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Christopher's Web Site
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Date: 11-22-2016
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Number of Hours: 3.00
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: Transponder Installation
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Unlike (I think all) other Safari’s, I located the transponder in the console. I had to do this because I added three major and two minor instruments to the pod that aren’t typically installed in a basic VFR Safari.
I determined there would be enough room for the transponder in the console width, but I don’t think I realized how tight the fit would be with the length with the antenna and two D-subs coming out the back and competing for the real estate of all the wires and coax coming down from the pod. To make the console and pod wiring easier, I chose to leave the transponder uninstalled until close to the end of the wiring process.
I had thought this might be a “plug and play” installation, but I was WAY wrong. There is a 9 pin and a 15 pin D-sub used for the transponder, but only a handful of the connections are actually used. Sandia has a great number of manuals and installation instruction available online, so I was able to identify all of the pins, and what they were supposed to do.
Safari’s former electrician wire many more wires than I was supposed to use, so for a while there I was completely lost. It was like finishing a project and having a box full of parts left over. I went as far as to call Sandia Aerospace for help, and they were awesome. They confirmed my assumptions, and they even helped me locate an OAT probe in Dallas TX to calculate the density altitude.
A little mystery was the added 90-degree jack that was wired to the unit. It turns out that this was an Air Gizmo jack for the Garmin 696. I’m still not sure what this is doing other than that the transponder may be sending actual altitude information to the GPS. Not totally sure yet.
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Directly below pod
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Just fits
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Antenna connection in cabin
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