My ADS-B antenna fell out

[CGameProgrammer]

A few months ago when my finished aircraft was being taxied from the shop to the hangar, the transponder antenna rod fell out and got lost so we replaced it with a $30 TED antenna from Aircraft Spruce.

Well a few days ago I was pre-flighting and gave the ADS-B antenna a nudge and it was very loose and just slid out of its mount. The bolt/nut are securely mounted to the fuselage, the BNC connector is fine and connected, but the actual antenna rod simply slid out. I spoke with my aircraft kit manufacturer and he suspects it was not crimped properly by the manufacturer.

I sent Dynon an e-mail about this though I haven't received a reply but maybe they had a batch (or multiple batches) of extremely poorly crimped antennas and that might contribute to some of the ADS-B problems people have?

AS is sold out of TED ADS-B antennas at the moment so I've had to go without, but TIS still works, somehow, which is nice.

 

[Raymo]

You can use the ACS transponder antenna as an ADS-B antenna as well. Also check out Delta Pop antennas. A little pricier but more aerodynamic. A round antenna is about as draggy as it gets.

 

[CGameProgrammer]

Are you sure? It says the transponder antenna frequency range is 1030-1090 MHz and ADS-B In is 978 MHz.

 

[dynonsupport]

ADS-B is both 978 and 1090. Neither a 978MHz or 1090MHz antenna is perfect, but the frequencies are so close that either generally works fine. Simple antennas like a "stick" transponder antenna don't suddenly just not work at 1029 MHz.

 

[CGameProgrammer]

But I have the 470 which I thought was UAT only? I understand what you mean; the antenna is basically just a metal stick sort of, but they make a UAT-specific antenna which is different than their standard transponder antenna so I had assumed it was the one that is needed for ADS-B in.

 

[swatson999]

But I have the 470 which I thought was UAT only? I understand what you mean; the antenna is basically just a metal stick sort of, but they make a UAT-specific antenna which is different than their standard transponder antenna so I had assumed it was the one that is needed for ADS-B in.

Do they charge more for it?

 

[CGameProgrammer]

They charge $1 more. But I just found this thread where people report using the regular antenna for ADS-B in with success so I'll just do that. But I wonder if anyone else has had loose antennas?

 

[jakej]

Sometimes people bump the antenna while washing their aircraft (the dipole type can be very brittle/fragile), I replaced 2 of them on one aircraft before the customer relented & bought a blade type - its more expensive, has less drag (surprisingly, to some people) & is electrically more efficient. Antennas like the CI-105 (Comant) are the only ones i now use for external applications.

 

[GalinHdz]

But I have the 470 which I thought was UAT only? I understand what you mean; the antenna is basically just a metal stick sort of, but they make a UAT-specific antenna which is different than their standard transponder antenna so I had assumed it was the one that is needed for ADS-B in.

More marketing involved than engineering. In most installations you won't notice any difference in performance, except to your pocketbook.