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Whelen A600 power supply replacement

Ben Meyer

Active Member
In my -6A, the strobes are inop. I have the standard Whelen A600, position, nav and strobe combo unit. No independent tail light or strobe.

I have power to the power supply, but neither strobe fires. The current power supply is this one:

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/whelenpowersupplies.php?clickkey=2596592

Can I replace the Whelen unit with this?:

http://www.strobesnmore.com/Nova-Extreme-EPSX-Strobe-Power-Supplies.html

Obviously, one issue is price. $400 plus vs. $90
Or, do I bite the bullet and buy the plug and play Whelen Orion 600?
Are there any other easy options for the standard Vans -6 wingtips?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Ben
 
Used?

Ben,

I have a Whelen driver from a plane I parted out and would let it go for $100 + shipping. PM or email me if interested.

Looks exactly like the ACS photo but I'll confirm this weekend.

I also have a left wing pos/strobe available.
 
My Strobesnmore power supply and lights (lights are identical to Whelen so no reason a strobesnmore supply won't work) have been great for almost 200 hours now.
 
If your tail strobe is working, I would swap the connectors at the box to make sure it is not the strobe tube before I replaced the power supply. After 700 hours, I have replaced tail strobe (last year) and a wing strobe first of this year.

I would hate to buy a new power supply and find out I had bad tubes.
 
Make sure the power supply is inop. Just today, my strobes wouldn't work after washing the plane. I found the rudder fairing full of water (drain hole clogged), strobe wire under water. Unclogged hole, drained water, blew air thru to dry. Strobes now work again.
 
Make sure the power supply is inop. Just today, my strobes wouldn't work after washing the plane. I found the rudder fairing full of water (drain hole clogged), strobe wire under water. Unclogged hole, drained water, blew air thru to dry. Strobes now work again.

Anyone know how to test the power supply? Mine has 12v at the input wire and makes no noise after 10 minutes testing in the hangar.

Thanks again for all the help!

Ben
 
Put a known good flash tube on it. If it is a bad tube, the power supply will not discharge/charge.
 
I thought these supplies from Nova flashed too quickly. Also how is the multiple flash accounted for in regard to the flash rate.
 
just me

Ben this is just me, but we had the old flash tube style on all three corners of the 8. The tail power pack went dead, so I wanted to try out the new LED unit in its place. We were at the big show that year so I was looking for airshow discounts. When I found the right dealer and price, I broke down and got all three. When we got home I pulled all that old stuff out. Ran three new supply wires to the same old switch and fired it up. I will never go back. The weight you save, the high voltage wiring, it all goes away. The units are direct screw on in place of the old foot print. No more shielding for "RFI" radio noise. It just works so much better with less electricity and therefor more life or stress to you alternator as well. You can replace them one at a time if they go bad that way with separate power packs. Just a snap call we made and I am clad we did. Yours, R.E.A. III #80888
 
Yes, you can mix the LED versions with the strobe flash tube versions. However, if you have the sync wire connected to the power supply versions, do not also connect that wire to the sync wire of the LED version.

You can connect the sync wire between the power supply's or between the LED units, just not when the system has a mix of the two different units.

Also, my strobe tubes / power supply's were the "comet flash" type. The LED units do not appear to support comet flash.
 
I just bought a supply off of eBay for $32 including shipping. It's a Code 3 unit. I'm not sure what the relationship between Code 3 and Nova is but I think they purchased some of Nova's product line. At any rate the unit I got is spec'd at 70 flashes/minute but in my crude test it was 60 flashes/ minute. Either way that is what I was looking for.

I know LEDS are nicer but for now I'm just looking for a cheap solution that works. Maybe some day I'll switch over to LED strobes.
 
I think you want the Nova XPAK604X-HR.
The HR is "Half Rate" so it falls within the FAA flash rate which is less than the standard for emergency vehicles.
Mine is running fine.
My son Peter has stepped up to the LED strobes, and is pleased.
 
I just bought a supply off of eBay for $32 including shipping. It's a Code 3 unit. I'm not sure what the relationship between Code 3 and Nova is but I think they purchased some of Nova's product line. At any rate the unit I got is spec'd at 70 flashes/minute but in my crude test it was 60 flashes/ minute. Either way that is what I was looking for.

I know LEDS are nicer but for now I'm just looking for a cheap solution that works. Maybe some day I'll switch over to LED strobes.


Ray,

What model did you purchase?

Thanks!
Ben
 
9 out of 10 times the strobe tube is bad not the power supply. Keep in mind that if you continue to use the strobes with a defective strobe tube(s), it will damage the power supply.

As it was suggested, I would swap connectors at the power supply to see if the problem moves to another tube. If it does, the power supply is the problem. if not, it is the bulb.

We do have strobe tubes at: www.strobesusa.com/parts-accessories-c-31/bulbs-tubes-c-31_34/

If you need power supply, you can find it at: www.strobesusa.com/flashers-power-s...iation-series-strobe-power-supply-p-1264.html

It is capable of flashing at a lower rate than standard power supply.
 
9 out of 10 times the strobe tube is bad not the power supply. Keep in mind that if you continue to use the strobes with a defective strobe tube(s), it will damage the power supply.

As it was suggested, I would swap connectors at the power supply to see if the problem moves to another tube. If it does, the power supply is the problem. if not, it is the bulb.

We do have strobe tubes at: www.strobesusa.com/parts-accessories-c-31/bulbs-tubes-c-31_34/

If you need power supply, you can find it at: www.strobesusa.com/flashers-power-s...iation-series-strobe-power-supply-p-1264.html

It is capable of flashing at a lower rate than standard power supply.


Thanks to all! This info is going in my "tech file" for future reference.
It turned out that my problem was related to the circuit breaker. While troubleshooting, I pushed on the CB. The strobes started to flash. By wiggling the CB, the strobes would work, then not. After a replacement CB from composite designes, all is well!

Ben
 
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