Stratus 2S mounting options

Kiddo's Driver

Kiddo's Driver

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Jim
I have a low wing aircraft, an iPad air, and a recently purchased Stratus 2S. Now I have to figure out how to get all of that to work together. I own the plane and have not flown another plane in over two years, so I can "temporarily" install the unit in my plane and pretty much leave it there.

If I install the external ADS-B antenna on one side of the plane, does the internal antenna still work? Could I mount the unit on one side of the plane and the external antenna on the other side of the plane so that I could receive from towers on either side of the plane? Does anyone sell an external antenna that I can permanently mount on the belly of a certified aircraft?

Maybe like this:
http://www.skygeek.com/ted-104-12-t...aign=froogle&gclid=CMGomtfcosgCFQetaQodaXcLVQ
http://www.amazon.com/Transponder-A...id=1443752256&sr=1-6&keywords=1090mhz+antenna
http://www.amazon.com/1090MHz-ADS-B...id=1443752256&sr=1-1&keywords=1090mhz+antenna

I bought a Stratus 2S, external GPS antenna, external ADS-B antenna, an extra charging cable, and a Wagan Tech USB charger all in the same order.

I bought the charger from Sporty's at $29 along with the rest of the equipment and had it all shipped out in the same box. 10-30Vdc and 2.4 amp charging ports is what caught my eye. My plane has a 28 volt system.

I just found that I could have got the charger for $6 less from Amazon. :mad:
http://www.amazon.com/Wagan-EL2892-TravelCharge-Quad-Power/dp/B00FL1TTXC
 
We just sat ours on the pax side (Do you have gauges on the pax side?)
We had an empty spot there and it just sat.

Suctioned the antenne to the center top of the windshield.
Worked well.
 
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I just set my stratus on the passenger seat. I'll set it on the passenger when I have one. Works great, especially for something I bought on Ebay.
 
In my experience, installing an external antenna is not necessary. I've never had an issue with the internal antenna (even using it inside the baggage compartment of the biplane - it transmits and receives through metal and wood just fine).

In the Baron, I use the suction cup mount on one of the back seat side windows. Works just fine there.
 
External antenna tripled the no. of towers for me. If you get only 1 or 2 towers I recommend it.
 
All of this is good to hear! I was expecting to hear about issues receiving from the towers with the antenna not mounted on the bottom of the plane like the transponder antenna.
 
I use the suction cup mount and put the Stratus on the rear window just behind the pilot's seat. I can reach back and power it up, but it's not in my field of vision at all. Bonus that it gets strong reception there too.
 
I mounted my Stratus 2 into the glove compartment sitting on its side and plugged in to cig lighter adapter. It worked OK in there but I would usually just get 1-2 towers so I added the remote antenna that I simply put in the rear footwell under the carpet. ADSB tower reception is now 4-8 usually. GPS was never an issue since I think it was the carbon fiber wing spar blocking the signal downward while up to the GPS satellites was not very restricted.

Works perfectly and I never have to touch it, it only powers on when ship's power (master) comes on, stays on and charges all flight and turns itself off after ship power is removed (but only if it isn't moving so I still get internal battery backup if I have to turn master off in flight). Great source of backup weather and traffic (I have ADS-B out as well) and it's a backup AHRS and Synvis in case of total electrical system failure.
 
I also experienced dramatically better ADS-B reception with the external antenna, mounted via suction cup on the pilots side windshield where it does not impair vision. I place the Stratus in the center of the glare shield.
 
I flew from MI to CA with the Stratus 2 sitting on the floor next to the Johnson Bar for flaps, and it worked like a champ.
 
ettsn said:
I use the suction cup mount and put the Stratus on the rear window just behind the pilot's seat. I can reach back and power it up, but it's not in my field of vision at all. Bonus that it gets strong reception there too.
Click to expand...
+1. Excellent reception with internal antenna.
 
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