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I live in a wonderfully complicated piece of airspace (see skyvector for an idea) and am toying with the idea of multiple radios. Has anyone put multiple radios in their Sonex and have anything to share? (e.g. antenna placement, audio panel/mixer, etc.)

Wow...that sure is a tiny airport packed in the middle of some pretty busy airspace! As you know, you'll obviously need a transponder with mode C for that area in addition to your radio. I'd say it's up to you on a single radio or two...you could probably get by with just one since most now come with a flip flop, or standby frequency setup. If I lived in that area I would most likely put my primary radio antenna on top of the airframe so you'll get the best reception possible. If you get two radios you'll also need an audio panel for radio selection. I just went with a single COM but if I were to install a second, I would follow Cirrus's example and put my primary antenna on top and secondary antenna on the bottom. With that setup you can use the primary for Tower, Approach, or CTAF, and the secondary one can be for ground and ATIS.

If I were in your shoes I would be a lot more concerned with a Phase 1 area. Are there any other Homebuilts at your airport? It looks like you'll be stuck keeping it pretty low around your home base. Any thoughts of flying the first few hours over at Frederick?

Strangely, yes, there have been homebuilts in the area. Someone has flown this phase I for two separate homebuilt autogyro's out of FME. (He claims he'll get cleared into Class B to circle above the airfield without any issue.) Many people have flown their phase I's out of W18 (just a whisker to the W). Obviously, it's one of those things to talk to the FAA about prior to final assembly. I'm not too concerned with flying there (in general) since, well, that's where I've been training for my PPL.

I'm really more interested in seeing what people have done with multiple radios (if anything).

Edit: Forgot about it, but Frederick is getting a tower come May 1st.

Jonathan McGee wrote:
I'm really more interested in seeing what people have done with multiple radios (if anything).

Sure...makes perfect sense. I hope someone is able to help more than I. One possible alternate source is to look into the RV forum boards... Check out www.vansairforce.net . I don't know if I've ever seen a Sonex with two radios, but that's common with RV aircraft.

The Garmin SL-40 allows you to monitor the standby frequency that you dial in (but will only transmit on one frequency at a time). It is the only radio to my knowledge that lets you do that, almost like having two radios in one.

142YX wrote:The Garmin SL-40 allows you to monitor the standby frequency that you dial in (but will only transmit on one frequency at a time). It is the only radio to my knowledge that lets you do that, almost like having two radios in one.

I think the MGL radios have a similar dual monitor feature as well.

chris wrote:I think the MGL radios have a similar dual monitor feature as well.

Many of the experimental radios do, which is what I will probably settle for.

I was just curious if anyone has tried hanging multiple radios on their sonex. What sort of antenna mounting issues they had, panel space, etc.