Jr.CubBuilder wrote:Crud! Mine just quit last weekend. Instead of the usual coffee grinder sounds on pre-flight it just made twitching noises and vibrated a little. A quick rap with the knuckles and it began stuttering around in a circle again, so I shrugged my shoulders and went flying. I really kind of like the damm thing for its nostalgia factor, but I may have to replace it with some LEDs also.
Mine suffered a similar death several months ago. I did a post mortem on the motor and couldn't find anything obviously wrong. The brushes looked good, but unfortunately I broke the brush lead trying to reassemble the motor (I didn't know they MADE wires that small! ). I'm still trying to decide whether to convert to strobe or try to ressurect the beacon. I do like the grind and whirr of the beacon, but I do occasionally fly "down below" (where the LAX terminal chart is a good idea), and I can't help but think that strobes would "reach out" farther.
gahorn wrote:(While not an approved repair, ... more than one has had it's motor replaced with a simple automotive turn flasher unit.)
George, In what orientation would it be best to "park" the lights in the beacon if one were to er, um, "test" the above mod.?
Miles
Miles
“I envy no man that knows more than myself, but pity them that know less.”
— Thomas Browne
The guts were removed as were the reflectors, and a single, bright "automotive backup lamp" was substituted within the unit. It looked/worked great! (Heard recently from the owner who said the unit still works great after 7 years. He's replaced the 99-cent bulb one time.)
He's also added wingtip strobes to his airplane so the red, flashing beacon is for "entertainment" purposes, but it sure looks good at night and shows up a long distance aways.
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention. An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons.
located "new" Grimes rotating beacon for our '55 170 at Avlite Aviation ! being shipped as of now. was told they have a lot of new ones on hand.units are 24 volt,thought I would canniblize if it rotates too slow, will advise when I get it and bench test. Just happy to get a new lens and seal! I called @ 1-805-239-4037 also www.avliteaviation.com
OK, someone enlighten me
What is wired in series with the 12V feed to the beacon motor (installed in the beacon housing)? I assume it is a capacitor, but I've only seen caps wired in parallel on DC motors. Is it just a diode? Whatever it is, what's it's purpose? The bearings on my motor are shot although it seems to be running just fine. I am trying to locate a suitable (and of course legal ) replacement. If I can find a replacement, is the capacitor still required or is this something that may be pre-installed on newer DC motors? What about trying to find a brushless DC motor as a replacement?
Richard,
Do you have a Grimes or a Whelen rotating beacon? If it is a Whelen, sometime is 1966 they added a diode to protect the bulb from spike voltages. Here's a picture from SL 66-22 / SK 150-22:
Sorry, completely forgot to specify. It's a grimes.
I've never seen anything wired this way. I suspect that is because of the vintage. The power lead comes in and splits to the motor and the light as expected. On the motor side, it goes into one side of a black cylinder (what I suspect is a capacitor). On the other side of the "cap", a shielded wire comes out. The shield itself is wired to the negative motor lead, while the center wire goes to the positive side of the motor. I believe this is just a strange way of installing a parallel capacitor, just done in a different way that one might expect. As far as my experience tells me, a capacitor would indeed want to be placed in parallel with the motor to reduce electrical noise/backfeed.
I am having a hard time locating a suitable replacement. I am thinking a local electric motor shop may be able to help rebuild this one. I don't think I want to buy a cheap Chinese motor for $2.00 and call it an acceptable replacement.
In case anyone was interested, I just heard back from avliteaviation(.com), they have new grimes motors in stock for $325. Although it's actually cheaper than I expected, I think I'll wait till mine quits spinnin'.
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention. An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons.
You might not realize what a wide open question you just asked. No doubt you have a rotating beacon of some sort mounted on your fuselage somewhere. Problem is it could be any rotating beacon, mounted anywhere. Fact is we don't even know what plane you have though we will speculate it is a 170.
You see 170s didn't come with rotating beacons. They were added later. This is a perfect example off when a picture could be worth a thousand words.
CAUTION - My forum posts may be worth what you paid for them!
Bruce Fenstermacher, Past President, TIC170A
Email: brucefenster at gmail.com
An excellent choice would be the Whelen strobe which is a drop-in replacement for most Grimes units. It's a simple matter to remove three screws which hold your Grimes in place... pull it out...disconnect the wiring,... connect the wiring to the Whelen... slide the Whelen into the Grimes place... re-install the three screws... make a log entry.
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention. An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons.
Clearance to install will depend on the previous location of your deceased unit. This is what I installed MODEL 70509 SERIES Whelan sell contained unit. http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/e ... tained.php Although its not FAA okie dokie.
gahorn wrote:An excellent choice would be the Whelen strobe which is a drop-in replacement for most Grimes units. It's a simple matter to remove three screws which hold your Grimes in place... pull it out...disconnect the wiring,... connect the wiring to the Whelen... slide the Whelen into the Grimes place... re-install the three screws... make a log entry.
It looks like I am the second one to resurrect this old thread, but mine died yesterday. This looks like a great solution although I will sorely miss that old grinder churning away behind me.
My question is: Do I want the Standard Assembly, or the Radio Shielded assembly that costs an arm and a leg more? I am great at taking things apart and putting them back together again.......Electricity is like a foreign language to me however.
If you have electronics, get the shielded so no interference.
John
John Hess
Past President 2018-2021 President 2016-2018, TIC170A Vice President 2014-2016, TIC170A Director 2005-2014, TIC170A N3833V Flying for Fun '67 XLH 900 Harley Sportster EAA Chapter 390 Pres since 2006 K3KNT
). I'm still trying to decide whether to convert to strobe or try to ressurect the beacon. I do like the grind and whirr of the beacon, but I do occasionally fly "down below" (where the LAX terminal chart is a good idea), and I can't help but think that strobes would "reach out" farther.
) replacement. If I can find a replacement, is the capacitor still required or is this something that may be pre-installed on newer DC motors? What about trying to find a brushless DC motor as a replacement?
