As manufacturers of such a diverse range of products, we are often asked a variety of technical questions which our sales and technical team are more than happy to answer. We have compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions below:

What does UC mean?

UC is used in some of our part numbers and stands for Universal Current. This means that the unit can be used on AC or DC supply but is voltage specific eg. 115v UC can be used with 115v Ac or 115v DC supply.

How do I mount the beacons and sounders?

The majority of our products are surface mounted however many have side entry options. Most also have drill outs on 51mm centres, ideal for conduit box mounting and for use with our right angled mounting brackets. Our LED and Xenon beacons can be mounting any way up, however we recommend that filament bulb beacons and rotating mirror beacons be mounted upright. Our sounders and beacon sounders with horns should not be mounted upright in areas where water might collect in the recess, and our motor driven sirens should ideally be mounted pointing down to avoid anything collecting in the spinning impeller.

Do you sell beacons suitable for aircraft obstruction warning?

We manufacture beacons that meet the requirements for ICAO Low Intensity. The requirement states that these must be red and none flashing. We sell Type A and Type B; Type B being brighter than Type A. Low intensity warning signals are suitable for fixed structures less than 45m in height, width and length.

Can I adjust the volume of the sounders?

Volume can be adjusted on the IAS-E/ISB-E, IAS-T/ISB-T and IAS-C electronic sounders and combined beacon sounders. The ISB-R and ISB-S and the motor driven sirens all have a set volume.

Can the sounder and beacon be controlled separately on the combined units?

The ISB-E and ISB-T have separate wiring for the sounder part and the beacon part to allow for separate controlling. This is not possible on the ISB-R and ISB-S.

Can any of the beacons be synced to flash at the same time?

The XFE, XFL, XFH, XFJ and XFK xenon beacons all have the ability to sync. For example, if you were to use 4 XFE beacons staggered along a wall, they could be wired to flash all at the same time using the sync option.

What is the REN rating of the telephone ring initiated beacons?

The telephone ring initiated beacons all have a REN rating of 1. We do the TPD which is line powered and doesn’t need any additional power supply, and the TXD, TXL and TXV which all need to be wired to a phone line and a 230v power supply.

Can I buy spares for the units that I already own?

We sell the domes, lamps, flashtubes and a variety of other items as spares. If you would like to contact our sales team with the part number of the unit you own, they will be happy to help you with part numbers and availability.

What is the difference between the motor driven sirens and the electronic sounders?

The motor driven sirens create their sound by the internal motor driving a bladed impeller that draws in air and pushed it out through vents to create a whirring sound. This is the only sound it is capable of and is a set volume. These are suitable for remote areas and for environments with many other sounds, for which something distinguishable is required. The electronic sounders have a variety of tones and most have adjustable volume for greater control, and generally draw less power. These are commonly used for fire systems.

What does VRA, VRC and VRD mean in the part numbers?

These are voltage ranging units. VRA can be used with 12-100v DC and 12-72v AC, VRC can be used with 80-130v DC, and VRD can be used with 45-65v AC and 55-95v DC.

What certification do your products have?

As a company we are registered to ISO 9001.  All of our products are EMC tested and CE marked and Certificates of Conformity for our products can be provided on request.

If you have any further questions that we have not covered here, please give us a call on 01283 550850 or email us at mail@beaconlamps.com and we will be happy to assist you further.


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