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Lightspeed Battery Box Warning



 
 
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  #11  
Old July 8th 03, 05:08 PM
Wayne
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In my old boyscout days we used steel wool and a 6 volt lantern battery
with some of the most flamable papers and grasses etc to attempt to start a
fire. It took forever and many never got them to ignite. I agree that what
happened to you was not a fire hazard. You'd have a better chance to win the
lottery than to have that ignite on it's own, or maybe getting struck by
lightning, twice.

Wayne

The worst case is if the battery box happens to get hot enough to
melt low-temperature plastic trim, which can be expensive and costly
to replace.

The fabrics used in the interior of the aircraft had durned well better
withstand a much higher temperature without igniting, or someone
installed the wrong stuff. Likewise, it should not get hot enough to
ignite paper.



  #12  
Old July 8th 03, 06:36 PM
Dennis O'Connor
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Ummm, I see my name mentioned, which tends to wake me up... Then I see a
quote of my analogy of 'lurching from crises to crises'... This brings me
to the fully cognizant condition (rare) so I look at my post on that
topic... Hmmm, verb and subject are not clear - my fault...
For those who may have garnered the idea that I was back handedly, character
assassinating Sydney, et al., as being somehow at fault for their LS
headsets failing, that is wrong... LS needs to improve their product -
especially where the battery box melts down - jeez!

Anyway, I was simply noting that we see posts from the one group who
seemingly never have a problem with their LS headsets, and posts from the
other group who's LS headsets seem to be jinxed - with little or no middle
ground, i.e. no bell curve.. As I said; strange...

Denny
"Sydney Hoeltzli" wrote in message
...
Jay Honeck wrote:

Actually, Jay, if you reread Denny's post carefully, I don't think
this is what he's seeing or refering to as "some owners lurch from
crisis to crisis" but it's not worth addressing further.



  #13  
Old July 8th 03, 07:01 PM
Dennis O'Connor
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Tsk, tsk, Sydney... Bad hair day?

Denny

"Sydney Hoeltzli" wrote in message
...
What seems strange to me is your perception, actually, but that

wouldn't be the first time.



  #14  
Old July 8th 03, 07:52 PM
G.R. Patterson III
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Sydney Hoeltzli wrote:

So they definately try to make good when there's a problem.


Practice makes perfect.

George Patterson
The optimist feels that we live in the best of all possible worlds. The
pessimist is afraid that he's correct.
James Branch Cavel
  #15  
Old July 8th 03, 09:48 PM
Jay Honeck
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I discussed this in detail with the Lightspeed engineer. DH, who has
extensive training in fire hazard prevention, concurs. Of course, there
can always be some combination of factors which lead to a different
result.


This is good to know -- thanks!

However, I would make sure you don't place it somewhere which might
melt and cost you time and $$. For example, we've been securing our
20K and 25XL battery boxes with velcro (sewn to the plane interior,
glued to the battery box). This is gonna stop, because velcro melts
at rather low temperature and melted velcro would trash my interior
panels.


I've spent over $1000 with LightSpeed, and I sure don't expect their
headsets to melt down in my airplane.

Of course, I didn't expect to return all three pair for multiple repairs,
either.

I am buying our fourth ANR headset at OSH 2003 later this month. It most
certainly will NOT be Lightspeed brand.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

A fabric pocket should actually be a good place, provided the fabric
meets standard aircraft flammability tests.

Cheers,
Sydney



This is, indeed, a "crisis" of quality control, in my opinion. And, as

I
have repeatedly stated in the past, is truly a shame, as we absolutely,
positively LOVE our Lightspeed headsets.




  #16  
Old July 8th 03, 11:04 PM
Jay Honeck
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I am buying our fourth ANR headset at OSH 2003 later this month. It
most
certainly will NOT be Lightspeed brand.


I guess I'm willing to give them another chance, because I just
haven't found anything out there which is as comfortable and quiet
with a better reputation.


Well, brand loyalty only goes so far.

Another example: I was firmly, 100% behind Lowrance, and we LOVED our
Airmap 300 -- until it started to flake out on us last month. Still, I was
with them, and we were really excited to hear about the new Airmap 500. I
wanted to see it at OSH in the worst way!

That is, until I discovered that -- after just four years(!) -- Lowrance is
no longer supporting my 300. Repairs for my flaky little GPS were simply no
longer available.

Poof, that was the end of MY enthusiasm and brand loyalty. Garmin still
supports every GPS they've ever made, and THAT says more about a company
than data sheets or marketing ploys, any day.

Thus, soon a Garmin 196 will be resting comfortably on my yoke, God willin'
and the crick don't rise... And some OTHER brand of ANRs will be setting
upon my balding pate...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


  #17  
Old July 8th 03, 11:49 PM
Steve House
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Assuming the problems reported are legit, this seems to indicate a quality
assurance issue with the manufacturer. I was just looking over the
Lightspeed web site and didn't see any indication that their headsets were
TSO'd. Now I will be the first to admit I'm a newby so I my impressions may
be in error and as such take anything I say with a grain of salt but my
understanding of what TSO means is that 1: the product was type accepted,
passed testing to insure that it did what it was supposed to and was
compatible with and did not interact negatively with the other aircraft
systems, and 2: that the manufacturer has quality assurance programs in
effect that would insure all products coming off the line met the same
performance standards as the samples submitted for approval. I may be
wrong, but it seems to me to be foolish to buy non-TSO'ed equipment for
permanent aircraft installation or for use by the PIC or FO if there is one.
If my understanding of the QA issues regarding TSO is correct, this would
certainly increase the price of the product because testing of each and
every unit coming off the line is certainly going to be more expensive than
testing randomly selected samples. Because of the unforgiving nature of
aviation, uncertainty of product quality where safety of flight is concerned
is something I personally can't afford at any price and battery packs that
spontaneously burst into flame certainly seem to me to be a safety issue,
even if they're carried enclosed in fire resistant pouches.


"Dennis O'Connor" wrote in message
...
LS owners seem to fall into two groups... Those who have never had any
problem over a number of years of continuous use, and those who seem to
lurch from crises to crises... Strange...

Denny

"Justin Case" wrote in message
...
Lightspeed seems to know everything about all of their problems and
they all seem infrequent. Just too many infrequent problems for me.





  #18  
Old July 9th 03, 12:13 AM
G.R. Patterson III
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Steve House wrote:

I was just looking over the
Lightspeed web site and didn't see any indication that their headsets were
TSO'd.


Well, I just checked out the Bose, Sennheiser, and David Clark web sites,
and it seems that none of their ANR headsets are TSO'd either.

George Patterson
The optimist feels that we live in the best of all possible worlds. The
pessimist is afraid that he's correct.
James Branch Cavel
  #19  
Old July 9th 03, 12:16 AM
Jim Weir
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"Steve House"
shared these priceless pearls of wisdom:

Now I will be the first to admit I'm a newby so I my impressions may
-be in error and as such take anything I say with a grain of salt

OK, that's a good start.


but my
-understanding of what TSO means is that 1: the product was type accepted,

Nope. It means the manufacturer tested the unit in accordance with the
Technical Service Order and it met some arbitrary specification. Look up the
TSO for audio panels some day. There are still vestiges of vacuum tube
terminology.

-passed testing to insure that it did what it was supposed to and was
-compatible with and did not interact negatively with the other aircraft
-systems,

Nope. That's the installer/approver's job.


and 2: that the manufacturer has quality assurance programs in
-effect that would insure all products coming off the line met the same
-performance standards as the samples submitted for approval.

Nope. That's PMA.

I may be
-wrong, but it seems to me to be foolish to buy non-TSO'ed equipment for
-permanent aircraft installation or for use by the PIC or FO if there is one.

And how many airplanes did you say you have owned or paid the maintenance bill
on?


-If my understanding of the QA issues regarding TSO is correct, this would
-certainly increase the price of the product because testing of each and
-every unit coming off the line is certainly going to be more expensive than
-testing randomly selected samples.

Even if the FAA approved testing procedure calls for random sampling? Not
hardly.


Because of the unforgiving nature of
-aviation, uncertainty of product quality where safety of flight is concerned
-is something I personally can't afford at any price and battery packs that
-spontaneously burst into flame certainly seem to me to be a safety issue,
-even if they're carried enclosed in fire resistant pouches.

Did anybody say anything about bursting into flame? Sydney said the damn thing
got hot to the point of softening the plastic case. Don't build hysteria with
wild-ass projections.

And, if you are so worried about product quality, then build 'em yourself. That
way you have 100% control over the product and performance.

www.rstengineering.com {;-)


Jim



Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com
  #20  
Old July 9th 03, 12:36 AM
Jay Honeck
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And, if you are so worried about product quality, then build 'em yourself.
That
way you have 100% control over the product and performance.


Hey Jim -- why don't you guys build us some GOOD ANR headsets?

I'd buy 'em!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


 




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