# Aircraft Landing Light



## njs05 (Oct 22, 2007)

I have read people talking about aircraft landing lights... and the "sleeper" in one of those flashlight reviews... but how do I get one.. someone posted a link a site where the price was $15 or something ridiculously low for the bulb and enclosure... but what keeps everyone from buying one of those, hooking up two wires from a battery... and being on their way with a BRIGHT light? What am I missing here?


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## JimmyM (Oct 22, 2007)

Search for "Larry14K".
That's the forum brute using a 600W landing light.


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## TigerhawkT3 (Oct 22, 2007)

Links:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/111545
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/143541
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/143381


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## 65535 (Oct 22, 2007)

A 600 watt capable battery pack is a bit expensive and mildly advanced to produce.


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## BVH (Oct 22, 2007)

You might be able to coax Mad Maxabeam into making you one, turnkey.


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## JimmyM (Oct 22, 2007)

Maybe a little advanced. But the great thing here is that there is a wealth of experience to help bring the inexperienced up to speed so that the advanced NOW is not so advanced LATER. Been there myself.

A 30V 20+ amp pack is not really all that big a deal once you understand a few basics. Learning and experimenting is really the best part of existing here in CPF.


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## njs05 (Oct 23, 2007)

30 volts? What? Why? I've never seen anything that runs on 30v.... Is that what an aircrafts electrical system runs at?


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## bhds (Oct 23, 2007)

njs05 said:


> 30 volts? What? Why? I've never seen anything that runs on 30v.... Is that what an aircrafts electrical system runs at?



28vdc- some of the systems anyway


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## njs05 (Oct 23, 2007)

Isnt there a way to just wire two batteries at 12 (14.4) together in series or parallel or sonething and then the voltage is double instead ofthe current? How would i go about doing that?


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## LuxLuthor (Oct 23, 2007)

BVH said:


> You might be able to coax Mad Maxabeam into making you one, turnkey.



BVH, not sure if it will change, but as of several months ago MadMaxabeam has moved on. :sigh: 

He is really a great guy, and I wish him the very best, but don't think he is coming back.


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## BVH (Oct 24, 2007)

oh, must have missed that. Too bad.

Thanks, Lux


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## Patriot (Oct 24, 2007)

BVH said:


> oh, must have missed that. Too bad.
> 
> Thanks, Lux


 

Yeah it is. I also noticed that he's not answering PMs or emails anymore.


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## TigerhawkT3 (Oct 24, 2007)

njs05 said:


> Isnt there a way to just wire two batteries at 12 (14.4) together in series or parallel or sonething and then the voltage is double instead ofthe current? How would i go about doing that?


A pair of 12V SLAs wired in series would only be about 24-25V, and even less under load. Five large 6V SLAs might work better. Some of us are simply using many NiMH or Lipo/Emoli/etc. cells in series. The general idea is using 24 NiMHs, or possibly 25 or 26, or 8 (possibly 9) Lipos to reach the specified 28V and hopefully a few volts over to get better output.

From the Welcome Mat:

*Q*: What are series and parallel?
*A*: Series connections have a device's positive terminal connected to the next device's negative terminal. This is what you get when you line up some ordinary C-cell alkalines (for example) end-to-end, like in a Maglite or other flashlight. This arrangment adds up the voltages of the cells. Such a battery neither handles more current nor contains more mAh capacity than a single cell. This is the opposite of a parallel configuration, which has positive terminals joining together and negative terminals joining together. An example is those 3AA>1D adapters where all three AA cells' positive terminals meet at the top, and all their negative terminals meet at the bottom. Such a configuration has the same voltage as a single cell, but can handle more current draw (or contains more capacity). For example, 1AA alk can push about 500mA at around 1.5V for about four hours. 2AA alks in series can push 500mA at around 3V for about four hours. 2AA alks in parallel can push 1000mA at around 1.5V for about four hours (or 500mA for eight hours, and so on).

Also from the Welcome Mat:

*Q*: What does "overdriving" mean?
*A*: Every incandescent bulb has a rated nominal voltage, which is basically the manufacturer recommended driving voltage. A bulb connected to a lower-voltage source than is recommended with have weaker and more orange-tinted output, but it will have increased durability and lifetime. A bulb driven above spec will have whiter output, but decreased durability and lifetime. A given bulb's efficiency actually increases along with drive level.


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## Phaetos (Oct 24, 2007)

bhds said:


> 28vdc- some of the systems anyway



Nothing new there, the automotive industry has been toying with the idea of moving from the 12v system to a 24-28v system for at least 5 or 6 years.


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## ez78 (Oct 25, 2007)

I am powering my Larryk14 spotlight with 5 x 6V SLA batterypack. Cheap solution, about $60. They are 10 Ah batteries. Works very well, but the batteries are big and heavy and need to be carried around in a backpack. I kind of get kick out of that, makes it feel even more special device.


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## Andreas (Oct 25, 2007)

The origional sleeper is sleeping in my gun safe. If anyone is interested in it I might wake it up?? :devil:

Andreas


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## Flashanator (Oct 26, 2007)

@ Andreas,


OH F****** hell yeah, awake that bad boy oh plz. I have been dying to see real hq beam shots of the sleeper. Plz Plz Plz Plz Plz Plz Plz. 


Maybe get ya Megaray Out too, OHH man you got me all pumped. 

SLEEPER BEAM SHOTS + WIDE ANGLE, I think I speak 4 alot of ppl here how havent seen enough of the Sleeper. WE WONT TO SEE IT!!!!!!!!!!

BTW hom many lumens does the sleeper chuck out? 10,000?


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## chizel (Oct 31, 2007)

Here's your 600 watt heater. 
http://www.skygeek.com/gesealbeamqu1.html


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## DM51 (Oct 31, 2007)

chizel said:


> Here's your 600 watt heater.
> http://www.skygeek.com/gesealbeamqu1.html


8-inch diameter reflector, ~30 Amps... with the right housing, it should be manageable for a vehicle-mounted light.

Show us pics of your jeep light please!


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## Flashanator (Oct 31, 2007)

830watts chizel? plz show some night pics. How do you power it? Off the cars electrical system? You wouldnt get much hrs with the bulbs tho. Id love to have 36v batt setup that recharges to power some 400w lights i had in mind. I guess lightforce hid lights would look like a dull candle to that 830w light you got.


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## TigerhawkT3 (Oct 31, 2007)

Flashanator 500mW said:


> 830watts chizel? plz show some night pics. How do you power it? Off the cars electrical system? You wouldnt get much hrs with the bulbs tho. Id love to have 36v batt setup that recharges to power some 400w lights i had in mind. I guess lightforce hid lights would look like a dull candle to that 830w light you got.


I would expect that he meant 830W total, not in one bulb. If they are multiple bulbs, they most likely can't all be active on public roads.


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## mattheww50 (Oct 31, 2007)

njs05 said:


> Isnt there a way to just wire two batteries at 12 (14.4) together in series or parallel or sonething and then the voltage is double instead ofthe current? How would i go about doing that?



Just connect them in series. A 12 volt battery (actually 13.2V nominally) is simply 6 2 volt lead acid storage cells connected in series. A 24 Volt Aircraft battery for a light aircraft is simply 12 2 volt lead acid cells connected in series. On older batteries, you could actually see the cell to cell connections (they were on the outside of the battery case). 
If you connect a pair of 12 volt automotive batteries in series, it is just a longer cell to cell connection than an aircraft storage battery. You could also buy an aircraft storage battery, but anything that goes on airplane tends to be absurdly expensive, so 2 x 12 volt automobile storage batteries would be less expensive

The only downside is that you have a choice when you design a lead acid type battery. You can optimize performance for deep discharge behavior, or for long term overcharging behavior, but not both. Automotive batteries are designed to tolerate overcharging very well. They don't tolerate deep cycle discharging very well. There are marine batteries specifically designed for deep cycle discharge, and they would be a better choice.


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## StarHalo (Sep 30, 2008)

This is an interesting thread that was "before my time"; interesting idea though. A pair of small marine batteries inside an old searchlight-type body, then just mount the bulb in the reflector.. sounds entirely simple and effective..


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## Illum (Sep 30, 2008)

user Juggernaut has a GE aircraft lamp hooked to SLAs, maybe he could contribute:wave:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/member.php?u=39226


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## Meltdown (Sep 30, 2008)

ok, correct me if I'm wrong but two car batteries would give less than 28 volts under load? would that make for a dim/yellowish light?


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## BVH (Sep 30, 2008)

Yes, very much so. They like 32 to 33 Volts, maybe even 34. Much whiter and brighter.


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## Juggernaut (Oct 2, 2008)

Illum_the_nation said:


> user Juggernaut has a GE aircraft lamp hooked to SLAs, maybe he could contribute:wave:
> http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/member.php?u=39226


 
Luckily I just so happened by. You guys can PM me if you ever need some thing:thumbsup:. 
Anyway Yes it is as simple to just hook up one of these bulbs to SLA / No it is not simple to get them working efficiently:sigh:. My combo a 1000 Watt 28 volt GE landing light running on 6x 18Ah SLA batteries, it does light up but, is definitely under driven. Is it bright? Is the sun bright! But it could be a lot better. The problem is SLA / car / marine batteries will not hold no-more then a 13.5 volt charged. Under load they drop off some to. If you are going to run a 28 volt bulb make sure first off that the batteries can easily hold the load. This bulb pulls about 35-36 amps so my batteries are wired 3 sets in two banks of parallels making 54 amps / hour at about 26 volts. If I had ran only 2 batteries in each bank I would still have made 36 amps / hour, but you want the batteries to have as little stress as possible so as not to drop under load. A better setup would be NiMH or Li-ion / that other safer Li- chemistry version. Because you can make a pack that puts out say 30+ volts, so under load they don’t drop past the required 28 volts. Of course any custom pack that can do this is going to cost you a pretty penny “say over $175” and only run for a couple of minuets. Though at lest the smaller pack can be carried. My 6 SLA batteries way more then 80 pounds and are not even backpack able. I have heard of people wanting to use 5x 6 volt SLA’s to make 30 volts which would probably work fine, but again they would be heavy and 6 volt batteries normally cost more then most 12 volt ones “ http://www.batterywholesale.com/battery-store/proddetail.html?prodID=135 sells” sells 36 ah 6 volts for $77 each so that times 5 = $385!! So yes I think it would work and run for an hour but that’s to much for money me, and you couldn’t carry that around. You are better off going for 12-13 volt air craft landing lights. They are cheap and can run off one good SLA.


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## Flashanator (Oct 3, 2008)

hmmm my idea of a Monster Li-Ion pack that would power these 1000watters for a practical 30min to 1hr+ time is still eating at me. (12kg pack @ 29v nom 50ah) Or a liter solution, half the ah & say around 6kg batt pack. If I had a way to make my own custom alloy head, then Id spend the insane dollars on it.


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## IgNITEor (Oct 6, 2008)

Hey njs05,

The Q4559 has been one of my most reliable and durable PAR lamps ever for all of the bench tests of rectifiers and occaisional yard lights (special-purpose)!
I noticed on mine, the Osram Sylvania's had a better reflector coating and uniform filament coil than the GE lamp. Side by side, it threw a slightly tighter beam overall.
I'm now wiring them with #8 wire minimum since I can get closer to 30 Volts on rectifier. They get damn bright at that voltage!  I love this lamp!
I finally had a chance to run one of these as an off-road light to locate playa moguls while driving in the desert.







It's wired to the back to a set of hefty telecom AGM's used primarily
for another system. 
Do you or anyone else know of a standard housing available to take a PAR64 lamp? I'd like to have a more aerodynaminc shape than what I using at the moment.
I like where this thread is going  Just how many of these we're gonna try to hook up at once is some fun thinking!


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## mweiss (Oct 6, 2008)

Here's an aircraft landing light that dates back to 1944. It's on a B25J bomber plane that I was doing a video documentary on recently.


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## Flashanator (Oct 6, 2008)

IgNITEor,

What kind of performance do you get with the aircraft landing light on your vehicle?

runtime? is it just the one lamp?

dam that must be bright as hell


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## IgNITEor (Oct 6, 2008)

I know it's not fair to post pics of operational hardware without following through with the flaming evidence, AND I've made promises before.......
so while I'm dealing with this issue on another thread I'll shoot the Q9 this evening if it's not raining to hard :scowl:!

The one lamp is running off the same batts. as the Death Ray system, two AGM 150's in series. I could probably get about six hours runtime before yellowing-out. When it's on? It's lights up not only the roadway and the shoulders, but the corridor as well. I have another lamp as well, but the frame , identical to the one in the pic needs some attention.
Two of these on a bumper would be insane! 
So why not?
It's kinda tough getting onboard 28 Volts. The 150's are about just that, 150 lbs. each. For me it's like having a few tubes of traction sand back there!


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## IgNITEor (Oct 7, 2008)

Stupid rain :shakehead


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## Flashanator (Oct 7, 2008)

that must be a crazy amount of light.

How does that setup hold up with shock & vibrations?

Id love to run some high wattage metal halide lamps off a AC generator in the back ute.


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## IgNITEor (Oct 7, 2008)

So the rain subsides, as I laid me down to sleep.........
And now? A new day, new opportunities.

On shock & vibrations, so far so good. Only had to tweak the Q9's frame a little and it was probably because I pushed the front bumper into some bushes to help clear the roadway of the extended tailgate.
The quartz tube inside the lamp has a pretty solid mount. It's been in place since late August and the beam looks good. The road leading back from Black Rock is full of potholes and I hit a few. 
This lamp has banged around my shed for almost two years as well.

I see no reason whatsoever to NOT try a pair of PAR 64 metal-halide 400's!!
I know this could be done with an inverter.
Looking through ez's thread is giving me some ideas.


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