Sunday May 4, 2025
Antenna Mounting, GMU 11 Wiring (Electrical)
5.7 Hours

I made a doubler plate for the GA 35 WAAS GPS antenna and then drilled it through into the top of the fuselage.

I riveted it in place and then installed the antenna.

I want to put the ELT antenna somewhere on the top of the fuselage. It would be ideal to mount it in the same fuselage frame as the GPS antenna so it doesn't cross any rivet lines, but I have also read about ELT antennas resonating with COM transmissions and causing GPS interference, even when the ELT isn't transmitting (which is almost all of the time, unless you're unlucky). I might wait until everything is wired up and I can test various positions for the ELT antenna.

Then I made a doubler for the transponder blade antenna on the fuselage belly and drilled it through to the skin. This location will be very convenient to the transponder itself, although the manual says the coax between them needs to be at least 36".

Then I ran two power wires and a ground wire, as well as some CAN bus cable back to the GMU 11 magnetometer location and wired up the connector for it. This was my first foray into CAN bus wiring and it was pretty straightforward (although this being one end of the bus does make it easier--locations in the middle of the bus requiring splicing).

Later, my wife helped me rivet the transponder antenna doubler in place.

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