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I just received the Bob Archer SA-007 Nav antenna for my Lancair 360. While I
could probably bumble my way thru a workable installation, I thought I'd
prevail upon y'all for advice.
My airplane is upside down now, so it is a good time to install this antenna
on the "roof" of the baggage area. (That is the preferred place, no?) I have
the fast-build kit so the baggage bulkhead is in place, as is a small tab on
the roof above the hat shelf.
It looks like the antenna could be mounted in either of two places. First is
to have the entire thing forward of the "hat shelf", and have the adjustable
elements swept essentially spanwise. In this configuration the wiring would
be in the baggage area. The antenna could be mounted with the coax connection
forward or aft.
The other option is to have the central portion mounted aft of the "hat
shelf". This allows the adjustable elements to be in the "swept 30-45 degree"
range recommended for best reception. The tips could be in the baggage
section, but the bulk of the antenna would be behind the hat shelf.
Bob Archer suggests that the coax cable should ideally be perpendicular to the
antenna. Having a bunch of cable hanging from the antenna would be better
implemented with the antenna behind the hat shelf. Presumably the coax would
be clamped appropriately so the wire isn't actually dangling.
Next, the antenna is to be bonded in place using "thin glass cloth and a
minimum of resin." I'm assuming the standard 7781 cloth we all have is
acceptable. Or should I go to the hobby store for some lightweight model
airplane glass cloth? And what about the pop rivets -- should these just poke
thru the cloth?
Finally, I intend to have two VOR's (unless an unexpected windfall allows a
panel mounted GPS). Has anyone used this antenna to drive 2 VOR's? How well
did it work? Will I really need to install a second Nav antenna?
As I said, some pretty basic questions, but I'd appreciate comments. Please
post them (rather than e-mail to me alone) so everyone gets the benefit of
your experiences.
- Rob Wolf
rwolf99@aol.com
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