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LED Position Lights

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2019 7:29 am
by 6277
Now that I have my Tailbeacon installed and operating, the position lights must be on at all times for ADSB-out. Any thoughts on changing out the wingtip Red and Green bulbs with LED bulbs to reduce electrical load?

Re: LED Position Lights

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2019 9:04 am
by 6597
I went with these for the wings and tail awhile back, took an infrared thermometer to them and they hardly registered as opposed to the incandescents I took out. Was working on adjusting the old vibrating voltage regulator and these got me in the charging range I wanted. Very pleased and impressed. I would say at least 3 times brighter than the old incandescents and no radio interference whatsoever fwiw.

https://www.pilotlights.net/super-brigh ... tion-light

Re: LED Position Lights

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2019 10:56 am
by 8359
I have something similar installed on mine as the ones posted above.

They work great, very bright, almost no load and they don't induce any weird noise in the headset.

Re: LED Position Lights

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2019 12:03 pm
by 6478
Thanks for the link, Dave. These look great! Just curious if you went with the white or red/green lights for the wing nav lights. I'm trying to decide which type to order.

Re: LED Position Lights

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2019 12:21 pm
by 6597
I went with all white, I wasn't sure of their claim of colored bulbs in colored lenses (wingtips) made sense to me.

Re: LED Position Lights

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2019 12:57 pm
by 6478
That's what I was thinking, too. White it is then. Thanks again!

Re: LED Position Lights

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2019 1:07 pm
by 2066
6597 wrote: Mon Nov 04, 2019 12:21 pm I went with all white, I wasn't sure of their claim of colored bulbs in colored lenses (wingtips) made sense to me.
I did a little experimenting early on and found that the combination of colored leds behind the OEM colored lenses resulted in "different" (and, unacceptable) colors. It seems that the only answer to keeping "true" green and red is to utilize the white LEDs behind colored lenses or the colored LEDs behind clear lenses (which are available). Mac

Re: LED Position Lights

Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2019 10:23 pm
by 8233

Re: LED Position Lights

Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2019 10:25 am
by 2066
8233 wrote: Mon Nov 04, 2019 10:23 pm I've really liked these:

https://www.aero-lites.com/product-page ... placements
Agree, David -- good company & product line. I recently installed their bulb in my retractable landing light -- super bright & pulls only 3.65 amps. I'm now 100% LEDs, incidentally, & my little 12A B & C alternator says "I have amps to spare!" :-). Mac
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Re: LED Position Lights

Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 6:47 pm
by 6843
A few comments from my experience. I originally put in colored LED bulbs and bought clear covers. A FAA inspector saw them and told me he knew they weren't the STC'd bulbs and that if I wanted to keep them (he agreed they were an improvement and wasn't going to hassle me) I should get clear bulbs and go back to colored lenses. The LED bulbs are hard to see through the colored lens. Also, the first set of bulbs I bought were just "that much" too long. When I installed the lens, it pushed in the bulb a tiny amount. The bulb still worked but the "Strobe" option quit. When I bought the clear bulbs I found some a bit shorter (sorry, can't remember the brand. Bought them at OSH last year) and they work great.