The International Cessna 170 Association

As much expertise as there is in this organization, I'll bet someone has already or can come up with a simple (aka-cheap) way to permit someone who lives miles from his hangar to call one of these low cost Trak Phone's like you can get at Wal Mart & other places so that when called, it will activate an electric heater. Maybe even turn it off if need be. In my case I have a heater I can put on a timer, but if I decide not to go to the airport, I have no way to cut it off or if I have it set up to come on early on a Sat morning, but decide to go out on Friday morning, I have no way to turn the heater on from home. How about it, anyone have a simple solution ??

Build your hangar next to your house.

(any terriorist could probably share with you how they set off IED's.)

Frank-
Folks in Alaska have been using a system like that for years to turn on oil heaters in remote (but with phone service) cabins so they're warm when they get there. I have never had any direct experience with them but it sure is nice to walk into a warm cabin. Monitor and Toyo stoves both have the option.

I've heard of X-10 brand systems, you can get a phone unit and call it to turn on various appliances. don't know what it would cost.

another relatively cheap unit that I found is this one - http://www.goflying.cc/

I haven't personally used either method so can't give an opinion on quality.

The hanger I'm in for the winter has an older model of the beeper box (metal case) and a pager. What I have found is that inside the hanger, it seems to loose reception, also with the lid closed you loose reption.

The problem is that especially for early morning flights, you get to the hanger and everything is still cold. Also, if you leave the lid open, the sound is not picked up as well and sometimes won't activate the unit. I'm not sure if it's the location, or the engineering of the unit...If its later in the day I can ask the FBO to swing over and take a peak before I drive the 40 min. to the Airport.

Perhaps the newer models have corrected these issues - or like I said, its just a poor spot for reception.

Frank,

X10 technology could do the job for you (google it). X10 is a standard for home automation, based on transmitting signals through a home's 100V wiring. You won't necessarily need to do that, but the existence of a standard means there's all kinds of cool gadgets that work together.

For what I'm thinking, you'd need a telephone land-line into your hangar. An X10 device answers the phone there after a certain number of rings, and accepts commands from your touch-tone keypad. This device can in turn control a smart 110V outlet that powers your electric heater.

A friend of mine has a heated hangar controlled by a thermostat on the wall. He has an X10-controlled device that you mount on the wall below a thermostat, and it's just a little heating device. When it's turned on, it makes the thermostat think the hangar is warmer than it actually is, and it shuts off the heat. My friend has it worked out so that when the X10 heater is on, the hangar temperature is in the 40s, and when it's off, it's in the 60s.

There's a lot to learn about X10, but a couple of simple devices could do what you want -- if you're willing to spend for a phone line to the hangar.

Best Regards,

John

I know of a guy here in Anchorage that does that each winter. I'll see if I can find a way to contact him and see exactly how he does it. I do know that it has to do with him making a call with his cell phone to trip on the power to the preheater. My IA told me that the guy makes the call 30 to 45 min before he plans to be at the airport.....and when he drives up, the bird is preheated! I'll see what I can find out.

Reiff preheat has something....

http://www.reiffpreheat.com/Beeper%20Box%20pg%201.htm

Looks like you need either a beeper or cell phone sitting in it...

I've used the beeper box mentioned above and it works great. you can set it to turn off after a certain amount of time, or you can turn it off with a second page. the box is pretty spendy, but it at least doubles the amount of flying I do in the winter, so it's been worth it to me. depending on how cold it is, I call the airplane 1-4 hrs ahead of time, and the engine and cabin are pre-heated when I show up to fly.

The Reiff system and beeper is what the man up here uses. My IA (who also maintins that bird) said that it works slick as can be.....just call the beeper at a set time before you want the plane preheated and presto!!!! It's ready when you arrive.

A member of our EAA chapter has built this box, and is taking orders for it: It contains an industrial pager that you can call and prompt to turn equipment on or off. This unit has just one outlet, but he's planning to build units with up to three outlets, separately controllable. He's aware that some hangars effectively block pager signals, so he's adding a BNC connector on the side for connection to an external antenna.

PM or email me if you're interested, and I can put you in touch.

Best Regards,

John

Tell us more John.

OK. I'm not sure of the rules here, and George will correct me if I'm out of line. Jeff Osbeck is the inventor, phone # 715-222-0535, email jeffosbeck@hotmail.com. He's taking orders, currently with a two-week delivery time.

The price he gave me is $349, which includes activation and one year of service. After the first year, the pager subscription is $70 per year. If you order in the off-season, from April 1 through Sept. 30, he discounts the price to $299.

I thought it was a well-engineered device, very simple inside. It contains an industrial pager, a power supply, a relay controlled by the pager, and fuses for the 15amp AC line and the power supply. I hope he does well with it, and if he does, I'll suggest he join the Association and advertise here.

Best Regards,

John

See if he'll donate one to our convention this summer. (He can contact me, headquarters, or Velvet Fackeldey, Convention Host and member of these forums.)

gahorn wrote:See if he'll donate one to our convention this summer. (He can contact me, headquarters, or Velvet Fackeldey, Convention Host and member of these forums.)

Good idea! I'll ask him.

John