Becoming Acquainted With The ACK E-04 ELT – The Hard Way

Up until today the ACK Industries E-04 ELT (emergency locater transmitter) has remained in its box so thought now would be as good as any to think about installing it in the cockpit. The long box containing the E-04 ELT and its supporting hardware was located and opened in order to become better acquainted with the goodies inside. After reviewing the instillation instructions (both ACK and Van’s) and fondling the hardware a bit, it quickly became apparent much to my surprise “BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED”. Well that is not entirely true, the E-04 ELT comes with a large specialized battery pack already attached … but there are two support items (the remote control panel indicator and the audio alert indicator) that much to my dismay, require batteries. Of course, they could be an easy to find standard C, AA, AAA, transistor radio battery, etc. …but nope, you have to hunt for these babies. The remote control panel indicator uses a Duracell PX28L 6 volt Lithium battery, or equivalent. The audio alert panel uses a Duracell CR-2, 3 volt or equivalent battery.


Before continuing with the instillation, I wanted to test everything first … so the search was on for the batteries. My first choice would have been Radio Shack but the local store has closed, so began wasting time driving around to various stores without much luck. Then a thought occurred, I may have seen these types of batteries used in photography equipment … so headed to a camera shop and sure enough, they had both batteries, just not in the Duracell brand.

The orange ACK-E04 ELT in the background comes with a battery attached to the unit by four screws … but the dreaded phrase “BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED” applies to the audio alert indicator and remote control panel in the foreground.


With the necessary batteries in hand, the screws were removed from the remote control panel  indicator and audio alert panel allowing the plastic cases to be split open to gain access for installing the batteries.

The remote control panel indicator with battery installed is on the left and the audio alert panel with battery installed is on the right. The dark blue band on the right edge of both batteries denotes the positive end of the batteries.


The finishing kit came with a long modular phone cord. Its purpose is to interface the remote control panel indicator on the instrument panel to the audio alert panel mounted alongside the ACK E-04 ELT. Van’s instructions would have the builder use a modular phone cord coupler on the end of the long phone cord to interface with a short phone cord that then plugs into the audio alert panel. This setup is a little kludgy for my liking and there is no real reason that the modular cord can’t be connected directly to the audio alert panel …. other than it won’t work. Plugging the cables together in such a fashion will cause the red LED light in the remote control indicator to flash continuously … which indicates the wiring is not correct. This is because the wiring for the modular cable needs to be straight between the two devices. One solution is to flip the modular connector plug on the phone cord. Because access is easier at the instrument panel end of the phone cord, the modular connector was cut off and the replacement modular connector was flipped 180 degrees then crimped onto the wires. My modular crimping tool was at the southern outpost, so Mike and Glen loaned me the one they use at their job sites.

Using the modular plug crimping tool Mike and Glen loaned me to install a new modular connector onto the end of the phone cord. The new modular connector was flipped 180 degrees on the cord and crimped. This will convert the phone cord to a straight cable allowing the phone cord to be plugged directly to the audio alert panel without needing the kludgy modular cord coupler and patch cord.


After installing the new modular connector on the phone cord, an ohm meter was used to buzz out the cord to make sure all four wires have continuity … all was well. Now with the phone cord plugged directly into the audio alert panel at one end and the remote control indicator at the other, the red LED light on the remote control indicator was not flashing … a good sign! Wanting to do a quick check of the ELT, everything was wired together and the antenna attached … waited until the top of the hour to arm the ELT and ran the self-test by pressing the reset button on the remote control indicator. All indications were as described in the ELT instillation manual. Unfortunately, I did not have a handheld radio with me so could not tell if the ELT actually transmitted a one second burst … so will need to take the handheld to the airport to verify that the unit is actually transmitting.

Performing a self-test on the ACK E-04 ELT. The unit was armed with my left hand and the reset button on the remote control panel indicator in my right hand was pressed to initiate the test. Received one flash on the LED and heard sound from the audio alert panel. All indications were per the instructions.


At this point in time, I don’t foresee any issues with eliminating the modular coupler and modular patch cord as has been done by reversing the modular plug on the phone cord and connecting the phone cable directly to the audio alert panel. If there is, I’ll return from the future and edit this post accordingly … but for the time being it appears to be smooth sailing in ELT land after learning the hard way “batteries not included”.

Completing Move Of Oil Pressure Sender To Firewall – Well Almost

The changeover to Aircraft Specialty’s remote oil pressure sender kit has finally been completed (well almost). Covered in a previous post on January 31, 2016, measurements were taken so Aircraft Specialty could make a custom remote oil sender hose for the DOG Aviation RV-12 utilizing a different fitting and length than the one they would normally supply in their retrofit kit. The reason for this, as mentioned in the earlier post, is because a special mounting bracket was fabricated so both the oil and fuel pressure sending units could be mounted on the RV-12’s firewall. Vinyl tubing was used to make the measurements and the information was passed on to Steve at Aircraft Specialty … three days later, DOG Aviation’s receiving department took delivery of a custom, quality built, conductive Teflon hose in fire sleeve. Have to say the customer service from Steve and follow-up has been nothing less than outstanding for each of the five kits that have been purchased from Aircraft Specialty for the DOG Aviation RV-12 … Teflon brake line kit, Teflon Fuel line kit, Teflon remote oil pressure sender kit and the totally slick canopy locking system.

The custom made hose from Aircraft Specialty is a different length and has a 90 degree fitting where a straight fitting would normally have been on their stock hose.


There are two mounting options possible with the hose I ordered … depending on the final location for the voltage regulator. If the German built Silent Hektik  voltage regulator is mounted using the same mounting location on the firewall shelf as the Ducati regulator, the remote oil sender hose can be routed across the top of the Rotax engine, under the engine mount and then sweep over to the oil pressure sending unit on the firewall. This arrangement still allows for a cooling cap to be installed over the regulator so it can be blasted with cool air.

The hose for the remote oil pressure sending unit configured for a voltage regulator mounted on the firewall shelf. Because the regulator sits directly under the oil pressure sending unit, with the hose paralleling the firewall, there is plenty of room for the blast cooling tube used to cool the regulator to pass in front of the oil pressure sending unit.


The other option available which is likely better (especially for those who have followed Van’s latest mounting instructions to move the voltage regulator under the instrument panel shelf) is to run the hose for the remote oil pressure sender following the same path as the hose for the fuel pressure sending unit. The hose length I chose will work for this route, but ideally could be an inch or two longer.

Hose for the remote oil pressure sending unit routed along the same path as the hose to the fuel pressure sending unit. This may be a preferred solution if the voltage regulator is not directly under the oil pressure sending unit..


At this point in time, the final decision has not yet been made on where the voltage regulator will be located, so the engine end of the remote hose will be tightened ... but the fitting on the sending unit will remain loose until a final decision has been made regarding the location of the voltage regulator which will dictate which way this hose will need to be routed.

The Aircraft Specialty conductive Teflon hose for the remote oil pressure sending unit is connected to the adapter/restrictor installed on the Rotax engine.

More Wiring Installed & ADS-B Mounting Interference Adressed

The WH-00020 wiring harness has a lot going on … in that, it has a multitude of various connectors spreading out from AV-50000A control module. One connector attaches directly to the AV-50000A control module and from there the wiring branches out … there are two connectors going to the Dynon EMS-220, a connector for the backup battery pack, two connectors that will plug into the back of the Dynon SkyView display and a panel mount USB connector. The USB connector will be used by the SkyView for receiving software updates, saving user preferences, data dumps of system parameters (these can be converted into graphs for analysis) and saving SkyView screen shots to name a few.

The many tentacles of the WH-00020 wiring harness.

Attaching the second of two connectors on the WH-00020 wire harness that connect to the EMS-220 module.

When attempting to install the panel mount USB connector ran into a small issue in that the connector fit was so tight it would not slide into the slot in the instrument panel base. This was remedied with a few strokes of a jeweler’s file on both the panel base and the connector’s plastic housing.

Installing the panel mount USB connector onto the rectangular cutout in the instrument panel base.

At this point in the work session, decided to switch gears and check something that has been on my mind for a very long time … possible interference between the ADS-B receiver and the backup airspeed indicator. Based on the drawings, have known there would likely be an interference issue with the backup airspeed indicator … this is because the ADS-B 470 receiver’s mounting brackets mount the ADS-B module directly above the Garmin GTR 200 radio. When choosing the position for the airspeed indicator a slightly higher mounting position was considered and could have been chosen … which, in all likelihood, probably would have alleviated the close fit. However, for panel symmetry and visual appeal, opted to mount the backup airspeed on the centerline of the AP and knobs panels … doing otherwise would have bugged me FOREVER. Figured if need be, the ADS-B module’s mounting position can be altered or relocated altogether.


So yesterday my curiosity finally got the best of me and time was spent on loosely mounting the Garmin GTR 200 radio’s mounting tray onto the instrument stack angles and com support brackets along with attaching the mounting brackets for the Dynon ADS-B 470 receiver.

Loosely installing the Garmin GTR 200 mounting tray onto the right instrument stack angle.

After the Garmin GTR 200 mounting tray was positioned, the mounting brackets for the Dynon ADS-B 470 were set in place … each of the ADS-B mounting brackets share two mounting holes with the Garmin GTR 200's mounting tray. With the Dynon ADS-B 470 receiver placed on the brackets and clamped in place, the backup airspeed indicator was held in its approximate position and although the airspeed indicator’s body barely clears the case of the ADS-B module there may be an interference issue when the pitot and static air fittings are installed. Because the instrument panel pieces are not back from the powder coater yet, getting an exact fit is not possible at the moment … but it appears there likely will be some tweaking necessary.

It appears to be a fit that is too close to call without the instrument panel to set the exact position of the airspeed indicator. But by all indications, the tubing fittings that need to be screwed into the back of the instrument may create an interference issue.


Quite a bit of time was spent on figuring out ways to create more room without totally relocating the unit. It is hard to see in the above photo but the ADS-B module could be slid forward up to about an inch before the antenna connector would begin interfering with the transponder case (which is barely out of view) so that is one possibility that would likely work if just a small amount of clearance is needed. Another thought that I kicked around was to mount the ADS-B module upside down which would instantly gain 5/8" of clearance as can be seen in the photo below.

Mounting the ADS-B module upside down would require making some standoffs … but as can be seen in this photo, it would create approximately 5/8" of clearance … creating more than enough room for the two fittings on the back of the airspeed indicator. The Dynon instillation manual says the ADS-B module can be mounted in ANY convenient location … so an inverted mounting should not be an issue.


The verdict is still out until the instrument panel pieces return from powder coating enabling the airspeed indicator to be mounted so exact measurements can be made. If a tiny amount of clearance is needed, will likely just slide the ADS-B module a little forward by slotting or drilling new mounting holes. If a significant amount of clearance is needed, mounting the ADS-B module upside down and making standoffs to keep the unit barely off the radio’s mounting tray appears to be a viable option. Fortunately, mounting options are available without needing to completely relocate the ADS-B module.

Installing More Dynon Goodies GPS-2020 & 261 Transponder

Late last summer Dynon announced they were coming out with a new WAAS enabled GPS receiver to be called the SkyView GPS-2020 with an expected product launch in the late fall … that date slipped to mid-January. At that time DOG Aviation was placed on a notification list and received a notification the new GPS-2020 units were available. Because the GPS-250 GPS that came with the avionics package from Van’s was not installed and never taken out of the box, Dynon gave some credit towards the new GPS-2020 when the GPS-250 was returned to Dynon.


The new GPS-2020 is built to meet the more stringent requirements the FAA is mandating beginning in 2020 for all aircraft flying in controlled airspace to be equipped with ADS-B out. The new Dynon GPS-2020 WAAS GPS receiver utilizes documented design data and has the integrity checking necessary to prove it meets the FAA’s 2020 stringent performance requirements the FAA has imposed on WAAS GPS receivers that will interface with a transponder to generate the required ADS-B out position broadcast.


DOG Aviation’s receiving department took delivery of the Dynon SkyView GPS-2020 towards the end of January and decided now would be as good a time as any to install the unit. Fortunately, the new GPS-2020 receiver has the exact same footprint and mounting hole spacing as the GPS-250 unit, so the mounting holes aligned perfectly with the four dimpled holes in the F-1201Z mounting plate.

The new 2020 compliant Dynon SkyView GPS-2020 receiver and antenna will be mounted onto the existing F-1201Z mounting plate (in the background) using the same mounting hardware the GPS-250 unit would have utilized.


Prior to mounting the GPS-2020 onto the F-1201R antenna shelf, decided now would be a good time to install the two Adel clamps that are used to create a wiring support for the GPS-2020 wires and many others yet to come. One Adel clamp attaches onto the WD-1221 engine mount standoff and becomes the attachment point for a second Adel clamp that will actually support the wires. Those that have worked with Adel clamps can appreciate how difficult it can be at times get a bolt inserted into them … and especially when they are doubled up, as in this instance. It was time to break out the Adel clamp pliers. The Adel clamp pliers have two long bills with slots in them and are squeezed over the Adel clamps to compress them so a bolt can be inserted. To align the bolt holes in the clamps, an alignment awl is inserted.

Looking closely at the photo, one can see the two Adel clamps being compressed by the Adel pliers and the awl being used to align the holes so a bolt can be inserted and secured with a nut so the pliers can be pulled away.

Fishing the Dynon GPS-2020 wires through the hole in the antenna shelf and through the previously installed Adel clamp used to support wiring. One can see the antenna mounting screws sit flush in the dimples so the F-1201Z mounting plate will sit flat on the F-1201R antenna shelf.


Fellow builders take note: There is a small faux-pas in the plans on page 42C-07 … the two AN526C632R8 mounting screws called out in the plans to attach the F-1201Z mounting plate onto the F-1201R antenna shelf are the wrong size. At first I thought an error may have been made when installing the nutplates onto the F-1201R antenna shelf long ago … but a quick check in the plans reveled the nutplates called out ARE for a #8 screw and NOT for a #6 as called for in error in the plans. So #8 screws were used to attach the F-1201Z mounting plate onto the F-1201R antenna shelf.

The Dynon GPS2020 and F-1201Z mounting plate attached onto the F-1201R antenna shelf.

Moving on, the next item installed on the RV-12 was the Dynon SkyView XPNDR-261Mode-S transponder. The Transponder comes with a mounting tray which is attached onto the aft side of the firewall with three screws. The mounting tray has a wire latch that secures the transponder onto the tray. The avionics kit comes with a pre-made cable that connects the transponder to the AV-50000A control module.

The Dynon SkyView XPNDR-261Mode-S transponder and mounting tray.

Installing the SkyView XPNDR-261Mode-S transponder’s mounting tray onto the aft side of the RV-12’s firewall.

The SkyView XPNDR-261Mode-S transponder hooks into the mounting tray and is then locked in place with a wire latch. The transponder’s antenna cable was attached along with the pre-made WH-00029 wire harness which interfaces to the AV-50000A control module.

Completed instillation of the SkyView XPNDR-261Mode-S transponder.

Instillation Of Goodies In The Instrument Bay Begins

In the coming days there will be lots of work activities on both sides of the firewall. Part of this work session was spent amassing part numbers for various screws and hardware that will be needed to complete the RV-12. One such example … the decision was made to not countersink the instrument panel sections because I wanted to move away from the provided Philips screws and use button head socket cap screws in place of the Philips screws with nylon washers to protect the powder coating … think I will like the look better. In some cases, two different head styles were ordered to see which screw head was the most appealing overall. Also decided it would be best to install the backup instruments with all brass mounting hardware in the hopes that the compass will work better with less steel nearby, so an assortment of brass hardware was also ordered.


Not having a whole lot of time left for the work session but wanting to get something meaningful accomplished, some parts were pulled out of the large instrument kit box for instillation in the instrument bay. The first item pulled out of the box for instillation was the Dynon SkyView EMS 220 engine monitoring module. The EMS 220 module mounts on the left side of the firewall using four mounting screws … this module interfaces the information gathered from a host of various sensors in the engine compartment and passes the information on to the SkyView in a format that it can understand and ultimately display on the screen for the pilot to see.

Attaching the Dynon SkyView EMS 220 module onto the instrument bay side of the RV-12’s firewall.

Next item out of the instrument kit box was the Dynon SkyView BAT-320 which is a backup battery pack for the SkyView system. The BAT-320 is designed to supply up to an hour of backup power to the SkyView display and associated modules … which should be enough to get safely to the ground should there be a total electrical failure on the ship’s power bus. The BAT-320 is mounted onto the F-1202B instrument panel base using two screws.

Installing the SkyView BAT-320 backup battery onto the F-1202B instrument panel base.

The last item installed onto the F-1202B instrument panel base for the work session was the Van’s AV-50000A RV-12 control module. The AV-50000A control module acts as hub for the RV-12’s avionics system. Instead of hand wiring the various connectors to each other like the GPS, transponder, radio, intercom, etc., the various sub components of the avionics system plug directly into the color coded connectors on the AV-50000A and the proper interconnects are made within the box between the various connectors. Along with making the necessary interconnects, the AV-50000A also has electronics inside it along with a row of adjustment potentiometers that control audio levels from various devices and sources … it also has the adjustment potentiometer that controls the trim motor’s speed.


To my knowledge there are two versions of the AV-50000A module R1 (mine) and the latest R2 version … the circuit boards inside them ARE different. The newer R2 version supports having a potentiometer mounted on the instrument panel to control the cockpit lighting levels which appears to be the method Van’s is using moving forward . With the older R1 version, the Dynon Skyview controlled the cockpit lighting level for night flights. I’m guessing the change came about when Van’s began offering the Garmin avionics package which, to my knowledge, does not have the feature of directly controlling cockpit lighting.  Moving the lighting photometer to the instrument panel allows lighting control regardless of which avionics package is chosen by the builder. I briefly considered sending my AV-50000A in to have the circuit boards changed out but sanity prevailed, I don’t really plan on flying at night anyway … so it would really be a total waste of funds in my case and the money saved will provide fuel for many many hours of flight time.

Installing the Van’s AV-50000A RV-12 control module onto the F-1202B instrument panel base. The trim speed adjustment can be seen on the aft side of the case and the row of holes for the potentiometers can be seen on the right side of the case.


RV-12 builders should take note … the AV-50000A receives its ground from the mounting screws and should NOT be unscrewed from the instrument panel base when power is applied because the circuit boards can become damaged. Since I now have a grounding block, my plan is to attach a ground wire directly to the AV-50000A using one of the case screws, which should alleviate this issue and make adjusting the potentiometers easier.

Getting Well Grounded

While the vinyl tubing was still on the workbench, decided now would be a good time to make measurements for the ground cables. Frequent readers of the blog may recall the grounding location on the DOG Aviation RV-12 is being moved from the powder coated battery box assembly to a ground stud/grounding block that was installed on the firewall. Because the grounding point will be on the firewall, both the #8 gauge ground cables P-149 (battery ground) & P-151 (starter ground) need to be made longer. Prior to making measurements, decided the time was right to install the Odyssey PC 680 battery so an exact measurement and safe routing for the battery ground cable could be established.  Because the battery cable passed in the vicinity of the overflow tank for the cooling system it too was installed to verify clearances. The overflow tank is affixed onto the firewall using a strap and two screws. Prior to installing the overflow tank, silicone is to be placed on the back of the tank onto a couple of ridges molded on the tank … the silicone will prevent the tank chafing on the firewall.


The battery sits directly on top of two of the F1257 rudder pedal support channels so prior to dropping the battery into the slot, 4 pieces of grommet material need to be placed on the edges of the support channels to prevent the battery from chafing on the metal edges. Sadly, I forgot to take a photo of the installed grommet pieces.  Once the protective grommet pieces were in place, the battery was slipped into position and is secured by a channel and two spacers bolted to the frame of the battery box.

Tightening one of the two bolts that secures the battery channel across the top of the battery preventing it from moving.


With the battery and overflow tank installed, a piece of vinyl tubing was used to determine a good routing path for the battery’s ground cable to the new ground stud on the firewall. Once happy with the routing, measurements were made for both the starter’s ground cable and battery ground.

A piece of vinyl tubing was used to determine the best path and length of cable needed to connect the battery ground terminal to the ground stud/block on the firewall. The hole where the ground wire would normally attach is under my finger … this hole is where a tie wrap will be used to pull down on the ground wire to insure it passes well under the wire on the positive post of the battery, as it does in this photo.


My understanding is Stein Air is the original manufacturer of the battery cables for the RV-12 … since I was already planning on purchasing fittings for the backup instruments from Stein Air, a call was made and in addition to ordering the instrument fittings, decided to let Stein fabricate the two ground cables as well and save the cost of a crimping tool I likely would never use again. For those interested, the new length of the P-149 battery ground cable will be 17" and the P-151 starter ground cable will be 11 1/4", as measured from center to center between the mounting holes in the lugs.