There used to be a lot of buzz (pun intended!) about excessive rf noise generated by early Jabiru engines.  My engine (#2427) was built in the transition from Gen 2 to Gen 3, so it has some of the Gen 3 upgrades but certainly not all.

My engine seemed "noisy" electronically - it had a lot of background static on distant radio transmissions.  I've followed the Jabiru-CAMit Owners Group for years and had seen similar reports and I implemented some of the suggested fixes - ferrite chokes on various wires, resistor plugs, etc.  I made some incremental improvements but the biggest improvement was completely replacing the distributor and spark plug leads with high-quality spiral wound wiring (obtained from the now-defunct CAMit).  Currently, I have hundreds of hours on these leads and the results are quite satisfactory.

Maybe I've not been paying attention, but now that I think about it, I don't recall seeing many, if any, reports about rf interference problems with the Gen 3 engines and absolutely no reports with Gen 4.

Now that there are a number of Gen 4's getting into Zenith's, I just thought I'd solicit Gen 4 owners about their experience as far as rf interference?  Any better or worse than other Jab's or other engines?

John

N750A

Jab 3300

Views: 266

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

I have 19 phase one hours on my Gen 4 in a STOL 750.  I don't have a base line to compare with but, the Gen 4 does put some noise into the radio.  I put a ferrite choke on the grounding wires for the ignitions and that seemed to help.  I just compared the first flight video with yesterdays flight video and there was much less electrical noise/whine when applying full throttle yesterday.  There is zero noise on both videos during taxi.  I have some more ferrite chokes on order for other wires and control cables passing through the firewall and will try to update this thread with the results pending the availability of flying weather here in central Indiana.  The upside of the deteriorating weather will be the opportunity to post some PIREPS on the Gen 4.  It has been great so far.

RSS

New from Zenith:

Zenith Planes For Sale 
 

Classified listing for buying or selling your Zenith building or flying related stuff...


Custom Instrument Panels
for your Zenith
:

Custom instrument panels are now available directly from Zenith Aircraft Company exclusively for Zenith builders and owners. Pre-cut panel, Dynon and Garmin avionics, and more.


Zenith Homecoming Tee:


Zenair Floats


Flying On Your Own Wings:
A Complete Guide to Understanding Light Airplane Design, by Chris Heintz


Builder & Pilot Supplies:

Aircraft Insurance:

 
 

West Coast USA:

 
Pro Builder Assistance:

 

Transition training:

Lavion Aero

K&S Aviation Services

Aircraft Spruce & Specialty for all your building and pilot supplies!

How to videos from HomebuiltHELP.com

Developed specifically for Zenith builders (by a builder) these videos on DVD are a great help in building your own kit plane by providing practical hands-on construction information. Visit HomebuiltHelp.com for the latest DVD titles.

© 2024   Created by Zenith.Aero.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service