Microlighters

Hi Guys,

I recently installed 2x10W LED landing indicator lights onto my sons Aquila. Relays (under the engine mount) were used to isolate the power to these lights from the avionics and allied power requirements on the pod.

However, when either or both lights are switched on, the radio is rendered completely useless from the interference generated by these lights. It is as if one if flying directly over powerlines.

Has anyone every experienced this problem, and if so, how did they overcome this issue?

Many thanks, Guys!

Knysna Knight

Knysna Knight wrote:Hi Guys,

I recently installed 2x10W LED landing indicator lights onto my sons Aquila. Relays (under the engine mount) were used to isolate the power to these lights from the avionics and allied power requirements on the pod.

However, when either or both lights are switched on, the radio is rendered completely useless from the interference generated by these lights. It is as if one if flying directly over powerlines.

Has anyone every experienced this problem, and if so, how did they overcome this issue?

Many thanks, Guys!

Knysna Knight

Welcome to the forum

Knysna Knight wrote:Hi Guys,

I recently installed 2x10W LED landing indicator lights onto my sons Aquila. Relays (under the engine mount) were used to isolate the power to these lights from the avionics and allied power requirements on the pod.

However, when either or both lights are switched on, the radio is rendered completely useless from the interference generated by these lights. It is as if one if flying directly over powerlines.

Has anyone every experienced this problem, and if so, how did they overcome this issue?

Many thanks, Guys!

Knysna Knight

It is a problem that I have experienced too.

Wait until you try LED strobe lights! The ticking sound can drive you to drink!

Certain manufacturers claim to have solved this problem but I am yet to find proof of it!

You might want to speak to Chris van Rensburg from CN Lighting (info@cnlighting.co.za or ZERO83 232 9924)

Good Luck!

Many thanks for your welcoming wishes, Nico!!!

Much appreciation for that contact that you gave me. Will give him a buzz!

Knysna Knight
ZU-BWK

I too have scratched my head at interference on the trike. Being a diyer, programmer, system integrator and tinkerer of sorts my trike has a 7" panel mount windows pc and a few custom MCU's for added situation awareness on the engine side, with built in cellphone and tablet chargers, combined with my strobe, the noise over my comms can only be described as otherworldly! Ironically my old filament landing light actually reduces the noise. Now I have suppressed it with capacitors up the ya-zoo to the point that I do not feel like i'm talking to the ghosts of aviators past anymore. Which is what I suggest you do as a symptom suppressor. However I have been playing with a new idea, patent pending, having two smaller batteries of carefully calculated capacity and weight, with a few relays building a system that mechanically via the relays automatically and periodically flip flops between these two batteries lets say every 30mins, always running from 1 and charging the other from the regulator, thereby leaving your comms system on its own worry free clean power supply. One could also have an emergency fall-over to aircraft power for whatever reason. The only problem I foresee is the radio sharing a ground on the antenna side, but that can probably be overcome with a V antenna or something of the sort... I am quite sure I am not considering something, but it serves to illustrate the frustration of comms noise and the lengths I and some other will go to eliminate it.

Hi Luan,

Very interesting suggestion indeed. Strangely enough my son (in a FaceTime call from Bamako, Mali where he's a WFP 1900 pilot) suggested going the route of 2x batteries, fully isolated from each other.

I do have a frame "earthed" antennae, from whence I suspect the interference heralds! A Dipole will certainly go a long way in circumventing this "common ground", if this is indeed the problem. A colleague has suggested that I place 0,00025uF capacity across the hot&neutral legs (at the lights) and this would go a long way in suppressing any RF radiation (if this is indeed causing the interference).

So, given your suggestions, I guess it's "mental pedal to metal" to design a work-around using relays as an intervention gate when one or both switches are activated!!

Regards

Cheap chinese lights can be impossible to use. I have a 10W spot light outside my house that drowns out my car's FM radio at 10m...

Best bet is to minimise radiation from external wires - so you need to suppress the noise as close as possible to the lamps. Take each wire through 2 turns around a ferite core, positioned as close to the lamp as possible. Other side the ferrite core, add a 10nF cap to ground from each wire.

If that doesn't help, try to use a hand-held transceiver close to where your radio is - if the hand-held also picks up the noise, then you have a radiated noise problem, and there is no solution but to use a different brand of light. If the hand-held is clear, then it is a conducted noise problem (the noise is coming through the power lines/ground). Check the all grounds are secure, and all metal parts have a good, conductive, connection between them.

Hi Justin,

Your information is awesome and helpful.

I purchased these lights from ExtremeLights, who are the leaders in this field in terms motorbikes, MTB's, etc., and I was little disappointed that they didn't come to the party when I raised this issue.

Regards

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Hi Knysna Knight, I posted this reply on a previous thread.

Hi Carl. Die electronica wat die krag reguleer vir die LED lig (switch mode regulator) veroorsaak die steuring. Die steuring is in beide die draade en die lug (EMI)teenwoordig. Ek glo hierdie lighte voldoen nie aan die ICASA steurings regulasies nie maar dit gaan jou nie help nie. Ek sou of prober om n' ander ICASA steurings regulasies goedgekeurde LED lig te kry of sit die ou lig terug. As jy n' LED lig kan kry, wat se kassie van eister gemaak is, en jy aard hom goed sal dit ook baia help.

Builders Warehouse LED ligte (down lighters, spot lights ens.) wat van n' spanning van meer as 2.2V werk, genereer gewoonlik EMI.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=24309&p=229354&hil ... ed#p229354

My GPS V LED backlight also generates low levels of Radio interfearance. Even with ferrite beads on the power feed the interference is not gone. Aviation GPS's do not do this. Their backlight circuitry is fully suppressed against EMI.

Hi Paul,

Very interesting posting, especially the part about not being ICASA passed/rated.

Basically, I've had to put my pride in my pocket (not to mention my thriftiness!) and replace the "el cheapos" (if one can call them that!) with proper AvLights.

Really appreciate all the help this forum has given me!

Regards,