I chose to mount the ELT Antenna in between the vertical and horizontal stabilizer. ***Here is an interesting excerpt from Randy Lervolds site***-The location of the ELT antenna on an RV-8 is a bit problematic. There are basically three options: one, inside the empennage fairing oriented horizontally, two, somewhere in the interior such as the right side of the passenger area, or three, a rubber ducky at the very forward edge of the turtledeck. All three are a compromise for various reasons. I chose option one which is the way Van's has done it on all of their demo ships. Frankly, the ELT technology we are using now is almost obsolete and will likely be replaced with a new satellite based system within 5 years.
*Tip- If you decide to go this route, try to mount the antenna to the rear bulkhead before the tail or aft top skin is attached. Getting the washer,nut, and BNC fitting connected afterward, proved to be a real challenge in the tight environment. The gap, shown here, will be covered by the fiberglass empennage fairing.
