Garmin 396 'installation' in the Maule

George, it's always a pleasure getting some Maule-specific advice.
Thanks, several times.

That's the question, will it work thru the fabric?

George Patterson wrote:
Try tucking it up between the headliner and the fabric top of the
fuselage. I had my MBR antenna under the floor boards and it worked well
through the fabric. IIRC, M. Powell has a gps antenna mounted over the
headliner in this way. If it works, you can clamp a mounting plate to
the frame tubes up there.

It seems to work just fine up there thru fabric and insulation -
perfect! I can get as far away from the compass as the cable allows.
Looks like the magnet naturally finds a crotch a in the tubing to
magnetize itself too.

Maule Driver wrote:
That's the question, will it work thru the fabric?
George Patterson wrote:
Try tucking it up between the headliner and the fabric top of the
fuselage. I had my MBR antenna under the floor boards and it worked
well through the fabric. IIRC, M. Powell has a gps antenna mounted
over the headliner in this way. If it works, you can clamp a mounting
plate to the frame tubes up there.

Maule Driver wrote:
It seems to work just fine up there thru fabric and insulation -
perfect! I can get as far away from the compass as the cable allows.
Looks like the magnet naturally finds a crotch a in the tubing to
magnetize itself too.

Great! Just keep it away from the aileron cables.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.

Well, it definitely can sit up there in the tubing crotch, well clear of
cables, etc. But it definitely won't be removeable.

I'm now looking at just laying it on the floor in the baggage area and
stringing the cable along the floor. The extension plug will end up
right under my seat. The question I haven't answered yet is whether it
will receive well from there but I think it might given the extensive
composite construction on the Maule (composite = tubing, sheet metal,
fabric, and glass :-) )



George Patterson wrote:
Maule Driver wrote:

It seems to work just fine up there thru fabric and insulation -
perfect! I can get as far away from the compass as the cable allows.
Looks like the magnet naturally finds a crotch a in the tubing to
magnetize itself too.


Great! Just keep it away from the aileron cables.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.

Maule Driver wrote:
That's the question, will it work thru the fabric?

Depends upon how much aluminum powder is in the primer.

Maule Driver wrote:
Well, it came yesterday. Great box. Looks like the challenge will be
'mounting' the GXM 30 XM antenna in the Maule.

The thing has a big non-removeable magnet so distance from the compass
is needed. It has an extension cord and mounting screws but needs good
sky exposure... any thoughts are welcome.

Garmin should know better. What were they thinking?


Otherwise, the yoke mount looks fine and the unit itself has me
drooling. NC to FL next week!

Mine came Wednesday, been foolin' around with it in the car. I think I'm going
to like it a lot, but that antenna thing is a definite drawback: the fact that
you have 2 separate antennas with two wires to manage, and the magnet.

Let us know if you come up with an elegant solution.

Dave

Dave Butler wrote:

Maule Driver wrote:

Well, it came yesterday. Great box. Looks like the challenge will be
'mounting' the GXM 30 XM antenna in the Maule.

The thing has a big non-removeable magnet so distance from the compass
is needed. It has an extension cord and mounting screws but needs
good sky exposure... any thoughts are welcome.


Garmin should know better. What were they thinking?


Otherwise, the yoke mount looks fine and the unit itself has me
drooling. NC to FL next week!


Mine came Wednesday, been foolin' around with it in the car. I think I'm
going to like it a lot, but that antenna thing is a definite drawback:
the fact that you have 2 separate antennas with two wires to manage, and
the magnet.

Let us know if you come up with an elegant solution.

Dave

They must have just sent out a big shipment, mine came yesterday
(promised ship date of 8/31). I came home to find it then had to leave
immediately for a flight lesson. Since it was a "preparation for
checkride" instrument lesson, playing with the new toy on the flight was
out of the question. Bummer.

I'll be taking it up on Saturday though.

I wonder why the GXM-30 has to have view of the sky? The WxWorx antenna
that comes with the ControlVision solution works fine in the side pocket
of a Cherokee. I may try my GXM-30 there just to see what happens.

And at any rate are we losing a little bit of perspective, complaining
that our W-compass's already marginal accuracy is negatively affected by
our much-more-accurate GPS?

--
"You can support the troops but not the president"
--Representative Tom Delay (R-TX), during the Kosovo war.

In article , xyzzy
wrote:
I wonder why the GXM-30 has to have view of the sky? The WxWorx antenna
that comes with the ControlVision solution works fine in the side pocket
of a Cherokee. I may try my GXM-30 there just to see what happens.


I'm sorry, but I just don't believe that the XM antenna works while
stowed in the side pocket. I have a difficult time getting a good
signal for weather even when it's on the glare shield, unless it's in
just the right spot.

Are you sure that you aren't getting the antenna and receiver confused?
With the Control Vision solution, they are separate, but the receiver
and antenna are integrated into one unit with the 396.



JKG

Jonathan Goodish wrote:

In article , xyzzy
wrote:

I wonder why the GXM-30 has to have view of the sky? The WxWorx antenna
that comes with the ControlVision solution works fine in the side pocket
of a Cherokee. I may try my GXM-30 there just to see what happens.



I'm sorry, but I just don't believe that the XM antenna works while
stowed in the side pocket. I have a difficult time getting a good
signal for weather even when it's on the glare shield, unless it's in
just the right spot.

Are you sure that you aren't getting the antenna and receiver confused?
With the Control Vision solution, they are separate, but the receiver
and antenna are integrated into one unit with the 396.

You may be right on my having the receiver and antenna confused,I'll
have to double check. I read it in an Aviation Consumer article, plus a
pilot I know who has one told me that, but they may have been referring
to the receiver now that I think about it.

xyzzy wrote:

Jonathan Goodish wrote:

In article , xyzzy wrote:

I wonder why the GXM-30 has to have view of the sky? The WxWorx
antenna that comes with the ControlVision solution works fine in the
side pocket of a Cherokee. I may try my GXM-30 there just to see
what happens.




I'm sorry, but I just don't believe that the XM antenna works while
stowed in the side pocket. I have a difficult time getting a good
signal for weather even when it's on the glare shield, unless it's in
just the right spot.

Are you sure that you aren't getting the antenna and receiver
confused? With the Control Vision solution, they are separate, but
the receiver and antenna are integrated into one unit with the 396.


You may be right on my having the receiver and antenna confused,I'll
have to double check. I read it in an Aviation Consumer article, plus a
pilot I know who has one told me that, but they may have been referring
to the receiver now that I think about it.


Btw you were right, I checked with teh guy who had it and he said that
the receiver went in the side pocket and the antenna was a much smaller
piece that he had to put on the glareshield.

--
"You can support the troops but not the president"
--Representative Tom Delay (R-TX), during the Kosovo war.