LED Nav Lights

[Guest]

Just read in Yachting Monthly about Hella's new LED nav lights, it seems sombody finally got them bright enough and the right colour to get aproval. Only thing is Hella give no technical info on their site, the ones they list are different to the one's pictured in the mag and I can't find anyone who lists them. Since it's to far to go to the show just to see a nav light aybody seen them or now where info is available?

Roly, Voya Con Dios, Glasson, Lancaster

 

[claymore]

Barbara? NM.

?!?

 

[ean_p]

they've made the lights but don't yet have approvel I think....problems to be overcome include ensuring that they are sufficently bright as and when the individual leds fail ...thus what starts as a 100% lamp becomes progressivly less with led loss until a point is reached where if fails to meet the required standard, with a filament bulb it either works or it dos'nt, could you tell when a cluster was visable 2 miles away or not?....then this loss condition will need to be monitored and a failure point will need to switch the lamp off...also a cluster of leds has a significant localised temperature rise and this lowers the life of the individual leds to only a small percntage of that of one ...but still far better then a filament lamp...think 'ecs' has them in stock.....

 

[Guest]

I have been playing with LED nav lights for some time. The commercial ones are way expensive. I have ended up with either 4 or 8 leds pulsed quickly as per many tech data sheets. The pulsing increases life immensely as well as brightness. They should last for years and the current draw is tiny, 50 to 100 mA total. Keep in mind I have only a small boat that doesn't need fully aproved lights but people looking at them at anchorages say the masthead light is just as bright as the 10 watt ones.

 

[Plum]

Re: LED Nav Lights - pulsed??

LEDs are getting brighter and cheeper so I am sure that one day we will all be using them. In the meantime, could you please explain what you mean by "pulsed". What frequency? Why bother, if your aim is to increase life, when an LED wil last 100 times longer than an incandescent bulb?

 

[Plum]

You can already get anchor lights: http://www.navstore.com/davis_mega_light.asp although there is no indication that they are "approved"

 

[Twister_Ken]

Chain gang

For serious and not-so cyclists, red leds have been first choice for years. However, they are still illegal as they don't meet the British Standard for bike lamps, and theoretically you can be "nicked, my son." Never mind that they are brighter, longer lasting, and don't fade as batteries slump.

I guess that the same thing may happen in the marine world. Although the product may be perfectly satisfactory or even better than bulb-and-filament, it will take MCA or IMO or whoever eons to change their ideas.

 

[davel]

Re: Who gives approval?

Which body (ies) gives approval to such things as lights? Is there a formal process?

 

[seahorse]

Re: LED Nav Lights-details pls

Your ide seems just the job for an anchor light!
Could you post or E-Mail details please?
I've been trying to but a Plastimo Strobe for use as an anchor
light without sucess.

 

[roger]

Col Regs

The characteristics of nav lights are given in Col Regs and those take Decades to change - its an international process.
Have a collision when using these lights and you might not get your insurers to pay up - if you survive at all that is.

 

[Guest]

Re: Chain gang

I to use the bike ones and if they came in green would have fitted them as emergency lights!

Roly, Voya Con Dios, Glasson, Lancaster

 

[LadyInBed]

Re: Chain gang

Car accessories shops sell them in various colours and Radio Spares probably do as well.
Perhaps the 'authorities' hand will be forced if enough people use them.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE !!!

 

[TheBrumNavy]

Hi strikes me that you have a product in the making here. Get in contact and see if there is any common ground we can look at.

 

[Guest]

Viva the revolution

Yes power to the people ( at much less cost of course).

I bought an LED torch last season for about 17 from a fishing tackle shop ( not that I go fishing).
So impressed was I that it would be nice to buy the Company. This particular one (not shown in the website) has an 'all round' element to it which I also used as an anchor light and showed up as good as anything else seen in anchorages. I carrying the thing everywhere as it's so lightweight. I believe I will never buy batteries for this thing.

The website is www.solargb.co.uk and claims to launch 15 new LED products per month. They have LED Street Lights and some marine LED's as well.

 

[Bergman]

I heard somewhere that LEDs are to be used for traffic lights - for the same reasons - reliability, cost etc.

I think the Col Regs quote colours in terms of wavelength so that should be manageable. Power is in watts for conventional lamp which should translate into lumens which can be achieved by LED.

It sounds a good idea to me.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Traffic lights

Already in use on traffic lights. Take a good look at any newer ones you see. You'll see the glass surface is not a lens for an incandescent lamp, but a 'nest' of many LEDs.

 

[Guest]

Thanks folks

Very interesting. I've also got some stuff from the web, their are verious reports from US regulators/coastgards that suggest they are looking seriously into this and found a couple of other companies doing lamps but only port starboard, no tricolour, no stern or steaming lights? Conclusion is that it is not something that is quite there yet but as soon as it is count me in, if only because it ends climbing the mast to fix bulbs!!

Roly, Voya Con Dios, Glasson, Lancaster

 

[seaesta]

Re: Col Regs

I looked into this as a business idea a couple of years ago. Decided not to proceed because the archaic collision regulations specify lights in terms of mimum wattage rather than luminescence and as the provious contributor said this would give the insurers a convenient get out and possibly make the supplier liable. Its a bit like the led lights used on bikes - not strictly legal but a bloody sight better than nothing (nothing more frequently beingthe case than legal bike lights). Fit one as an "extra" but do not expect sypathy from the "dry land sharks" with 20/20 hindsight when u come unstuck.