XeVision HID Xe aircraft landing light

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XeVision HID and LED aircraft landing and taxi light

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Frequently asked questions - FAQ

How to pronounce XeVision

(zee-vision)

 

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Why buy XeVision® LED and HID lighting systems?

What you should know before you buy LED and HID aircraft lighting systems!

XeVision® is designed by pilots for pilots & builders for builders

Principals are pilots, experimental aircraft builders, Lancair 360, IVP and PT, Glasair , Questair, Pilatus P3, RV, EZE, Nemesis NXT, etc., and affiliate engineers

 

One of the founding companies for the XeVision line of products - Reliable Equip. and Engineering, Inc. - has been in business since 1987 with industrial product sales. The other joint venture company is Real Art GmbH (formerly Aero Visions Intl, Inc.) founded in 1992 has experience in R&D and aircraft design and system integration.

XeVision® is an Aerospace and Industrial HID lighting market leader

HID technology is our development and production focus aloang with technological innovations.

 

We are a Lighting supplier for the Goodyear blimp, Diamond Aircraft, Embry-Riddle (Prescott, AZ), US Navy, other defense contractors (drones, rockets, ground based vehicles), Quest Aircraft, Epic Aircraft, and many more aircraft OEM’s.

Factory Direct Sales and Technical support

Electrical and Mechanical engineers on staff, full time.

 

Phone line 800-366-4415 toll free

 

Contact e-mail:

 

Product development in USA

State of the art circuit design and mfg. Using SMT automated PCB (printed circuit board) manufacturing processes.

 

First to offer production of 50 watt systems with 65% (5300 lumens) brighter HID designed for general aviation use. Over 750'000 beam candle power with par 46-SL standard landing reflector. (35 watt was the industry standard with 3,200 lumens.)

 

Custom systems with HID lamp wattages of 30, 40, 45 watts available (35 & 50 watts are standard). We also offer additional custom lamp wattages for OEM’s and special applications.

 

We offer wide range 8-32 volt DC power input with full performance functionality over this input voltage range. No more need for different models to cover 14 or 28 Volts. (proprietary XeStrike™ ballast series only).

 

Reliable and durable HID Xenon metal halide arc discharge PULSING (wig-wag) is NOW AVAILABLE. We offer pulsing HID which till recently was not practically possible using typical ballast and bulb designs (substantially reduced bulb and ballast life was the result).

 

Proprietary ™CR and ™ILS technology ("Continuous Re-strike" and "Lamp Stabilization" power technology for ballast and pulsing unit power control. We still maintain our 2000/3000 hr./ 5 year replacement warranty for both bulb and ballast (See warranty details).

 

First to offer dependable patented HID pulsing modules for safe and reliable performance.

XeVision® HID system fully tested to 100,000 feet

Full warranty to 35,000 ft. ASA. Our system is currently being tested by a NASA contractor for use in outer-space (very low atmospheric pressure) applications.

We offer a follow-on ballast repair / exchange program after warranty period.

Other ballast brands are "throw away". Note: if ballast seal is compromised in any way or if un-repairable, we cannot offer this program.

We use only cast aluminum watertight ballast case assemblies

We are not using plastic for ballast cases. Waterproof ballast and connectors with silicon seals for an IP 67 rating (Dust and water intrusion) exceeds DO-160-D requirements.

Our reflectors are all metal and designed & optimized for use with HID bulbs

None of our aviation reflectors/lenses are just adapted from incandescent (halogen) lamps, as these light source geometries are different. Our reflectors/lenses are designed and optimized for HID light source. There are lamps on the aviation market which are used for both halogen and HID - not desirable!

 

None of our reflectors are made of plastic. Mirror quality reflective surface finish and hardened glass lenses attribute to superior quality.

We only use Premium quality ®Teflon or Silicone insulated shielded cable

Integrated double 100% shielded (foil and braid) and shielded connectors at both ends for maximum EMI and RFI protection, ballast to lamp cables (only new XV1A aviation systems).

 

3 standard ballast to lamp cable lengths 2 ft., 4 ft. and 6 ft. all with 18 gauge fine stranded tinned copper conductors. Custom lengths available for OEM’s or with quantities.

We use only premium quality D1S HID bulbs

"Knock-off" (typically Asian) HID bulbs are notorious for poor quality and very short life of a few hundred hours or less. They also commonly loose their brightness within a few hundred hours as well. Up to this point the D1S type bulbs (igniter permanently integrated with bulb) have not been copied, due to their technical sophistication and complexity. There are only 3 reputable HID arc tube (bulb) makers for this compact HID technology in the world today. Any HID bulb without this pedigree is of inferior quality.

 

Beware of cheap, illegally imported Asian HID bulbs adapted for retrofit automotive use, to install in automotive Halogen bulb headlight housings designed for incandescent bulbs such as H1, H3, H4, 9006, 9007 etc. These are banned items for USA import by USA DOT because of their possible improper and past illegal use in automotive headlights. Only OEM original equipment automotive headlights designed for HID are legal in the USA. Note: Automotive reflectors generally have unsuitable beam patterns for aircraft landing light use. The light is not well focused, it is diffused for this use to cover a very large area, much like a flood lamp.

 

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What are High Intensity Discharge (H.I.D. or HID) Xenon lighting systems or lamps?

High Intensity Discharge (H.I.D. and HID) or metal halide gas discharge is a state-of-the-art lighting technology that may be used to replace standard incandescent lamps or halogen gas capsules that use a heated tungsten filament. HID lamps operate more like vapor filled streetlights (Mercury) or like an electronic flash. Instead of a filament they create light by zapping an arc between two electrodes within a quartz capsule. That arc excites a mixture of gasses, usually Xenon and metal halides (such as Sodium Iodine and Scandium Iodine). The light produced by an HID Xenon lighting system is greater than a standard halogen bulb and with less power consumption. HID Xenon lighting systems appear as a bright white beam which closely resembles daylight. The bright white beam offers much greater visibility with a five fold increase in light intensity compared to standard incandescent landing lights, or a three fold increase compared to halogen lamps. The light intensity is about 3200 lumens or 500'000 candle power.

 

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Why HID lamps and what are the advantages of HID?

HID Xenon lighting systems have many advantages over standard landing lights and conventional Halogen landing lights:

 

Greater light output in addition to lower power consumption. A 35 Watt HID lamp produces up to 3 times the lumens at the light source when compared to a 55 Watt halogen bulb and 5 times the lumens of a 100 Watt incandescent lamp. A 100 watt sealed beam lamp uses a continuous power draw of about 8 amps at 12 volts. The HID/xenon system uses 20 amps for a few microseconds during startup but drops to less than 4 amps at 12 VDC for continuous operation resulting in lower power consumption but greater light output.

 

Greater visibility and safety (See - be seen). HID landing lights may be continuously operated during the entire flight, take-off and landing.

 

Greater service life. An HID bulb will last 10 times as long as a halogen lamp.

 

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What does it take to install the HID system?

XeVision HID systems can be installed in an airplane in less than 1/2 day. To replace an existing 100 Watt standard landing lamp, it takes approx. 2 hours. Simply replace the existing lamp with the appropriate XeVision HID lamp, plug the HID ballast into the bulb, and connect the HID ballast power wires (2) to the original wiring harness. Mount and secure the ballast preferably to the firewall (engine side) or other suitable locations close to the lamp. The XeVision system comes with ballast, lamp, and wire harness. The only connection to be prepared is the 12 VDC power to a 10 to 15 amp breaker (CB) and to the airplane ground bus. In most cases where a 100 Watt standard landing light exists, a 15 amp breaker is most probably present and may be used, we however, prefer a 10 amp breaker. Please check out the installation page

 

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Is there a Warranty for the conversion kit and components?

XeVision HID aircraft lighting systems are covered by a 5-years or 3,000 hours (whichever occurs first) for 35 watt systems and 2000 hours for 50 watt systems limited warranty against defects in materials and workmanship under normal use and conditions. The warranty is void if the cause of damage or failure is, but not limited to, abuse, neglect, improper installation, or operation use other than the intended application, accidents, natural disasters, or acts of God. All bulbs are tested and burned-in by the manufacturer prior to delivery. Burst and/or exploded HID bulbs (caused by fingerprint, neglect of bulb or high altitude lamp usage above 35,000 ft. ISA) are not covered by warranty. In no event shall XeVision, its affiliates, or advertisers be held liable for any loss, damages, or injury incurred directly or indirectly through the use of the HID system.

 

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What is the reliability even under hostile airborne conditions?

Our XeVision HID kits are the highest in quality, including, the connectors used are that of high quality "AMP" silicone connectors. These connectors are water repellent and keyed to insure proper polarity connection. Since there is no filament involved, HID lamps are very immune to vibration. 5,000 hour lamp life is quite common with 8,000 hours not uncommon in applications with infrequent starting.

 

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Why do HID lighting systems have a slight bluish light component?

The color of a light is determined by its color temperature. The arc across the Xenon (and other metal halides) filled electrodes inside of the capsule give off a cooler color temperature (4,100 K) that is closer to true white. So when you compare the color incandescent or halogen lights against the color of HID lights, the HID beam look blue/white and the halogen or standard lights appear more yellow.

 

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How long will my new HID lights last?

The HID system is designed to last a long time – more than 10 times longer than a conventional halogen lamp and over 30 times longer than standard incandescent landing lights.

 

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Are replacement bulbs available for my new XeVision landing light?

HID bulbs are designed to last up to 30 times longer than standard incandescent landing lights, typically around 3,000 hours. But should you ever need a replacement, you can purchase a D1S HID capsule from us (see products). Both 14 VDC and 28 VDC HID lamps use the same D1S bulb

 

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What is the difference between D1S and D2S bulbs?

HID D1S lamps are the so called third generation design. They have the igniter electronics/housing integrated with the bulb eliminating the need for transporting high tension spikes (up to 20 KV) from the electronic ballast unit whereas in the D2S lamps, the igniter is part of the ballast. The result of this improvement is that EMI is greatly reduced and therefore the risk for radio frequency noise and interference to other avionics is minimized with the third generation D1S lamps. Also, ballast to lamp wire length can be up to 10 feet long (approx. 12" is typical for D2S lamps).

 

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