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Dennis Johnson
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 89
Location: N. Calif.
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 Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:57 am Post subject: Annunciator Panel |
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Greg Young wrote:
>I'm building an annunciator strip as well. I'm planning to get some plastic
| Quote: | strips from a hobby or craft shop and glue together an appropriate egg crate
to isolate mine. Mine has a smoked acrylic cover so I may glue or RTV the
egg crate to it or the overlay for a good seal.
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Hi Greg,
I made my own annunciator panel, similar to the way you are planning. Instead of buying strips of plastic, which would probably have been smarter, I made a "U" shape channel out of E-glass fiberglass and epoxy. The U channel was the length and width of the annunciator panel. I laid up thin strips of E-glass for the dividers between the individual cells and glued them in place with a dab of epoxy at each end. I spray painted the inside surfaces with flat black paint, which prevented light leakage between adjacent cells.
I drilled holes in the back of the U channel for the LEDs, and glued them in place. I made a clear Plexiglas cover for the face and applied P-Touch labels (printed in reverse type) to the back side of the Plexiglas. I then placed a smoky black Plexiglas cover over the top, so that the labels were not visible unless the LED was illuminated. It looked pretty cool and worked great testing it inside my garage.
However, in direct sunlight once I started flying, the LEDs weren't bright enough, so I had to remove the smoky black cover. It is now very functional, but not nearly so cool looking. I'm glad that I didn't glue the Plexiglas covers in place, because it would have made removing the dark cover difficult. The Plexiglas cover is sandwiched between the back side of the instrument panel and a flange around the perimeter of the annunciator housing. So far, it has stayed clean inside. If dust or bugs eventually get inside, I can take it apart and clean it.
Good luck with your project,
Dennis Johnson
Lancair Legacy, 110 hours
[quote][b]
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echristley(at)nc.rr.com
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 11:56 am Post subject: Annunciator Panel |
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Dennis Johnson wrote:
| Quote: | Greg Young wrote:
> I'm building an annunciator strip as well. I'm planning to get some plastic
> strips from a hobby or craft shop and glue together an appropriate egg crate
> to isolate mine. Mine has a smoked acrylic cover so I may glue or RTV the
> egg crate to it or the overlay for a good seal.
>
Hi Greg,
I made my own annunciator panel, similar to the way you are planning. Instead of buying strips of plastic, which would probably have been smarter, I made a "U" shape channel out of E-glass fiberglass and epoxy. The U channel was the length and width of the annunciator panel. I laid up thin strips of E-glass for the dividers between the individual cells and glued them in place with a dab of epoxy at each end. I spray painted the inside surfaces with flat black paint, which prevented light leakage between adjacent cells.
I drilled holes in the back of the U channel for the LEDs, and glued them in place. I made a clear Plexiglas cover for the face and applied P-Touch labels (printed in reverse type) to the back side of the Plexiglas. I then placed a smoky black Plexiglas cover over the top, so that the labels were not visible unless the LED was illuminated. It looked pretty cool and worked great testing it inside my garage.
However, in direct sunlight once I started flying, the LEDs weren't bright enough, so I had to remove the smoky black cover. It is now very functional, but not nearly so cool looking. I'm glad that I didn't glue the Plexiglas covers in place, because it would have made removing the dark cover difficult. The Plexiglas cover is sandwiched between the back side of the instrument panel and a flange around the perimeter of the annunciator housing. So far, it has stayed clean inside. If dust or bugs eventually get inside, I can take it apart and clean it.
Good luck with your project,
Dennis Johnson
Lancair Legacy, 110 hours
I only have one annunciator light (gear locked). I bought a 12V LED
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with wire leads from besthongkong.com Drilled a 3/16" hole in the panel
and pushed it in. Done.
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gyoung
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 211
Location: Republic of Texas
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| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 12:25 pm Post subject: Annunciator Panel |
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That will work if that's what you want. Some would say even that is overkill
since the prop tips chipping the pavement is the ultimate gear warning.
That's the beauty of Experimental - you can do whatever suits your needs or
fancy.
Regards,
Greg Young
| Quote: |
--> <echristley(at)nc.rr.com>
>
I only have one annunciator light (gear locked). I bought a
12V LED with wire leads from besthongkong.com Drilled a
3/16" hole in the panel and pushed it in. Done.
|
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echristley(at)nc.rr.com
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 12:59 pm Post subject: Annunciator Panel |
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Greg Young wrote:
| Quote: |
That will work if that's what you want. Some would say even that is overkill
since the prop tips chipping the pavement is the ultimate gear warning.
That's the beauty of Experimental - you can do whatever suits your needs or
fancy.
Regards,
Greg Young
>
> --> <echristley(at)nc.rr.com>
>
>
>>
>>
> I only have one annunciator light (gear locked). I bought a
> 12V LED with wire leads from besthongkong.com Drilled a
> 3/16" hole in the panel and pushed it in. Done.
>
The way my system works is that a locking pin has to pass through both
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sections of the lock to push a switch to enable the light. A pushbutton
on the handle requires activation to turn the light on so I don't have
to have it staring me in the face during the run-up. Confirming the
gear down is a checklist item, but the procedure of having to actually
push the button allows for some muscle memory to backup the checklist 8*)
Ernest (still schedule for a gear up landing 8*)
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