REFLECTOR: Circuit Breakers/Switches

[Brett Ferrell]

The [LINK: http://verticalpower.com] Vertical Power is an electronic
circuit breaker system.  I'm actually not 100% sure which technology is
physically in the box (it only uses one PTC, for the always-on circuit),
but the idea is this:


· You have a set of electronic breakers of various sizes inside the VP-X
box
· You have a set of configurable inputs and outputs which can be attached
to switches, relays, and (trim/flap) position sensors
· The connections between the switches and the output power is configured
in the VP-X onboard software
· The VP-X is managed remotely via your chosen (various are supported)
EFIS for "pulling" a breaker, or even turning devices on or off without
having to use a physical switch (whether or not you've included a physical
switch for the device even)

This has several practical effects.  First, you don't have to have a
circuit breaker panel, the VP-X can be remotely mounted.  Second, in the
higher end configuration, you have set "modes" such as IFR or VFR, which
configure your lights and other items (Pitot Heat, whatever) for that mode
of flight.  I don't care for that feature, but it's there.


You can get a graphical view of your electrical system, even showing the
loads.  It also means that you can retask a switch just by configuring the
software, so if you decide that you want the fuel pump switch to be closer
to the starter button, just reconfigure it (no rewiring required)!  You can
also decide that switch should now turn on 2 devices instead of one
(strobes and Nav, and maybe the landing light too).  It's pretty cool, but
you have to trust computers to a fair degree.


Brett
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