Edwards Beacon Inrush

120307 12 3 07 Beacon Inrush Current addition to the nominal current rating for a beacon often times there is an inrush and for flashing beacons a repetitive surge current These currents can play a in the design of a system current is the current drawn by the beacon when it is first turned on Inrush can be very high but usually only lasts for a short duration typically less than a milliseconds surge current is drawn by the beacon each time it flashes after it powered up a steady beacon would not have a repetitive surge but may have an inrush current surge currents can also be quite high and last up to a few milliseconds but not as high as the initial inrush a beacon may have a relatively small nominal current rating sizing your power just based on that can cause problems A 3 amp power source for example may capable of handling six beacons with a 500mA nominal current rating but if those have a substantial inrush or surge current and the power source is not stiff or capable of handling the higher currents for short durations the beacons may work properly if at all This can also affect wire run distances A beacon near the may work but one at the far end may not one or two beacons on a circuit with an inrush or repetitive surge current higher than the power source rating is usually Ok A 120VAC strobe with 30A inrush for example will probably still work on a circuit rated for 15 amps This is the duration of the inrush is very short if you have a situation requiring multiple beacons turning on at the same time your power source cannot handle the inrush or surge currents there are a couple you can try If it an AC powered beacon try reversing the hot and neutral connections to half units This way some will fire off the positive side of the wave the others the Signaling Security Part of GE Security 41 Woodford Ave Plainville CT 06062 860 793 5300 Web www edwardssignaling com E mail signaling techsupport ge com Don power all the beacons from the same circuit this might require a multi pole one pole per circuit to turn them all on Use time delay relay s set for different times so that the beacons do not all turn at exactly the same time Even a fraction of a second difference could be to separate the firing times and alleviate the problem the following pages is a list of most of the beacons we offer and their respective ratings We have not to date tested all of our beacons for inrush and repetitive currents so some values may be blank Do not assume there is no inrush or surge it blank You can call Tech Support if you want to verify a value or if a beacon is not the list Also refer to the beacon installation instructions for additional information Signaling Security Part of GE Security 41 Woodford Ave Plainville CT 06062 860 793 5300 Web www edwardssignaling com E mail signaling techsupport ge com Model Ratings for Edwards Beacons Rating Rating Inrush Current Surge Current VAC VAC VDC VDC VDC VAC VAC VAC VDC VDC VDC VAC VAC VAC VAC VAC VAC VAC VAC VDC VDC VAC VDC VAC VAC VAC VAC VDC VDC VDC VAC VAC VAC VAC VDC VAC VAC VDC VAC VAC VDC VAC VAC VAC VAC VAC VAC VAC VAC SD 8mS 60Hz SD 8mS 60Hz SD 8mS 60Hz SD 8mS 60Hz SD 8mS 1Hz SD 8mS 1Hz ED 100mS 1Hz ED 100mS 1Hz SD 8mS 60Hz SD 8mS 60Hz SD 8mS 1Hz SD 8mS 1Hz SD 8mS 1Hz ED 100mS 1Hz ED 100mS 1Hz SD 8mS 60Hz SD 8mS 60Hz 100uS 100uS ED 300uS 1Hz ED 1mS 1Hz ED 1mS 1Hz ED 75uS 1Hz ED 75uS 1Hz 70uS 500uS VAC VAC VAC VAC VAC VAC VAC VAC VDC VAC VDC VAC VDC VDC VDC VDC VDC VAC VDC VDC VAC VDC VDC VAC VDC VAC VDC VDC VAC VDC VAC VDC VDC VAC VDC VAC VDC VAC VDC VAC VDC VAC VDC VAC VDC VAC VDC VAC VDC VAC VDC VAC VDC VAC 70uS 500uS 25uS ED 1mS 1Hz 1mS 1mS 25uS 1mS 100uS 35mS 1ms 1ms ED 100mS 1Hz ED 100mS 1Hz SD 8mS 1Hz 1mS SD 8mS 60Hz 1mS ED 1mS ED 100mS 1Hz SD 8mS 1Hz ED 100mS 1Hz SD 8mS 1Hz ED 1mS 1Hz SD 8mS 60Hz 1mS SD 8mS 60Hz 1mS SD 8mS 60Hz 25uS SD 8mS 60Hz SD 8mS 60Hz SD 8mS 60Hz 4uS 4uS SQ 0.2mS 1.2KHz ED 0.5mS 60Hz SQ 0.2mS 1.2KHz ED 0.5mS 60Hz 0.045A 0.045A 0.045A VDC VAC VDC VDC VAC VAC VDC VDC VAC VAC VDC VAC VAC VDC VAC VDC VAC VAC VDC VAC VAC VDC VAC VDC VAC VDC VAC VAC VDC VAC VAC VDC VAC VAC VDC VAC VAC VDC VDC VAC VAC VAC VAC VDC VDC VAC VDC VAC VDC VAC VDC VAC VDC VAC VDC SD 8mS 60Hz SD 8mS 60Hz SD 8mS 60Hz SD 8mS 60Hz ED 100mS 1Hz SD 8mS 1Hz SD 8mS 1Hz SD 8mS 60Hz 1mS SD 8mS 60Hz ED 100mS 1Hz SD 8mS 1Hz SD 8mS 1Hz 1mS