I replaced my GNS430W with an Avidyne 540. Now everytime somebody transmits (not me) on the selected frequency I clearly hear three pulses that correspond to the strobe flashing sequence. Now here is my question: will I get rid of this noise when I replace the old fashioned strobes (and powerpack) with the LED variant ?
At least not guaranteed đ A friend of mine has three Whelen strobes (synchronized) in his TB10 and you can hear them even on the intercom. I have the same Whelen strobes, synchronized as well and there is nothing to hear.
You gotta love aviation đ
The grounds need to be routed correctly, so the return current does not flow through the wing â search.
In GA, most installers just forget to do that and return what they can via the airframe. You get all kinds of fun⌠with a fluxgate too.
I went from Whelen conventional to Whelen LED, with no issues with either.
Yes, LEDs are supposed to give much less interference than conventional xenon-filled strobes. A gas discharge strobe is essentially a spark-gap transmitter. The current pulse in LEDs is much smoother, so the radiated high-frequency power is much lower.
The LED âstrobesâ just have a big LED array which is turned on and off. Itâs nowhere near as bright as the old strobes but it is âgood enoughâ; same comment could be made for phone cameras. The interference probably comes from a switch-mode power supply driving the LEDs; most big LEDs are driven that way because the simple way â dropping some volts in a resistor â produces a lot of heat. Another bad design, and would be helped by shielded cable, and not using the airframe for the ground return.
would be helped by shielded cable
I guess the current cabling is not of the shielded type ?
Any opinion on how Whelen designed their LED nav/strobes ? Those are the ones that would eventually go in.
They seem well made, but I have noticed that â like most âoutdoorâ electronics â they are not sealed, relying on a drain hole instead. That will limit their life.
Moisture is what kills most LED lamps. I have some outdoor lights which are on all night and they are now LEDs and those donât last any longer than the previous fluorescent types â about 1 year. An LED lamp should last much longer (there is actually a degradation mechanism).
I would hope the Whelen ones are conformally coated â will take a look next time I fly.
I have the AeroLED strobes and hear nothing from them on the radio, very clean. But as mentioned by @Peter, the key is a proper and clean installation of grounding. Any avionics tech worth his salt should know that and not cut corners. âForgettingâ to do it properly would have me looking for a new avionics shop.
looking for a new avionics shop.
âŚand there lies another big problem!