Egads Dom, something must be inverted!

 

Yes, my ATD-300 also sees a ghost ship at + or - 400 ft and 2 miles from time to time.  I don't get much nagging if the ghost ship lingers in about the same position.  However, it does find intruders, forcing me the search the sky and I find something half the time (usually if it is in front of me, otherwise I out run it).

 

The configuration is with the Xpdr antenna on the right wing tip bottom and the ATD antenna on the left wing tip. Both are connected with RG 400 cable, both about 18" outboard of the outside aileron bell crank rib. The Xpdr Antenna had a 12" ground plane, the ATD has no ground plane.  Both are wee 600 Kt Comant blades.  The ATD antenna side has the pitot tube descending from the aileron bell crank access panel and this could provide "interference" between the two antennas.  Also, it was suggested that the prop may be causing a signal reflection.

 

I used to have a 200 and its ATD antenna was mounted upright in the middle of the hat shelf and that seemed to work OK - that is until a passenger was present, then it wouldn't detect much of anything in some quadrants.  It worked even less well if the passenger was also a co-pilot.

 

One clear and sunny day, flying SE over Indiana at 5500 MSL, the ATD on the far setting announced "Traffic" at my altitude.  A visual search didn't find anything until the 3rd or 4th warning, just before "Traffic Nearby", where I noticed a speck at my 2 o'clock.  I stayed on the course and with visual contact, noticing that the classic condition was developing - no movement of the growing speck in the windshield.  The other pilot must have never seen me.  Just before the midair, I dove about 2 hundred feet, making it a near-miss (almost hit, close by, whatever).  Since I seldom look out the window, I have to credit "the little darling" with a save. 

 

BTW, the ex WWII fighter pilot that ran the flight school I took my early lessons from said that "... in a closing situation, don't do nutt'n 'til you see the whites of their eyes - you never know what the other idiot will do."  Uh, he had me tagged right.

 

Scott, AKA Grayhawk the wretched.

 

Hiya Grayhawk,

Noting your poor man’s TCAS (Monroy ATD-300?) scrams “TRAFFIC NEARBY” only once or twice on LONG VFR trips gave me a head up.

Mine - the little darling – gives it every few minutes. I snaps to the panel which reads “0  - 0”! No doubt reading my TXPDR.

When this happens over the GAFA (the Great Australian Flamin’ All), sort of a bit east of Fred Moreno, it wears a bit thin.

Short muting the thing, or turning the TXPDR to STBY, which defeats the purpose, I wondered what magic you have to suggest.

Cheer mate.

Dom

VH-CZJ