Jump to content

Joys of ownership - looking for Whelen Power Supply


shawnd

Recommended Posts

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. :ph34r:

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!

 

IMG_1159.jpeg.a09344d5c002c4074b3f373024f90639.jpeg

 

IMG_1160.jpeg.d674c8100581845af6198816d0555557.jpeg

 

Only the power and strobe outputs were connected.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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-

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 by pwnel
  • Like 3
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.