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SkyyHunter 406 Q&A from Pointer Avionics Staff

just installed an ack 406 elt in my J3C - got a $60 Garmin GPS that is waas enabled. You don't need an all-inclusive elt - they are too expensive and no more reliable

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Soy, what antenna configuration did you go with on the ACK 406 in your J3? And is your comm radio situation sorted out now? Steve and Kirby, nice install in the Supercub.

Thanks. cubscout
 
ack unit came with an antenna - I mounted it in the same spot as my old elt antenna - a hole in the wing root fairing - but since the antenna doesn't need a ground plane I don't have any of the issues as my comm antenna

for comm- I went with the advanced aviation electronics dipole antenna - no ground plane no problems. Still not happy with handheld radio so it's just a temporary antenna - but working well for now - so makin' due

dropped a lot of coin in the j3 - new struts, new elt, new 29" airstreaks, and a new wing tank - trying to get her all ready for missouri breaks in a few weeks - I want to upgrade the radio to a proper mgl - but that'll have to wait for another day or a bigger bubble in the stock market

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Ursa Major said:
Thanks Stewart. The confusing part for me was the annual test provision under 91.207 (d) (4) " the presence of a sufficient signal radiated from its antenna" I wasn't aware that the self test function of these two ELTs covered this requirement - good to know. One of my local IAs was interpreting this to mean it had to undergo an instrumented test at an avionics shop.
Click to expand...

A friend read this thread and texted me to remind me that the self test does satisfy the electronic tests but that hands-on inspection is still required, like to check for corrosion, G switch operation, etc. He knows a lot more about these gadgets than I do so I appreciate the correction.
 
Bluebear said:
Steve, You mention that you think the prewired unit is the way to go. Are you referring to a prewired remote switch? I don't see this as an option anyplace. Is one on the market?
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Yes, they offer a pre-wired remote but I believe it has 25 feet of cable and is $150 more. Talking with Scott Roth at Skyhunter a few weeks ago and he said they are looking to make up a Super Cub kit, pre-wired with less wire. Now that I have figured out the wire size and a vendor along with the nuances I feel comfortable making up the harness.
 
Darrel Starr said:
I have the $550 ACK unit. Connected it to my Garmin 496. Made a test line with an LED & switch to easily check the ELT/GPS connection. All pretty straight forward. Can't think of a reason to spend more on some other unit.
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Darrell, I made the test tool with the resistor and LED as well. I followed the ACK instructions and couldn't get the light to come on. Finally found the instructions I posted on the Van's website and bingo, my light came on. Did you have any issues with setting up the GPS? I seem to always have a learning curve the first time around.
 
OLDCROWE said:
Steve's pictures looked stellar, seeing they are of the rebirth my cub I think I'll chime in.


With the research Steve provided I made the choice for the fully self contained GPS equipped 406 which cost about as much as a 100LL fill up more than the alternate external GPS interfaced units and I'm glad I did (well other than the wire size BS). Specifically, I chose the all internal unit as my plan is to move my 'GPSde'jour' between aircraft and there will be times I'm certain that I'll get a wild hair and risked the wings bursting into flames because I went for a fly (with, the sum of all fears, no-WAAS GPS) on a summers jaunt and ventured too near the sun...


Oh and after seeing the antenna install on anouther at Steve's, I could think of no other antenna install I wanted, oh and the wing root location of arming thingie that was my brilliant idea for 604.


Think I'll order the same unit for the 180 but with the tin-skin may have to evaluate the antenna location.


Nice install Steve,


Kirby
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Thanks Kirby. Another advantage I think is the ability, if needed, to leave the scene with the unit still able to send out the GPS data. God forbid any of us should ever have to use these but it is nice to know that we have them if needed.
 
Steve Pierce said:
Darrell, I made the test tool with the resistor and LED as well. I followed the ACK instructions and couldn't get the light to come on. Finally found the instructions I posted on the Van's website and bingo, my light came on. Did you have any issues with setting up the GPS? I seem to always have a learning curve the first time around.
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Steve - I'm having the same problem. I've verified the wiring and the LED function multiple times. Can you point me to the Van's website? Was there a particular variation from the ACK instructions?
 
SkyHunter 406 company contact

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for allowing me to join the site. My name is Scott Roth and I work for Pointer Avionics and the SkyHunter 406 ELT. I've been talking with Steve over the last few weeks and would like to make myself available for any questions about the SkyHunter 406. I'm located in Oregon and taking care of all sales and service issues in the U.S. Please let me know if have any questions.

Scott
 
Welcome. I'd appreciate some discussion about the reliability of your internal GPS. Does it work equally well whether in a Cub, a Lancair, or under the cargo floor of a DC-3? Are there any limitations based on installation?

thanks for participating. Good luck with what appears to be a good product.
 
I too followed the instructions & set up the Garmin 496 as described in the Van's website. At first the light would not come on because I tried to test it using the GPS internal battery. But the GPS/ELT connection line gets aircraft power. So once I flipped the master switch all worked well. The troubling part is that if you shut the master off before crashing, the GPS signal is lost. Best to flip the ELT switch on before crashing by about a minute.
 
The ELT is not dependent on aircraft power. I believe Darrell is addressing the potential for an external GPS to be powered off. In that case the last GPS position would stay in the ELT memory and would be broadcast in the ELT beacon. The position may be up a few seconds from current but it should serve the purpose of directing a rescue just fine.
 
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Right, I was talking about the GPS/ELT connection. There is no position upload (as I understand it) until the G switch or manually activated switch starts things happening.
 
The internal GPS/antenna is sufficient in a fabric or fiberglass air frames. For metal for carbon fiber aircraft, the install will require an external antenna for the internal GPS. We have three separate options, a cockpit mounted GPS antenna, an external mounted GPS antenna or a combination 406/121.5/GPS high velocity rod antenna that is rated to 600 knots.
Scott
 
Here is my installation:
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Switch added to LED & 300 Ohm resister for convenient test:
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This is the way I tested the installation to comply with the force & deflection requirements, I pulled the baggage compartment floorboard out and tested the installation on a table:
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The antennae mount also has to be pulled to verify its strength:
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Not sure if anyone will look at this thread, it's been a while since anyone posted anything. Regardless, here's some info for those of you who have a Skyhunter 406 from Pointer Avionics. That company has basically gone out of business. Over the last two months I've tried getting in contact with anyone from Pointer; about two months ago I received an email from a "Bruce" (who it turns out to be the President of Pointer) on a technical question and that took me almost two weeks to get an answer. Most recently my plane was in for it's annual and I needed a new battery for my 406, neither my AME or I could get a hold of anyone through email or voicemail. I finally managed to track down the President, Bruce, through one of his other companies (Clarion Drone Academy based out of Ontario) and talk with him (April 26/2016). He has basically shut the doors on Pointer. He says he can't compete with some of the cheaper ELT's being made out there (using non FAA/Transport Canada approved parts according to him) and possibly being manufactured, or parts of them, overseas. I understand that. However, I told him that it would be nice if he put something up on his website explaining what is going on so people like myself, who have supported his product, are not having their plane(s) sit on the ground for weeks trying to find parts/technical help etc. He apologized for that and said he would post something on his website and potentially try to get a third party to handle any technical issues or parts requests. Hope this helps.
 
I was able to get a battery through Avmax Group/Aviation in Calgary, Alberta. It took my AME and avionics guys about 1 1/2 weeks to track one down. I tried a few distributors with no luck. I spoke to someone at Aircraft Spruce and they too had been trying to get in touch with someone at Pointer.
 
Yeah, not great. My 406 is only 2 years old. I wish I would have talked to the owner before I ordered this battery. Had I known the doors were shut I would have put my battery money ($340USD) towards a new ELT.
 
Got a call yesterday from Dave Tunge with a little info on the battery for the SkyHunter ELT. Did a little research myself and found no alternative. So they are selling batteries for $350 plus they have to reset the internal clock for the unit to work for $94.50. Cost about $40 to ship to Canada and another $37 for return shipping. That is $521.50 every 5 years if they are still in business 5 years from now. A new ACK E-04 which you can install a GPS puck on is $542 retail and a 5 year replacement battery is $157. Emerging Lifesaving Technologies with internal GPS and self testing are just under $1K.
 
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