Sunday, January 7, 2018

Mounting options

I'm re-examining my probe mounting options.

I tried putting the probe where it would be under the wing of a low-wing metal aircraft, just to see how the wireless stuff works. But with the 60 mW XBee, and the small Taoglas self-adhesive antennas I'm using, I do not have reliable enough connectivity.

So it's back to high-wing airplanes. And I was not happy with the way my Cessna strut mounting worked out so I'm considering going to a Citabria. I tried the wireless with a Citabria and it was just fine.

The great thing about Citabrias is that they have 2 struts, giving me the option of a 2-point support rather than just having to clamp really hard on just one strut. So I'm messing around with a design for a "twin vee block" mount for these.

I'm also trying out OnShape, and finding it mostly ok but different enough from SolidWorks that it's a fair learning curve. But with OnShape, I can easily share designs online! So here is a link to my design, and this is what it looks like:



I just figured out how to use the OnShape "Mass Properties" tool and the above weighs 0.5 pounds, assuming the vee blocks are made from hard maple.

Stay tuned!

No comments :

Post a Comment