Customer service >Frequently asked questions > Advantage

The VIVISUN LED advantage

What are the advantages of using the VIVISUN LED switch?
There are numerous advantages. In particular: high reliability, with virtually zero maintenance required. Plus new features, like simple voltage-controlled dimming, which offers exceptional readability no matter what your lighting conditions, and the DichromaticSwitch™, which has bicolor legends that can be illuminated in two distinctly different colors. The VIVISUN LED features a fault tolerant circuit design, offering low power consumption and low heat. Our switches are MIL-SPEC qualified, easy to install, and they serve as a direct replacement for existing switches. All VIVISUN switches are manufactured under a proven quality assurance system that ensures defect-free products, outstanding customer service and delivery when you need them. Best of all, they are readily available now.

Where should I use VIVISUN LED lighted pushbutton switches and indicators?
Use VIVISUN switches wherever machine/man interface lighting is critical. Currently they are used extensively in military, commercial and general aviation cockpits. They serve FAA mandates and are used as upgrades for a wide range of aircraft, as well as in ground vehicles, security systems and on shipboard controls.

What illuminated colors are available in the VIVISUN LED?
We provide 11 sunlight readable colors, including standard aviation green, yellow, red, white and blue. NVIS colors include green A, green B, red, yellow, white and blue. Every color provides the same exceptional quality and readability.

What about touch temperature?
The VIVISUN LED uses low power, solid state lighting that emits far more light than heat. This significantly lowers the face cap temperature compared to similar incandescent switches and indicators. In normal operation, the face cap temperature is only 48° C, which is barely perceptible to the touch.

What about LED reliability?
Our results speak for themselves. The reliability of our LED has been established through MIL-SPEC Qualification testing and in-service use, and it's backed by the reputation we’ve built over the past 40 years. The VIVISUN LED product MTTF is in excess of 125,000 hours as calculated per MIL-HDBK-217F, Notice 2. Our high-reliability design operates virtually maintenance free for the life of the avionics platform. With the VIVISUN LED, there are no aircraft downtimes for replacing incandescent lamps, and no other routine switch maintenance is required.

How is the luminance controlled to provide both high brightness sunlight readability and very low luminance needed for night conditions?
Simple voltage adjustments are made directly to the switch internal lighting circuit to regulate a smooth and uniform luminance from high to low brightness (voltage-controlled dimming).

Can lighting be both sunlight readable and NVIS compatible?
Yes, this is a requirement for modern, state-of-the-art cockpits. Both features are built into the VIVISUN LED through voltage-controlled dimming, which works by simply regulating the applied voltage.

What advantages does the QUIK-CONNECT™ Common Termination System (CTS) provide?
The CTS module is an environmentally sealed, solderless, keyed, easy to install, bench testable wiring system that snaps directly into the rear of the switch without the use of tools. The CTS module is stocked and ready to ship ahead of your custom switch, thus allowing the CTS module to be inserted into the wiring harness prior to installation onto the platform (pre-wired).

If I presently have Aerospace Optics VIVISUN 95 Series incandescent installations, can I upgrade to the VIVISUN LED lighting?
Yes. Mechanically, the LED pushbutton cap is interchangeable with the existing 95 Series incandescent pushbutton cap and uses the same MIL-PRF-22885/108 QPL listed switch body.