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  #111  
Old 02-03-2014, 03:33 PM
Canadian_JOY Canadian_JOY is offline
 
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Why not try installing a simple series dropping resistor in the power line so the lights aren't being hit with full aircraft 13.8V, then if necessary add a couple of capacitors between the ends of the resistor and aircraft ground? Poor man's filter. You could also substitute some turns of wire as an inductor, make it small enough gauge that it will have some resistance value, plus will add some inductance, and again a filter capacitor on each side of it to ground.
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  #112  
Old 02-03-2014, 04:13 PM
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rocketbob rocketbob is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by catmandu View Post
Tried using shielded wire today, no change. Bummer. Might have to abandon the trustfire.
Yeah I figured that wasn't going to work. Basically the lights dump a large amount of AC noise and the wire feeding the lights acts as an antenna. Shielding it will have minimal effect. A ferrite is essentially an AC resistor so the more times you wrap the wires thru it, and the more substantial it is, the more it will attenuate AC frequencies. The ferrites I mentioned earlier get the radio noise down to a very acceptable level.
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  #113  
Old 02-03-2014, 06:40 PM
Bavafa Bavafa is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by catmandu View Post
Tried using shielded wire today, no change. Bummer. Might have to abandon the trustfire.
Did you ground the shielded portion only on one side? Grounding it on both side will create a ground loop?
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  #114  
Old 02-04-2014, 06:25 AM
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catmandu catmandu is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bavafa View Post
Did you ground the shielded portion only on one side? Grounding it on both side will create a ground loop?
Yes, only grounded on the panel side.

My immediate need for night flight seems to have gone away, I will revisit this landing light thing later. I need to get my logged RV time out of the single digits, so I am working on buttoning things back up so I can fly a bit (hopefully: one SB bullet dodged, will check #2 later today).
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Last edited by catmandu : 02-04-2014 at 06:30 AM.
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  #115  
Old 02-04-2014, 11:10 PM
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Omega232Devils Omega232Devils is offline
 
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Default Quick teaser!

Just a quick teaser, I plan to do a better write up later. For now, here are the cliff notes:

After talking to Rocket Bob, I purchased 4 of these LEDs ($26 total):

http://www.kaidomain.com/Product/Details.S009985

I installed them in the right leading edge in place of my 55W HID lights.

Here are the LEDs: (0.7amps each / so total of 2.8amps)



For comparison, here is the left wing 55W HIDs: (4.5amps each, I know 55W divided by 14.2 volts is 3.87amps, but it measures a higher draw)



And both on:



The HIDs are super bright and will light the runway at half a mile, but are a very narrow beam. The LEDs are bright as well, but the beam width is much wider. I have only flown once with the new lights and these pictures were taken before I re-positioned them(they are aimed too low), but the results are promising. I will post a full write up once I replace the left wing. No RF noise.

Dan

Not sure if the video will work, but here is a try:

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  #116  
Old 02-05-2014, 09:06 AM
Bavafa Bavafa is offline
 
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Don,
What are the dimension of these, they look to be about 1? diameter, is that correct?
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  #117  
Old 02-05-2014, 10:21 AM
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Toobuilder Toobuilder is offline
 
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They do look small...

...Small enough to use as dedicated taxi lights mounted somewhere clever.

Hmmmm...
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  #118  
Old 02-05-2014, 11:00 AM
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Omega232Devils Omega232Devils is offline
 
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The reflectors are 1" at the widest part and just a hair under 7/8" at the base. They are really small, but pack a punch. Check back a few post and you can see where RocketBob uses a single one in each wingtip as his taxi lights. After talking to Bob offline I figured if 1 is good, 4 must be better, right?
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  #119  
Old 02-06-2014, 12:35 PM
scootwoot scootwoot is offline
 
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Dan, did you add any additional heatsinks to these bulbs? love to see how you mounted them.
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  #120  
Old 02-08-2014, 07:04 PM
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Toobuilder Toobuilder is offline
 
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Finally got the Rocket back in the air and put the dual Trustfire lights to the test. I landed at dusk so have not tested the "landing light" aspect, but did make several runs against a ground observer with the multiple modes and the reports are good. The "SOS" function seems to be the most conspicuous, but the "steady high" setting is still considerably more visible than the 100 w GE still mounted on the other wingtip. The modes are easier to select with the power switch than I anticipated so that's also a plus. The main problem remains the noise. I have about 20 turns through a big ferrite and I think it actually increased the noise! There will definitely be some tuning involved, but this installation seems to be worth the trouble.

More to follow.
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WARNING! Incorrect design and/or fabrication of aircraft and/or components may result in injury or death. Information presented in this post is based on my own experience - Reader has sole responsibility for determining accuracy or suitability for use.

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RV-8 - SDS CPI
1940 Taylorcraft BL-65
1984 L39C
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