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Running a ELT antenna after the face

cdeerinck

Well Known Member
Running a ELT antenna after the fact

I thought I had finished up my tail-cone wiring, but I missed the ELT Anetannae wire. It needs to run from the rear battery box area to the tail.

Does anyone have any suggestions on techniques to use to run a cable through the bulkheads that would be ok for this application, including how to secure it and make sure it doesn't chafe on anything?

As a new builder, I haven't run into this type of situation before, but I am sure that for many of you with more experience with retrofits and repairs this would be a piece of cake.

Is securing it to the elevator pushrod a viable choice, or would that be a bad choice?
 
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Please do NOT run ELT antenna cable "through" bulkheads. In a crash the bulkhead can be deformed and cut the cable. Try to run the cable "around" the bulkheads and loosely ty-wrap to them.
 
Mel - By "through", I meant through one of the lightening holes. I can't "go around" without being outside of the airplane.

My problem is that the BNC antenna won't go through any of grommets already in place, and access in the tailcone is borderline impossible now that it is closed up, so I am struggling with how to secure the wire.

Carl - Thanks for the "bad choice" confirmation, I thought that was probably the case. Unfortunately just saying it isn't hard, doesn't help be proceed when I don't know the accepted practice.
 
SNIP
My problem is that the BNC antenna won't go through any of grommets already in place...SNIP

Run a piece of coax then install a crimp on BNC connector. If you don?t have the tools and/or know how to do this, find someone who does. This is one of those things all RV owners need to be able to do.

Carl
 
Yes, I can splice a new cable, and have done that before. I guess I was just hoping not to just cut it apart and put it back again. But I will.

So can I just run it between each bulkhead, and leave it unsupported otherwise?

From what I understand, I should not secure them tightly, as I don't want the wire destroyed if the fuselage is distorted in a crash.
 
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