Lots of Avionics "Help" here!

[Flyboy1950]

Hey Guys and gals ...
If you are active on the Piper Short Wing Site, you should be aware that there is a lot of "solid" avionics advise available on the Avionics Section here.
I am a semi-retired Avionics Consultant and writer for Piper and Cessna Owners magazines. I was the Senior Avionics Consultant for Eastern Avionics for 16 years and have personally sold over $20 Million in avionics. I have been active on a number of avionics forums for a few years. I check this forum on a regular basis but there is no activity. My goal is to help. Yes, occasionally it may lead to a sale when the request for help gets more complicated but that is not my primary goal. I am knowledgeable, opinionated and happy to share it with those who are interested in an independent point of view.

Check out this feedback that I received this week from a Pilot in Kansas seeking help. I asked him where he heard about me:

"I heard about you on the piper forum. I have been on there for a year and watched your responses to questions and claims on the forums. I am a person that seeks relationships based on trust, honesty, and transparency. In today's world that is difficult to find. That is why I spend time watching and looking for the indications that I am dealing with fair and honorable individuals or companies. Most all products are similar the only way to distinguish the good from bad is service, everything made can have issues, the best service and support comes from the best companies. Congrats, you have conducted yourself in a manner that instills trust and comfort into me and others."


If you want to know more about me, check out my website at : www.AvionixHelp.com I'm Bob Hart Thanks!

[PeterL]

Welcome Bob, I'm sure members here have many questions about avionics.

Maybe you can post a list of items you may have for sale in the classifieds on the main site.

Peter

[Flyboy1950]

Hi PeterL and SWPC Members,
Thanks for asking about what I do and how I might be of assistance to the members. First of all, I do not sell avionics directly. I was the Senior Avionics Consultant for Eastern Avionics (now APG Avionics) for 16 years and semi-retired from that role in March of 2013. A change in management ownership and philosophy at APG prompted me to get active on the avionics forums a few years ago. APG marketing was reducing the amount of calls and emails from pilots. I was receiving less sales calls specifically from pilots and aircraft owners who needed advice. Shops and maintenance managers were calling and all they cared about was price and availability. Simply stated, I missed that interaction and got involved in the avionics forums for Cessna and Pipers owners magazines. I'm now an "Avionics" staff writer for them and have been writing avionics articles for their magazines since June of last year. I now participate in additional forums and have been monitoring the SWPC for four months. There's not a lot of activity. In semi-retirement, I still represent APG with some International customers. At 63, I retired a little early and moved to Santa Marta, Colombia in May with my Colombian wife of 8 years. In short, I can afford to live much better here than in the US on my "meager" means! I enjoy sharing my knowledge and experience and I feel their is a shortage of good, independent advice out there for the pilot who is considering avionics upgrades or even avionics service, especially for the pilot on a budget. It seems avionics shops general advice is "throw it all away and put in a Garmin stack". They don't want to take the time to walk a pilot through their options. As I mentioned earlier, the majority of what I do on the forums is simple free advice. I need a Nav-Com for my aircraft? What do you recommend? I follow through and can even recommend an honest vendor that I know and trust who can sell it to them at a fair price and stand behind it. This is free advice. Occasionally, I get contacted directly by a pilot who saw me on the forums to help them with larger issues like a whole panel upgrade or even advice on aircraft purchases where specific avionics goals are important.
For this extra time and expertise, I charge an hourly consultant's fee. I don't solicit on the forums and I keep it positive. If pilots want advice between two products that might require me to provide negative info about a product, we do that one on one. FYI, my first airplane ride was in a TriPacer and my first aircraft ownership (in 1971) was a Piper Colt! Mid-Time, nice and clean at $2800! Oh, times have changed. I am very aware that the majority of members of the Short Wing Piper Club are flying simple airplanes on a simple budget. They're trying to keep their aircraft and avionics affordable. I can help with that. If members want to know more about me, they can go to my website: www.Avionixhelp.com or simply start throwing questions my way here on the avionics forum? Thanks for asking! Bob Hart www.AvionixHelp.com

[dsimpson]

High Bob,
Presently I'm restoring my fuselage of my pa 22 tripacer. Want to add a second nav antenna .I have one on belly but want second one on top wing root. Can these antennas be tied together will common lead to radio? I have only one radio(king170b) Its working very well as yet and I have no plans to replace it .
Dan S.

[Flyboy1950]

Hi Dan,
You refer to a second "nav" antenna? Do you mean "comm" antenna? Most aircraft have only one nav antenna and on most aircraft, it is a pair of "cat whiskers" located on top of the vertical stabilizer. When this antenna is used with more than one nav radio, the signal is split using a nav splitter. A second nav antenna is almost never used. Com antennas are different in that they receive and send signals and there must be a separate comm antenna for each com radio. If you have dual comms, it is desirable to have one antenna on top and another on the bottom to minimize interference not only between comms but interference to GPS and transponder. Clarify what your trying to do and I'll try to help? Thanks!
Bob Hart www.AvionixHelp.com

[dsimpson]

Bob,
Sorry I misspoke .Yes I want to add another comm antenna on top of cabin.Only have one on under belly.I have only one radio.king 170b.The reason for asking this question is while on ground my comm radio will not pick up our local tower controlled airport .With only belly antenna I suspect that is the reason why. Towered airport is about 5 miles from where I fly out off. Can I have both antennas going to the one radio? If so I would check with local avionics shop and have another cable made up.
Dan

[Flyboy1950]

Hi Dan,
You cannot attach one radio to two comm antennas and I suspect that location of your antenna is not the issue. Have you had your radio checked"? The KX-170B is considered a low power output radio (5 watts) by today's standards and there are a number of issues that can keep the radio from performing at it's best. Forget the antenna solution. It's not likely the cause of your problem. Have the radio bench checked (first) and then ramp checked if bench output is up to standards. Bench check will tell you how well it is transmitting and receiving. You can have a "weak" transmitter and a weak receiver (separate issues). If the radio is okay, you can have a poor antenna connection (corrosion) or an old antenna cable that is no longer doing the job. Black RG-58 cable was used commonly years ago but proven to fail over time? On a single radio installation, I like the belly antenna because the majority of your transmissions are air to ground which makes the belly antenna as the best option. Good luck.
Bob Hart www.AvionixHelp.com

[pacer44k]

Bob...Are you still monitoring this site? I would like to discuss the installation project that I am currently undertaking.
Thanks!

[Flyboy1950]

Hi Mark,
Yes, I monitor but not as frequently. Frankly, there isn't much going on. Note, I am happy o answer simple questions on the forum but when it get's more involved and aircraft specific, I do have a fee structure. Please go to my website: www.AvionixHelp.com and check me out? can promise you that whatever you invest with me in consultant fees will save you money. I have lots of clients who can testify to that.
Give me an idea what your up to? Thanks! Bob Hart www.AvionixHelp.com