Solar Powered - Pilot Activated - Airfield Lighting

Reticulated lights are linked by an underground telephone cable which is layed around the perimeter of the runway. The system has two VHF radio recievers that activate the runway lights with a signal voltage via the cable. Each light is powered by its own battery and solar panel.

 

• Reliablility. The Achilles' heel of wireless/portable runway lights is that they fail when their batteries are old, tired, or low on charge. This is because portable lights loose a large portion of their solar charge to running their radio. In poor light conditions or with old batteries the radio runs the battery flat and the light fails.

  Reticulated lights don't have individual radios, leaving the solar panel to charge the battery to capacity. Batteries kept in a fully charged state last longer, typically over five years. Reticulated lights continue to work when their batteries become old and tired, the light just appears dimmer. Dimmer lights can be detected on routine inspection and it amazes me to find lights only slightly dimmer that are still operating on flat batteries as low as 9V.

  A common problem with wireless systems is that during winter, with short days and low light, there is not enough charge to run the radio and charge the battery as well. Frequent use will flatten the battery disabling the light. The two radios in a reticulated system are not lights, their solar panels and batteries are dedicated to running the radios only.

  A unique feature of our reticulated lights is that the battery is kept cool below ground at the bottom of the pipe. This greatly extends the life of the battery in the hot outback climate.

• Simplicity. All the lights on the airfield are activated via the cable, not by individual radios. This means they are either all on or all off at the same time. This is not necessarily the case with portable lighting due to the variation in the sensitivity of their radios. If you activate a portable system with a hand held radio on the ground you may find not all the lights turn on.

  Routine testing of the reticulated system is quick and free of complications. Wireless systems cause lost time and frustration during routine testing. The photo on the home page is of a reticulated system installed at St.Arnaud. Council used to waste several hours each week testing their old wireless system. Now, with our reticulated system, it only takes 5 minutes because all the lights always come on together.

• Redundancy. Reticulated systems provide several layers of redundancy which makes the system extremely reliable and easy to maintain. Having two radios in the system means if one radio fails the other will still turn on the lights. Also, having a radio at each terminal of the reticulated system means even if the cable gets broken all the lights will still work.

  The routine testing procedure involves activating one radio at a time. If there is a break in the cable the lights between the active radio and the break will come on, while the lights between the break and inactive radio will remain off. (In the nine years we have been installing our reticulated system we have heard of only one instance of a cable being broken. A truck became bogged on the side of the runway, digging its wheels down to the cable). Cable is easily repaired or a section between lights replaced.

  Further redundancy lies in the cable itself. Telco' cable is four core, thus providing two signal circuits.

• Cost effective. Ripping in a cable effectively pays for itself. Telco cable costs around $0.40 per meter or $36 for the 90 meter span between each runway light. Reticulated lights are $36 cheaper than a portable light because they don't contain a radio. This effectively cancels out the cost of the cable.

  Telco cable is purpose built tough to last a lifetime. And unlike mains power cable, telco cable can be layed to any depth you like; 30cm deep is more than adequate. A ripping tyne/cable layer is a common tool, easily sourced from your local council or contractor.

 

Refer to Price Listto place an order.