LED Strobes - Back to the drawing board...

N200PF · #1 11-26-2008, 09:17 PM

Well I heard back from Bill at CreativeAir today that he is not going to be able to knock down the RF issues he's ben having with the LED strobes. I purchased a set several weeks ago (never took delivery) and he was GREAT about keeping me in the loop on his progress towards fixing the issue. However, in the end, the LED strobes require a complete redesign to "meet his standards" of reduced noise.

I would really like to do LED strobes rather than the old stand-by Whelen's for many reasons. I've contacted AeroLED...any others I should be looking at? I thought there would be more choices by now.

Thanks! - Peter

craigvince · #2 11-26-2008, 10:18 PM

Try Kuntzelman Electronics.

Dan Langhout · #3 11-26-2008, 10:32 PM

. . . . . is who you should check out http://www.aveoaviationlights.com/. They already have their AveoFlash series with a LED Nav/Position/Strobe unit for unenclosed wigtips. The AveoFlashEW for enclosed wingtips (like our RVs) is due in December as well as a landing and taxi light to fit in the wingtip (all LED). They also make the PosiStrobe for the tail to provide the rear position and strobe where you would normally use a Whelen 500.

These lights are 100% LED and (at least according to AVEO) are compliant with the FAA requirements and are absolutely quiet electrically.

I have a Posistrobe coming from the distributor that is on UPS right now and is due for delivery on 12/1 (these have been on backorder from Spruce since at least August). As soon as I get it, I'll post some photos and some "pireps" on it.

In the mean time, here's some photos of the PosiStrobe the Aveo folks sent me.

BTW. I am not affiliated in any way with Aveo Engineering - just a customer who really hopes to be able to go 100% LED!

DickDe · #4 11-26-2008, 10:50 PM

Yes...look at www.strobesnmore.com. They have regular strobes and LED flashers from Whelen, Nova, and others for emergency vehicles but I have seen them on experimentals.

Dick DeCramer
RV6 N500DD flying w/Aeroflash strobes
RV8 fuselage...will Build my own lighting
Northfield, MN

rleffler · #5 11-27-2008, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DickDe

Yes...look at www.strobesnmore.com. They have regular strobes and LED flashers from Whelen, Nova, and others for emergency vehicles but I have seen them on experimentals.

It is the Nova strobes that CreativAir was reselling. When these LEDs strobe, they produce a considerable amount of RF.

RickWoodall · #6 11-27-2008, 04:30 PM

A little bird told me that a pretty cool new light package from aveo will be making it to our favourite kits plane company's inventory in DEC.
We will see, ordering that from vans at a good price would be a really sweet upgrade from the old standard choices.

We will see.

N200PF · #7 11-27-2008, 10:22 PM

Great Info Guys!!!

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction! I was pretty bummed after hearing back from Bill on his solution. We'll see what we have in December!

- Peter

N200PF · #8 12-01-2008, 01:39 PM

Dan did you get your PosiSTROBE? I'm intersted to konw what you think and if it's as quiet as they're claiming!

Also, I can't tell from their web site if the AveoFlashEW is just a strobe or contains position lights as well. All I need for the tips are the strobes. I have another LED solution for the position lights.

- Peter

Dan Langhout · #9 12-01-2008, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by N200PF

Dan did you get your PosiSTROBE? I'm intersted to konw what you think and if it's as quiet as they're claiming!

Also, I can't tell from their web site if the AveoFlashEW is just a strobe or contains position lights as well. All I need for the tips are the strobes. I have another LED solution for the position lights.

- Peter

I just got it this morning on UPS. I have been playing with it some and will post a more complete pirep later.

My initial testing using my Icom A210 radio with a Comant CI-122 antenna is that there is no interference! I have the radio sitting on the bench and the antenna attached to a 2' X 2' piece of aluminum for a ground plane. I can receive KHSV approach, tower, and ATIS with this set up. With the PosiStrobe hooked to the same power supply as the radio, there was no difference in reception at all - even receiving some weaker signals from aircraft talking to approach/tower. A couple of times, if I actually laid the PosiStrobe on the radio or held the antenna right next to it, I think I might have heard a little background noise but it doesn't seem to be very repeatable.

A couple of quick observations -

- The PosiStrobe does 48 double flashes/minute.

- The position light appears to be on if you have the strobe on.

- After running the unit for a couple of hours, it is only warm to the touch - not hot (edit: after 3 hours, IR thermometer says 109 degrees F).

More later . . . . .

The AveoFlashEW is both position and strobe.

N200PF · #10 12-01-2008, 10:52 PM

GREAT NEWS!!!

Did you work with anyone specific over there Dan? I'll be anxious to learn more about the AveoFlashEW and if they built it as a stand alone wing strobe...not to include red or green position lights.

That's what I need to go with the PosiStrobe.

- Peter