Can you identify this manufacturer?

demonboy

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Just sent Liz up the mast this morning to help identify our mast-head light. It's a tri-colour and anchor light in one and it is not made by Hella or Aqua Signal, though the font looks very similar to Aqua Signal. All Liz was able to identify was that it said 'Made in Germany'. Any help gratefully received. Oh, and if anyone knows what kind of bulb is used I would be doubly grateful - the whole excercise is to replace the original bulb for an LED and I want to know if it is a Bay15d fitting.
light.jpg
 
Can't you remove the bulb and take it along to your favorite swindlery or compare photos/drawings online? just a thought if none comes up with anything here - also you might get wrong info and end up having to make another trip aloft anyway...

it's quite hard to read the name in the photo - quialils? auiolits? - can you specify for us? I tried a few variations on the theme in google with no luck.
 
The problem was that Liz was not able to reach all the screws to take off the casing. This was, of course, why she originally went up the mast in the first place, but her arms were too short! It's a fairly tall housing (1ft high?) so getting to the top screw was impossible for her. We think the name is QUI?LIL? something?
 
well you're going to have to unscrew it at some point to change the bulb! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Still can't get anything sensible out of google - hope others are more helpfull than me, but I stil think your best bet is to get the thing out because then you can be sure of what you need...

just another thought - are any of your other light fittings the same brand? if they match the bulbs might be the same and you could take one apart form the comfort of the deck.
 
No, the other fittings are Aqua Signal. The logic behind all this is that we need to order the bulb for a friend to bring out within the next few days. Liz can't put me up the mast on her own so we were hoping to get it all done in one go. Because we didn't what we're hoping to do now is identify and contact the manufacturer to work out what the bulb is and then I will go up the mast this winter when we have someone who can help winch me up. I'm not what you call 'slight'!
 
Killjoy speaks.

Array-type LEDs are not a great idea in a tricolour, because a) their spectrum is very limited and they may not transmit very strongly through the tinted lenses and b) they are not a single vertical filament but a wide light source, and so they don't give a sharp cut off between sectors.

One more thing - if that tricolour has been up there a while its likely that the lenses have become UV degraded are underperforming, and should be replaced. Given that it is an unknown product, the likelihood is that spares won't be available, so you may have to replace the whole thing. In which case, why not replace it with a 'proper' LED tricolour?

Went through the process myself last year, didn't like the price of accredited LED products, so stuck a new Aquasignal up there and bit the bullet on power consumption.
 
I can't help much with identifying the makers name but may be able to help you get the lens fitting off.
This light fitting looks dead similar to an aquasignal type so maybe it's a copy made in Turkey or similar?
Being outside the EU, they make a lot of copy car parts out there and it's only a matter of time before they cast there eyes on the marine market!

Looking at the photo, it looks like there is a knarled (?) ring just above the makers name, I reckon if you grip this and turn it, it will release the lens fitting (same method on the AquaSignal)
If its anything like the AquaSignal fitting, the metal plate on top held on with a few screws doesn't do a lot...
I hope that helps a bit.
 
I'm pretty sure that's an Aqua Signal 40706, which takes a BAY15D base. The letters are probably 'quickfit'.

I would be cautious about just sticking an LED array in there, the colours might not come out right and may be below required intensity.
 
I've had another look at the photo and think I've identified it, is it this: web page
I reckon it's an AquaSignal <u>Quicfits</u> type light fitting.
I hope this helps
 
I would support Twisterken. You may not meet visibility requirements with an LED array, particularly if the lenses have degraded.

If it is still working you might keep it until it fails or the proper LED tricolours drop in price.
 
Going one further, below the knurled ring is the bulb holder which can be removed from the base by depressing snap-tags. The whole assembly can be stored off the mast when stepped.
 
Yep, Liz has just identified it as 'quikfit', which DOES make it Aqua Signal. Thank you so much for your responses and assistance.

Now, do any of you fancy nipping over to Turkey to winch me up the mast?
 
Sorry, editing my own post...

...I'm not so interested in changing the tri-colour bulb. What I'm actually looking to do is replace the anchor light, which gets used every night. We currently use a light-sensitive contraption that we hoist by a halyard that comes on at sundown and I have relaced the standard (pen torch) bulb with an LED, and I have to say it is still one of the brightest anchor lights in the bay. One of the anchor light bulbs on offer at Ultraleds has to be even brighter than our current one so I have no qualms about changing it.
 
No problem with replacing the anchor light bulb with the LED equivalent from Ultraleds. They do one as presumably you know with the correct fitting for Aquasignal lanterns.

Also look at www.doctorled.com IIRC they do one as well with a an even lower power consumption for the same light output (but narrower voltage range).

Having now bothered to look at the DrLeds website i find These but to use the tri-color one the tricolour lens would have to be replaced with a clear (colourless) one
 
quicfits - same as mine. There should be two spring loaded lugs on the base which you squeeze together and pull the whole assembly off the base - hence the name
 
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