On 30 Jan 2004 09:56:58 -0800, (Jay) wrote:

I figured since you posted it in the newsgroup it was open to others
throwing out their 2 cents...

Jim prefers people post the questions rather than sending them by email...I
think he just likes whacking the occasional trolls who respond with weird
suggestions. :-)

But I do like getting a variety of responses, so don't mind exposing what
an ignoramus I am. :-)

The current antenna location is precisely 4 inches below my heinie, and I'd
just as soon get it further away, thank'ee.

The jury is still out on what effects microwave radiation has on the
body (besides the obvious burns warned about in the HAM regs). I
think your intuition is correct and don't put the antenna right next
to your "junk" even though there is a null in the field moving out
from each end of the whip.

I'm facing the age-old conflict between access and performance. Installing
the antenna in the cockpit area is easy; putting it either far from the
transponder or well-separated from what Jim elegantly refers to "that ugly
bag of salt water in the seat" is where it gets tough.

The tail cone would be the best place, but I'm limited to inspection holes
in the bottom, 3" holes spaced ~3 feet apart. Using them to install an
antenna and ground plane would be about as painful as having a proctologist
implant a pacemaker.

Even using the sneaky route--installing the antenna *on* an inspection
plate--I'm still faced with having ~3' or so of unsecured cable running in
the midst of my elevator and rudder cables. Don't want to run the cable
unless I can get the cable tacked down, and I can't reach much of the
cable.

2. The Microair uses a DB-25 connector. I haven't soldered onto a
connector like this for about eighteen years. I'm presuming the best
approach would be to tin the wires, slide them into their locations, and
solder them in place? Should I be using shrink tubing on each connection,
too? (the connector itself has a strain relief).

The best way to do these is use the good quality crimping machined
pins (not stamped) that insert into the connector one at a time. The
crimp tool is not cheap but maybe your EAA chapter has one in its tool
crib you can use.

A local friend pointed out where I can buy the crimp-on type connector, but
I'd have to run the trap lines to find the tool. Considering that my
airplane only gets ~40 hours a year and the cables are supported separately
by the shell, I probably will risk the solder-type connector.

3. I'm about 99.99999% sure about this, but with $1500 on the line, I'd
appreciate confirmation: When the installation manual shows the pin
assignments for the DB-25 connector, the assignments are as if I am looking
directly at the connector on the transponder...right? In other words, the
connector itself will be a mirror of this diagram. That seems to be
confirmed by the teeny teeny numbering on the DB-25 supplied with the unit.

Follow the numbering on the connector, you won't go wrong.

Easy for you youngsters to say...I could tell there were numbers there, but
wasn't completely sure what each one said. Amazing how a computer will go
down to 4 point text, yet they're able to put 2-point on a piece of
physical hardware. Guess I'll have to set up my solder station next to my
big magnifier/lamp combo.

Thanks for the info!

Ron Wanttaja