There have been a few posts that mention this topic, but I wanted to explore current options and see if anyone has one of these for sale (or borrow). Also if anyone could recommend an approach to this problem set. For reference, the best post I saw on this was from CFIDave here.
Context: I'm planning a RTW flight in my DA42, and while I'm currently planning the northern Pacific (Japan -> PADK), I'd like to keep central (Hawaii -> California) as an option in case of any delays which force a later cross which will result in colder weather and higher chance of icing. I spoke with SOCAL/Oceanic about using a SAT phone in lieu of an HF radio, and they were firm on having this. Reference 91.511 and Sat Advisory Circular 20-150B. As an aside, I've heard some Atlantic centers allow SAT for trips to Bermuda.
Questions:
What are the options when it comes to HF antenna installs on a DA42?
Is anyone selling something similar to what CFIDave showed in his post?
Congratulations to your idea of flying round the world!
The position of the HF Antenna is ideally done through the right window opening as shown in the other post. We did our RTW in April 2023 with our DA42TDI (via Hawaii) and had the same solution. Ideally it has an extension that the antenna is not scratching on the side.
You can borrow our modified insert (as shown on the pictures) if you arrange for pickup (I will pack it) and send it back after your trip (UPS, FedEx, DHL, XXX). You might also need some other good ideas and are welcome to contact me.
The travel blog from our journey is found on www.flyrtw.eu – it is in German but I assume google has a translation
Thanks for your reply! Your RTW trip looks incredible, and I love your website. I might reach out via DM with a few other questions. On the window, thank you for the kind offer! I just purchased a new RH window to build the same as I wasn't confident I was going to get a reply here.
In terms of the radio to be used with this, I've been speaking with Mike at Aviation HF. He rents/sells:
Single Unit Portable HF Radio
HF Antenna
Coupler/Tuner
I was planning on purchasing a portable battery so this wouldn't interfere with the aircraft's electrical load. Is this similar to the setup you had? How did it end up working? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated (and hopefully serves as a resource for future pilots).
We used a 12V 10Ah battery – and the Victron Orion-Tr Smart 24/12-20 isolated charger
Important is also that you will have a proper grounding/earthing with a high cross section copper cable against the glareshield.
I know that Fritz Lehner (former ferry pilot from Diamond) used the Yaesu 857 directly via a voltage changer on the aircraft power system. Some avionic companies don’t recommend that. The HF consumes quiet a bit of power and only has max. output if the voltage is round about 13.5 volt (like in a running car) – so charging it with an isolated charger is highly recommended. The HF is really useful and the quality often better as connections with the iridium go.
Please feel free to contact us any time if you need any further help or assistance.
