Post by Britpilot on Feb 3, 2010 2:59:44 GMT 1
This is Part 2 of this post. Tail LED installation and associated wiring.
Part 1 can be found here: supercubclub.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=tt&thread=2796&page=1
Part 3 can be found here: supercubclub.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=tt&thread=2791&page=1
I wanted to mount the white tail LED on the trailing edge of the rudder. This meant that the wire would have to flex at the rudder hinge. Therefore I needed a more flexible wire than the telephone wire used to wire the LEDs in the wings. Cutting apart an ethernet cable gave me just the wires I needed. Multi strand copper conductors with different colour insulation. I used blue for the tail light, yellow for the red flashing beacon and black for the neutral wires. The flashing red LED I mounted on top of the vertical stabilizer with the wiring running down the leading edge of the stabilizer and held in place by strips of white self adhesive “MonoKote” covering. I also used MonoKote to mount the tail light LED on the rudder. To allow unrestricted rudder movement I placed a loop in the tail light wires under the rudder hinge.
The resistors and wiring for the tail LEDs I located inside the aft fuselage making sure the resistors had adequate space for cooling and that the wiring was kept clear of the control pushrods. I used clear packing tape to affix the wiring to the inside of the fuselage. An on/off switch for the LED lights seemed like a good idea and I mounted this in the plastic plate on the bottom of the fuselage where the float kit connects.
I had considered using the X-port wiring to power my LED light installation but one day I may want to upgrade to a new RX that does not have an X-port socket so I decided to splice the wires directly into the battery wires (I installed new battery wires with a “Deans” plug while I was at it.) Worried about what would happen if any of my LED light wiring shorted out after a major prang I decided to install an inline fuse holder in the positive supply with a .350 amp fuse (the smallest I could find at Radio Shack) to protect the wiring. I located the fuse holder and the female part of the two pin disconnect plug for the wing LED wiring inside the fuselage just above the RX. It’s a bit tight inside the centre fuselage now but everything is taped securely in place and the wiring is well clear of the servo arms and pushrods.
So here is the end result of my LED light installation. Real navigation and landing lights!
Part 1 can be found here: supercubclub.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=tt&thread=2796&page=1
Part 3 can be found here: supercubclub.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=tt&thread=2791&page=1
I wanted to mount the white tail LED on the trailing edge of the rudder. This meant that the wire would have to flex at the rudder hinge. Therefore I needed a more flexible wire than the telephone wire used to wire the LEDs in the wings. Cutting apart an ethernet cable gave me just the wires I needed. Multi strand copper conductors with different colour insulation. I used blue for the tail light, yellow for the red flashing beacon and black for the neutral wires. The flashing red LED I mounted on top of the vertical stabilizer with the wiring running down the leading edge of the stabilizer and held in place by strips of white self adhesive “MonoKote” covering. I also used MonoKote to mount the tail light LED on the rudder. To allow unrestricted rudder movement I placed a loop in the tail light wires under the rudder hinge.
The resistors and wiring for the tail LEDs I located inside the aft fuselage making sure the resistors had adequate space for cooling and that the wiring was kept clear of the control pushrods. I used clear packing tape to affix the wiring to the inside of the fuselage. An on/off switch for the LED lights seemed like a good idea and I mounted this in the plastic plate on the bottom of the fuselage where the float kit connects.
I had considered using the X-port wiring to power my LED light installation but one day I may want to upgrade to a new RX that does not have an X-port socket so I decided to splice the wires directly into the battery wires (I installed new battery wires with a “Deans” plug while I was at it.) Worried about what would happen if any of my LED light wiring shorted out after a major prang I decided to install an inline fuse holder in the positive supply with a .350 amp fuse (the smallest I could find at Radio Shack) to protect the wiring. I located the fuse holder and the female part of the two pin disconnect plug for the wing LED wiring inside the fuselage just above the RX. It’s a bit tight inside the centre fuselage now but everything is taped securely in place and the wiring is well clear of the servo arms and pushrods.
So here is the end result of my LED light installation. Real navigation and landing lights!
