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Dimmer trick

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trigo(at)mail.telepac.pt
Guest

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 4:12 am Post subject: Dimmer trick

Listers  

   

I completed my instrument lights circuit, in which I have a dimmer, and all works OK.  

Nevertheless, when I tested it at night (still at my garage) I noticed that there are a couple of instruments (e.g. the Trutrak ADI) which have a brighter light than the others, and obviously the single dimmer, operating all lights simultaneously, doesn’t get me an optimal dimming position for all lights at the same time.  

   

Is there a trick to obtain similar brightness in all lights?  

Can that be achieved by simply installing resistors in the brighter ones?  

   

Carlos  

       [quote][b]

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nuckolls.bob(at)cox.net
Guest

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 4:43 am Post subject: Dimmer trick

At 01:08 PM 6/22/2008 +0100, you wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		  Listers



I completed my instrument lights circuit, in which I have a dimmer, and 

all works OK.



Nevertheless, when I tested it at night (still at my garage) I noticed 

that there are a couple of instruments (e.g. the Trutrak ADI) which have a 

brighter light than the others, and obviously the single dimmer, operating 

all lights simultaneously, doesn t get me an optimal dimming position for 

all lights at the same time.



Is there a trick to obtain similar brightness in all lights?



Can that be achieved by simply installing resistors in the brighter ones?


	


   Whatever you want to try is fair game. While heading

   the electrical avionics group on the GP-180 at Lear,

   I crafted a specification for a 4-channel panel dimmer

   that featured separate dimming curves for incandescent,

   EL, gas discharge and LED lighting. We were able to

   make the entire suite of technologies track each other

   from one knob.



   It's not a trivial task and many builders install

   separate dimmers for each technology. Setting

   up cockpit lighting was probably the worst job

   any electron-herder could contemplate for a

   complex TC aircraft back then. We had a real

   witches brew of technologies and every program

   manager, test-pilot and vp of engineering had

   his/her own idea of how things should work.



   No matter what you did, somebody was less than

   thrilled about it.

        Bob . . .



        ----------------------------------------)

        ( . . .  a long habit of not thinking   )

        ( a thing wrong, gives it a superficial )

        ( appearance of being right . . .       )

        (                                       )

        (                  -Thomas Paine 1776-  )

        ----------------------------------------

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rv9jim(at)juno.com
Guest

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 5:28 am Post subject: Dimmer trick

Carlos,

        The ADI Tru Trak instrument has a seperate dimmer circuit inside

it.  It requires a seperate 12v input to make it work.  If I remember, by

applying the 12v to this wire, it dims the lighting on the instrument.  I

added a seperate mini toggle along side the instrument that says "dim". 

Check your wiring schematic for the ADI and I think you will find the

input required.  I havn't used it as I'm just about to do my first

flight.  Its been at the airport for about two months while I "put it

together" for the last time so I can not tell you how it worked.

Jim Nelson

N15JN

RV9-A

____________________________________________________________

The Two Coreys-New Season

Child Stars. Adult Issues. New season of the Two Coreys airs Sundays 1

http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/JKFkuJi7WQr3rI2jU1sRgD264LX2qc79rxhctcWIsJha9dEa2CfXwV/

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plaurence

Joined: 22 May 2006
Posts: 15

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 1:42 pm Post subject: Dimmer trick

Carlos,  

   

Try this site.  

   

   

http://www.a-and-t-labs.com/products.htm  

   

   

Peter  

RV9A N60PL  

         

  

From: owner-aeroelectric-list-server(at)matronics.com [mailto:owner-aeroelectric-list-server(at)matronics.com] On Behalf Of Carlos Trigo

 Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2008 8:08 AM

 To: aeroelectric-list(at)matronics.com

 Subject: Dimmer trick  

  

   

Listers  

   

I completed my instrument lights circuit, in which I have a dimmer, and all works OK.  

Nevertheless, when I tested it at night (still at my garage) I noticed that there are a couple of instruments (e.g. the Trutrak ADI) which have a brighter light than the others, and obviously the single dimmer, operating all lights simultaneously, doesn’t get me an optimal dimming position for all lights at the same time.  

   

Is there a trick to obtain similar brightness in all lights?  

Can that be achieved by simply installing resistors in the brighter ones?  

   

Carlos   	  Quote: 	
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        [quote][b]

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_________________
Peter Laurence
RV9A Fuse

N601RT

Joined: 25 Feb 2006
Posts: 31
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon

Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 2:58 pm Post subject: Re: Dimmer trick

Carlos,



My ADI is on a dimmer circuit with several NuLites and an internally lit Garmin GI-106A. The ADI was initially too bright relative to the other instruments. I moved the dimmer wire from the +12V dimmer input (pin 3) to the +24V dimmer input and found the 'balance' and tracking between the ADI illumination and the illumination of the other instruments on the circuit to be much better. This does require having max brightness during the day for reading the ADI display.



Regards,



Roy

N601RT: CH601HDS, nose gear, Rotax 912ULS, All electric, IFR equipped, 990hrs

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longg(at)pjm.com
Guest

Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 6:06 am Post subject: Dimmer trick

I have  another dimmer question that can be described in the same thread. Last night I  installed the B & C 1.5 A dimmer which went off as described in the  instructions. 

  

 After  adding power, my panel dimmed as expected but the dimmer knob control (rheostat)  seems to have very limited variability. Turning the knob all the way left turns  off the panel lights as expected. Turning it very slowly for the first 1/8 inch  turns the lights from completely off to everything in between and then full on.  How can I modify the sensitivity such that the dimming effect works throughout  the full range of the dimmer switch?

  

 Glenn

 [quote]   

   --

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mprather(at)spro.net
Guest

Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 7:10 am Post subject: Dimmer trick

Sounds like the devices on the bus are drawing a smaller amount of current

than the dimmer circuit was intended to control.  If you're only driving

LED's and the dimmer circuit was designed to support incandescent bulbs, I

could see this happening.



It could be something as simple as being at the end of the range for the

potentiometer (the thing the knob is controlling) in the dimmer circuit. 

If this is the case, you might swap the pot for one with a more

appropriate range (lower peak resistance).  Or possibly you can put a

bypass resistor across the pot - while still getting adequately dark.  Or,

swap out some of those super efficient LED's for a couple of hog-heater

light bulbs.  



You could talk with B&C about what to do - product support..  It would be

a bit surprising if they haven't run into this before.

Regards,



Matt-

[quote] I have another dimmer question that can be described in the same thread.

 Last night I installed the B & C 1.5 A dimmer which went off as

 described in the instructions.



 After adding power, my panel dimmed as expected but the dimmer knob

 control (rheostat) seems to have very limited variability. Turning the

 knob all the way left turns off the panel lights as expected. Turning it

 very slowly for the first 1/8 inch turns the lights from completely off

 to everything in between and then full on. How can I modify the

 sensitivity such that the dimming effect works throughout the full range

 of the dimmer switch?



 Glenn



 	--

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longg(at)pjm.com
Guest

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 6:06 am Post subject: Dimmer trick

Matt,

	I did some checking against the diagram which provides very

ambiguous instructions based on the 9 pin connector. I had one of the

potentiometer wires switched with the power lead. All better now.



Thanks



Do not archive



--

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