Homebrew Wig-Wag Controller Circuit & PCB

[Mich48041]

numbers for two 50W halogens in series on the taxi light circuit

Did you mean to say, "Parallel"?
Joe Gores

[Norman CYYJ]

Why not use a solid state four flasher, quite cheap and works very well?

[DrillBit]

Actually, tried it both series and parallel. Drew about the same amps in both configurations, but the numbers quoted were for parallel.

[DrillBit]

Originally Posted by Norman CYYJ

Why not use a solid state four flasher, quite cheap and works very well?

Recreation, education, and finding inexpensive things to do while College Educations soaked up major discretionary Aviation funding (see post #1).

The only advantages this ckt may have over commercial units are negligible currents flowing through the panel switches and the wig-wag action doesn't depend on the loads (one side will still flash if the other is side is burnt out or open circuit for any other reason).

[krw5927]

Originally Posted by DrillBit

Recreation, education, and finding inexpensive things to do while College Educations soaked up major discretionary Aviation funding (see post #1).

The only advantages this ckt may have over commercial units are negligible currents flowing through the panel switches and the wig-wag action doesn't depend on the loads (one side will still flash if the other is side is burnt out or open circuit for any other reason).

In addition to these reasons, I designed and built my own wigwag controller because the automotive-style flasher I initially purchased didn't have a true 50% duty cycle for the lights. One would always be on for a shorter time than the other. Great for cars, but I didn't like it on the plane.

I also wanted to use LEDs and not burn through a bunch of (wasted) power to heat up resistors in order to make the auto flasher work.

Finally, if you open up the auto flasher you'll find a relay inside and associated moving parts to wear out. A Mosfet-powered wigwag controller suffers no such wear.

[Glas467]

Now this is homebuilding at its finest!