I decided to make a how-to as I go along on this project. The scope is to add slave LED's to all of my altimeters that are AT the surface of the airframe so that I don't have to spend minutes trying to find the LED that is mounted on the altimeter. The reason I rely on these LED's is that I am profoundly deaf and cannot hear the sound of the piezo buzzers that are mounted on today's altimeters.
As part of this project, I have an assortment of altimeters - Adept22, SL-100, MARSA54L, and a RRC3. The Adept22's were converted by removing the piezo and installing a LED and resistor per Tommy's suggestion. The SL-100, MARSA54L, and RRC3 have auxilary outputs that are designated (or can be used as) slave LED drivers.
I acquired Red, Blue, and Green LED's from Mouser as well as a batch of 1k Ohm resistors. I also have a bunch of WS Deans micro connectors that I enjoy using for this type of application, and used 22ga stranded wire for this application.
You can see the end result of the project. The above coupler is for the Black Brant 2 which uses a slide-in av-bay (vs the conventional coupler av bay), hence the reason for standalone setup.
To start, I protected the paint with some blue tape, and determined where the rivet holes are (holes circled with sharpie) as to determine best location for this setup. I marked the outside of the av bay as well as the inside (it helps to extend the lines to the end of the couplers so you can use those as a reference for your inside line). I used a piece of 1" 90* angle aluminum.
I located the holes with a center punch/scribe at 3/8" intervals (my LED spacing).
I then drilled the holes using a small drill bit (appears to be 3/32", but you can choose whatever diameter you like). I didn't want to enlarge the holes too much.
Next, I had to prepare the LED mount. In this case, I used what I think is 3/8" square basswood. I cut them at 1-1/2" long, and made marks every 3/8" for drilling. I used a scribe to prick the centerpoints for drilling as well.
I used the same 3/32" drill as a pilot hole for the larger drill in the next step. I let the drill do the work so that the hole won't run off center through the part.
I used a #10 drill which is a 0.203" diameter drill bit, which matches up with the diameter of the LED. I wanted to ensure a decent press fit so that it could be replaced but won't fall out with a simple puff of air.
I cut the part at 1-1/2" long as stated earlier. Obligatory "step completed" photo here.
You can see how the LED fits in the block. It's a nice press fit.
To be continued....
As part of this project, I have an assortment of altimeters - Adept22, SL-100, MARSA54L, and a RRC3. The Adept22's were converted by removing the piezo and installing a LED and resistor per Tommy's suggestion. The SL-100, MARSA54L, and RRC3 have auxilary outputs that are designated (or can be used as) slave LED drivers.
I acquired Red, Blue, and Green LED's from Mouser as well as a batch of 1k Ohm resistors. I also have a bunch of WS Deans micro connectors that I enjoy using for this type of application, and used 22ga stranded wire for this application.
You can see the end result of the project. The above coupler is for the Black Brant 2 which uses a slide-in av-bay (vs the conventional coupler av bay), hence the reason for standalone setup.
To start, I protected the paint with some blue tape, and determined where the rivet holes are (holes circled with sharpie) as to determine best location for this setup. I marked the outside of the av bay as well as the inside (it helps to extend the lines to the end of the couplers so you can use those as a reference for your inside line). I used a piece of 1" 90* angle aluminum.
I located the holes with a center punch/scribe at 3/8" intervals (my LED spacing).
I then drilled the holes using a small drill bit (appears to be 3/32", but you can choose whatever diameter you like). I didn't want to enlarge the holes too much.
Next, I had to prepare the LED mount. In this case, I used what I think is 3/8" square basswood. I cut them at 1-1/2" long, and made marks every 3/8" for drilling. I used a scribe to prick the centerpoints for drilling as well.
I used the same 3/32" drill as a pilot hole for the larger drill in the next step. I let the drill do the work so that the hole won't run off center through the part.
I used a #10 drill which is a 0.203" diameter drill bit, which matches up with the diameter of the LED. I wanted to ensure a decent press fit so that it could be replaced but won't fall out with a simple puff of air.
I cut the part at 1-1/2" long as stated earlier. Obligatory "step completed" photo here.
You can see how the LED fits in the block. It's a nice press fit.
To be continued....