Vor/gs antenna

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Wagondriver

Line Up and Wait
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375Taylor
I am finally making my 180 IFR capable. It has an old vor antenna that probably hasn’t been connected in 40 years, it’s missing the whips. Is an antenna that old with messing with or is a new one “better”?
I can find the whips on eBay, no big deal. But, I don’t want to waste my time if it’s an obsolete antenna.
 
You need to see if it is spec'd for the GS frequencies. If not you'll either need to replace it with a dual function one or add a separate GS antenna. If it was the two "cat's whiskers" design, it probably was good for GS.
 
I had a ‘V’(cat whiskers I guess) antenna where the one rod broke off at the base. I let it go a while, didn’t see any easy way to get another whisker attached securely. During the time of my missing whisker the ILS & VOR were almost inop, unless at extremely short range.

This last annual I asked the shop to replace it, part of the rudder had to be messed with. They put a new V antenna in, works just great again. I almost didn’t need it with an IFR GPS, but wanted to get things working, plus the ILS option.
 
I've always wondered ... Why are the cat's whisker's antenna mounted with the "v" facing forward? It would look much sleeker with the "v" facing aft.
 
Papa Pilot said:
I've always wondered ... Why are the cat's whisker's antenna mounted with the "v" facing forward? It would look much sleeker with the "v" facing aft.
Click to expand...
It probably makes the directionality of the antenna's sensitivity point more forward. It also causes the slip stream to want to bend the antenna wider open than closed.
 
Papa Pilot said:
I've always wondered ... Why are the cat's whisker's antenna mounted with the "v" facing forward? It would look much sleeker with the "v" facing aft.
Click to expand...

Not all are installed in that manner.
 
I've always wondered ... Why are the cat's whisker's antenna mounted with the "v" facing forward? It would look much sleeker with the "v" facing aft.
Click to expand...
They’re not all mounted forward.
Click to expand...

So what's the diff? Can I turn mine around?
 
They look better with the legs pointed backwards. They work better with the legs pointed forward, at least in theory. When I replaced mine a couple of years ago, I turned its legs backwards. Can’t tell any difference in performance.

The coax on the plane in question is almost certainly no good, especially the connector at the antenna end. Often old antennas get replaced connected to 40-year coax and surprise! The new antenna is no better than the old one...
 
Papa Pilot said:
I've always wondered ... Why are the cat's whisker's antenna mounted with the "v" facing forward? It would look much sleeker with the "v" facing aft.
Click to expand...
Cessna did that to distract from the fact that they put the wings in the wrong place.
 
What’s the best antenna to replace the cat whiskers? Is there an antenna that minimizes or eliminates the need for any structure changes? The whiskers are screwed into posts on the vertical stabilizer’s leasing edge fiberglass. The GS frequencies are separated with a larger receiver in the tail (ugh). I was thinking something like a rami AV525 with an included balín, but the installation wouldn’t be straight forward...thoughts welcome!


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Frankly ,I like the look of the "towel bar" style. Aerodynamically, the blade ones are probably the best.
 
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