Emergency Lighting Ideas

Courtesy of Steve KB1DIG & Kim KB1GTR, Feb. 24th, 2004

Emergency Power operation is becoming more common place, with a few different good ways available to accomplish this goal. We decided some time ago, to go with 12v/DC battery backup power. Several Hams spend a lot of time preparing to run their equipment during a blackout. There does not seem to be a lot of information out on station lighting. We observed normal incandescent or even fluorescent lighting can greatly increase the drain of battery backup systems. A single 5Watt Halogen 12v/DC bulb runs @ 400mA, and produces a lot of light. This Jumbo LED runs at only @ 40mA, with less light produced, but still a fair amount. 2 or 3 of these LEDs seems to do the trick at this QTH. Enough lighting to work with and a lot less overall power drain.. The Energy Efficiency of the LED is truly worth your time exploring.

Read More