Drake Lighting | News Flash Blog

IoT USA: Connect Anything

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 16:36:04 GMT

IoT USA: Connect Anything

Drake Lighting is excited to announce the launch of IoT USA. This is an American based company working cohesively with King Pigeon to bring the perfect storm of excellent customer service, real time solutions, and reliable products.

What is IoT? The Internet of Things. In a nutshell, IoT USA can "connect anything." IoT uses industrial grade modems and routers to make a connection via a secure network to any application that you need. Industrial routers provide the rugged, reliable network connectivity and remote management tools for heavy-duty applications such as precision farming, oil fields, industrial tanks, water treatment and construction.

When you order from IoT USA, you are dealing with an American Company, with American employees. The headache of language barriers is a thing of the past now. You will always talk to a living, english speaking, human when you call customer service.

Whatever your application, we have a solution for you. Our devices can be applied to real life situations. With us, you can Connect Anything.

Contact IoT USA TODAY by visiting their website:

https://www.iotusa.com/pages/contact

Hey, Society of Broadcast Engineers!

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:22:11 GMT

Hey, Society of Broadcast Engineers!!

Let us Speak At Your Next Event!

At Drake Lighting, we know a thing or two about what it takes to stay within FAA Compliance. It's part of our job! We take pride in being a resource in the obstruction lighting and tower industry, and we want to spread our wealth of knowledge with you. The FAA Advisory Circular is ever-changing, and we will help you to stay up-to-date and avoid hefty fines.

Drake Lighting, as members of The Society of Broadcast Engineers, is here to ensure you stay in compliance with the FAA and to stay up-to-date on industry changes. One of our very own, Mark Walker, High Intensity Account Executive, is well versed in the Obstruction Lighting and Tower Industry. Feel free to ask him any questions you might have in regards to high intensity obstruction lighting, FAA compliance, tower maintence and regulations, and other industry updates.

Drake Lighting is happy to speak at your next event. We will even bring you lunch! Give us a call TODAY to schedule!

Mark Walker

PHONE: (270) 978-8349
EMAIL: mark@drakeway.com

As The Drake Flies, This Event Season's Round-Up

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 15:26:14 GMT

As The Drake Flies, This Event Season's Round-up

Drake Lighting is excited to hit the ground running this Event Season. We want you to see The Drake Difference first-hand, so we are traveling near and far to come see you! Below you will find a comprehensive list of our Event Schedule for the Summer of 2022:

Colorado Wireless Association Golf Outing
LOCATION: Littleton, CO
DATE: July 21st

Tennessee Wireless Association Golf Outing

LOCATION: Nashville, TN

DATE: August 23rd

Colorado Wireless Association Sporting Clay Shoot

LOCATION: Bennett, CO
DATE: September 8th

Kentucky Wireless Association Golf Outing

LOCATION: Louisville, KY

DATE: September 22nd

Stay Tuned! We will be updating this list frequently as we fly throughout the year. We hope to see you there!

What Does The Drake Way Mean To You?

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 12:56:33 GMT

THE DRAKE WAY

THE DRAKE WAY...

An endearing term that speaks volumes as to what we stand for at Drake Lighting. When we say "The Drake Way," we don't just mean the way our LIGHTS operate, it also refers to the way WE operate. With 60+ years of industry experience, the leaders at Drake Lighting know a thing or two about what makes a successful obstruction lighting system. It starts with the design and it ends with the services that go along with it. The beginning, the end, and everything in between has been tailor fit to create a system that truly encompasses "The Drake Way."

So, what is The Drake Way, anyways? We are so glad you asked!

The Drake Way is...

An Obstruction Lighting System that has a simple, yet intuitive, design meant to reduce the amount of equipment needed to produce a fully functioning light on the top of your tall structure. The beacon and markers are the only pieces of equipment on the actual tower, with just one cable from the ground to top of the tower. The lighting systems consist of IR Emitters that are coupled with the red LED obstruction lights, eliminating any extra point of failure. The UV Fade Resistant Technology included on all of our lighting kits makes our product built-to-last.

The Drake Way is...

A Ground Based Maintenance Model making it easier for you to troubleshoot malfunctions without ever needed a tower crew. Our system keeps all active components off of the tower, meaning the controller and power supply are located at ground level. One cable runs from the ground components to the beacon, located on the tower. With the most fragile parts of the lighting kit protected on the ground, the chance of needing to go up the tower is greatly decreased.

The Drake Way is...

Services that compliment the Drake Lighting System. There is more to Drake than just the light. We also offer full service remote monitoring of your structure 24/7/365. On top of that, our extensive list of services includes repair and maintenance, replacement, and inspection. Our National Service Network of trusted technicians across the U.S. means that we can respond to a tower with boots on the ground within days, not weeks, of a NOTAM. We are a resource when it comes to the telecommunication industry. As members of the Society of Broadcast Engineers, we are ready to get you up to speed with regulations, news, and compliance. With 60+ years of industry experience, Drake Lighting knows what it takes to keep a tower site up and running, and we want to share that knowledge with you.

The Drake Way is...

A lifestyle at Drake Lighting. We took the design of our lighting systems, and incorporated it into our company's foundation. We want to deliver the most simple product on the market, but we also want to make every experience that you have with us as simple and easy as possible. From free refilings with the FAA and free assessments, to a 5 year warranty, Drake strives to make our clients see what we stand for in every sector of our company.

Ready To Experience The Drake Way?

Phone: 270-804-7383

Email: contact@drakelighting.com

Drake Monitoring: A New Way of Tower Monitoring

kevin@drakeway.com (Audrey Jones) — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 12:35:03 GMT

How Are You Monitoring Your Tower?

The FAA Advisory Circular 70/7460-1M advises that a tower be monitored at least once every 24 hours to ensure the tower is fully functioning. Before, one had to physically lay eyes on the tower site and confirm that it was still up and running. Now, with the development of cellular networks, remote monitoring has become a way of keeping up with your tower's functionality. Remote monitoring requires communication through a network with the use of codes to find out if the tower's lights are running. Remote monitoring can be performed from anywhere, and makes it so that your tower has the capability of being in communication at all times of the day, so you do not have to check on it every 24 hours.

Drake Lighting offers full service remote monitoring for not only our own tower sites, but also for towers that do not support our lighting systems. Our expert monitoring team is available 24/7 to monitor towers across the continental United States. We have a state of the art monitoring room in house, equiped with monitoring screens that constantly display all towers on our radar. Our monitoring platform can be supported from almost anywhere, because we are linked through Verizon and AT&T carriers. We go beyond the FAA standard, as we monitor for alarms almost 20x more than the FAA regulated 1x every 24 hours. This makes it so that if your tower light goes into alarm, the amount of time before the malfunction is resolved or the NOTAM is entered is significantly shorter.

The FAA requires a NOTAM to be sent out no more than 30 minutes after a tower alarm has sounded. Drake is able to catch the alarm, troubleshoot the malfunction, and have the issue resolved in generally 30 minutes or less, before a NOTAM is ever needed to be sent out. Our success rate for solving alarms is well over 90%. If the malfunction proves to be something that requires a technician, then Drake will enter the NOTAM, and deploy our crew to have boots on the ground at your site within the week. The less time your tower is in alarm, the more time you stay in compliance with the FAA.

Of the 800+ tower sites that Drake monitors, we strive to have less than 5% of our monitored towers in alarm at any given time. That is why we are so proactive while monitoring. A consistently functioning tower light that has minimal alarms is our goal. Drake's equipment is half as likely to alarm as the competitors, and lasts 50% longer as well. Most of the towers that are consistently going in to alarm are our competitor's lighting systems, and we have the means to resolve their malfunctions too.

Are you keeping up with the industry standard? Remote Full Service Monitoring is the way the industry is going, and Drake is here to make sure your tower stays functioning, 24/7/365. You shouldn't have to worry about whether your tower site is staying FAA Compliant, we will make sure that it is for you.

Interested in our Monitoring Services? Call TODAY!

Phone: 270-804-7383

Email: contact@drakelighting.com

Painting vs. Lighting Tall Structures

Wed, 25 May 2022 13:35:02 GMT

Continuing to Paint your towers? Keep Reading.

Painting your tower used to be the most cost effective way to make your tower visible to aviators if you required daytime marking. Painting meant switching between orange and white paint on the tallest part of your tower. The paint must meet specific criteria, as well. The Federal Standard for colors that you must use on your tower are #12197 "aviation orange" and #17875 "outside white." Not to mention, the paint must be 100% acrylic exterior latex for galvanized steel. The list goes on, and it is harder and more expensive to paint your tower every year.

The regulatory change to the FAA Advisory Circular 70/7460-1L raised the height for a medium intensity tower from 500 to 700 feet. With this height increase, towers were able to stay under the medium intensity lighting realm for 200 more feet. It also reduced the amount of lighting required for taller towers that fall in the 500-700 feet range. In the past, towers ranging over 500 feet required high intensity obstruction lighting, so the daytime application of painting your tower was deemed more cost efficient than purchasing high intensity lighting for daytime marking. Now, towers up to 700 feet can use medium intensity obstruction lighting. Because of this change, tower owners with structures reaching over 500 feet may find that using daytime lighting as opposed to paint becomes the more cost effective option.

The costs of painting your tower can start to get pricy. When you think of the crew that you will have to hire to paint, the downtime needed of your tower being non-functioning in order to paint the tower, the cost of labor, and the reapplication when the paint starts to fade, the dollar signs keep adding up. When switching to a daylight obstruction light, the cost starts to go down. The energy savings of using a LED light, the elimination of paint costs, less downtime for the tower, and less maintenence will save you money in the long run.

The obvious choice when considering your next step for your tower would be to go with a daytime obstruction light as opposed to paint. To be eligible for daytime obstruction lighting, your tower must be refiled for consideration with the FAA. The process is easy for you, just let us take it from here. Drake Lighting will do the refile with the FAA and help guide you through the process of transitioning from paint to daytime lighting.

Think your tower could use an upgrade? Give Us A Call!

PHONE: 270-804-7383

EMAIL: contact@drakelighting.com

Drake Services

Tue, 17 May 2022 12:34:06 GMT

There is MORE to Drake than just the Light.

Did you know that Drake Lighting also offers a multitude of services to compliment our lighting systems? From repair and maintenance, to inspection, we are truly a one stop shop for all of your tower needs. Why make it more difficult than it has to be? At Drake, we will handle it all.

Repair and Maintenance

Drake Services has a team of qualified tower technicians that are able to repair and maintain a wide span of lighting systems, lines, and antennas. Our mastery of the trade goes beyond our own systems, we are also well versed on many different lighting system's maintenance requirements. Our National Services Network expands our reach to all surrounding states and further. The Drake team is ready to respond to any location in the southeast within days of your NOTAM, reducing the amount of down time for your tower.

Replacement

Other lighting systems in the industry inevitably require a replacement in as little as two years. Drake Services is able to replace your outdated obstruction lighting system with a failproof high intensity or medium intensity LED obstruction lighting system built to outlast the competition and covered by a 5 year warranty.

Inspection

The FAA advises tower owners to have their towers inspected to keep up with changing standards of the Advisory Circular. Drake Services is up to date on the standards required to keep a tower in compliance, and we are able to perform tower inspections. When the time comes for you to have a tower inspection, Drake has the expertise to keep you in good standing.

Interested in what else Drake Services has to offer? Give us a call TODAY !

PHONE: (270) 804-7383

EMAIL: contact@drakelighting.com

Infrared Lighting Designed To Eliminate Failure

Tue, 10 May 2022 13:55:35 GMT

Infrared Lighting Designed To Eliminate Failure

The FAA Advisory Circular regulates obstruction lighting guidelines, and is periodically changed in order to maintain standards that are up to date with the latest innovations. Infrared Lighting has been deemed necessary on red LED obstruction lights, as the use of night vision goggles (NVGs) and aviation night vision imaging systems (ANVIS) have increased greatly. This update to the Advisory Circular can be found in the FAA Engineering Brief No. 98.

As the use of NVGs and ANVIS increased in civilian aviation for assistance in search and rescue, emergency medical transport, and other flight operations, the FAA found that the light produced by red LEDs falls outside of the combined visible and near infrared spectrum of NVGs and ANVIS. This presented a safety hazard to all in the aviation field, as it reduced the situational awareness of the pilot during nighttime. In order for a red LED obstruction light to be seen under the use of NVGs and ANVIS, an IR emitter must be included.

Drake Lighting, through Technostrobe, is listed in the FAA Advisory Circular AC 150-5345-53d for all lighting types, under the L-864 FAA Type. The L-864 FAA Type includes the LED-RED-STANDARD-G3, LED-B-HYBRID-G5, and HIGH-LED-WRV2. No matter if you are needing a simple red beacon or a dual high intensity lighting system, all of our equipment is compliant with the IR Standard. Since the change in 2018, Drake has been a dependable resource for IR emitter red LED Obstruction Lighting. This is due to our efficient design. Unlike our competitors, IR emitters are coupled with the red LED obstruction lights, meaning when the red LED is on, so is the IR emitter. This keeps our system simple, functional, and eliminates any additional fail point.

Drake Lighting is happy to assist you in bringing your obstruction lighting up to standard with the FAA. Contact us today for your FREE ASSESSMENT !

PHONE: (270) 804-7383

EMAIL: contact@drakelighting.com

NAB 2022

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 15:12:46 GMT

NAB 2022, Have You Stopped By Yet?

Drake Lighting is here at NAB 2022 with our brand new, state-of-the-art, interactive booth that is nothing like you have ever seen! Curious to see what we are all about? Come talk to us a t BOOTH #W6311 ! We brought along our expert team, who would be happy to walk you through a product demonstration, answer any questions you might have, and show you how we have interrupted the Obstruction Lighting Industry, The Drake Way . Please see below for the contact information of our team:

Mark Walker - mark@drakeway.com

David Shepeard - david@drakeway.com

Kevin Klepeis - kevin@drakeway.com

Don't forget to bring your business cards with you to enter into our GIVEAWAY !

Winner will receive a $100 Amazon Gift Card!

We look forward to talking with you!

NAB 2022 BOOTH #W6311

Bigger Is Not Always Better

Wed, 13 Apr 2022 17:49:55 GMT

Bigger Is Not Always Better

Drake Lighting has remained a privately owned and operated Obstruction Lighting Company throughout the years. The reason behind this being that we believe bigger is not always better. Larger Corporations have shown us time and time again that they cannot keep the promise of excellent customer service and positive support, both of which are TOP PRIORITIES at Drake Lighting. We Care, We Respond, and We Are Here For YOU. That is The Drake Way .

We Care.

It is shown in our design, it is implemented in our atmosphere, and it is witnessed by our clients. You will always talk to a living, breathing person when you call us, not a robot at the other end of the line. We want to solve your problems, not create more of them.

We Respond.

Our boots-on-the-ground mentality means that we will respond to your tower site within days, not weeks. We understand the importance of a functioning tower light, and we are here to ensure yours stays that way.

We Are Here For YOU.

We are experts in the industry, so you don't have to be. With 60+ years of combined experience, our team has an extensive knowledge base. Whether your questions pertain to medium and high intensity obstruction lighting, FAA Advisory Circular guidelines, or services needed to keep your tower within compliance, we have got you covered.

Experience The Drake Way Today!

Why LED Lighting Systems Offer Advantages for Tower Operators

kevin@drakeway.com (Audrey Jones) — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 19:24:23 GMT

Why LED Lighting Systems Offer Advantages for Tower Operators

Redundancies in LED lighting systems and keeping active components off of the tower improve reliability and eliminate most reasons why a tower would have to be climbed to make repairs.

Obstruction lighting systems certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) help businesses and government agencies of all kinds satisfy requirements for making physical objects more obvious to aviators. Among those businesses and agencies are owners of improved real estate, airport operators and owners of telecommunications towers, such as cell towers and broadcast towers. Examples of objects that may require obstruction marking include communications towers, wind turbines, tall structures, chimney stacks, flare stacks, water tanks and buildings.

Towers more than 199 feet tall have to be marked as aviation obstructions. Other, shorter towers also may require marking if they are near enough to airports. FAA regulations specify distances and heights in relation to airport boundaries and flight paths.

The regulations offer a choice between using paint or lights to mark towers during daytime hours. Lights must be used to mark towers during nighttime hours.

In everyday life, you may have noticed a wide variety of types of lights or lamps used for lighting. Examples include incandescent, compact fluorescent, halogen, metal halide, light-emitting diode (LED), fluorescent, neon, high-intensity discharge and low-pressure sodium. For decades, incandescent lights made up the overwhelming majority of lights used to mark aviation obstructions. More recently, the use of LED lights for obstruction marking has become popular, and the reasons are many.

With LED lights, except for the lights themselves and wiring, the entire system is installed at ground level, eliminating the need for climber repair. The tower itself hosts no active components, which reduces the chance of severe damage to illumination systems.

use of on board redundancies for critical components, such as the power supply driver circuit and the flash circuit, reduce the chance of malfunctions. With special filter design and the use of multiple small capacitors, it is possible to eliminate electromagnetic interference and radiofrequency interference (EMI/RFI) noise from the equipment, including any noise from the antenna.

System Reliability

When lighting systems are strategically designed with redundancy in mind, each component mitigates safety problems to ensure system reliability. Effective steps exclude the DC power supply from the beacon and include lightning surge protection with system components to provide quicker reactions.

Reliability is also improved when monitoring and control circuitry, the photocell and capacitors are not placed in the beacon. It also is important not to situate processor-to processor communications between the beacon and the power control unit.

Redundancies increase a lighting system's longevity and offer monetary and energy-saving advantages. Lighting systems last longer when they are specifically fabricated to maximize operability and increase longevity while decreasing maintenance requirements through a user-friendly interface. Engineered redundancies allow lighting systems to maintain effectiveness, even in the unlikely event of a component failure.

Redundancies

Some examples of useful redundancies in a lighting system's power control unit include the use of two DC power supplies, two driver circuits, two flash circuits and additional capacitors in case some should fail. It helps to equip the power control unit, the beacon and alarm circuits with passive surge protection of the resonant circuit type to isolate transient surges that may find their way onto these inputs. A resonant circuit combines capacitance and inductance such that a periodic electric oscillation reaches its maximum amplitude. According to the FAA, pilots using night vision imaging system (NVIS) equipment that filters adverse effects of cockpit lighting may not be able to see LED-based obstruction lighting. An inability to see obstruction lighting poses a safety risk to pilots, passengers and ground personnel. The use of night vision goggles (NVGs) offsets the risk by amplifying ambient light, improving pilots' vision to allow them to see terrain and other possible hazards in the dark. Infrared (IR) technology allows obstruction lighting to be seen with NVIS equipment. Obstruction lighting systems equipped with IR technology ensure the safety of all who rely on the lighting systems.

Avian Compliance

Designing and setting flash rates and flash markers in a way that complies with avian safety helps lighting systems to avoid posing risks to migratory birds and other avians. It is a way to improve the safety for everyone, including our feathered friends.

Thoughtful Design - The Drake Difference

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 16:13:16 GMT

Thoughtful design - the drake difference

Drake Lighting was established with one goal in mind, to deliver FAA-certified obstruction lighting solutions to the industries that need it. No matter what lighting issues you face, we strive to work with you every step of the way to discover the most safe, viable, and permanent strategy possible.

When you switch from your current lighting system to a Drake Lighting LED system, you’ll notice:

· The entire system is ground-based, alleviating the need for climber repair.

· There are no active components on the tower, resulting in less chance of severe damage to imminent systems.

· Onboard redundancies for critical areas such as Power Supply Driver Circuit, and Flash Circuit reducing the chance of malfunctions.

· Due to special filter design, multiple small capacitators – we have eliminated EMI/RFI noise from our equipment. This also includes any noise through the antenna.

Redundancy

Drake Lighting has strategically designed each aspect of our lighting systems with redundancy in mind. Each component of our system comes together to mitigate safety issues and ensure the wellbeing of all who depend on our lighting systems. There is a good reason why we don’t have beacon failures:

· We don’t put our DC power supply in the beacon.

· We don’t put our lightning surge protection separate from our components to provide quicker reactions.

· We don’t put our monitoring and control of the light in the beacon. We don’t put our photocell in the beacon.

· We don’t put our capacitors in the beacon.

· We don’t have processor to processor communications between the beacon and the power control unit.

Drake Lighting was founded to simplify the obstruction lighting industry. When we started, we wanted to take a light with a five-year lifespan and thoughtfully engineer it to become a light with a 25-year lifespan. It is our mission to take a great product and make it even better.

Increased redundancies that have been engineered into each one of our products increase the system’s longevity, thus giving our customers peace of mind and provide them with added monetary and energy savings. Our products are specifically fabricated to maximize operability and increase longevity while decreasing maintenance requirements through a user-friendly interface. The systems we offer are long-lasting, robust, and durable - ready to stand the test of time.

Drake Lighting lives on the cusp of cutting-edge technology. We don’t just add features purely for the sake of aesthetics, we add them for the purpose of optimal functionality. Our installations are vastly efficient and simplistic in nature. We wanted to create a lighting system that was so simple that anyone can install and maintain. These engineered redundancies allow for the system to maintain effectiveness, even in the unlikely event of a component failure.

Our Power Control Unit comes with built-.2in redundancies to critical areas:

• The PCU has two DC power supply in case one should fail.

• The PCU has two driver circuits in case one should fail.

• The PCU has two flash circuits in case one should fail.

• The PCU has additional capacitors in case some should fail.

• The PCU, Beacon and alarms are equipped with a passive surge protection (resonant circuit). This isolates the transient surges that make its way onto these inputs.

• Resonant Circuit – an electrical circuit that combines capacitance and inductance in such a way that a periodic electric oscillation will reach maximum amplitude.

IR Technology Standard

According to the FAA, pilots using NVIS equipment that filter the adverse effects of cockpit lighting might not be able to see LED-based obstruction lighting. By not being able to see obstruction lighting, this lack of visibility poses a safety threat to both the pilot and ground personnel. NVGs work by amplifying ambient light, improving pilots’ vision to allow them to see terrain and other possible hazards in dark conditions. IR technology allows for the obstruction lighting to be seen with NVIS technology. In all Drake Lighting systems, IR technology comes standard to ensure the safety of all who rely on our lighting systems.

Avian Compliance

Drake Lighting systems are avian compliant regarding flash rates and flashing markers. We are committed to the safety of all who depend on our lighting systems, even our feathered friends.

About Us

Founded in 2014, Drake Lighting is a customer-focused distributor of ETL certified FAA obstruction lighting, electrical supplies, and monitoring solutions. Located in Mayfield, KY, Drake Lighting is the American distributor for Technostrobe, Inc. Our goal is simple: provide our customers with FAA obstruction lighting solutions that are “Easy to Order, Easy to Handle, Simple to Install.” We offer lighting for all applications where obstructions need to be visible to pilots, including Communications Towers, Wind Turbines, Tall Structures, Chimney Stacks, Flare Stacks, Water Tanks, and Buildings. At Drake Lighting, we offer LED lighting systems for Red Obstruction Lighting, Medium Intensity Obstruction Lighting, and High Intensity Obstruction Lighting. If you have a need for marking a structure, we have a solution that will work.

Obstruction Lighting Considerations for Tall Towers

Tue, 23 Nov 2021 21:14:19 GMT

Obstruction lighting considerations for tall towers

Presently, there are 42,000+ tower sites nationwide, with 1,700+ sites already used by broadcasters. The tallest broadcast tower in the Western Hemisphere is the KVLY-TV mast in Blanchard, North Dakota, 2,063 ft tall.

One of the largest considerations faced by broadcast engineers is to ensure no broadcaster violates lighting violations. Violation of these standards can result in a hefty fine.

For example, a broadcast group was fined $1.13 million in 2020 for inadequate maintenance and monitoring of its towers. In 2020, the FCC issued three fines to three different broadcasters, compared with 7 in 2016.

That said, we’re going to look at a style of lighting to consider when lighting broadcast towers.

Let's dive in!

The Regulations

The US Congress authorizes the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to implement mandatory standards for lighting and painting antenna towers or tall buildings that may constitute a risk or danger to air traffic.

While these standards are based on the advisory recommendations of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in the case of antenna towers that require aviation obstruction lights, these standards are obligatory.

Violation of these standards can result in a hefty fine. For example, a broadcast group was fined $1.13 million in 2020 for inadequate maintenance and monitoring of its towers.

The FCC rules are mandatory for antenna towers operated by broadcast and other communication services providers and include specific requirements set out in Part 17 of the FCC rules.

Some of the most critical aspects of these requirements include:

Observe the antenna’s lights a minimum of every 24 hours, either automatically or visually, to make sure all lights are working properly
Inspect all the antenna’s mechanical and control devices, alarms, and indicators at the internals of no more than three months

Lastly, any lighting malfunctions not corrected within half an hour must be reported to the FAA and follow the FAA’s repair guidance, as specified in the FAA’s Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) period.

The Drake Lighting V2 High-Intensity System

The Drake Lighting V2 Intensity System has been specially manufactured to comply with all FAA recommended and FCC mandatory requirements. This lighting solution is:

Powered
Controlled
Monitored

...on the ground because the electronics have been removed from the tower.

Lighting is easy to install and is low risk, meaning an engineer needs to climb the broadcast tower to maintain it is less likely.

Each high-intensity obstruction light in this system complies with all FAA recommendations and FCC mandatory requirements and is FAA certified. In addition, all the following lights come with a 5-year parts warranty.

They have an FAA L-856 and FAA L-865 high-intensity white obstruction light. At the same time, the FAA Style F and FAA Style G also has a medium intensity red light.

FAA Style B

This high-intensity white light shines at the same intensity during the day and at twilight, with a +/- 25% at night. It has a horizontal coverage of 120° and power consumption of 280 watts.

While weighing 55lb, it is designed with a metal-clad cable for fast and reliable installation to the broadcast tower. In addition, the optical design reduces ground disturbance.

There are no height restrictions because the power supply and control mechanisms are at ground level. However, two components are on the tower.

There are four FAA Style B lights to choose from, depending on the tower height:

1,050 ft: G3

1,400 ft: G4

1,750 ft: G5

2,200 ft: G6

FAA Style C

The FAA Style C AOL (aviation obstruction lamp) shares the same characteristics as the FAA Style B, including an operating temperature ranging from -40° to 131°F.

The difference is that while Style B rack dimensions are 23” x 87” x 31.5”, Style C’s are 23” x 87” x 31.5.”

Choose from the following four different Style C lights based on your tower height:

1,050 ft: C3

1,400 ft: C4

1,750 ft: C5

2,200 ft: C6

FAA Style F

The FAA Style F AOL model shares similar properties to Styles B and C. However, its LED light color is white by day and red by night. In addition, the rack dimensions are the same as those of Style C.

Depending on the height of the tower you’re maintaining, there are four FAA Style F lights to choose from:

1,050 ft: F3

1,400 ft: F4

1,750 ft: F5

2,200 ft: F6

FAA Style G

The FAA Style G AOL again has all the same properties as the lights mentioned above, but like Style F, it also is a dual light, white by day and red by night.

In addition to its optical arc-shaped lights, this style comes with a beacon light design. In common with all three other lights, there are four different Style G models depending on the tower height:

1,050 ft: G3

1,400 ft: G4

1,750 ft: G5

2,200 ft: G6

Other Types of Lighting Specific to Broadcast Towers

It is possible to source aviation obstruction lighting equipment for all broadcast buildings, including AM, FM, UHF, and VHF.

This includes aforementioned B, C, F, and G Style lights, L856 and L865 lights, as well as L864 and L810 lights:

Red Obstruction Lighting

Low-intensity red lights that are off during daylight hours. At night, the light is a flashing red beacon and a flashing red sidelight. These are suitable for a range of heights:

A0: 0-150 ft

A1: 150-350 ft

A2: 250-700 ft

A3: 700-1,050 ft

A4: 1,040-1,400 ft l

A5: 1,400-1,740 ft

A6: 1,750-2,200 ft

White Obstruction Lighting

Medium intensity lights emit white light by day using L865 white beacon and night using L-864 flashing white beacon. There are two styles available:

Style D1: for towers measuring 200-350 ft tall

Style D2: for towers measuring 350-700 ft tall

Dual Obstruction Lighting

Medium intensity lights emit white light by day and red lights by night, using the L-864/L-865 is flashing red night and white day beacon and the L-810 flashing red sidelight. There are two types of light available:

E1: for towers between 200-350 ft tall

E2: for towers measuring 350-700 ft tall

Are You Ready to Start Using Obstruction Lighting?

Hopefully, this article has addressed any questions you may have about obstruction lighting and the type of lighting you need for broadcast towers .

Drake Lighting is a customer-focused distributor of ETL-certified FAA-approved obstruction lighting solutions. Contact us now to learn more about our services and book a free, no-obligation assessment of your obstruction location.