About
Hello fellow aviation enthusiast!
My name is Joe and I’m 14 years old and live in Central Florida. I originally made a METAR lamp for my dad. He showed it on Facebook and there were a few people interested in them. So I decided to try and make a little store to sell a few over the summer.
I spent the first part of the summer collecting some more used lamps. I looked at buying new ones, but they are prohibitively expensive even used ones are fairly expensive. I have enough supplies to make about 20 lamps of various types.
I’m also interested in making maps.I’m going to upload a couple examples that I made for my dad and his friend if you’re interested in one of those please reach out.
The project has taught me how to do some coding in basic and using micro controllers.
All my profits will be going to paying for flight hours with my instructor. I look forward to being able to get my PPL when I turned 16.
Thanks for your interest if you have any other creative projects that you think I might be interested in making feel free to reach out! Or if you have any questions northjoe@gmail.com
FAQ
Q. These are used lights why are they not cheaper?
A. The used light housings with clear lenses cost between $60-$100 (New housings and lenses cost over $250.) The electronics cost around $30 I use a high quality RGB cob led light. The material for the bases cost $20-$50. Then there’s my time. So I only make $20-$40 per light after fees and have a couple hours in to each one.
Q. I've been asked if the light will work for overseas airports.
A. If there is METAR status for your airport at 1800wxbrief.com then yes it should or just send me a message and I'll check.
Q. Will I ship overseas?
A. I will be happy to try please message me and I'll get you a cost.
Q. How is it powered?
A. The light will come with a USB-A cord and any USB power supply that can charge a phone should work.
Q. When will the maps be back in stock?
A. They are available just custom order. I just put them on there to show some I have made. Please contact me at the bottom with what area and size you are looking so we can discuss options.
Q. How does it work?
A. It uses a small micro controller programmed in basic. It host a small web interface that you set your wifi and selected airport. The controller automatically pulls METAR data and translates it to adjust the color of the light per the airport status. It recheck every 20 minutes and updates as needed. The web interface can also be accessed any time to the current METAR report. An example can be seen under FAQ.
