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Archer antenna in piano hinged wingtip?

Glen P

Active Member
Has anyone installed an Archer antenna in a wingtip that they’ve attached with piano hinges? Did you merely redo some of the piano hinge rivets on the wingtip side to go through holes in the antenna? Decent reception? (My antenna will be for nav.)
 
Most people

So I have been following this on the forums for a long time. Most people rivet an angle to the outboard rib. I am afraid if you use the hinge, the ground may be intermittent. Also i think it would be easier to remove the tip if the antenna is attached to the rib and not the tip. If attached to the tip, then the coax will need to be disconnected each time.
I plan to do this install in a month, so lets see what others say.
 
Absolutely great with hinged tips. Incorporate the ground piece of the antenna in the hinge line and you achieve a bonded ground to the airframe when the hinge is pinned. No need to stick it on the rib but you can if you want. Search google and you will find lots of pictures. My nav reception is great with it.
 
The other thing about connections is that if you remove the tip you just roll it edgewise onto the wing on a blanket and can do all you want without removing the wires assuming you leave enough wire to service it that way.
 
Archer with hinged tip

I have hinged tips in an RV7 with ground wire connected to wing. I also have Baja squardron pro with wig wag and aeroled nav strobes in each tip. I use the Archer antennae for nav functions for 650xi and a SL30. No problems with either nav operation
 
Yes. Riveted to hinge with a BNC connector in the coax for tip removal.
It has worked well for a long time with plenty of range.
 
I installed my Nav antenna under the hinge without any issues. Great reception.
 

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Teaching Moment

Thanks for the responses to the original poster. I learnt something and will probably do it like this for my build. Glad to see a bnc still was effective enough.
 
+2

Absolutely great with hinged tips. Incorporate the ground piece of the antenna in the hinge line and you achieve a bonded ground to the airframe when the hinge is pinned. No need to stick it on the rib but you can if you want. Search google and you will find lots of pictures. My nav reception is great with it.

I have had excellent results with this technique as well. Beyond what is stated here, follow Archer’s installation instructions explicitly.
 
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