weathervane

I just wanted to start a thread on where to order parts from. Here area few links that I found.
-Andrew

//www.rc-lights.com/categories/Complete-Systems/NAVIGATION/

//www.afterdarkled.com/index.htm

http://www.buy-leds-online.com/

www.mcmaster.com/# part #8873k26 bare coper wire.

http://webtronics.stores.yahoo.net/15powsupk1.html

gramps2361

Here are a few more Andrew great idea getting a lsit of where to buy going. You might want to delete one of your sites seems to be for hardware www.mcmaster.com/# this one.


http://www.glowire.com/rcairplanes.htm

http://www.punkrc.com/index.php?main...products_id=16

http://lazertoyz.ncweb.net/RCLights.html

weathervane

Thanks for the addition to the list.

I ordered a spool of bare wire part # 8873K26, and strung it through my plane. I then soldered on my LED's. That is where the McMaster link comes from.
-Andrew

gramps2361

Understand now Andrew thought you might of posted it by mistake.

Billmanak

Two more.

http://flightlights.net/index.htm

http://hobbyking.com/hobbycity/store...0&ParentCat=58

weathervane

Thank you for the links.
-Andrew

crxmanpat

Here's another link. A lot of guys in my club are using these now. You can get pretty creative with lighting patterns. We were all up in Flagstaff this past weekend, and had at least 6 Slow Sticks up at once. Needless to say we had traffic pulling off the highway to see what was up. We were way out in the middle of nowhere on the east side of town.

http://www.lowpricerc.com/index.php?cPath=25

iflyrc1012

Pat,
It's amazing how different parts of the country react to nightflyers...
We fly on Staten Island N.Y. and Brooklyn N.Y. less than a 1/4 mile away from the s.i. mall and 2 major highways. .. At least 5000 people in cars and on foot must pass by on the way to and from the mall or driving past on the Belt Parkway. Not one car or person for that matter has stopped in to ask what the heck was going on or even made mention of what we are doing!!!! it's like they just look up, see 3 or 4 strykers blazing around the black sky at 90mph, and its no big deal!!! GEEZE!!! i'm tryin to SHOW OFF HERE DAMMIT!!!!! LOOKIT WHAT I"M DOIN!!!! not even a cop has rolled by to see.......
OH WELL.

Scott Page

I like these LED's that fire the light sideways and are great to illuminate the surface of the plane. They are a little pricey -- but if you want to light up the vertical stab - they do the trick.

http://www.ledlight.com/SearchResult...KeyWords=83345

iflyrc1012

Scott,
alot of great ideas on that site. they are pricey but the hobby on the whole is expensive. i like the color changing l.e.d.'s. that has me wanting to see them lit up!!

AirmanAirhead

Hey Pat, I checked out your link and these indeed look interesting. On the link page, someone mentions using a brushed ESC to dim the lights, etc. Do you guys use one? And if so, how is that wired in and controlled remotely? Thanks again for the link.

Jeff

gramps2361

I just bought lights from them cheap and the shipping is cheaper. Now I can get a better night flier going.
Ironic part is I was going to buy these from a US hobbyshop the shipping was the cost of 2 light sets from this place. Yes I would get them sooner, but to save that much and get more lights is a no brainer.
John

FlyingBrick50

Thanks for the links as a newbe I need all the hjelp I can get,... Thanks

Davethebluessinger

Hi Guys,
If you think RC is expensive in the US then you should come to the UK!

Everything is far more expensive, a $9.00 2.2A 3S Lipo costs £15.00 (that's around $25) here!
I'd buy all my stuff from you guys over the pond if shipping wasn't so expensive!
Also over here decent LHS are getting fewer by the day.
I worry for the future because over here most kids just don't seem to have any interest in RC. I was however pleasantly surprised the other evening when 2 teenage boys were asking about my MS Mini Swift that I was nightflying over a local playing field - They are the only ones to ask in around 6 months!

Anyhow I'm sure most UK buyers will already heard of Giant Cod. They sell great products at good prices and their service is second to none! I just fitted my MS Swift II out with LED strips at under £5 /metre from these guys! For individual LEDs I buy pre wired with resistors from Ebay UK.

http://www.giantcod.co.uk/

[email protected]!

Any new sites for buying LEDs? After using finger lights I want a better setup!

weathervane

What are you wanting to do? What look are you going for? Are you puting them in a foam plane or mono covered plane?
-Andrew

[email protected]!

I putting them in a 34" Foam Plane. Weight is a concern, but I need good orientation since it is a 3D plane. Where I fly I do have street lights but not enough to fly without some illumination. I'm new to the whole LED set so all help is much appreciated.


edit: upon further research (hoverandsmile) I realize I have much more learning to do! I'm guessing I can probably just pick some stuff up at Fry's to play around with?

[email protected]!

Looks like hobbypartz.com has some good prices and great excuse to get more batteries!

http://www.hobbypartz.com/ledlights.html

weathervane

Well, the stickey lights are the quickest way to go. Probably the cheapest. They are easy to hook up and can be very bright. They can be interchanged in collors. (I think) Please post pictures as you go along.
-Andrew

[email protected]!

Quick and cheap sounds good to me! I'm going order a few strips this weekend and I will definitely post some picks. I plan on doing red/green on the wing tips, yellow on the tail and few white on the underside .

I checked out Fry's and they wanted 50 cents for one LED, strips definitely seem like the way to go.

Davethebluessinger

The LED strips I used on my Swift can be cut into any length required as long as you cut a multiple of 3 LEDs. There are clear markings every 3 Leds for cutting and the points to solder your power leads are also clearly marked. If I were you I would add extra adhesive to make sure they dont come adrift, UHU POR or any foam friendly contact adhesive will do. On the swift I put GF reinforced packing tape over the LEDs to protect them, as you can see from my avatar and the link below it doesn't detract much from their brightness!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPXwPOhdkOk

Single LEDs on 7.2V

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iILVw...eature=related

CrimzonRider

Found these led strobe lights, incredibly lightning bright, little heavy but under 5oz, includes 4 leds paired to oscillate once every second. The lights and wires are very light, just controller is the main weight of course.

http://www.amazon.com/CIPA-93187-Int...232347&sr=8-26

have a good one
cr

breck

We fly at night in McCarren Park in Williamsburg. We get lots of questions from the folks walking by, the police just want to know where to get one for their kids. All in all pretty relaxed. Lots of social interaction. Got a write up in the Wall Street Journal out of doing it.

We are largely el-wire based. Look at the info off of brooklynaerodrome.com for an idea of what we are up to.

Breck

Dr Gyro

I am totally ignor....er...."un-learned" about LED's and the proper voltages etc. Is there a book or web site that one could go to to learn the proper set-ups for the LED's? I bought some Turnigy LED strips from HK that I want to use for some planes, cars, copters and other uses and I don't have a clue as to how to wire them without blowing the lights or batteries. I will use my dime to call anyone willing to talk with me. Just send a PM with your number and a good time to call and I'll be glad to call.
Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank You!!!

Davethebluessinger

If the LED strips are the same as the ones I buy from the UK they are self adhesive backed and in between every three LEDs there are 4 soldering points marked with a + & - symbol. You can cut directly between these 4 points with scissors.
Basically you can run them from 7.2V up to around 15V. Just solder a piece of wire to the contacts at the end of the strip (there may be wires fitted already?) Then connect to the positive and negative on your battery. If they fail to light then switch the wires over because they will only work one way! Then if your strips are as described with the solder points after each lot of 3 LEDs you can cut them with a pair of scissors to give you lots of smaller strips, the only rule is that you must have multiples of 3 LEDs. So you can have strips that are 3, 6 ,9 12, 15, 18, 21 and so on. Don't worry! You wont damage the LEDs or destroy your battery as they draw minute currents, just be careful not to leave them on all night and discharge your LIPO past the 3v mark!

Look Here: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtlRiVv8kUs&feature=related[/media]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mse2IOm_xh4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPXwPOhdkOk

And here's a link to a site that will show you how to wire single LEDs into arrays of multiple colours etc. (different colours have different voltage drops etc you will need to google the values) http://ledcalculator.net/