CZK/SOV - APM-90 (letištní světlometný maják)

Airport beacon APM-90
Аэродромный прожекторный маяк AПM-90


This special security lighting device is designated APM-90 and was supplied to the CSLA in the early days of standardization of air security around 1953.
It gradually replaced the 200N / (200-cm Scheinwerfer 40) and 60N / (60-cm Scheinwerfer 36).


The APM-90 was originally fitted to ZIS-150 cars, but due to their extremely high fuel consumption and liquid-cooled engines, the special body was fitted to Praga V3S cars in Czechoslovakia.
Later, APM-90 bodies were fitted to ZIL-130 (see APM-90M).



In Czechoslovakia, a version was built by mounting the original body with a complete light station on the chassis of a Praga V3S.


This required modifications to the nose - its extension to accommodate the electric power pack.


Later, a Triodyn unit was mounted on the platform (originally it was a welding unit) so that the headlight could be powered from the 3x380V/50Hz mains.


Normally, the unit - the ground navigation/radio technical security (RTZ) battalion had a "squad of searchlight stations" on the airfield, comprising 2 to 3 APM-90s, and they were positioned so that they could illuminate the VPD threshold and the landing point ("T").


Source.

The APM 90 automotive headlight station on the P V3S is used as :


- feeder beacon to feed aircraft into the airfield area, as a signalling device to mark any point in the field,
- landing beacon to illuminate the runway at an aerodrome in difficult weather conditions.


The APM-90 light station is mounted with the original ZIS-150 body on a P V3S car chassis.


The DC generator is driven directly by the P V3S car's engine and is mounted in front of the engine on the rebuilt extended chassis.


The APM 90 consists of three parts:


- APM 90 headlamp with a mirror diameter of 900 mm + a distribution plate + a shrinking resistor, which is connected to the headlamp circuit when illuminated by an arc lamp. This part is mounted unchanged on the original ZIS-150 body, which is mounted on a P V3S chassis.


- DC generator type PR-125 with electromagnetic speed controller and power distribution system.


- P V3S car chassis, whose engine is the driving unit of the PR 125 generator.



Generator type PR-125


It is located at the front of the car ( in front of the engine) on an extended chassis. The generator is directly connected to the P V3S engine crankshaft by means of a drift assembly ( Hardy clutch).


Headlight APM 90


The APM 90 uses an obscured type headlamp with a glass parabolic mirror of 900 mm diameter with a focal length of 366 mm.


The light source in the headlamp is either :


- Arc lamp with carbon shift either manual or automatic with fine manual control.


El. arc data :


Voltage : 80±2 V
Current : 150 A
Current load : 0,75 / mm²
Power : 12 kW


- Bulb type PŽ-19


The bulb must be placed in a special holder to replace the arc lamp holder in the headlamp drum.


Electrical data of the bulb :


Voltage : 110±2 V
Current : 91 A
Power : 10 kW
Nominal average life : 100 hrs.



Either a protective glass or a diffuser is used to cover the front side of the headlamp drum, depending on the lighting purpose.


Coloured filters can be inserted behind the diffuser.


A fan is placed in the drum to cool the device and to carry away the fumes produced by the burning of the carbons.


The floodlight can be rotated manually or with the help of a motor in the horizontal plane and swung in both the vertical and horizontal planes (the floodlight must not be swung when shining the bulb).


When using an arc lamp, the headlamp must not be placed in a perpendicular upward position ('candle'), as the hot carbon combustion products drip onto the mirror surface and could damage it.



Main technical data :


Type of vehicle : truck
Body : ZIS-150 truck


Dimensions with APM 90 station mounted in mm:


Length : 7400
Width : 2420
Height : 3540


Luminosity : 400


Wadeability : 800


Weight kg : 7130


Speed : 45 km/h. ( on flat ground)



Source : Let-22-4 Automotive light station APM 90 on a P V3S car Brief description and operating instructions - ČSĽA regulation, Prague 1961

Praga V3S APM-90 from TL RTZ České Budějovice.
r 1999


photo own


Note
Photos of ZIL-130 with APM-90M have been moved to another section - see forum.valka.cz


Jiri Tintera, moderator

Headlamp on V3S chassis.


Source
http://pragav3s.predseda.com/

CSLA automotive searchlight stations APM-90M on ZIL-131 and APM-90 on P V3S.



Source: www.orechov1945.cz/muzeum/index-druhy.htm

Nice shot of PV3S APM-90 with sail.

I found an interesting video of the APM-90 in operation on YouTube.


And one searchlight,which got sold from the army got into good hands of enthusiasts. The photo is from Slovakia.


Author.
Published with permission of the author

P V3S APM-90 at the station in Přerov. One of the few pictures showing the superstructure with the sail raised to the working position.

APM-90 on a Praga V3S vehicle I took at a military vehicle meeting called "Sahara 2008". I mainly focused on the landing light itself - the beacon on the hull.


Source: own photo

Some details of APM-90 headlight and Praga V3S photographed at "Sahara 2008" event.


Source: own photo

Spare stationary power supply "Triodyn"


The APM-90 light source is designed to be mobile (whether on a ZiS-150, P V3S or ZiL-130 chassis).


The standard power sources - from a power pack or PR-125 generator are listed above. However, there was an "alternative" source - a stationary 380 V / 50 Hz mains. However, it was not used for all rigs.


Organisationally, the RTZ units were divided into companies for the security of the permanent aerodrome (2nd company) and for the reserve aerodrome the 1st company ("exit").


Thus, for practical reasons, the "stable" assets were adapted to be powered from the electrical grid. This was the main reason for mounting the Triodyn K 320 welding set (without chassis, MEZ Brumov product) on the platform of the P V3S car as a power source for the searchlight. Outside of the machine, there was a junction box on the platform, allowing "switching" to the power supply from the PR-125 generator. Thus, the drive engine of the car did not have to "grumble", which certainly influenced both its service life and the operation was more economical. The consumption of the asynchronous motor "at idle" was about 1.5 kWh.


Source.


Technical parameters of the Triodyn K 320 (MEZ Brumov)


Asynchronous motor:
Power 14 kW
Speed 2880 rpm
Voltage 380 V / 50 Hz


Dynamo:
Power 9.6 kW
Continuous current 250 A (max. 315 A), current can be adjusted by controller
No-load voltage 110 V
Unit weight 320 kg

APM-90 from the collections of the Military Museum on the Demarcation Line, Military Hideout Brdy, Mud 2015, June 2015.

by Josef Holek