Strobes N' More LED Strobes

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captain_john
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Strobes N' More LED Strobes

Post by captain_john »

Yah, so a friend of mine just got a pair of these:

http://www.strobesnmore.com/strobes-n-m ... d-kit.html

They are pretty cool! I think I might get them for my wingtips!

Are they legal? I dunno?

:? CJ
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cjensen
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Post by cjensen »

Doesn't look like they come in green...cyan, actually. Red is red, but no cyan green and it won't be "legal". I quoted that because my inspector looked at them and just moved on. No color checking (mine are cyan tho)...
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Wicked Stick
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Post by Wicked Stick »

I like the fact that they design them to fit exactly in the same hole and screw placement as their regular strobes. I can see myself replacing mine to LED's down the road a bit.

The only question I have is what to do about the tail strobe ?
Sounds like this setup only comes as pairs, so I guess for airplanes you'd have to get 2 sets. A shame they don't have a powerpack that would accomodate 3 or 4 plug ins.
Dave "WS" Rogers
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Wicked Stick
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Post by Wicked Stick »

cjensen wrote:Doesn't look like they come in green...cyan, actually. Red is red, but no cyan green and it won't be "legal". I quoted that because my inspector looked at them and just moved on. No color checking (mine are cyan tho)...
These would be for strobes only, not Nav lights.
Dave "WS" Rogers
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cjensen
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Post by cjensen »

Oops!! :o Totally missed that... :oops: :lol:
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captain_john
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Post by captain_john »

Check out the website. They have this single strobe head unit:

http://www.strobesnmore.com/sound-off-u ... y-led.html

OTOH... I linked a friend and he sent me back this:

Well, I may be the stick in the mud here. From the good book (FAR 91) -

"91.205 - General. Except as provided in paragraphs (c)(3) and (e) of this section, no person may operate a powered civil aircraft with a standard category U.S. airworthiness certificate in any operation...unless that aircraft contains the instruments and equipment specified in those paragraphs (or FAA-approved equivalents) for that type of operation, and those instruments and items of equipment are in operable condition.

(c)(3) An approved aviation red or aviation white anticollision light system on all U.S.-registered civil aircraft. Anticollision light systems initially installed after August 11, 1971, on aircraft for which a type certificate was issued or applied for before August 11, 1971, must at least meet the anticollision light standards of part 23, 25, 27, or 29 of this chapter, as applicable, that were in effect on August 10, 1971, except that the color may be either aviation red or aviation white. In the event of failure of any light of the anticollision light system, operations with the aircraft may be continued to a stop where repairs or replacement can be made."

IMO, John, the answer to your question is that we gotta have an "approved" anticollision lighting system - but not necessarily one that conforms with the FAR design standards. So...what does "approved" mean and who does the "approving"? In the absence of a better answer, the issue is probably up to you and whomever issues your airworthiness certificate.


Sooo, is it worth the gamble?

Perhaps?

8) CJ

...to be continued!
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Post by Bob Barrett »

The only person that defines what nav and strobe lights are approved is the FAA! I checked a year ago and there wre not many led lights approved by the FAA. Therefore I used TSO lights on mine! Many companies claim of have LED lights approved by the FAA but in reality the only ones I found a year ago cost more than TSO standard lights.

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Post by Thermos »

captain_john wrote:OTOH... I linked a friend and he sent me back this:

Well, I may be the stick in the mud here. From the good book (FAR 91) -
....
I was the quotee there (thanks John :))...the FAA does get to decide what's approved or not, but that approval could be a lot of things - a TSO, or as part of an aircraft's Type Certificate or a Supplemental TC.

And in this particular case, they chose to call out a difference between "approved" and "meets FAR 23/25 design standards." That's why I said that it's probably up to whomever issues your Airworthiness Certificate to decide what "approved" means - whether they're from a FSDO/MIDO or are a designee (DAR), they're the FAA. The alternative is to ask FAA Hq for a formal interpretation.

IMO, it's important to be "legal" with lights, transponders, encoders, etc. I'd get with the person who will be issuing your AC and come to an understanding on what's acceptable before you buy/build/install any position or strobe lights.

[/soapbox] :)

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Post by captain_john »

Well that just sucks!

:P CJ
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Post by Brantel »

I like the looks of these. The only problem I see with em is that the power pack only has two outputs per pack.
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Post by captain_john »

Yah, but they do sell singles and the units can be linked together to synchronize flash patterns.

8) CJ
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Post by Brantel »

Cool.. I may look into these if my current ps dies or I lose a strobe tube!!!
Last edited by Brantel on Mon Jan 24, 2011 7:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Strobes N' More LED Strobes

Post by leffler »

captain_john wrote:Yah, so a friend of mine just got a pair of these:

http://www.strobesnmore.com/strobes-n-m ... d-kit.html

They are pretty cool! I think I might get them for my wingtips!

Are they legal? I dunno?

:? CJ
I can't speak to this new model, but the previous versions were extremely RF noisy. They could break squelch on any radio within 15-20 feet. I would make sure you can return them and conduct you're own tests.
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