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Cool new Piper style lighted switches - where to get

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OK, I've had several inquiries about the switches I used in my last panel update, here is a pic of the switches as they were mounted in the switch assemblies my shop made up.

panel_2_4.jpg


These are the same switches that Piper uses in the Seneca V. The white lettering lights up with your panel dimmer. They end up costing about US$200 each.

panel_2_5.jpg



You need three parts, the engraved switch cover, the switch body, and then the 14v (or 28v) bulbs. Here is the information I got from my shop.


(1) The switch engraving legends and covers are from:

Arkay Engravers Associates LLC
493 Johnson Ave. Ste 12F,
Bohemia NY 11716
http://www.arkayengravers.com

Ken Kaplan is the chap my shop spoke with. He was very nice to deal with, and he was able to supply the caps, and then engrave them. They were a bit of trouble rounding them up, and he may or may not be interested to deal with an end user, or a small order.

Ken sent a spec sheet and part numbers, in order to figure out what legends to custom engrave, their format, and if some of the Piper standard ones were suitable.

(2) The switch bodies were purchased from a few sources- Aviall, and/or a Piper distributor.

There are three different switch bodies that were used, part numbers from the Piper Seneca V parts list

1- On-off-on 3 position #688-298
2- On-on 2 position #688-296
3- momentary 688-297

I needed one of the 3-position (center off), and all the rest were 2-position.

(3) The 14v bulbs you need to use are low cost, standard automotive GE73 T1.75, with a 15,000hr life -- good for a year's flying. ;) (or a 28v equivalent for the more recent Pipers)

There are plenty of LED replacements for these, which would make them voltage agnostic. Just watch polarity and dimmer issues.


It is a complicated process to get the proper switches, then the caps/legends, and finally the bulbs (14/28vdc). Understandably my shop is not interested in supplying these outside of their own panel projects.

Hope that helps!

* Orest
 

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