DIY TX Controlled Landing Light

by lonewolf7717 | October 30, 2012 | (9) Posted in Projects


My approach for easy DIY landing light which is TX controlled. This application utilizing a servo pcb could easily be used to dive other led systems.







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COMMENTS

LanMark on October 30, 2012
I did just receive some IR bulbs for my night vision system which I could only find from a hong kong supplier.. the 3W IR bulbs just flood the area with IR making it like daylight with my low lux (0.03lux) camera. working on getting all the details worked out for some true night flying fun.
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mmerry2 on October 30, 2012
Very cool. Can't wait to try this. I wish your captions weren't as bright as your LEDs though. LOL. Thanks for sharing.
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lonewolf7717 on October 30, 2012
the "mmerry2"?!?!? you are bixler legend man! lol your bixler build/mod videos were some of the first comprehensive step by step videos on youtube. helped a lot of guys with their first planes. sidenote, looks as though you have moved away from the orangeRX to the KK2, any preference? I wasn't a fan of the "hunting" the orangeRX did even with gains very low.
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mmerry2 on October 30, 2012
@Lonewolf7717: For $15, I thought it was worth trying out the OrangeRx stabilizer. I was surprised at how well it worked, even if you don't max out the gains. It's more simple to use than KK2. KK2's auto-leveling is sweet and I like being able to switch it on/off. I really need to upgrade from my 6-channel radio so I use another switch for my landing light. -Mike
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LanMark on October 30, 2012
Seems like a lot of work. I just use the Turnigy Receiver Controlled Switch from HobbyKing.. which gives you a switch for anything up to 10A/30V... I liked it so much I just bought 4 more for my other unused channels.

For the lighting system I am using some star LEDs (XP-G) bulbs with some optics and a 1000mA driver... which is dimable. Each Cree XP-G bulb can put out 495 lumens. On the quad I don't need much heat sink since there is so much air flow.. but talk about super bright and switchable. The bulbs, optics, and driver were from ledsupply.com.
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lonewolf7717 on October 30, 2012
I have nothing against the turnigy receiver controlled switch, proud owner of a couple of them. Here's the catch though, only available through International warehouse and although its only a $8 part that I would typically bundle with a larger order a great many of us are not ok with shipping costs from China or the wait. This is is a simple solution for those of us who like to tinker.....pick up a soldering iron from time to time and most likely have all the available parts laying around the house. Guys who are more interested in the build/learning something new than the application. For me, three solder joints and a little heat shrink is not " a lot of work" but understand for others it may be.
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LanMark on October 30, 2012
I didn't mean to step on your toes, just trying to provide another view on what I did for a similar situation.. so then a reader can decide which path they prefer to take.
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lonewolf7717 on October 30, 2012
no worries...toes intact, think i came across a bit rougher than intended. If lumens is what you are after check out Lexonstar.com, you may already be aware of it but thought i would pass along.....awesome selection
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LanMark on October 30, 2012
I am going for invisible and with the 3W IR bulbs I get just that. But yeah my visible light light bar that I have built uses the Cree XP-G's which are 493 lumens each. :) ledsupply.com seems pretty reasonible and ships from the states. Does Luxeonstar ship from Canada or the US? Nice site... doesn't seem to have the new bulbs (XP-G and XM-L).

So yeah I created two light bars I can put.. one is the visible light (flashlight style) while the other bar is infrared stealth style... now I just need to finish building the TBS Discovery and get everything moved over.
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Bbjen on October 30, 2012
Exactly what I was looking for, thank you very much.
Could you post a schematic for this?
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lonewolf7717 on October 30, 2012
http://fromemodelflyingclub.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/using-analogue-servo-circuit-boards-to-switch-leds.pdf

no point reinventing the wheel here, the above link gives a good diagram of how this all should work. keep in mind he is showing a IN4001 diode and appropriate resistors for led circuit, by using a flashlight led board this part of the equation is already addressed. best of luck
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lonewolf7717 on October 30, 2012
http://fromemodelflyingclub.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/using-analogue-servo-circuit-boards-to-switch-leds.pdf
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lonewolf7717 on October 30, 2012
http://fromemodelflyingclub.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/using-analogue-servo-circuit-boards-to-switch-leds.pdf
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DIY TX Controlled Landing Light