Hi All,
I've recently bought a green Edwards Signaling beacon. It's a nice-looking light but a bit too noisy for my taste. It's driven by a brushed motor with a gearbox that spins the reflector at about 72 RPM.
I decided to replace the original rotator and build my own. I had a spare reflector lying around, that was the starting point. Once I verified that it would fit inside the beacon's dome, I got down to business.
First, I had to find a bulb socket that would have both wires sticking out from the bottom. I ordered one that I thought would be a good fit. Then, I fired up CAD software and designed a holder to keep the bulb in place. I also had to come up with a design for a reflector bracket and a plate to mount everything onto. I had two parts 3D printed and one cut to size from aluminum.
To make the beacon run as quietly as possible, I installed a turntable motor which is almost inaudible (it's really amazing how silent it actually is).
Here's the original rotator:
Here's mine:
Oh, yeah. I used a 6000K LED bulb. It's extremely bright and goes nicely with the light green dome. You'd think it might not produce this nice, sharp 'pop' we all like, but I assure you it does.
I made some tests to see if the LED replacement produces a narrow enough beam.
Here's the incandescent:
And the LED:
I used the same camera settings for both pics.
You can see how much brighter the LED is.
And here's the final product:
You can see it in full swing HERE.
I've recently bought a green Edwards Signaling beacon. It's a nice-looking light but a bit too noisy for my taste. It's driven by a brushed motor with a gearbox that spins the reflector at about 72 RPM.
I decided to replace the original rotator and build my own. I had a spare reflector lying around, that was the starting point. Once I verified that it would fit inside the beacon's dome, I got down to business.
First, I had to find a bulb socket that would have both wires sticking out from the bottom. I ordered one that I thought would be a good fit. Then, I fired up CAD software and designed a holder to keep the bulb in place. I also had to come up with a design for a reflector bracket and a plate to mount everything onto. I had two parts 3D printed and one cut to size from aluminum.
To make the beacon run as quietly as possible, I installed a turntable motor which is almost inaudible (it's really amazing how silent it actually is).
Here's the original rotator:
Here's mine:
Oh, yeah. I used a 6000K LED bulb. It's extremely bright and goes nicely with the light green dome. You'd think it might not produce this nice, sharp 'pop' we all like, but I assure you it does.
I made some tests to see if the LED replacement produces a narrow enough beam.
Here's the incandescent:
And the LED:
I used the same camera settings for both pics.
You can see how much brighter the LED is.
And here's the final product:
You can see it in full swing HERE.
