These are our 10 turn LED dimmers that we use with our EasyBrow , EasyFuel and other LED lighting systems. They are ideal for this application because LEDs can be dimmed and brightened with a precision that cannot be achieved with typical rheostats in that exist in most aircraft.

Typical aircraft rheostats have a normal resistance range of 0-200 ohms. They perform satisfactory with typical aircraft incandescent bulbs but their range is much too narrow for LED lighting and they provide very little LED dimming.

Because candescent and LED lights do not dim and brighten at the same consistency, The Fresh Aero dimmers are normally installed “downstream” of an aircraft’s primary rheostat to “fine tune” LED lighting.

They can also be used as primary dimmers if the wattage requirements are met.

We offer  2 and 5 watt models, depending on your need.

The following are  the “behind the panel” dimensions.

The 2 watt dimmer is 7/8 inch (22mm) long and 7/8 inch (22 mm) wide.

The 5 watt dimmer is 2/18 inches long (54 mm) and 1 13/16 inches (46 mm) wide.

Eight inch 20 gauge soldered and shrink wrapped leads with butt crimp connectors are included.

A stiffener washer, lock washer, nut and knob is also included with each dimmer.

Installation is simple. The dimmer will be in series with the lighting circuit. Just cut the ground lead going to the lighting circuit (to keep the dimmer at ground potential) and push the ends of the cut leads into the butt connectors, crimp and you’re done with the wiring.

Drill a 3/8 inch hole in the panel where you want the dimmer and mount it with the included hardware. Be sure you have the space behind the panel to accommodate the dimmer.

These are “passive” potentiometers that won’t interfere with your aircrafts electronics and avionics like some PWM (pulse width modulation) dimmers can (see right side of page)

Here's How to Determine Which Dimmer you Need.

If you’re using the Fresh Aero LED light strips that have the integrated resistor in the negative lead, here’s an easy rule of thumb.

The 2 watt dimmer will handle up to 150 inches of the single color LED light strips and 75 inches of the multi-color strips, so this dimmer is certainly sufficient for the majority of your aircraft lighting requirements.

The 5 watt dimmer will safely accommodate up to 350 inches of the single color strips and 175 inches of the multi-color strips.

If you’re not using the Fresh Aero LED light strips, reduce the lengths by about half because they don’t have the integrated primary voltage reducing resistor used with the Fresh Aero LED lights.   

The 5 watt dimmer can be used for other panel and cabin lighting applications including small incandescent bulbs, but will you need to determine the dropped voltage and current in the circuit at the lowest dimming level and multiply the dropped voltage by the current to calculate the wattage.

Don’t exceed 75% of the rated dimmer wattage rating for reliable and safe operation.

Please contact us if you need help with your specific application.   

 

What about FAA Approval?

The Fresh Aero dimmers are primarily designed to be integrated with our EasyBrow Lights with adaptors that just plug into an existing bulb socket. They normally only need an A&P log book sign-off because they “just plug in”.

And, of course, they can be used on homebuilt aircraft.

If you plan to hardwire these dimmers into a general aviation aircraft, you will probably need a FAA field approval to be completely legal.

Please check with your FAA district office more more information.

Why Not Pulse Width Modulation Dimmers?

Pulse width modulation (PWM) dimmers are active electronic devices that control the brightness of lamps and LED lighting using radio frequency switching (ultra fast on and off pulses) to control the “virtual voltage” that the lamps or LED lights “see” and respond to.

The issue with PWM dimmers is that they generate radio frequency radiation due to their high switching rates and can cause RFI (radio frequency interference) with the avionics and other electronic devices in the cockpit. Also, avionics in the cockpit can interfere with the dimmer too.

When testing some of these devices, pressing the PTT switch on a com radio, actually dimmed an LED light strip to almost off! Not a good thing when flying at night.

That said, there are some very well made PWM dimmers with “Faraday cage” shielding that attenuates most of the RFI. Installation is critical too because the external wiring also needs to be shielded and grounded to effectively attenuate RFI. Additionally, the high quality PWM dimmers are usually very expensive.

The resistive potentiometers “pots” we sell are passive devices that require no power and do not generate or radiate any energy that would interfere with aircraft avionics or other electronics. They do dissipate a little energy in the form of heat, but it it negligible.

And that’s why we recommend resistive potentiometer dimmers over PWM dimmers in aircraft.