ELT ACK E-04 Antenna Located Inside

Has anyone mounted the antenna for the ACK E-04 ELT inside an RV-7 anyplace and does it test out okay? How about in the tail cone under the fiberglass? How about in the wing tip? How about under the window in the cargo area?

Thanks for photos showing your install.

thanks

ELT antenna

I've seen ELT antenna mounted in every place you can think of.

If your goals for the ELT are to get your aircraft signed off, then you can probably mount it just about anywhere. If your goals are to have it work and transmit a signal in the case of an E, then you have to be a bit more careful.

The main thing to think about is what will happen in an accident - will the wire between the ELT and the antenna be cut? Will the antenna be knocked off? Will the antenna have an view of the sky?

Since the tail usually is the least damaged part of the wreckage, many try to put the antenna back there, under the fiberglass. That's what I did.

http://www.rv8.ch/elt-antenna-placement/

There doesn't seem to be an ideal place in a slider -7 to mount the ELT antenna. I opted to mount mine on the right side above the flap mechanism with the tip inserted through a hole in the diagonal stiffener just behind that area. It is out of the way and the tip is inserted in the hole just enough to hold it but would likely pop out when needed - hopefully I'm not upside-down.

Mounted in the baggage area on the right side panel behind the passenger seat. Works fine there.

ACK has recommendations and requirements for antenna installation and location on pages 3-4 of the installation and operation manual.

http://www.ackavionics.com/pdf/E-04%20REV%201.8%20SINGLE%20PAGE.pdf

After reading that I installed mine outside, on top of the aft fuselage since I was just paranoid enough about the thing not transmitting adequately if I really needed it that I was unwilling to take the chance on a more aesthetic spot. Might be worth a call to ACK to inquire about other locations, I'll admit to preferring fewer antennas sticking out of my airplane.

Please do note that ONLY the antenna approved by the ELT manufacturer may be used. The ELT is TSO'd as a complete system... ELT, battery pack, remote control panel, antenna. Change any one of these for a part not listed in the approved installation manual and you no longer have a TSO'd ELT and thus are in contravention of the FARs.

I mention this only because I see in the photo supplied by "rv8ch" something that looks an awful lot like an ICOM "rubber ducky" VHF comm antenna from a handheld comm radio. If this truly is an antenna other than that approved by the ELT manufacturer then the ELT installation does not comply with the FARs.

Sorry to sound so persnickety but this is a topic which has been discussed at length on this forum... I'd hate like heck to see somebody burned or busted by a non-compliant ELT.

Indeed, that's the trick, Carl. I suspect we're somewhat alike in that we would like to have the piece of paper that provides proof of acceptance. That would be a little difficult to find.

In truth, one of the reasons manufacturers put statements like this in their installation manuals is to give everybody an "out". Let's say, for instance, that ACK can no longer source the parts to make their antenna. Because they've put the weasel words in their approved installation manual they can almost instantly recommend a replacement antenna without having to go through a full re-test. They can say "oh, the RAMI AV-100 looks good, let's use that" and be back in business.

(BTW I've worked with products which were in exactly that position and had wished we had been smart enough to give ourselves a similar easy way out of a regulatory corner, and have in fact incorporated similar "outs" in other products. It's a hurting day when one has to look at re-doing qualification testing of an aviation appliance.)