Category Archives: Wiring

Time: 4 Hours

I started working on the right side console switches today. First thing I did was to apply the label that I had made from engravers.net. Once I had that into position I started adding the switches along with the backing plate I made to keep the anti rotation washers secure.  

    
   I am super happy with how these are turning out. To make things simpler for wiring I decided to wire all the switches I could while these are on the bench. So I started measuring the wire lengths to the various parts. This way I will have the wires done and be able to screw the console in place and fish the wires to their spots.  
 I need to get more wire before I can continue so I moved on to one other task I wanted to finish. If you remember in a previous post I installed the music jack for the passenger. Well after doing some looking followed by some research on the jack itself. What I found out was that this jack needs to be isolated from the metal structure just as the headset jacks. The way I installed it I had contact with the metal structure. So I did some research on washers to isolate it similar to the headset jacks. The issue was that the threaded portion of the jack is pretty short and doesn’t give me the room to add washers. So after some research I found a plastic housed music jack and ordered it. It snaps into a 3/8″ hole and since its plastic thre is no issue with the metal structure.  

    
 The fun part is since I have the wire run I will need to solder this new part while its in the airplane.  

    
 Those little solder tabs are very small and was fun to work with. After the heat shrink was cool I snapped it into place.  

   I’m happy with the look and the fact that it is isolated as it should be. No that I have this wire finished correctly I can now blind river the two side spar caps which will allow me to put the side consoles in place for good. Should be a good weekend of building. 

Time: 2 Hours

I also worked on the pilot headset jacks today. I first figured out exactly where I wanted to put these. My first thought was on the right side as you enter the aircraft from the left and that would keep the cords out of the way. The second was to put them out of they way of anything else. The right gear tower seemed like the best spot to house these. I could have put them on a couple of areas that would have been vertical, meaning the plugs would have been pointing straight down as the were inserted. I didn’t like this as the jacks would be a dust collection problem. We see this in our consoles in the Lear 45’s at work. So I did some measuring and came up with a good placement on the gear tower making sure that there were no items, like wires or brake lines, that were in the way. I then drilled the holes and cleaned them up. Next was to solder the wires on and put them in place.  

    
   Very happy with the location and just ticked all the extra wire with the rest of the intercom bundles that I’ll work on later. 

Time: 2 Hours

One option to with Dynon SV-INTERCOM is to have a mutable 3.5mm music jack. The intercom itself has one built into the face of it and I will use my iPhone on that one. I decided to put one in the back next to the USB charging port for my passenger. This will allow the passenger to play music or any audio like a movie on an iPad in the back. The audio will play through our headsets. The nice feature of the Dynon intercom is that this audio will auto mute when any transmition comes from ATC so you don’t miss a call. This jack is pretty small and has three tabs, L, R and ground. I soldered a three conductor shielded wire to it and ran it all the way to the area where the intercom will be placed.  

    
    
    
    
   Cool little item for those long cross-country flights!

Time: 4 Hours

While I wont actually have the COM radios for some time I certainly can pre wire for them so that installation will be very simple with just connecting a harness to the back of the unit. To start I worked from the back of the aircraft forward as the Dynon COM unit has a single harness that comes out of it and terminates into two items, the actual COM control panel and the intercom panel as well as a power and ground wire. To start I figured the length of wire for each of the runs, the radio and intercom panel will be very close to each other so that run is the same, as well as the ground block and power. Two of the sets of wire are shielded and the rest are not. Once I had all the wires cut and labeled on each end I fished them through the flexible conduit to the back of the tail, this feat was not easy as that conduit is getting crowded.  

 Once I had them run through I pulled enough of it so that I could bring them back out of the fuselage to make it easier to work on.  

 On this end the shield of the two wires does not get terminated so all I had to deal with was the individual wires and putting the pins on them. When I was done with the wires I labeled the bundle and put the back shell on and secured the wires with zip ties.  

 It took 2 hours to get all those wires fished to the back and the harness and complete. I moved onto the left side of the aircraft which will be for COM #1. This side took just as long to get finished. I took a photo of the Dynon schematic for you to see what I use for the pin callouts.  

    
 I ran both the left and right sides up to behind the panel, but won’t finish them until I have the panel cut. I have been working with SteinAir in Minnesota to have my panel layout designed. Once we came up with the final version I sent my panel to them via UPS and they will cut on their C&C machine. I know I could’ve done these cuts but getting all of the panels lined up perfectly square and all the net plate holes drilled is very tough. Since this is an item I will be staring at nonstop I decided just spend the extra money and have them precision cut it. Here’s what the panel will look like when finished.  

  Once I get the panel back I will know exactly where I can run the wires to and finish up the wiring harnesses. Then when I do finally by the electronics I will just be able to screw them in and plug the harnesses in the back and be done.