Cockpit Lighting & Power Supplies

[Guest bowingic]

Hi allI've reached the stage of planning lighting of my sim and I want to have flourescent flood lighting, map lights, panel lights probably either of (or both) incandescent and LED,etc with dimming capability... and a suitable power supply setup. Have considered converted pc supplies which may be suitable for lower current requirements and lab supplies etc. Does anyone have any suggestions regarding:1. Suitable lighting and supply setups?2. Suitable dimming methods/circuits for the above?It would be interesting to hear what existing projects are using.Many Thanks

[Guest Glenn Weston]

G'day Ian,Hi intensity LED's would be a good solution, low current/heat also I have played around with some 12V coloured CCF lamps, they are also low current/heat & available from Jaycar here in OZ, reducing the voltage on these does dim them however they do get to a point where they just switch completely off & then you have to raise the voltage a fair bit to get them back on again, They are about $20.00, you could buy one just for a test to see if it works out for you.Cheers Glenn.You can check out my Simpit Project here:http://www.simhardware.co.nz/forums/viewtopic.php?t=33

[Guest MikePowell]

Ian,Here's some info about LED dimming, http://www.mikesflightdeck.com/led_dimmer.htmMikewww.mikesflightdeck.com

[Guest mbessler]

>Hi all>I've reached the stage of planning lighting of my sim and I>want to have flourescent flood lighting, map lights, panel>lights probably either of (or both) incandescent and LED,etc>with dimming capability... and a suitable power supply setup.>Have considered converted pc supplies which may be suitable>for lower current requirements and lab supplies etc. >Does anyone have any suggestions regarding:>1. Suitable lighting and supply setups?>2. Suitable dimming methods/circuits for the above?If you don't wanna burn the 'dimmed away energy' with a resistor (like Mike's circuit), consider using PWM (pulse width modulation). Can be done either with a 555 chip (controllable via a pot) or with a microcontroller (computer/software controllable).For examples see google.eg:http://www.electronics-tutorials.com/devic...ight-dimmer.htmhttp://www.atx-netzteil.de/pwm_mit_ne555.htm (in german, but there's a schematic)Manuel

[Guest bowingic]

Thanks Glenn, Mike and ManuelVery helpful information. Looks like LED and CCF is the way to go for low current and heat.Many ThanksIan

[Guest Erups]

My choice is PC PSUs with PC modding style neon and cold cathode tubes.They consume nothing, heat next to nothing and deliver a decent amount of light.If you need dimming, you can achieve it by using standard 12V incadescent bulbs with a low voltage regulator.Should be available at radio shack and the likes in many countries.Otherwise schemes are widely available on the internet, just look for 12v dimmer or engine regulator or the likes.