After stressing (way too much) about the transponder issue, I decided that since I had the top off the plane, I’d take a stab at installing it.  Much to my surprise, the wiring harness was all complete, just slap it in the plane, connect the transponder to the encoder (using the supplied harness).  All I am missing is the proper BNC crimper for the one end of the antenna wire.

The hardest part of the install was finding a spot on the dash for it.  As you may be aware, I’ve designed a replacement layout for the dash (see this posting), but until it gets done, I’m a bit strangled for space.  I managed to move one of the current circuit breakers enough to free up the space for the new radio to move, leaving the radio’s space for the transponder.

I’ll get the antenna crimped this week and the install will be all complete, class-c airspace here I come…