What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Is there such a thing as too bright?

H

htx9a

Member
I'm installing a pair of these constant-current dimmable 120W 15,000 Lumen lights with the standard Duckworks mounts. These have roughly double the light output of the Aerosun wingtip lights, and 2.5x the output of an LED PAR64 light.

As a bonus, the light can be strobed with up to 300W, or 30,000 Lumens.

I'm not afiliated with these guys, but having played with these, I'm very impressed. Here are some demo videos.

Drone Lighting — StratusLEDs

DRONE LIGHTING
www.stratusleds.com www.stratusleds.com

I have a pair of their earlier models, but the current model outputs 24,750 Lm at 150W.

Is there any practical (legal?) limit on light brightness? Obviously I can't taxi around with these on, but in the air anything goes?


2024-03-17-22-02-01-151.jpg
2024-03-17-22-02-30-755.jpg
 
Last edited:
When it comes to LED lights, I always ask how much noise to they make? Noise as in radio noise and electrical noise that creates interference with other devices.

I once put an LED light in a GDO (garage door opener). I could open the door with the remote but I could not close it using the remote while the LED light was on. It required a special GDO LED light bulb that was ten times the price as an ordinary light bulb.

In converted my 100W landing lights in my airplane to cheap LED replacements but knew they would cause radio noise. I built a filter and test fixture on the bench to reduce the radio noise on a handheld airband radio before installing the LED lights in the airplane.
 
Had a cheap set of Amazon lights, worked great. Ended up having to go with Fly LEDS after my dynon install do to RF interference. Not as bright but no RF
 
RV6_flyer said:
When it comes to LED lights, I always ask how much noise to they make? Noise as in radio noise and electrical noise that creates interference with other devices.
Click to expand...
Initial testing shows some additional noise above the background squelch with an ICOM IC-A14 that I'm able to (mostly) squash with a small ferrite, but also similar levels just being anywhere near the collection of laptops and screens on this desk. I'll need to set up something farther away to test with. Surprisingly my inexpensive bench supply isn't breaking squelch on its own at 150W.
agent4573 said:
There's always a heat concern too. Make sure you don't melt your lens.
Click to expand...

They're actually fan-cooled and I've tested them at full blast for 10 minutes with the heatsink only getting warm to the touch. There's also a thermistor input to pull back current to protect the LEDs if the fan were to fail.
 
htx9a said:
Obviously I can't taxi around with these on, but in the air anything goes?
Click to expand...
As long as you turn them off in time before you night blind someone waiting at threshold to take-off since they will be sitting there watching/waiting for you to land.
 
Last edited:
I bought this same StratusLED light a couple of years ago just to have a super super bright flashlight. It's amazing how bright it really is! I've kicked around the thought of mounting it in my RV but never have.
 
FireMedic_2009 said:
FYI, Each 150W led is pulling 11A or so at 14 V. What is an Apple to Apple comparison to the 5 light FlyLEDs?
Click to expand...
Here is what the Quad draws (4 lights....thus the name.... :LOL: ) from the FlyLED web site:

For 12 volt systems only, the Quad Spotlight has two power inputs. The main input will light all four LEDs (4 amps, 4800 lumens) and the second (optional) Taxi input will light up just one LED (1 amp, 1200 lumens). (Two diodes keep the power inputs separated). Perfect for taxiing without blinding others!
 
With the LED and heatsink separate from the boost converter board, I tested having the board behind the panel with a pair of 22awg wires running to the wingtip. The LED takes 30V+ so less than 4A on the long wing run.

With an oscilloscope I measure a constant 350kHz switching frequency so I've designed a small filter to put in front of the board that should clean up the small ripple. Combined with a metal enclosure, it should be good to go.
 
Last edited:
Roadjunkie1 said:
Here is what the Quad draws (4 lights....thus the name.... :LOL: ) from the FlyLED web site:

For 12 volt systems only, the Quad Spotlight has two power inputs. The main input will light all four LEDs (4 amps, 4800 lumens) and the second (optional) Taxi input will light up just one LED (1 amp, 1200 lumens). (Two diodes keep the power inputs separated). Perfect for taxiing without blinding others!
Click to expand...
So the other system’s output is 15,000 lumens at about 11-12A. So the 4 light flyleds are a 1/3 the brightness at a 1/3 the current. Maybe using two 7-light flyleds (one on each wing) instead of two of the other lights might be a good compromise regarding cost. However is cost isn’t a factor, then light it up
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top