Pi-Lit® Landing Zone Kit - Quick Start Instructions

● Battery Status
o When LZ Flare is OFF, hold the square π (pi) button for 3 seconds.
o A yellow/green LED will begin to flash
▪ 5 yellow flashes = full batteries, 4 yellow = good batteries, 3 yellow, 2 red = low
batteries, 1 red = batteries should be changed

● Turning on LZ Kit
o All 5 LZ flares must be in close proximity to each other when turning them on.
○ Rechargeable LZ automatically turns on when removed from the charging case.
o To turn on, briefly TAP either the round or square button.
▪ Yellow/Green LED will illuminate indicating that the flare is turning on.
▪ First flare takes about 4 seconds to turn on and flash.
▪ Remaining flares will take about 1 sec to turn on and flash
o Once the first flare begins to flash, turn on the next flare. Wait for each flare to flash
before turning on the next.
o Remember: wait until the flare begins to flash before turning on the next flare.
Once you have turned on all 5 flares you will notice that they are all flashing together.
▪ Default: Top (infra-red) LEDs will flash followed by side (visible) LEDs
(alternating). Small yellow/green LED flashes to indicate when the infra-red LEDs
are flashing as they are not visible to the human eye.

o Now you may place the LZ Flares (4 Flares) in a SQUARE-like shape to designate a clear
and safe landing zone for an approaching helicopter. We recommend approximately a
100-foot square.
▪ The 5 LZ Flare is placed (significantly) outside of the square to denote the
direction the wind is coming from. This assists the pilot’s landing approach.

● Locking Orientation of LEDs – Top LEDS Only, Side LEDs Only, Alternating Top Side LEDs
(Default)
o There are a total of 16 LEDs on the SIDE of the flare and 4 LEDs on the TOP.
▪ Side LEDs (16) – Visible LEDs (Green or Red – chosen at purchase)
▪ Top LEDs (4) – Infrared (IR) LEDs, used with NVG (Night Vision Goggles)
o Default State = 4 infrared TOP LEDs Flashing followed by 16 Visible SIDE
LEDs Flashing and repeats.

● Steady Glow – tapping the square (pi) button will toggle the flare from flash mode to
steady-burn mode.

● Choice of LEDs – press the round button to choose between top LEDs only; side LEDs only; or
alternating top-side LEDs.

o The user can control which LEDs flash.
▪ Simply TAP the circle button while the flare is operating.

● This will send the command to all the LZ Flares to “Lock” on the 4 infrared
TOP LEDs. ONLY THE TOP 4 INFRARED LEDs WILL FLASH
▪ TAP the circle button again.

● This will send the command to all the LZ Flares to “Lock” on the 16
Visible SIDE LEDs. ONLY THE SIDE 16 VISIBLE LEDs WILL FLASH.
● The small yellow/green LED will continue to flash whenever the 4
INFRARED TOP LEDs are flashing to let the user know that the LZ Flares
are still operating (Infrared LEDs are not visible to the naked eye, thus,
the user may not know if the LZ Flares are on or off).
▪ TAP the circle button again.

● This will send a command to all the LZ Flares to return to the DEFAULT
state of ALTERNATING between the 4 TOP VISIBLE LEDs and the 16 SIDE
INFRARED LEDs.

o Turning Off LZ Flares

▪ There are 2 ways to turn OFF the flares:
● To turn OFF ALL the flares: Press and hold the round power button on
any one flare for 3 seconds. All the flares will turn off and a red LED will
flash on each flare for a few seconds.
o Make sure to collect all the flares while they are still flashing so
that you do not inadvertently leave one out in the dark field.
● To turn OFF a SINGLE flare: Press and hold the square π (pi) button for 3
seconds.
o The individual flare will turn off while all remaining flares will
still be operating and flashing.

Pi-Lit® Landing Zone Kit – Carrying Case and Deployment

With the introduction of the lithium-battery Landing Zone Kit, Pi-Lit® has switched to a novel
deployment and charging system.

Background

The Pi-Lit® radio technology operates at 2.4GHz. Line of sight range between lamps, when placed
12 inches or more off the earth’s surface, is 330 meters (1000 feet). However, when any radio is placed directly
upon the roadway or earth’s surface (grass field, for
example), the radio signal is significantly attenuated. Half the energy is immediately absorbed by the earth, and
a large ground plane leads to inefficiency in propagation. To achieve a range sufficient to provide for the
30-meter (100-foot) square required for a temporary helicopter landing zone, we raise the radio above the ground
approximately 2.5 cm (1 inch) by double-stacking the flare. This incremental height increase is sufficient to
insure 50-65 meters (150-200-foot) range (the safety factor).

Deployment – Read Pi-Lit® Landing Zone instructions in this package for information on how to use and
deploy the LZ Kit. *(*Note: Color of plastic LZ flare may differ based upon special order). Take the green
LZ flare off the magnetic holding case and place it atop the orange range-extender plastic case. The
orange range extender is weighted to add ballast. The flares will not move when subjected to rotor wash. Pull both
flares off together, or one at a time and then attach the green flare to the orange range extender. The
green flare must be on top. When separating the two components, you might find it easier to slide the
green flare off the orange extender. Place both back on the carrying case. The lithium batteries may be
recharged by plugging the case into either the 12-volt wall adapter or the cigarette lighter plug of the
vehicle.

Lithium Recharge System: The lithium batteries will provide 24 hours of continuous flashing. From
full depletion it will take approximately 5-hours to recharge. The red indicator LED indicates charging. When fully
charged the indicator will turn green. It is safe to charge continuously. The charge system is
designed to turn off charging when fully charged. You can expect 1500 charge cycles (full depletion to
full charge).

Alkaline Battery System: While the unit is off, hold down either button to check the status of current
batteries. Green flashes indicate batteries are good. Red flashes indicate batteries are low and need to
be replaced.