengths from Digikey. I would buy a single continuous length. Spruce sells it. 1
MikeOH Posted Tuesday at 05:51 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 05:51 PM 1 hour ago, N201MKTurbo said: I wouldn’t buy the 10 foot lengths from Digikey. I would buy a single continuous length. Spruce sells it. DigiKey has many other pre-cut lengths; as well as spools. No idea why you'd pay a premium to buy from Spruce??
EricJ Posted Tuesday at 05:55 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 05:55 PM 2 minutes ago, MikeOH said: DigiKey has many other pre-cut lengths; as well as spools. No idea why you'd pay a premium to buy from Spruce?? I get it on amazon. Spruce is often not a good place to get non-aviation-specific stuff.
MikeOH Posted Tuesday at 05:57 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 05:57 PM 1 minute ago, EricJ said: I get it on amazon. Spruce is often not a good place to get non-aviation-specific stuff. Exactly! Spruce is NOT the place for a bargain...only use them for stuff I can't get elsewhere! Amazon can be okay, but quality can be iffy....quality cable from a reputable manufacturer is worth a premium. There are certainly places cheaper than DigiKey, no doubt.
Aerodon Posted Tuesday at 06:00 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 06:00 PM Spruce will terminate one or both ends if you tell them what you want. Don't be random, get a tape measure out and measure the route. There are other avionics shops that will do that too.nnLook for the shops that do a lot of work for the experimental market. The RG59 was in poor shape in my 1986 M20K, i can't imagine how bad it is in a 1960's or 70's plane. Aerodon 1
N201MKTurbo Posted Tuesday at 06:20 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 06:20 PM I order from spruce because I can order it and pick it up an hour later with no shipping cost. But we are in a unique situation, there is a Spruce warehouse next to our airport. I never tried it, but the guy at the will call counter told me they will let you return cut wire, so if you ordered it too short, send it back and get the right length.
OR75 Posted yesterday at 01:29 AM Report Posted yesterday at 01:29 AM (edited) RG-400 is ... RG-400 honestly where you need quality is the connectors . You will likely need a 90 degrees TNC connector for the GPS Make sure you take your time and do quality crimping Edited yesterday at 01:31 AM by OR75 1
Jackk Posted yesterday at 03:07 AM Report Posted yesterday at 03:07 AM I went through this recently, seems it’s often due to a bad crimp job, had my avionics buddy come over with his super fancy crimper, cut the old ends off, stripped, crimp crimp, problem fixed.
EricJ Posted yesterday at 04:58 AM Report Posted yesterday at 04:58 AM 1 hour ago, Jackk said: I went through this recently, seems it’s often due to a bad crimp job, had my avionics buddy come over with his super fancy crimper, cut the old ends off, stripped, crimp crimp, problem fixed. Yes. A ratcheting crimper with the right jaw for the connector is all it takes, but sometimes that seems to be asking too much. 1
Aerodon Posted yesterday at 04:51 PM Report Posted yesterday at 04:51 PM The thing with antennas is they all have different footprints - the M20K has a 4 hole mounting, but the RF connector is offset to the left to miss the stringer on the centreline. There are some nice combined VHF / GPS antennas on the market, and BAS often has good used ones. An older one is still likely to meet the specs for a GNS430.
jamesm Posted yesterday at 08:20 PM Report Posted yesterday at 08:20 PM Do it the right way once with RG400 Coax cable so you won't have to do it again later. One and done. Make sure you have good ground plane connection(s) and good sealant around the antenna.
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