shawnd Posted July 26, 2020 Report Posted July 26, 2020 Well so after weeks of owning a plane, it was finally time to take the wife up ... and of course ... something went sideways. Luckily I made up for it by replacing Oregon wine country trip with local brewery stop. However, now I am in need of a Whelen single strobe power supply, model # "A490ATS-DF-14 to 28". Will be calling all retail providers Monday but wondering if any one has spares to sell. Folks moving to LEDs likely dont need the individual power supply anymore? Any help appreciated! Only the power and strobe outputs were connected. Quote
Hank Posted July 26, 2020 Report Posted July 26, 2020 LED lights may be less expensive than a new power supply . . . . Quote
MIm20c Posted July 26, 2020 Report Posted July 26, 2020 They’re also on sale right now... @OSUAV8TER has some great deals. 1 Quote
OSUAV8TER Posted July 26, 2020 Report Posted July 26, 2020 If you don't want to convert to LED, these power packs can range from $600 to $800 new. You might be able to pick one off eBay or here for much more cost effective price. But they get old, and they wear out. Buyer beware. Quote
Niko182 Posted July 26, 2020 Report Posted July 26, 2020 I'd say take the LEDs. Those power supplies new i think are like 500 bucks. Id rather get something I can set and forget. The job from LED's is time consuming, but i thought it was quite fun. I reused the wiring and just cut out the power supply. Since there are 2 ground conectors on the old lights, and one on the orion Light, I simple cut one of the ground cables out and used it for the sync. All in, it takes probably around 3 to 5 hours. Quote
gsxrpilot Posted July 26, 2020 Report Posted July 26, 2020 +1 for LED's. Toss that old power supply and the Useful Load it's been holding hostage, in the trash bin and get yourself some LED's! Quote
OSUAV8TER Posted July 26, 2020 Report Posted July 26, 2020 Blinded by the light! I have since put in the much brighter Parmetheus Pro PAR-46 landing lights! Quote
bradp Posted July 26, 2020 Report Posted July 26, 2020 You’d lose your sync wire but I got this hanging out in my garage doing nothing. Quote
OR75 Posted July 26, 2020 Report Posted July 26, 2020 There is a new one on eBay for sale for 275 ... ~ $330 when you add shipping , taxes ... so that’s an option new LED would be 4 times that with install I like the sync feature 1 Quote
EricJ Posted July 26, 2020 Report Posted July 26, 2020 I have one just like it for sale. Will PM. Quote
shawnd Posted July 26, 2020 Author Report Posted July 26, 2020 @EricJ let me know and shoot a pic please. Right now my goal is to get the plane legal again and flying. I do want to go LEDs but probably next year @bradp Yours is producing .85A at 28V, I need double that based on the sticker on mine. 1 Quote
bradp Posted July 26, 2020 Report Posted July 26, 2020 @shawnd is yours for both wing strobes and lives in the back, then? Quote
shawnd Posted July 26, 2020 Author Report Posted July 26, 2020 No, each strobe has one at the wing tip it seems. Guessing there's one for the rear strobe as well. Quote
larrynimmo Posted July 26, 2020 Report Posted July 26, 2020 6 hours ago, shawnd said: No, each strobe has one at the wing tip it seems. Guessing there's one for the rear strobe as well. On my 81 j there were three strobe electronic boxes Quote
Mike A Posted July 26, 2020 Report Posted July 26, 2020 @shawnd I think I have one, I’ll check today. $100. DM me. Quote
slowflyin Posted July 26, 2020 Report Posted July 26, 2020 I have a couple. I’ll check the numbers. Let me know if Mike doesn’t have what you need. Quote
shawnd Posted July 27, 2020 Author Report Posted July 27, 2020 Okay bought one from @EricJ and a few off of eBay for spares. Given these were never replaced, since one failed, I am expecting the rest to go soon. So question is - do we need a A&P sign off on this? Quote
carusoam Posted July 27, 2020 Report Posted July 27, 2020 Shawn, See if you can find the 23 or so maintenance steps a PP can perform... Chances are the strobes are more complex than anything that makes the list... Since it is a simple thing to swap out... check in with your mechanic to see if he will sign your logs for the swap... It will help if you have the install manual for the parts... and not get accidentally electrocuted by a random discharge... PP thoughts only, not a mechanic... Best regards, -a- 1 1 Quote
pwnel Posted July 27, 2020 Report Posted July 27, 2020 (edited) 13 minutes ago, carusoam said: Shawn, See if you can find the 23 or so maintenance steps a PP can perform... Chances are the strobes are more complex than anything that makes the list... That list of 31 items in Appendix A of FAR 43 is not meant to be exhaustive. There was an FAA interpretation (the Coleal interpretation) that indicated that other tasks "of comparable ease and non-complexity" is also allowed. I'll leave it to the OP to decide whether plugging the Whelan molex connectors into a new box is of similar complexity as replacing a landing light. I know what I would do. EDIT: still requires a signed logbook entry by the owner of course Edited July 27, 2020 by pwnel 3 1 Quote
pwnel Posted July 27, 2020 Report Posted July 27, 2020 @shawnd - https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2019/october/pilot/savvy-aviator-preventive-maintenance 1 Quote
shawnd Posted July 27, 2020 Author Report Posted July 27, 2020 Similar logic would seem to apply to repairing faulty nav light or strobe light wiring, which is not on the list even through repairing landing light wiring is on the list. How could one of these reasonably be considered preventive maintenance and the others not be? Well there it is. Agreed, logbook entry indicating the work done and the S/N of the replacement unit should suffice. And it will be tested on the ground and the connectors are molex, can't get any easier. I will probably still get an A&P to look at it given I am new to a/c maintenance. Did build a E30 race car back in the day and it ran fine on the tracks Quote
kris_adams Posted July 27, 2020 Report Posted July 27, 2020 1 hour ago, pwnel said: That list of 31 items in Appendix A of FAR 43 is not meant to be exhaustive. There was an FAA interpretation (the Coleal interpretation) Txs pwnel. I had never heard this (not that I do much myself). I guess I need to follow Mike Busch more closely too. Quote
EricJ Posted July 28, 2020 Report Posted July 28, 2020 3 hours ago, shawnd said: Okay bought one from @EricJ and a few off of eBay for spares. Given these were never replaced, since one failed, I am expecting the rest to go soon. So question is - do we need a A&P sign off on this? As mentioned, the Coleal opinion suggests it might be Preventive Maintenance, and AC 43-12A says that, "Owners and pilots must use good judgment when determining if a specific function should be classified as preventive maintenance." The deciding opinion on whether it is PM or not practically lies with your IA, since he has to sign the airplane off as airworthy or not at the next annual. If he's cool with it, you're golden. If not, it might be an issue or you might have to deal with the problem then. Quote
Niko182 Posted July 28, 2020 Report Posted July 28, 2020 Just now, EricJ said: As mentioned, the Coleal opinion suggests it might be Preventive Maintenance, and AC 43-12A says that, "Owners and pilots must use good judgment when determining if a specific function should be classified as preventive maintenance." The deciding opinion on whether it is PM or not practically lies with your IA, since he has to sign the airplane off as airworthy or not at the next annual. If he's cool with it, you're golden. If not, it might be an issue or you might have to deal with the problem then. Id just let the hanger elf swap it out and look the other way. If its the identicle power supply, it literally requires the hangar elf to uplug the strobes, remove 4 screws, switch it out, and plug it back it. Not exactly rocket science. Itll look like it had never been replaced anyway. 1 Quote
MikeOH Posted July 28, 2020 Report Posted July 28, 2020 45 minutes ago, EricJ said: As mentioned, the Coleal opinion suggests it might be Preventive Maintenance, and AC 43-12A says that, "Owners and pilots must use good judgment when determining if a specific function should be classified as preventive maintenance." The deciding opinion on whether it is PM or not practically lies with your IA, since he has to sign the airplane off as airworthy or not at the next annual. If he's cool with it, you're golden. If not, it might be an issue or you might have to deal with the problem then. That's exactly the question I ask myself, "How am I going to handle if the IA at annual coughs up a fur ball over it?" Case by case basis, that's how. In THIS case I'd risk it. IA says, "Your aircraft log shows you changed out the strobe power supply and that's NOT on the list of owner tasks.". Well, I'd start out showing him the Coleal letter. If that proves unpersuasive, then I'd ask him what he would be looking for beyond the bolts are tight and the demonstrable fact that the strobes work. I'm thinking he'd have nothing beyond that. Next, "So, mister IA what are you going to charge me to look at the four bolts and move on (i.e. 'approve' the replacement)?". If the answer is >$25 he's signing off the annual with that discrepancy, I'm getting a ferry permit, posting the guy's name here, and NEVER going back to him. Maybe it's the COVID talking, but I'm getting pretty damn tired of the government telling me it's THEIR job to provide for my safety. Sorry, THAT is MY job. 2 1 1 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.