Jim Weir
Jim Weir is the chief avioniker at RST Engineering. He answers avionics questions in the Internet newsgroup www.pilotsofamerica.com–Maintenance. His technical advisor, Cyndi Weir, got her Masters degree in English and Journalism and keeps Jim on the straight and narrow. Check out their web site at www.rst-engr.com/kitplanes for previous articles and supplements.
More PCB Fun
OK, this one is the witch of the bunch. You’ve had two months to download and read all the instructions for Circuitmaker/Traxmaker, and I’m...
A Pea Sea Bored?
Text and phonetically, yes. But if you will sit down, fasten your seat belt tight and just hold on, I will show you how...
Terms of the Trade
I’ve been a teacher most of my life, but my first paid gig in 1967 was teaching avionics (aviation electronics) at a community college...
Solder It Up
We are almost to the end of our romp through the solder pads. We’ve learned about the solder itself, and now it is time...
A Soldering We Shall Go (Part 2)
When last we left our discussion of soldering, we touched briefly on each of the basic topics concerning joining electronic parts together using a...
Holler, Holler, Let’s All Solder (Part 1)
OK, I’ll admit it. Back in the fifth grade my parents gave me a wood-burning set for Christmas. Now, they pretty much knew they...
Ernie, Can You Hear Me?
Every now and again, you get to do something that just feels good inside. Especially as an engineer and electronic designer, those times come...
Lighting up the Tail Feathers
For a couple of months now, we’ve been laying the groundwork for an overhaul of how we might do night lighting on our homebuilts....
Prelude to NextGen LEDs
Just in this last few months (from June 2022), there has been a true revolution in the state of the art for power LEDs....
Fourier Strikes Again
Ah, the email call for April 15, 2022, just arrived. Michael Zwijacz wrote to me:
“Hello Jim, I’ve been following you in KITPLANES® for many...
In Case You Missed It
How About a Little Prop Talk?
Here’s something new for me. Until my recently acquired GlaStar, I have never owned...
SkyView to the Rescue
When Stan Peternels Blue Mountain EFIS proved unreliable, he decided to bite the bullet and invest in a Dynon SkyView system. Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook discusses the numerous challenges of the retrofit.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
From simple to complex, there's an Experimental aircraft for almost everyone.
2012 Rotorcraft Buyer’s Guide
The 2012 Rotorcraft Buyer’s Guide includes 49 designs for those who may be interested in building a kit helicopter or gyroplane.