I am building a SIG Spacewalker II 40 size ARF. My instruction manual says to route the antenna through the fuselage and attach it to the Vertical Stab. I was wondering if there would be any problems in routing the antenna through the length of the fuse and exiting it out the rear of the aircraft in lieu of how they tell you to route it in the instruction manual.

I have a trainer that has the same type of antenna installation and all seems to work fine.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

generally, the only 'rules' to running an antenna are:
-make it [the run] as straight as possible.
-no knots, or folding it back on itself, no bundling it up 'because it's too long'
-don't cut it, or lengthen it
-watch where it hangs out the bottom of teh plane, as the end will get run over by teh tail wheel, and chewed up..
-don't use the little bit 'hanging out teh back' as a tie down / plane restraint
-run it away from magnets and other power systems (can impede the signal)
-run it outside the plane if teh plane is covered with a metalized polyester film
-make sure it dosen't bind / interfere with any of teh controls
-watch metal on metal connections / contact points, as they can vibrate and create a small amount of RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) [tighten all screws!]
-don't tie a hook on teh end, and try 'carrier landings..'

So, as long as it is a straight run, dosen't interfere with the controls, and will not be caught under the tail wheel, you should have no problems!

I run a length of plastic pushrod tubing through the fuselage and feed the antenna through it. Stays put and out of harm's way. Never any range or glitch issues.

ooh, that's an expensive option KD. Get a few drinking straws from McDonalds and just push one into another to join them together. Much cheaper.

And lighter!!

Cheers!

Jim

Local hobby shop carries a tube just for antennae use. Its 80 cents. (cheaper than the pushrod tube... not as cheap as McDonald's straws... but its one piece and the right dia) This long tube can be allowed to extend on out the back of the plane to prevent scraping the antenna insulation off on the paved runway.

With as many reviews as I do, I'm constantly pulling a radio out of one plane to put it in another. One trick I use is to tie one end of the antenna to a long scrap stick with a rubber band. Two or three twists of the stick keeps the antenna from flopping around. Then just slide the stick down through the fuse. Don't have a long enough stick? CA two or three together. Once it is in place, tack glue it to a fuse former and you're good to go. Need it in another plane? Break it loose, and pull it out.

The plastic coffee stirrers work great too and they are smaller and lighter
Just be sure when sliding together to start and finish in the same direction the antenna wire is going to be pushed thru.
Overlapping joints in the straws(stirrers) tend to keep the wiring in a bunch and not as easy to pass thru. Been using this method for years, hope Mc D's and B' King dont mind there supplys flying in my plane. LOL



Pete

i just installed my reciever in the pilot christen eagle 2 and i put the reciever on the plane wall inside made a hole through the back of the canopy and ran it to the tail.... holding there with tail clip... works great....

Yeah, but I have a 30 year collection of bits and pieces of the stuff, and figure it has pretty well amortized out. Plus, I don't use the stuff for pushrods anymore. Can't stand Mac's, either.

Anyone got pics?

I had what I think was an antenna tube in a Cub that I bought used. It was just large enough for the diameter of the antenna and I could only insert about 18-24 inches of antenna before it would bind and go no further. I was left with another foot or so of antenna that I kind of routed loosely through the cabin near the rx.

here is a pic of the way i did my antenna ...

I just install an antenna on every plane. Usually, the antenna is attached permanently (taped) to the underside and trailing edge of the wing. When flying the plane, install the rcvr, plug in the antenna, and voila'.
For antenna wire I use any thin, very light weight wire(e.g., magnet wire) the exact same length as the original antenna wire. For "inter-connects", I use the male/female pair of gold pin connectors that are normally used for computer serial port (e.g., DB25) connectors.
Just snip your original antenna at some convenient short length from the rcvr, crimp or solder on the pin connector, put mating connector on length of wire, connect, and cut resulting length to original antenna length.

push a fishing line through first, and then hit the end of the fishing line with a drop of CA and hold it up to the end of the antenna. now just pull the line back, works great and is amazing how much easier it is!

I just take a 1/8 sq pice of balsa tape the antenna to the end, then in a couple of places down the length then run it into the fuse and tape down the front end works fine and dosen't weigh squat.

Keep Flyin
Dale