DTSS vs Replacement Bulb Drag trees

DTSS vs Replacement Bulb Drag Trees

There are critical differences in DTSS lighting and Drag Trees that use LED replacement bulbs. The major issues arise from the nature of LED lights as they were developed; as a low voltage electronic component. Forcing their fit into replacements for incandescent bulbs is not the optimal use for drag racing trees.

When developing the DTSS the inherent advantages of LED technology were of foremost concern for RaceAmerica engineers. LEDs advantages over traditional incandescent light sources include lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, frequent on-off cycling stability, smaller size, faster switching, and greater durability and reliability. However, LED technology was not developed as a replacement for traditional screw-in incandescent lights and therefore has inherent problems when forced to be incandescent replacement bulbs. The drawbacks for LED’s as replacement bulbs include their much higher cost, more precise current/voltage sensitivity and heat management requirements. In fact the difficulties of producing LED “incandescent replacement” bulbs is why the The US Department of Energy is offering a prize of as much as $10 million to create the first solid-state replacement for the 60W incandescent light bulb, the most common household bulb.

For home use, government standards will focus primarily on longevity and color/brightness concerns. However, issues for event critical timing events, like drag racing, are different and will not truly be addressed by home use standards. Therefore, Drag Racing will be more effected by inconsistency across suppliers due to precise current needs and heat management as well as size limitations of individual bulb voltage regulator technology. Race promoters will also be concerned with the high costs of replacement bulbs and lighting profile issues.

That is why RaceAmerica is not relying on third party suppliers for replacement bulbs and designed the DTSS tree around the LED as it was originally developed - as a practical electronic component. When purchasing your next drag tree consider:

Cost: The first company to submit bulbs to the US DOE stated that over time they should be able to get the cost down to the $20-$25 range. That is better than the over $60 being charged by many today, but even with future low end prices costs will still be $560 to $700 to replace a full set of bulbs on a DRAG TREE. Additionally there are no standards on bulb reproduction to guarantee equality for drag racing. Race tracks that go for “discount” bulbs may find that they do not last long and have inconsistent lighting profiles; a serious concern for racing that relies on split second timing. The DTSS requires no replacement bulbs!

Longevity: LED technology was designed around low voltage systems as they were developed; as small electronic components. Using them in a 110 or 230 volt “screw-in replacement” environment shortens their life due to voltage issues. However, the 12 volts DTSS system has minimal voltage variation and therefore, well within the range for efficient long life operation.

Precise current: LEDs typically have a low threshold voltage, with a variation of 1 to 2 Volts. Consider that the typical 110 volt supply can vary by 30% and therefore deliver a voltage variation at the light socket of 30 to 40 volts. This large variation is harmful to LED replacement bulbs primarily because they cannot incorporate the regulators needed due to size constraints. On the other hand the DTSS tree is a low voltage system with minimal voltage variation at the light circuits. The DTSS incorporates auto-sensing input voltage regulators for use with higher voltage supplies. The voltage regulators are from top industry suppliers with much higher quality and sophistication than that which can be incorporated in individual replacement bulbs. The DTSS design provides ample area for the regulator which provides precise voltage control with lower costs.

Keep in mind that each “screw-in” bulb must regulate the voltage it is receiving individually at the socket, where as the DTSS regulates voltage once before sending it to the lighting circuits. The small size of the “screw-in” bulbs severely limit the area needed to incorporate voltage regulation technology. Also costs are high because voltage regulators have to be replicated in each bulb; that is 28 times for the typical two-sided tree.

Durability: RaceAmerica is well aware of the durability of LED’s as it has almost 20 years experience producing LED scoreboards. The inherent vibration and shock resistance of LED’s are helpful in the Drag Race environment. However, LED screw-in replacement bulbs share many of the same exposure risks as the incandescent bulbs they are replacing. They are wrapped in a shell that can easily break and are exposed to the external elements while the DTSS houses its lighting boards in a metal enclosure.

Adjustability: Because the DTSS has Dual Microprocessor control the lighting profile can be finely adjusted to the users’ specifications; this is just not possible with trees made for the previous century using adapted technology.

Through well thought out engineering and a commitment to Drag Racing equipment, RaceAmerica’s DTSS clearly sets the standard and delivers the future of DRAG RACE TREES, today!

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