|
Electrical
|
| |
|
| |
|
 |
Here my battery
box, Mark I. It would work fine except the motor mount for the Jabiru 3300
has a bar across the top that would block the battery from sliding in and
out of the box. The battery is from McMaster-Carr
part # 7448K51, $60. It is an 18.0 amp-hour, sealed lead acid battery.
12/15/00 |
 |
Here is my battery
box, Mark II. Tony gave me this idea to use hinges to make the front of
the box removable so that the battery can slide out the front rather than
the top. I used flush rivets installed from the inside to attach the hinges.
12/15/00 |
 |
Check the measurements
of the battery carefully. I found that the bottom of the battery is slightly
narrower than the top. So I made my box narrower accordingly. 12/15/00 |
 |
Perfect fit. I secured
the hinge pins with cotter pins so that they would not inadvertently come
loose in flight. 12/15/00 |
 |
Rather than breaker
I chose to go with fuses which are a lot cheaper. I was running out of
panel space so I am mounting the fuses on the side wall. This is the box
I built around the fuses. 6/10/01 |
 |
Here you can see
the fuse busses I am using, one 10 slot for the main buss and one six slot
for the avionics buss. You just make one connection to the bolt on top
to power all the fuses on that buss. I got these from AeroElectronic.
They have a lot of good products and a lot of good information on their
site. 6/10/01 |
 |
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
is home to Rockwell Collins. They manufacture the avionics that go into
much of the worlds business jet fleet and they have an asset disposal store
where they sell excess inventory. Must of the stuff is old junk office
equipment but they also have a bin of aviation quality wire. I was able
to get all the wire I need for my Sonex (actually enough for 30 planes)
for about $8. If you are ever headed through Cedar Rapids it is worth a
stop. 6/10/01 |
 |
To save amps I am
using this LED flood light RVR
300A. It only uses 0.04 amps and lights up the entire panel from this
position. I wish someone would come out with LED nav lights 6/10/01 |
 |
Here I am beginning
to wire up my panel. It is a good idea to have a schematic worked out before
you start stringing wires. I got help on my schematic from the Sonex Builders
List and from my Tech Counselors. 6/10/01 |
 |
The terminals I
am using are the AMP
style which grab the wire as well as the insulation. The terminals
you find in auto parts stores only crimp onto the wire and can weaken the
wire over time. Also it is best to use a ratchet style crimp tool to insure
the connection is crimped properly. I used the RTC-1
crimp tool. 6/10/01 |
 |
Here you can see
how I am wiring up my fuse box. i will replace the hand written labels
labels with printed labels once everything is worked out. 6/10/01 |
 |
After Tony had cold
weather problems with the PowerSonic battery and switched over to a Odyssey
battery, I decided to also go with the Odyssey PC680MJ battery.
I thought this model would be the same size as the PowerSonic and fit in
the same box. The Odyssey battery came with a metal jacket. I used a piece
of scrap metal to slide between the jacket and the battery to cut the glue
that was holding them together. 7/23/01 |
 |
Once free of the
jacket I was able to slide it into the same box I made for the PowerSonic
battery. The Odyssey battery is supposed to have much better cold cranking
ability. I guess I will find out this winter. 7/23/01 |
 |
Here I am installing
the terminals for the flap switch. This gives you a good look at the Amp
style connectors and how they are double crimped. Once to hold the wire
and the other to hold the wire insulation. These "Fast-on" terminals are
great and make a very secure connection. It takes quite a force to pull
them off. 7/23/01 |
 |
Here you can see
the ring terminals I used on the starter switch. 7/23/01 |
 |
Here is a close
up of the crimp tool I used for my terminals. It is a nice tool to use.
It is well worth borrowing one if you don't want to pay the $40 for it.
7/23/01 |
 |
Even for a metal
airplane it is recommended to have a single ground point. I used the Aeroelectric
ground block. 7/23/01 |
 |
To keep wires from
getting tangled and chafing, I used a spiral wrap. I also used white rubber
boots to protect terminals from shorts. 7/23/01 |
 |
I decided to put
an ammeter on both my main buss feed line as well as my alternator feed
line. This way I can check both the alternator output as well as the battery
output. But rather than two ammeters I am using two shunts and a DPDT switch
to feed just one ammeter. 7/23/01 |
 |
I am using the Aeroelectric
Dimmer Module # DIMM5-14
to adjust the brightness of the panel lights. I am connecting in my transponder,
EIS and Microair. My GPS and MicroEncoder have there own built-in
dimmers. 7/23/01 |
 |
I spent a long time
working out my electrical system. I am on my 8th
revision but it has been worth the work. Here is a picture of the main
part of the electrical system with call-outs. 7/23/01 |
 |
The Microair radio
presents it own wiring problems. Many wires have to be combined to connect
to just one pin. I used a DB25 connector to bring all the wires to a single
point and then on the mating DB25 I jumpered the wires that needed to be
common and then ran the common wires to the DB15 connector on the back
of the radio. Here is my wiring diagram. I am
hoping to build a stereo
audio mixer for my install so I will be able to just disconnect the
two DB25s and insert the mixer between the two later. 7/23/01 |
 |
I built a shelf
for my ELT that connects to the fuselage side, floor and the rear spar
cross-tie. It should be secure in case of a crash. The AMERI-KING AK-450
ELT uses standard Duracell D-cell batteries and has a remote control that
you mount on the panel. 7/23/01 |
 |
I mounted my antennas
(antennae?) on the turtle deck. The forward one is for the com and the
rear one is for the ELT. I figured that in the event of a rollover crash
the ELT antenna would be protected by the fin. 7/23/01 |
 |
Here is my transponder
antenna mounted below the fuselage. 7/23/01 |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
 CAUTION:
This web site is in no way a publication of Sonex, Ltd. or any other corporation.
All products mentioned are not necessarily recommended for use, but are
included for informational purposes only. Builders tips and instructions
are not meant to replace the plans and instructions from Sonex, Ltd.. All
Builder's tips and instructions are presented only as a source of information
and a forum for exchange and the sharing of ideas and construction methods.
NO responsibility or liability is assumed, expressed, or implied as to
the suitability, accuracy, safety, or approval thereof. Any party using
the suggestions, ideas, instructions or examples on these pages, does so
at their own risk and discretion and without recourse against anyone. |
|
|
|
All content Copyright
© 1999-2000 David Koelzer.
All rights reserved. |
|
Sonextm
is a registered trademark of Sonex
Ltd. |
|
Webspace provided by MurkWorks
Incorporated |
