Lighting -- A Bunny with Eyes

Wig-wag lamp flashers

I have located two such devices. They are:

SSAC P/N KRD3120B is available thru Stevens Engineering 415-588-9200 for less than $30 and measures 2.00"W x 2.00"L x .75"H.

AMPERITE P/N 12F110HDFW available thru distributors from the factory 800-752-2329 or 201-864-9503 for less than $40 and measures 2.00"W x 2.25"L x1.50"H.

The SSAC device is rated at a switching current of 10A per contact and is adjustable rate.

The Amperite device is rated at a switching current of 15A per contact and is fixed at 110 flashes per minute (standard) although custom flash rates from 10 thru 120 flashes per minute are available.

Both devices have five .250" quick connect flag terminals.

Amperite also has another device called a Pulsator which will produce a moderate glimmering effect (300 pulses per minute at a 96% duty cycle) of lamp illumination. It is rated at 60 watts continuous and is connected in series with the lamp.

RV-List message posted by: Bob Haan <bhaan@easystreet.com>: Regarding using the Gall's Flasher #T-FS020 that flashes the head lights for emergency vehicles to wig wag the landing and taxi lights. Because the documentation for this flasher does not include a functional description regarding how it works nor a schematic of the internal circuitry, I need help verifying that the following wiring will work.

Mtr_Bus--20A_Fuse--------------------------------------/ --x--Lt_Wing_Lamp--
                                              DPST_Switch  l               l
                                          "LANDING LIGHT"  l               l
                                                           l             GND
                                   _________               l
                                  I         I              l
Mtr_Bus--20A_Fuse--X--White_Wire--I Gall's  I--Blue_Wire----
                                  I Flasher I
                  NC--Black_Wire--I         I--Yellow_Wire--
                                  I         I              l
                    --Green_Wire--I         I--Red_Wire--  l
                    l             I_________I           l  l
                    l                                   l  l
                  GND                                   l  l
                                                        l  l
Mtr_Bus--2A_Fuse------------------------------------/ --X  l
                                              DPST_Switch  l
                                                "Flash"    l
                                                           l
Mtr_Bus--20A_Fuse--------------------------------------/ --X--Rt_Wing_Lamp--
                                                 DPST_Switch               l
                                                "TAXI LIGHT"               l
                                                                         GND

This can be done with fewer switches by using DPDT switches, etc. however, I want to use DPST engrave and lighted rocker switches that match all the other switches used throughout the panel.

A separate switch was used for each wing lamp for increased reliability.

My question is how have others wired the Gall's Flasher recommended on the RV-List several months ago?

Jerry Calvert <calverjl@flash.net> replied:
I have home brew landing lights in each wing with Gall's Flasher.  I have tested but not hard-wired yet since I haven't started the fuselage. I see one possible problem in the schematic. The ability to energize only the left or right light individually, may not work as wired. Here's why. When the flasher is turned off, there is a circuit between the blue and yellow wire that is automatically closed which allows any juice going to one wire to go right on over to the other wire. So, no matter if the left or right light switch is flipped, both lights will come on! The blue and yellow wires must attach to the switches so they can be put in an open status. It can be done with single
pole two position switches like a 1-3. Attach the blue wire, the wire from landing light, and hot wire to the switch. Do the same for the right light on another 1-3 switch. If you have the Aeroelectric Connection book, look at the switches on page 11-17 at the drawing of a 1-3 switch. Connect power to position 1, wire to landing light on position 2, and blue or yellow wire to position 2. Use a 1-2 switch for the red wire. BUT, I wonder what will happen if the red wire switch is activated while either the left or right landing light switches are on?? Two sources of power going to the light???

I going to use one DPDT switch with two fused power sources that will activate the flasher or turn on both lights w/o the flasher. Real simple.

RV-List message posted by: Alex Peterson <alexpeterson@MCI2000.com>:
RMD Aircraft Lighting, 3648 SE Roanoke Ct., Hillsboro, OR 97124, 503-628-6056. Phone # in Van's catalogue is wrong. $295 for the kit which does both wings. You choose between the aircraft bulb or halogen. They make same for many cert. aircraft.

Last time I checked the RMD's were $385 USD. They come with round sealed beam landing lights but you can add position, and strobe under the lens, their advantage is that you are covering all your lights with one installation by not having to put landing lights in the leading edges separately.

I believe the Vans tip kit is for covering position lights only (no strobes) all you get are lenses, and have to fabricate mounts.

There has been comments made on the list that having the strobes under lenses can be distracting and some people have added fences to block the flash from there view.

The Duckworks use Blazer driving lights as available from Wal-Mart. I bought one kit from Vans and ordered a lens and made a bracket for the other wing. Yes the Duckworks kits from Vans use "cheezo auto parts" but they are inexpensive, easy to install, very light weight, and adequate for the purpose.

The Olds lights are sealed beam, bigger and require a larger opening, They use a mounting flange in an attempt to keep the lenses flush with the skins, but frankly I don't feel the installation looks as clean, they are also heavier, and require more work to install.

Steve Barnard of BAC also offers landing lights. they use a small round sealed beam similar to RMD but mount in the leading edge like Duckworks. They have the smallest openings of the three and are also easy to install. I'm not sure but I think they cost around $150/ea.

RV-List message posted by: Wndwlkr711 <Wndwlkr711@aol.com>
One RV-6 at S & F had a single, 50 watt halogen light in the lower cowl. He only used it for taxi but said it worked great.

I've got the Whelen A490A,TS,CF-14 Power Supplies x3, the A650 position w/strobe lights x2 and a A500A combo tail position w/strobe light. The wing strobe power supplies are each mounted on the most outboard rib with some aluminium angle stiffeners to spread the load. The tail strobe power supply is mounted just behind the seatback support side bulkhead on spacers.

The RMD fixtures are glassed into the LE of the wingtips and carry the position light w/strobe and a landing/taxi lamp under a polycarbonate.
I used auto lamp relays (40A rated) for turning power on/off to the 100W bulbs x2. An SSAC KRD3120B time delay relay is used to wig/wag the landing lights for enhanced visibility in high density traffic areas (OSH). Contact info for these suppliers is located in the RV Builders' Yeller Pages.

BTW, I have an RV-6A with O-360 c/s, so I didn't have to worry about aft cg. For this configuration, the weight and balance came out perfect.

Kongratulations! You found the first instalment of my "Kitplanes circuit Korrections," as mentioned near the end of my article in the June 99 issue of Kitplanes Magazine.

As of today, I've written 4 articles in Kitplanes, published in the May 97, October 97, December 97 and June 99 issues of Kitplanes magazine.

Unfortunately, I made some errors in the October 97 article about the $20 flashing wingtip light circuit (all mistakes were my fault). Here are the corrections to that article:

The 68K resistors mentioned in the article are really 100K's in the schematic. (Slowed the flash rate.)

I forgot to show pin 1 on the 555 IC. It should be shown, and shown going to ground. The circuit will not work if you don't ground pin 1 of the 555.

The 2.2K resistor to the gate of one FET is unnecessary, but makes for a nice jumper.

The 2N2904 transistor should really be a 2N3904. A 2N4401 from Radio Shack should work. (As should any general purpose NPN transistor. A 2N2222 is okay too.)

And my readers pointed out that there now are cheap p-channel FET's available, so you could do the circuit with one wire to the lights, and ground them in the wing, eliminating the need to run a return ground wire, thus making a retrofit solution easier. These p-channel FET's are not yet available off the shelf from Radio Shack though, and since I haven't tried it myself, you're on your own here. (You might be able to special order them from Radio Shack.)

On the lights: I switched from floods to 15 degree spots. (Brighter during the day.)

Since everyone wants to know where the article about stretch forming the wingtip lenses is from:
EAA's Sport Aviation, March '88, p 32ff.

Some numbers on light intensity, etc for different types of lamps. These numbers come from various sources on the Net, so may be a bit rough, but they give the general picture.

www.sunbriteleds.com

www.lumex.com

http://www.absak.com/basic/lighting.html Low-voltage lighting

http://cipco.apogee.net/ces/lble.asp Lighting Efficiency (Efficacy)

http://www.e-max.com/lighting.html Lighting Efficiency

http://www.f1-rocketboy.com/hid.htm DIY HID landing light

Comparison of luminous performance of light sources Light intensity measurement

Light Emitting Diode Lighting

LED POSITION LIGHTS

KNOTS 2U  HID Lights now FAA Approved

T-20 Six Chip Dome Lens Diffused Lens

Efficient Lighting

phtv_000476.pdf

Light bulbs - The Efficiency of Various Light Sources

The Candela

The candela is the foundation unit for the measurement of visible light. It is one of the seven foundation SI units. It's formal definition is:

The candela is abbreviated cd and its standard symbol is I_v. The candela is then used to define the lumen and other quantities used in the measurement of visible light. It is approximately equal to the old unit "candlepower" and is generally taken to be equivalent.

Typical values (in candela):

LED	.005
Candle	1
100W incandescent bulb	150
Automobile headlamp (high beam)	100,000
Lighthouse	300,000
Flashtube (peak)	1,000,000

For an isotropic source, the relationship between the candela and lumens is 1 cd = 4p lm and the unit relationships is 1 cd = lm/sr.

The Lumen

The lumen is the standard unit for the luminous flux of a light source. It is an SI derived unit based on the candela. It can be defined as the luminous flux emitted into unit solid angle (1 sr) by an isotropic point source having a luminous intensity of 1 candela. The unit lumen is then equal to cd x sr. The abbreviation is lm and the symbol is F_v. In terms of radiant power (also called radiant flux) it can be expressed as:

The luminous flux is the part of the power which is perceived as light by the human eye, and the figure 683 lumens/watt is based upon the sensitivity of the eye at 555 nm, the peak efficiency of the photopic (daylight) vision curve. The luminous efficacy is 1 at that frequency.

A typical 100 watt incandescent bulb has a luminous flux of about 1700 lumens.

Units for other quantities in photometry contain the lumen, such as the lux (lumens/meter²)