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From:  n295v v

In regards to your question about static when the plane was out of primer and into finished paint,  I can only give you information on our plane.  We, too, noticed a lot of static in primer, and when we finished it in PPG, the static was eliminated.

We have no special braided wires bonding the various parts, nor do we have static wicks.  I have King radios, and we can always get 5/5 at a distance of 50 miles, which is the usual point that we begin descent. Our antenna is the standard homemade Lancair flying-W configuration, and we have a switching  coupler that  both coms connect to to send a single coax wire to the tail.

Be sure to keep the antenna away from the carbon fiber stiffener in the vertical stabilizer, and add an inspection door over the area of the BNC connection to the antenna to service the connector if you ever have a problem.  Also, place plastic water tube from the tail up to the antenna so you can replace it easily if ever needed.

Probably most important was our decision to buy the best BELDEN coax cable we could find.  The one we chose has a heavy center wire, sturdy insulating layer, and probably most important of all, it has a very heavy copper braided outer weave to keep the signal intact.  Since cable comes in more than one OHM range,  be sure to choose the correct OHM spec for the radio signal.   We made this mistake early on,  and when we talked to Jim Weir, we found our mistake.

I highly recommend Jim's book on this subject, and I found it very useful.

David Jones, Pecatonica, Ilinois

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