Tideland's LC-70 flasher/ lampchanger includes a commutator designed to handle the high voltage pulses the HID lamps require. The commutator is housed in a container made from a high temperature, fibreglass reinforced plastic which protects the operator and also shields the lamp from the concentrated effects of the sun's heat, focused through the lens of the lantern.

The LC-70 has a three-place lamp turret rotated by a two phase unipolar stepper motor.

Stepper motors use induction techniques rather than brushes in order to conserve power consumption and increase reliability and lifespan. With three HID lamps in place, a TRB-400 unit is designed to function with minimal maintenance for a minimum of three years.

The LC-70 is controlled by a microcontroller that records lamp burntime, monitors position and optical sensors, controls the turret motor and communicates with external monitoring programmes. It can be remotely controlled by Tideland's OMNICOMM or Navlink systems.

The main control unit also checks the rotation pulses of the lantern to ensure that actual rotation speed matches the flash settings. The lampchanger will rotate when a lamp's life is exhausted, moving a new lamp into focal position.

MJ Information No: 18623