LED lights.

[Dreamcatcher]

My kids are unhappy, or they will be when I tell them. I have just spent all their pocket money for the next couple of years, on buying 2 Plastimo LED replacement lamps. 1 for the anchor light, and 1 for the tricolour. In order to test them, I fitted them into a replacement Bi-colour unit, went into the loft turned all the lights off and......., can we get the Col regs changed so that Starboard can be replaced with a BLUE light.

/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

 

[drawp]

I have been researching LED nav lights and one of the things I noticed was a warning. "White LED bulbs should not be used behind colored lenses in nav lights, as they will not produce the required brightness. Only the corresponding colored LEDs should be used in nav lights with colored lenses." The site I got this from was Dr LEDs in the US. Do you think this might have been the problem?

 

[Pincoya]

I suspect so. I just fitted an LED tricolour bulb at my masthead and all colours are bright and true. The results are so good that several other boat owners are now planning to do the same.

Paul

 

[Dreamcatcher]

I had been warned by a very informative chap who supplies the LED lamps, that my light would be blue and it is.
Pincoya, where did you get your led lamp from, and is it a straight forward replacement for an incandescent lamp within the TriColour itself, or was it a complete LED unit?

For more info visit www.searolf.com

I wonder if my kids would like some new split pins for Christmas.

 

[roly_voya]

Also use tri-colour from Dr LED its a replacement bulb unit but with 3 sectors of LED's colour as appropriate and seems to give true col over correct sectors plus very bright - comparing my boat with standard bulb on next door boat from a mile or so mine looks brighter. If a Plastimo dealer sold you a tricolour bulb as suitable for your housing and the colour is wrong you should be able to take it back? sale of good etc

 

[Pincoya]

I used a Polar Star 40, Tri-color LED from Dr LED, as a direct replacement for an incandescent bulb in my Aqua Signal fitting. I also fitted a white LED from DR LED in my mast head anchor light and my stern light. However, I prefer a foredeck mounted anchor light and use a Trident Marine product (http://www.triton-marine.co.uk/Anchor-jul06.htm) which I am very happy with.

I have not replaced my running lights with LEDs, simply because power consuption is not an issue when under motor and because I have several spare bulbs to use up. However, when the time comes, the Dr LED bulbs will be used unless things change for the worse.

The Dr LED site warns about using white bulbs in a coloured lens, hence the tri colour unit.

Paul

 

[AliM]

I find it very odd that people would stick a white LED behind the coloured lenses to get the tricolour etc. The problem when they first developed LEDs was to get the white light - the red and green were bright and efficient, but it took quite a few years, first to get a decent blue one, then to get the good white one, and you had to trade a bit of efficiency to get there. So, if you are going to use LEDs for nav lights, then use the coloured ones, otherwise you are throwing away quite a bit of the white light by putting the filter there as well as losing efficiency to get to the white colour in the first place. As someone said above, the colour of the red and green is good and they are bright and the power consumption is brilliant.

(I do appreciete that that means replacing the fitting, rather than just the bulb, though!)

 

[cladwalk]

just to widen the discussion....what about replacing your cabin lights with LEDs......they require markedly less power but as yet there is a poor selection on the market

 

[Jonny_H]

So do you stick a tri-coloured bulb behind a tri-coloured lens then when replacing on an Aquasignal unit? Or do you replace with a clear lens?

Jonny

 

[Pincoya]

Yes!

No need to replace the lenses just fit the same coloured led.

The white light we have is not blue/white like earlier leds and looks very like a normal incandesant bulb.

Paul

 

[roly_voya]

yes the Dr LED tricolour lt is specipically sold as a replacement bulb for the aqasignals 40 tricolour light and carries cert as 2 mile light (dutch I think?) I have one and it works

 

[Anonymous]

Has anyone experienced radio interference from these LED replacements? They should all be pulsed from an internal oscillator (that's how you get the high brightness and low power from an LED) and while it is perfectly possible to suppress the electrical noise, it is even easier not to /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

My question is whether there is a problem in practice - it will be most noticeable on weatherfax, SSB, RTTY, short wave radios, Navtex, etc.

 

[justdrifting]

To save energy simply use an oil lamp

On the other hand solar panels are by now so powerful more compact and less expensive that ordinary bulbs can stay in nav lights. I know the moon dosent give much power but today large batteries are also very afordable

I dont like my LEDs but keep them and use them when power saving in say the deep frozen north

For reading ? (dont like the light but well bright enough) i have LEDs from lidel 4.99 euros