LED Strobe Comparison Video

[Dean_aeroleds]

I created a video that compares a legacy Xenon strobe that is a PMA'd unit that many homebuilders use with our AeroLEDs Pulsar NSP all LED position/strobe and a competitor's all LED position/strobe.

The video was shot just after sunset with the strobes located at a distance of 1500 feet from the camera. The legacy strobe is on the bottom of the stack, the Pulsar NSP is in the middle, and the competitor strobe is on top.

One thing that should be pointed out is that the Xenon strobe has a very short flash duration, so the camera only catches flashes that occur when the camera shutter is open. Some of the Xenon flashes are missed by the camera when its shutter happens to be closed.

The competitor's LED strobe claims to exceed the TSO requirements both on the box it came in and on the installation instructions that were enclosed inside the box.

All 3 strobes are powered using a 12.8VDC truck battery.

Here is the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu4KyNBkK8o

Dean Wilkinson
CTO, AeroLEDs LLC

[rleffler]

Great video!

bob

[Mouser]

That is a telling comparison. I was looking for something like this when I bit the bullet on my tail light... looks like I made the right choice. Time to get the NS90s for my wings.

[NYTOM]

Wow Dean. You've made me rethink my lighting choice.
Very convincing!

[RVNineA]

I spent quite a lot of time looking at the various LED strobes at Oshkosh, and became concerned about the directionality of the LED beams. Although the LEDs seem much brighter than the old tube-style stobes in a particular direction, I'm not so sure that remains true when viewed from all directions.

Thank you for video, that comparison was very useful, but can you also show measurements of the light output from your LED strobes for variation in angle around the strobe. I suspect that the output of the Xenon tube strobe would show little variation with angle, but what does the LED output look like?

John

[Dean_aeroleds]

Originally Posted by RVNineA

I spent quite a lot of time looking at the various LED strobes at Oshkosh, and became concerned about the directionality of the LED beams. Although the LEDs seem much brighter than the old tube-style stobes in a particular direction, I'm not so sure that remains true when viewed from all directions.

Thank you for video, that comparison was very useful, but can you also show measurements of the light output from your LED strobes for variation in angle around the strobe. I suspect that the output of the Xenon tube strobe would show little variation with angle, but what does the LED output look like?

John

John,

The TSO requirement for Class II anti-collision lights requires 360 degree coverage around the airplane that meets the following intensities in the vertical direction (as measured from the the plane of the wings and fuselage):

vertical angle minimum intensity
0 to +/-5 degrees >= 400 effective candela
+/-5 to +/-10 degrees >= 240 effective candela
+/-10 to +/-20 degrees >= 80 effective candela
+/-20 to +/-30 degrees >= 40 effective candela
+/-30 to +/-75 degrees >= 20 effective candela

The Pulsar NS series and the Suntail lights have been tested by an independent SAE accredited lab, and when installed as a set, exceed the above requirements in all directions. There is some variability in intensity depending what horizontal angle you are at, but we are above 400 all the way around, with peaks as high as 876 effective candela.

The direction seen in the video only measured at 477 effective candela on the Pulsar NSP.

Dean Wilkinson
CTO, AeroLEDs LLC

[Peterk]

Neat vid. Makes me glad I bought the AeroLeds. After I installed them I turned out all the lights in the hanger and took my family out there in the dark. Then I turned them on....it was like a Jimmy Hendrix concert. Awesome.

[C-GRVT]

I also was looking at combination strobe/nav lights at Oshkosh - the Aeroled fellow at the booth that I spoke to was quite clear that the Pulsar EXP did not meet the TSO requirement for directional coverage. The data sheet for the Pulsar EXP describes the nav light as "FAR compliant" and the strobe as "FAR Class 1 equivalent"). Compare that to the data sheet for the Pulsar NS90H.
I don't know what they can mean by "FAR compliant".
So, if you want a strobe/nav combination light that meets certified requirements for coverage the Pulsar EXP would not, according to Aeroled, be the choice to make.
Bill Brooks
Ottawa, Canada
RV-6A finishing

[Dean_aeroleds]

Originally Posted by C-GRVT

I also was looking at combination strobe/nav lights at Oshkosh - the Aeroled fellow at the booth that I spoke to was quite clear that the Pulsar EXP did not meet the TSO requirement for directional coverage. The data sheet for the Pulsar EXP describes the nav light as "FAR compliant" and the strobe as "FAR Class 1 equivalent"). Compare that to the data sheet for the Pulsar NS90H.
I don't know what they can mean by "FAR compliant".
So, if you want a strobe/nav combination light that meets certified requirements for coverage the Pulsar EXP would not, according to Aeroled, be the choice to make.
Bill Brooks
Ottawa, Canada
RV-6A finishing

Bill,

I recommend that if you want class II anti-collision light in the same body length as the Pulsar EXP, you go with our Pulsar.

The wingtip lights we offer are:

Pulsar NSP (short body, forward and rear position with 180 degree strobe coverage)
Pulsar NS180 (short body, forward position with 180 strobe degree coverage)
Pulsar NS90 (short body, forward position with 90 degree strobe coverage)
Pulsar (long body, forward and rear position with 180 degree strobe coverage)

The Pulsar EXP is like the Pulsar except that the anti-collision light does not fully comply with the Class II anti-collision light requirements. It is Class III.

Class I strobes are red with a 150 eff. candela minimum (helicopters).

Dean Wilkinson
CTO, AeroLEDs LLC