I was told to tin the bare wire that is inserted into the solder sleeves because they don't have much solder inside. Doing this gave me a good bond every time.
I was told to tin the bare wire that is inserted into the solder sleeves because they don't have much solder inside. Doing this gave me a good bond every time.
Phil Nelson
A&P-IA, Maintenance Instructor
KF 5 Outback, Cont. IO-240
Flying since 2016
That's an excellent idea Phil. Wish I had thought of it at the first connection.
Carl Strange
Flying
SS7, 912iS, Oratex, G3X
Hi all,
new member here, seriously considering a build. As I research the kit, I wonder what a minimum build shed ceiling height should be; I have a large heated basement, but with a ceiling height of only 90 in ... would appreciate any thoughts on whether this would fit ..
Thanks!
Alex
If it’s a tail dragger, you’ll be fine. The plane is only 7 feet tall. On tricycle, it’s closer to 9’. Plus you could wait til the very end to put gear ob
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Josh Esser
Flying SS7
Rotax 914iS
AirMaster Prop
Edmonton, AB, CWL3
Hi Alex,
The "Shed" was necessary to clear out my crowded garage before starting the build.
Here is a recent thread started by someone asking about space requirements and tools that are helpful during the build.
http://www.teamkitfox.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=8302
Carl Strange
Flying
SS7, 912iS, Oratex, G3X
Still working on the plane almost daily. I'm installing the avionics and other electrical, and it's just not that interesting to post, "Completed CAN Bus from Engine Monitor to Servos". Not to mention how boring the pictures would be.
Yesterday was the first "power on" of the avionics and I'm happy to report all of the smoke stayed inside the units were it belongs. The G3X displayed a friendly "Garmin" for a few seconds then switched to a screen with lots of ugly X's sprinkled around the display. A loose interpretation is, "Kid, you've really got to print and start reading those 200 pages of configuration information from the manual to do anything useful with these new toys."
My CAN Bus wiring is the required point to point but somewhere along the way there is a wrong pin assignment or something. Plugging in the final unit in the chain, the Magnetometer, corrupts the Bus Data. Same at the other extreme of the Bus. Plugging in the final Engine Monitor corrupts the Bus Data. See, I said posts about electrical wiring would be boring! I have some head scratching to do and will call on the fine folks at SteinAir for advice. Stein, Chris the head Technician, and others in the company have been very helpful and know the Garmin equipment inside out. So helpful in fact, that when I called to report I'd powered up the system with no smoke, Chris offered to send me some. He says they make smoke from time to time but it's difficult to ship and very expensive.
The large black area on the right side of the panel will have a 10" iPad on a RAM mount. The jumble of wires are all measured to length and will be cleaned up into neat bundles once the wiring is complete.
Carl Strange
Flying
SS7, 912iS, Oratex, G3X
Congrats Carl. That is a big day when you get to turn on the avionics for the first time. I remember it clearly. Keeping the smoke in makes it a really great day.
Configuration does take some time, but it isn't that hard with the G3X. Doing the compass swing was so easy, I've never done one so quickly.
Phil Nelson
A&P-IA, Maintenance Instructor
KF 5 Outback, Cont. IO-240
Flying since 2016
Congrats Carl. Big step. I'll be delving into that early next year after this paint.
Saving the best for last
Does the Garmin CAN bus have a resistor at each end and are yours present, if required? I was just thinking that the MGL harnesses have a 120 Ohm resistor at the start and end and it's just strange that it is your first and last units causing a problem.Plugging in the final unit in the chain, the Magnetometer, corrupts the Bus Data. Same at the other extreme of the Bus. Plugging in the final Engine Monitor corrupts the Bus Data.
I've attached a diagram of my system to both bore people and illustrate what I mean about the positioning of the resistors. You can see one near the SP6 Magnetometer and one near the RDAC.
Exciting time Carl .... doing the electrics. Congratulations on making great progress. Routing the wires and bundling them together I guess takes a bit of head scratching. Go well.
David
SS7 Builder