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Mike's LED Position lights

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william.p.dube(at)noaa.go
Guest

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 12:34 pm Post subject: Mike's LED Position lights

Did you compare your measured light output with the FAA required light 

output?



You can do a reasonably good job with one-foot piece of string, a 

protractor, and a photographic light meter that can read ambient light.



    Here is a list of some of the points you should check on the red and 

green lights:



+/- Azimuth (off the nose) +/-Elevation           CP

     0                          0                 40

     0                          15                28

     0                          20                20

     0                          30                12

     0                          50                 2

    20                          30                 9              

 25 to  110                     30               1.5



Azimuth is the number of degrees off the nose.



Elevation is the number of degrees off the horizon.



The white tail light is even more difficult to get proper light output. 

Here are a few points to check on the tail light:



+/- Azimuth (off the tail) +/-Elevation           CP

     0 to 70                    0                 20	

     0 to 70                    15                14

     0 to 70                    20                10

     0 to 70                    30                6



It takes a LOT of white LEDs to fill the required FAA pattern.



Bill Dube'



 



mchristian(at)canetics.com wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		  



I used the Nova EPSX - 402 supply for something like $80.  It is fully potted for

"extreme" conditions and has two strobe outlets, 3.75 amps draw and 12 diffrerent

selectable flash patterns in a box 4.7" X 4.4" X 1.7" to feed two wingtip

strobes ($18 each).  It works great.



For position lights, I used three luxeon stars - one red one green, and you guessed it, one white.  They are only $6.00 each.  I put them in series with a calculated power resistor and they are so bright it is hard to look at.  Total draw for position lights is one amp or less.  I thermally bonded them to little thin sheetmetal brackets and mounted them under some Kutzleman clear plastic domes with the strobe heads.  Since then, Kutzleman has come out with their streamline combo (www.kestrobes.com) essentially doing the same thing for $94 that I made for less than $40 each.



Total cost of strobe and position light system is less than $180.



Mike



reposting to get subject line to adhere...

mark.steitle(at)austin.ut
Guest

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 1:06 pm Post subject: Mike's LED Position lights

Richard,

Thanks for the information (url).  Looks pretty simple, until you

actually try it yourself for real! 



Thought you would find this post from the Aero-electric list of

interest.  Bill Dube makes LED clearance light kits for experimental

a/c.  Good info to keep on hand if you're going to build your own LED

lights.  The Luxeon lights are much brighter than the regular leds.



See ya,

Mark 



--

Terry Watson

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 290
Location: Seattle, WA USA

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 1:43 pm Post subject: Mike's LED Position lights

I have the RV wingtip tanks designed for the surface mounted nav lights, so

the option of the enclosed wingtip leading edge lights is not available to

me. Are there any l.e.d. nav/strobe combinations available that meet the FAA

requirements?



Thanks,



Terry

RV-8A

Seattle

sgettings(at)cfl.rr.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 2:01 pm Post subject: Mike's LED Position lights

I also used luxeons for position lights (2 high-intensity lambertians on

each side) and presented it to our EAA meeting as well as our local

IA/DAR.  The DAR had no problem signing off on the intensity and

distribution of the position lights.  I previously provided a link to

the EAA article on this for those who were interested.



Luxeons are really the only practical and affordable LEDS that will meet

the position lighting requirements. 



Making strobes using LEDS are another matter, as it is very tough to get

to 400 cp.  Even many of the non-aviation strobes and power supplies

won't meet this requirement.  There are some options other than

Whelan(=$$$, however.



Scott Gettings

---

aadamson(at)highrf.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 2:43 pm Post subject: Mike's LED Position lights

Might try these guys... I have a set and really like them.



www.gs-air.com 

Alan



--

rtitsworth

Joined: 16 Jan 2006
Posts: 76
Location: Detroit, Mi

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 3:28 pm Post subject: Mike's LED Position lights

Alan,

Do you have the XPAK 604-HR strobe driver listed on their website? 



I'd like to put a strobe driver in each wingtip and have a low voltage

synchronizer line between them, rather than 1 central driver and coax (to

minimize noise).  The picture of the driver on the website seems to have

several (extra/additional) connectors/pinouts but I can't tell what they do

or if it supports a low voltage synchronizer circuit between multiple

drivers.



Do you know?  Beyond the multiple strobe outputs and power/ground, what are

the other connectors for?



Rick Titsworth

Detroit

--

Terry Watson

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 290
Location: Seattle, WA USA

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 3:57 pm Post subject: Mike's LED Position lights

Thanks Alan. That's just what I was looking for.



Terry





--

lhelming(at)sigecom.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 4:13 pm Post subject: Mike's LED Position lights

I have the one central control power supply.  I do not have any noise.  So, 

I don't understand you concerns about wanting to minimize it.  It is not 

there to start with.  I wired per the instructions and did nothing special 

beyond that.



The extra connectors are for different flashing patterns.



Indiana Larry, RV7 "SunSeeker" 90+ hours flying and XPAK power supply.



"Please use the information and opinions I express with responsibility, and 

at your own risk."

---

aadamson(at)highrf.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 4:48 pm Post subject: Mike's LED Position lights

I don't have that model, I have a different generation version (actually

still made but only 2 channel).  Those other ports are for diagnosis and

flash selection.  The manufacturer is www.strobe.com



I got the entire kit from gs-air.com and it included "shielded" hookup wire.

If you want separate PS's all over the place, then the only game in town is

the certified aeroflash units.  I'm not sure if they have a discounted

non-certified version or not.



Hope that helps.



Alan 



--

william.p.dube(at)noaa.go
Guest

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 5:49 pm Post subject: Mike's LED Position lights

sgettings(at)cfl.rr.com wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		  



I also used luxeons for position lights (2 high-intensity lambertians on

each side) and presented it to our EAA meeting as well as our local

IA/DAR.  The DAR had no problem signing off on the intensity and

distribution of the position lights.  I previously provided a link to

the EAA article on this for those who were interested.

  



    The DAR didn't measure the light output. They very rarely have the 
	


equipment to do so.



    If it doesn't bother you to have less light than required by the 

FAA, then use whatever position lights will pass muster with your local 

DAR. Most folks want position lights that are at least as bright as the 

FAA requires, not just bright enough for the DAR to sign them off.



 	  Quote: 	
		  Luxeons are really the only practical and affordable LEDS that will meet

the position lighting requirements. 

  



    Not so. If you design a light that meets the FAA requirements, you 
	


need quite a few of the Luxeon LEDs.  It turns out to be less expensive 

to fill the FAA required light pattern with high-brightness 5 mm LEDs. 

In lumens per dollar, you are better off with 5 mm LEDs.

   

    You will notice that on the Luxeon spec sheets, they never tell you 

the candlepower output. They won't tell you when you call up. You have 

to buy one and measure it. They don't tell you because they don't want 

you to be able to directly compare the output of their lights with other 

LEDs.



    The Luxeon LEDs are good if you require a very bright point source, 

like for a projector. If it is OK to have the light spread out with more 

than one LED, then 5 mm LEDs provide much more light per dollar.



    My LED position lights put out more than what the FAA requires in 

all directions, and they are less expensive than any other LED position 

light on the market (some of which do not put out the light required by 

the FAA.)



    Bill Dube'

PLaurence(at)the-beach.ne
Guest

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 7:47 pm Post subject: Mike's LED Position lights

My LED position lights put out more than what the FAA requires in 

all directions, and they are less expensive than any other LED position 

light on the market (some of which do not put out the light required by 

the FAA.)



    Bill Dube'

Bill,



Can will you point me to your web site?



Peter

LloydDR(at)wernerco.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 8:02 pm Post subject: Mike's LED Position lights

On their website all of the new version III's and V's all have spec

sheets with Lumen ratings and the appropriate charts to determine

viewing angles, and with more than 80% intensity over 140 degree

spectrum, it would be very easy to get the required fill rate of light

that the FAA requires, and with shaped reflectors, you can even cut off

the angles. Using fog lights from walmart($15) and replacing the halogen

bulbs with 4 Luxeons ($30), plus the power supply ($25) easily meets and

exceeds the requirements for much less money than you would think. 

 Just my .02

Dan

RV10



--

william.p.dube(at)noaa.go
Guest

Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:05 am Post subject: Mike's LED Position lights

Gladly!



http://www.killacycle.com/Lights.htm



Peter Laurence wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		  

    My LED position lights put out more than what the FAA requires in 

all directions, and they are less expensive than any other LED position 

light on the market (some of which do not put out the light required by 

the FAA.)



    Bill Dube'

Bill,



Can will you point me to your web site?



Peter

william.p.dube(at)noaa.go
Guest

Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:34 am Post subject: Mike's LED Position lights

Lloyd, Daniel R. wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		  



On their website all of the new version III's and V's all have spec

sheets with Lumen ratings and the appropriate charts to determine

viewing angles, and with more than 80% intensity over 140 degree

spectrum, it would be very easy to get the required fill rate of light

that the FAA requires, and with shaped reflectors, you can even cut off

the angles. Using fog lights from walmart($15) and replacing the halogen

bulbs with 4 Luxeons ($30), plus the power supply ($25) easily meets and

exceeds the requirements for much less money than you would think. 

 Just my .02

Dan

RV10

  



    The FAA requires specific candlepower in specific directions. (It 
	


only makes sense to do so.)



    Lumens don't give you candlepower directly. You can't calculate the 

candlepower with the information they provide. Once you buy one, and 

measure the candlepower, you realize that you can produce that same 

candlepower using several, much less expensive, 5 mm LEDs.

    Bill Dube'

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