[Boatanchors] B-17 antenna connection

[Michael Hanz]

It's a solid electrical connection bonded to the skin, Mac.  I agree the 
skin is probably not the sole radiating element here, and I suspect the 
radio operator had a bit of retuning work to do with changing over from 
trailing wire to "loop" and vice versa.  I wish I had run across a 
discussion of the design parameters over the years, but alas, not yet...

On 11/27/2016 6:26 PM, Dennis DuVall wrote:
> Weird arrangement…  Is the lead out to the “main tank gage cover” 
> electrically attached to the metal skin of the wing at that point or 
> is there an insulator there?
> If the latter, the result would be merely a short end-fed wire 
> antenna. If the former, some kind of a loop would seem to be formed 
> unless the wing itself has become
> a radiating element with a single wire “feed line” running out to a 
> feed point at or  near the gage cover, an attachment point chosen by 
> cut-and-try or some other method.  In any  case
> don’t see the skin of the aircraft per-se being the “antenna” here.
>
> Dennis D.  W7QHO
> GlendALE, CA
>
> *****************
>
>> On Nov 27, 2016, at 10:41 AM, Dave Marquart <davemarquart at gmail.com 
>> <mailto:davemarquart at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>>> The skin of the airplane serves as an antenna for the Liaison
>>> set with a lead-in connected to the left wing at the main tank gage 
>>> cover
>>> and brought through an insulator in the upper left side of the fuselage
>>> just forward of Station 5O.  Both Liaison antennas are connected to the
>>> antenna changeover switch and through the switch either antenna may be
>>> connected to the set.  The antenna switch is on the upper left 
>>> sidewall at
>>> Station 5G. _
>