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HID conversion kit $25-35

D

DonPro

Member
I have been running these on my Polaris RZR for over a year trouble free. I had another landing light blow on my RV6 and decided to make the change to HIDs there and on the RV8a as well. The H3 bulbs fit the Duckworks reflectors on the RV8A. The 6 has standard aircraft bulbs but I had some reflectors from offroad cases that fit. Ductworks sells PAR82 reflector/bulb holders if you need them.
Lifetime warrantee. 35w- $25 55w-$35 I used 5000k bulbs for purer white. 3000k(yellow)-12000k(purple) available. Can't beat the price.

http://www.ddmtuning.com/

Difference on the RZR
100_6699.jpg
 
HID conversion....

So did you do the conversion on your planes yet? Any pictures? Have you flown them? Can these be wig-waged? These look really cool....and the price is right too!

Sorry for the 20 questions :rolleyes:
 
aaronboulais said:
So did you do the conversion on your planes yet? Any pictures? Have you flown them? Can these be wig-waged? These look really cool....and the price is right too!

Sorry for the 20 questions :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Just ordered the ones for the planes. Mounted the reflector for the light that blew and running a halogen until they get here.
Wig wags are a no-go. HIDs take a seccond or two to warm up. They are so bright they don't need to flash. People will see you.
 
It looks like you have to specify make/model car for the order. What did you put in to get the kit to fit the duckworks lamps?
 
I thought I read somewhere you could wig-wag them if allowed to warm up for a period first?
 
H3 bulb

trib said:
It looks like you have to specify make/model car for the order. What did you put in to get the kit to fit the duckworks lamps?
Click to expand...

Any HID kit with an H3 bulb will fit the Duckworks reflector. If your checking out the site listed select H3 for the bulb type.
 
Do these cheap HID conversions cause any radio/intercom interference? I see Duckworks offers what looks like the same thing for much more $$. Are theirs any less likely to cause noise issues?

I am also interested in knowing if the cheap ones can be wig wagged. Duckworks state that theirs can if you allow a warm up period before wigwagg is turned on...
 
how is it mounted in the wingtip

Which reflectors are you using? Do you have a pic of how it is mounted in the wing tip?
 
It's not a major interference, but you will have a little buzzing sound in the intercom if you have a remote igniter.. it's pretty normal. However, if you use the D1S bulb with built-in igniter, that interference won't be noticeable at all.. All these cheap setups have remote igniters.. and honestly, it's acceptable.. when I used the Halos I never even heard this interference.. not until I tried a Bose headset.. that's when I realized it's always there.. just barely audible..


Current draw can be calculated based off the wattage of the HID system.. so a 50W HID will draw just a few amps while giving a lot more light than a 100W halogen lamp..
 
Need the kit #

DonPro said:
55w HID left, 100w aircraft halogen right.
img_0053.jpg

QUOTE]

Very impressive display which I'd like to duplicate on my 6A but I found the DDM Tuning site a little confusing. :confused:
Exactly what 55 watt kit did you buy to achieve these spectacular results using the Duck Works reflectors Don? :eek:
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Radomir said:
...Current draw can be calculated based off the wattage of the HID system.. so a 50W HID will draw just a few amps while giving a lot more light than a 100W halogen lamp..
Click to expand...

To expand on that, the formula is watts=volts*amps. Doing a bit of algebra, amps=watts/volts.

So, if the power consumption actually is 55 watts, the current draw at 14 volts is 55/14=~3.9 amps.

Thanks, Bob K.
 
What about heat on the lens cover. If left on for a long taxi to the hangar, will it warp or deform the lens cover?
 
DEWATSON said:
What about heat on the lens cover. If left on for a long taxi to the hangar, will it warp or deform the lens cover?
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I tested mine 35w HID setup with the cover on for about 15minutes with no airflow. The lens got warm, but no more that with the halogen bulbs.
 
NYTOM said:
DonPro said:
55w HID left, 100w aircraft halogen right.
img_0053.jpg

QUOTE]

Very impressive display which I'd like to duplicate on my 6A but I found the DDM Tuning site a little confusing. :confused:
Exactly what 55 watt kit did you buy to achieve these spectacular results using the Duck Works reflectors Don? :eek:
Click to expand...

On the main page under featured items select Apexcone Raptor HID kit. I chose 55w H3 bulb 5000k color.
On my 6 I have RMD light kits built into the tips and used reflectors from Checker Auto 4" HID cases. My hangar nieghbor spent $208+tax on those and used the lights and ballast to convert his duckworks. On the 8A I had installed the ductworks 35w halogen and simply changed the bulb and added the ballast. I hear no buzz but don't have noise cancelling headsets. Start up was 3.9 amps IIRC then it drops some. Twice the light on 1/2 the power.
I fabbed some brackets to hold the ballast.
img_0058.jpg
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Outstanding

On the main page under featured items select Apexcone Raptor HID kit. I chose 55w H3 bulb 5000k color.
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Ok Don I've found them. I appreciate the help and also the added bonus of the photo showing how you mounted the ballasts.:D
This is without a doubt the best, cheapest and also superior landing light setup I've seen. If you don't think so check out the price on one of Aeroleds "Sunspot" LED replacements bulbs. I know they don't use much power and last forever but "OMG". :eek: And there not even as bright as these!
Thanks again Don
 
I'm giving them a shot, too.

Just ordered the same setup as you, and a couple H3 spot enclosures and a couple leading edge install kits from duckworks.

(This afternoon I was looking at the leading edge kits from Van's at $250 per side. Yikes.)
 
There are hundreds of sellers selling 55W H3 HID conversion kits for $50 shipped on ebay. Thats for a set of two lights/electronic ballasts. I got one of these kits for my rocket and connected it to my fuse block in the RV to check for any noise, and there is none.
 
Great idea! But I am sorry I am a bit confused. Which bulb conversion set do I need for the Ductworks rectangle leading edge wing lights, the H1 or H3?

Thanks,
 
Little confused

Don C
You show wing tip lights (I have the creativeair landing light/led/strobe combo) so I'm not sure if your solution will work for me. Do you have a pic of the reflectors and how they fit?
 
RV8RIVETER said:
Great idea! But I am sorry I am a bit confused. Which bulb conversion set do I need for the Ductworks rectangle leading edge wing lights, the H1 or H3?

Thanks,
Click to expand...

The retangular ductworks light use the H3c (H3 Compact). The regular H3 is longer and changes the focal point of the reflector. The H3c is a drop-in replacement for the existing bulbs. Most places are selling the H3c but call it the H3 even though they are different bulbs. The H3 will work though, but the reflector is designed for the H3c.

H3c is in the lower right, you can see the arc bulb is a bit lower.

w06phe.jpg
 
Won't work for my airplane

Impressive set up though so i ordered a pair to fit my Dodge Neon aftermarket projector headlight..These things are amazing without HID's, can hardly wait to see the difference with HIDs!

Now if only I could make them work with the creative air wing tip set up.

Frank
 
DUckworks with D1S bulbs

Here's my Duckworks setup with D1S bulbs. HID kit was $60 off of eBay. Lights for both wings.
WingLights.JPG
 
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round reflector choices

Xavier,

When you ordered your PAR 36 reflectors from duckworks, did you use the spot or flood version?? I take that you are using the D1S ballast in your application.

Thanks,
Chris
 
A unbiased test

Dean_aeroleds said:
Here is a video that we shot recently that compares a 50W HID that is used in the Cirrus SR22 with our Sunspot 46:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWp3gauFA1M

Dean Wilkinson
CTO, AeroLEDs LLC
Click to expand...

Don't want to start any debate here but look at this independent comparison of the three types of landing lights commonly used in our RV's.
http:www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlr1t4WRvvU
The Sunspot 46 used in Deans test is about 1 3/8 " diameter bigger than the Par36 standard light plane landing light and hold on to your hat, costs a whopping $895.00 EACH!:eek::eek::eek:
I saw the LEDs at Oshkosh and they were very impressive. I would go with them if they weren't so darn expensive. :mad: Their "wig-wag" feature is absolutely awesome. :cool:
My first LED flashlight went for about 40 bucks. Their now giving a pair of similar flashlights away for free for just walking into a Harbor Freight. :eek:
I've bought 12v @ 120v LED bulbs, some with over a hundred led's a bulb for as little as a buck on Ebay.
Nuff said. This is Don's thread on a experimental aircraft site about roll your own HID's. ;)
 
NYTOM said:
Don't want to start any debate here but look at this independent comparison of the three types of landing lights commonly used in our RV's.
http:www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlr1t4WRvvU
The Sunspot 46 used in Deans test is about 1 3/8 " diameter bigger than the Par36 standard light plane landing light and hold on to your hat, costs a whopping $895.00 EACH!:eek::eek::eek:
I saw the LEDs at Oshkosh and they were very impressive. I would go with them if they weren't so darn expensive. :mad: Their "wig-wag" feature is absolutely awesome. :cool:
My first LED flashlight went for about 40 bucks. Their now giving a pair of similar flashlights away for free for just walking into a Harbor Freight. :eek:
I've bought 12v @ 120v LED bulbs, some with over a hundred led's a bulb for as little as a buck on Ebay.
Nuff said. This is Don's thread on a experimental aircraft site about roll your own HID's. ;)
Click to expand...

That comparison in the video was done with a wide beam Sunspot 36, Aviation Consumer did a comparions this year with our narrow beam Sunspot 36 and other LED landing lights, and we came out on top. We have since upgraded the Sunspot 36 to the Sunspot 36HX which is 50% brighter, and have an LX version that is $100 less expensive because it is lower power and doesn't include the wig-wag feature.

There are 3 LEDs used in the Sunspot 46, and they cost us around $50 each. They are in a completely different class than LEDs found in flashlights, and produce a lot more light. We are also using specialty optics to produce a narrow beam, and have a rugged aluminum heatsink to dissipate the heat. The units include extra components so that it can pass all of the DO-160 requirements as well, which the cheap off the shelf stuff can't. Yes it is more expensive, but it is designed to meet the aviation requirements. The Sunspot 46 is designed to be installed on certified aircraft, which requires that we can pass all the stringent electrical and environmental tests...

For what it's worth.

Dean Wilkinson
CTO, AeroLEDs LLC
 
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Just what I didn't want to happen.

Dean I'm not trying to belittle your products. :confused: They are some of the best in the industry. If I could afford them they'd already be installed in my plane. :D But if I could afford them I wouldn't be working for years in my basement trying to build a plane by myself and trying to fabricate my own landing light setup. I'm sure your price is justified what with all the hoops the FAA make you jump through to get them certified. :eek:
I just thought a independent test to view with the same size bulbs was warranted.
In the coming years I suspect the majority of planes will be burning LED's, incandescents will only be in antiques and HID's will be little footnote in aviation history.
OK as far as this threads concerned, I've left the building.:)
 
HID update

I ordered a pair of the 55W HID conversions for the high beams on my Dodge Neon as a test to see if I want to add them to the RV.

The light output is simply amazing..I would guess twice as much light as with a standard halogens.

The downside is the weight..The ballasts as a little heavy for my liking..I didn't weight them but surprised how heavy they felt in my hand.

Halogens by comparison weigh virtually nothing (just the weight of the bulb).

Not sure I could bring myself to put two of them on the RV, I may wait for an automotive LED equivilent to become reasonably priced.

Frank
 
frankh said:
I ordered a pair of the 55W HID conversions for the high beams on my Dodge Neon as a test to see if I want to add them to the RV.

The light output is simply amazing..I would guess twice as much light as with a standard halogens.

The downside is the weight..The ballasts as a little heavy for my liking..I didn't weight them but surprised how heavy they felt in my hand.

Halogens by comparison weigh virtually nothing (just the weight of the bulb).

Not sure I could bring myself to put two of them on the RV, I may wait for an automotive LED equivilent to become reasonably priced.

Frank
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For $10 more my RV8 friend got the slim ballasts. They're probably 1/2 the weight. Tests on a Polaris RZR on RZRforrums.net show the LEDs are not nearly as bright(1/2) http://www.rzrforums.net/lighting-stereo-electrical/41754-ddm-led-lighting-2.html . My IFR 180hp CS prop RV6 came in at 1048lbs and climbs very well. If the HIDs last longer than my 100w aircraft halogens were it was an exceptable trade for me.
 
I just ordered some slim ballast units for $37(2 ea kit) delivered from East Coast HID's...I will let you know how they work out!
 
Slim ballast

At half the weight..Sounds more appealing.

I currently have wingtip halogens that are OK (and excellent for wig wag). But I would like to suppliment with a "turn night into day" duckworks light, mainly for taxiing around large unlit taxiways. probably a single light would be ample for this task.

I look forward to the pirep on the RV8

Frank
 
HID bulb for a MR16 adapter

PlaneLights.com (advertises here on VAF) is the only source I have seen for a HID conversion for the "MR16" size lights. Does anyone have experience with these? They seem expensive after looking at similar items on ebay... I have the "Bill VonDane" style light kit that was popular awhile back ;) Fits inside the 7 wingtip. [2" diameter I believe.]
35ballast.jpg


bulb.jpg
 
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DonPro said:
For $10 more my RV8 friend got the slim ballasts. They're probably 1/2 the weight. Tests on a Polaris RZR on RZRforrums.net show the LEDs are not nearly as bright(1/2) http://www.rzrforums.net/lighting-stereo-electrical/41754-ddm-led-lighting-2.html . My IFR 180hp CS prop RV6 came in at 1048lbs and climbs very well. If the HIDs last longer than my 100w aircraft halogens were it was an exceptable trade for me.
Click to expand...

I always find it amusing that when someone compares a low power LED light to an HID and the HID is found to be better, that they then make a broad sweeping generalization that ALL LED lights don't measure up to an HID. Our Sunspot 46 and Sunpot 64 lights beat HIDs, and they use LEDs.
 
Dean_aeroleds said:
There are 3 LEDs used in the Sunspot 46, and they cost us around $50 each. They are in a completely different class than LEDs found in flashlights, and produce a lot more light.

Dean Wilkinson
CTO, AeroLEDs LLC
Click to expand...

I've seen some pretty extreme flashlights, what is the exact LED you use in the sunspot 46?
 
Like looking into the SUN

Just received my components to construct my DonPro HID conversion.
The reflectors from Duckworks are of a really good quality and everything just falls into place. Been playing with them on the bench and I think I might even be able to weld with these things. :eek: The brightness is incredible.
I'm going to temporarily hook them up with my wig-wag flasher this weekend and see what happens. If you let them heat up a few seconds they seem like they might flash OK. I don't know what that would do to the life of the bulbs though. :confused: I ordered the 5000K bulbs and they have a nice white color and not the blue shades you see on some of the German cars.
Thanks again Don, You da man!!!!
 
Dean_aeroleds said:
Each LED in the Sunspot 46 draws 8Amps at 32Watts of power per LED... flashlights use tiny 1W or 3W LEDs....
Click to expand...

I wouldn't question the quality of the product, but can you help a bit with your math? Is it 32W of power per LED, or 8A of current per LED? With 12-14V of system voltage, the math doesn't work. If you're measuring current after the driver electronics, the measurement doesn't really mean much when looking at loads to the a/c's electrical system.

Thanks,

Charlie
 
8A and 32W. Each LED drops 4V, the system voltage has no bearing on the LED current or voltage.

rv7charlie said:
I wouldn't question the quality of the product, but can you help a bit with your math? Is it 32W of power per LED, or 8A of current per LED? With 12-14V of system voltage, the math doesn't work. If you're measuring current after the driver electronics, the measurement doesn't really mean much when looking at loads to the a/c's electrical system.

Thanks,

Charlie
Click to expand...
 
Wig Wagging HID's

Well I hooked them (the HID's) up to a police car headlight flasher. They DO WigWag but the pulse is so fast that they don't get a chance to fully ignite. If I could slow down the flasher with slightly more "on" time they would be more effective.
 
NYTOM said:
If I could slow down the flasher with slightly more "on" time they would be more effective.
Click to expand...

I took one of the B&C flashers and hacked it because I thought the flash rate was too high.

Here's the post about it. (There's a couple videos toward the bottom to show you the flash rate.)

http://n999za.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/hacking-the-wig-wag-flasher/

I just saw a separate post saying they don't really work with the HIDs, but I haven't tried it on mine yet to verify.

Hope this helps.
 
I tested mine with a wig-wag relay, and it worked fine after letting it warm up for a minute or so. The relay I have flashes relatively slowly.
 
Warming up did not work for mine. The NAPA relay I have flashes quick with the normal halogen bulbs. First time I tried it it just buzzed. Second time it switched to the right one and hung there. It worked fine with the halogen bulbs.
 
Most auto type flashers are bi-metal springs; the cycling is driven by current through the spring heating it until it moves, opening the contacts. It then cools, springs back & re-closes the circuit.

The load presented by other types of lamps are very different from incandescents, changing the timing of the flasher. You might try a timer that cycles independent of the load.

Charlie
 
Brantel said:
Warming up did not work for mine. The NAPA relay I have flashes quick with the normal halogen bulbs. First time I tried it it just buzzed. Second time it switched to the right one and hung there. It worked fine with the halogen bulbs.
Click to expand...

Perhaps the slim-line ballasts are missing some components which could make them work properly with a flasher.
 
I'll try warming

Never even tried warming first.:eek:
The flasher I used is a rather large solid state type mounted on a 5X3 heat sink. I'll give it a try.;)
 
I am using an alternating relay from NAPA. It is not a bi-metal flasher. It is intended to be used in emergency vehicles. It has a 555 timer and a relay inside of it. It does however require a load on both outputs in order to alternate.

I think the features of the ballast I have are preventing proper operation of this relay.

rv7charlie said:
Most auto type flashers are bi-metal springs; the cycling is driven by current through the spring heating it until it moves, opening the contacts. It then cools, springs back & re-closes the circuit.

The load presented by other types of lamps are very different from incandescents, changing the timing of the flasher. You might try a timer that cycles independent of the load.

Charlie
Click to expand...
 
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