Where is the ELT Antenna

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gordsh
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Where is the ELT Antenna

Post by gordsh »

Today I was asked by a Transport Canada official to point out the location of my ELT Antenna on my 2010 DA40 XLS and ......well...I could not.

Through a process of elimination I was able to associate the many antennas with COM, ADS-B, TAS and GPS. For the life of me I could not find an antenna for the ELT. I checked the POH but not able to find a location.

Does any one know of an official document that I can produce for this?
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pietromarx
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Re: Where is the ELT Antenna

Post by pietromarx »

It is behind the ring frame per the docs: http://support.diamond-air.at/fileadmin ... lt-406.pdf. Once you see the unit just follow the antenna connector.

This said, I am surprised he wouldn't have known.
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gordsh
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Re: Where is the ELT Antenna

Post by gordsh »

Thanks. I assume when you say "follow the antenna connector" it means that some disassembly of the aircraft is required? We were inspecting the airplane from the outside as a part of a walk around. Also I think you are saying the antenna is a concealed antenna? Not erected on the exterior of the airplane?
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40flyer
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Re: Where is the ELT Antenna

Post by 40flyer »

The antenna for my ELT is inside the airplane next to the ELT under the avionics bay in back.
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Rick
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Re: Where is the ELT Antenna

Post by Rick »

Mine is internal, too. See the attached picture - the red circle in the lower left shows where my antenna is.
Avionics Rack and ELT.jpg
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Rich
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Re: Where is the ELT Antenna

Post by Rich »

I'm curious why they would ask you this particular question. Not that it's not a good thing to know. Did they ask about the other antennae, like GS, VOR/LOC?
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gordsh
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Re: Where is the ELT Antenna

Post by gordsh »

Now it all makes sense.

The antenna is internal to the aircraft unlike all the other antenna that are on the outside.

To make matters worse even from the inside mine is not visible as I have the Cabin Cool Air conditioning installed in the rear baggage compartment and so the rear of my fuselage sealed off from the start of the rear baggage compartment.

I was asked specifically about the ELT antenna and I suspect its because none of the visible antennas looked like they belonged to an ELT.
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pietromarx
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Re: Where is the ELT Antenna

Post by pietromarx »

Ah. That makes sense then. The ELTs for most airplanes I've seen are in the back somewhere (away from stuff that might crumple in a crash). The DA-40 has the ELT behind and under the baggage compartment. The antenna is usually thin as the entire thing is meant to be portable in case you need to take it with you away from the airplane itself. This begs the question of what happens if you want to grab the ELT when you also have the AC installed.
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Re: Where is the ELT Antenna

Post by CFIDave »

FYI, one of the differences between the DA40 vs. DA42/DA62 is the location of the ELT antenna. Because the DA40 is built of fiberglass GFRP (glass fiber reinforced plastic) containing only a few small strips of carbon fiber, it's able to pass radio signals through the fuselage; hence the ELT antenna is located internally to the fuselage.

In contrast, the DA42 and DA62 (including fuselage) are mostly constructed of carbon fiber CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic), which acts as a Faraday cage and blocks RF transmissions. Therefore the DA42 and DA62 require an external ELT antenna located on top of the fuselage, directly aft of the top-mounted VHF antenna.
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Rick
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Re: Where is the ELT Antenna

Post by Rick »

pietromarx wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 7:37 am... The DA-40 has the ELT behind and under the baggage compartment. The antenna is usually thin as the entire thing is meant to be portable in case you need to take it with you away from the airplane itself. This begs the question of what happens if you want to grab the ELT when you also have the AC installed.
Attached to the side of the ELT bracket is also a portable antenna, in case you do want to use the ELT away from the airplane, as you mentioned. It is visible in the picture on the lower right side of the ELT.
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