led nav lights

sailchris

sailchris

Member
Joined
5 Jul 2006
Messages
23
Location
fareham
www.atlanticyachtdeliveries.co.uk
I am thinking of fitting the lopo light range of led nav lights to my boat has anyone had these fitted and are they worth the money , any feed back on led lights would be useful i had heard that leds can be voltage sensitive but i see that hella do a multi volt range from 9-30 volts ,i am rewiring the whole boat and want to go as low power as possible,?
 
I have the tricolour masthead unit- it is brilliant in every way and I am very pleased I got it, worth the price I reckon.

I have kept the standard pulpit/pushpit incandescent bulbed units and whilst they are not nearly as robust as the Lopo light I felt I didn't want to spend another load of money, and as I intend to use these only when motor/sailing then power consumption is not an issue
No more masthead visits to replace bulbs!!

Also I replaced all the cabin bulbs with LED festoon bulbs, so even if all 5 are on at once this is the equivalent(approx) of just one of the standard incandescent types.

The only downside, is that they throw a cold hard light which is not cheery nor much good for reading, although the chart table red one is adequate as the table is high and directly under.

I believe that there are some LED festoon bulbs on the market now which have a softer glow and I would go for them if I were to replace any in the future. Also mine are polarity sensitive, more recent ones are not, and whilst no harm is caused if installed the wrong way round it is a bit disconcerting to find they don't light at first(until turned around of course)
 
According to their website AquaSignal now do LED nav lights but I have not seen them advertised. It is another possibility that might be worth checking out.

Who would want to fit anything called a Lopo light?
 
You can have a look at:
http://www.orcagreen.com/

I've ordered one (tricolor + anchorlight) from

http://www.sailorssolutions.com/

And I'm happy with both the service and the result. The light was tested in Holland (last year, I think) and it slightly outperformed the LOPO stuff. It's build quality looks/is very good and it also carries a sensor to switch off the anchor light at dawn.

Arno
 
Leave it 6 to 8 months ...

There's a way of making LED's work that's been around for over 130 years and forgotten. It's been resurrected and modified.

Some prices that will be available (on_line) from Nov 2006:

Masthead ARW to fit into a standard Aquasignal: ~£48 inc VAT;
Masthead RGW to fit into a standard Aquasignal: ~£72 inc VAT

More info on all other types of LEDs that work may follow depending on whether what I've just said may be pulled or whether YM (already notified but have declined to both respond or comment ....) (YM: Please note that this is not an advert ... YET. Before it becomes an advert it will be advertised in both PBO and YM ... and CW /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif )
 
Check VERY carfully what Hella are offering and how they modify both a boats battery voltage against the voltage output from an alternator.

Get the LED driver wrong and it''ll cost you. LED technology has a little way to go before you can do straight swaps between bulbs.

LEDs are the future, and already there are a whole set of cowboys trying to rip you off with 'buy this and it'll be right for you' when they are not.

To use LED's (at present) you have to know how to use them ... and if you are going to use them you might also need to know what PWM means.
 
Re: Leave it 6 to 8 months ...

[ QUOTE ]
There's a way of making LED's work that's been around for over 130 years and forgotten. It's been resurrected and modified.

[/ QUOTE ]

Fresnel lens?

On your other points I'm not sure what you are saying, but if you are about to introduce some new LED lights you'll find that the site operators are usually relaxed about people posting useful information. Out and out advertising isn't popular with any one, but if you've got something useful to tell us just post a link and nobody will complain.
 
On the grounds that I am a manufacturer of the things, and am also a person of many opinions, which are often compared to a portion of one's anatomy of which most people only have one of, this is an a priori warning that what I say should be held as suspect. However, I'd still like to share some general info about LED products.

First, yes, LED's are polarity sensitive, as they are semi-conductors (current will flow one way, not the other). To be polarity insensitive, there is a rectifier circuit added, no different than what is in your alternator on your engine.

They are also very current sensitive, which is where the rub is. The four circuits for controlling the current use 1) a resistor 2) linear current regulator-call it a variable resistor, 3) charge pump 4) PWM (turns on and off the power to the circuit very quickly.

What you don't want on a boat is the resistor, which is the most common. This will work fine if you have a constant voltage source, but your battery range is too great.

A linear regulator, which we use, is relatively inexpensive in part costs, but requires more assembly.

A charge pump (buck, boost or buck/boost) is becoming the most common, as it is available in a single surface mount chip with a minimum of outboard components. It's also the cheapest way to get over the 3 volt hurdle with 2 dry cell batteries, so they're being cranked out in China by the zillions. It is also not much better in efficiency than a linear regulator. The key to identify the use of one is to see if the current consumed increases linearly to input voltage. I would be very cautious on using one for a 24 volt system, 1) they are rated for a max input voltage of 30v 2) under an equalization charge, they can see 32 volts 3) prudent circuit design for a critical circuit says to leave 50% under max ratings (100% safety factor).

PWM (as mentioned by another gentleman or two), is the most efficient circuit, but it is also the most costly to implement, esp. in small scale production. Prices are begining to come down on units with a minimum of outboard components.

On the Fresnel issue, a high intensity LED IS a Fresnel design. It has a light source (PN junction or 'wire'), a reflector and a director lens. A second director, VERY precisely added, would probably overcome the lens losses for a more focused light. More LED's would need to be added to get the COLREG required sector coverages.

I hope this gives you the info you need to make an informed decision. If you are inclined, and want some more info, the pages on our site called 'specs.html' and 'testing.html' have more info relative to LED's and boats (and only has a modest amount of salesmanship!). The 'about.html' page has a lot of pretty pictures of Fiji, where I heartily recommend you come visit.

Best regards,
Michael (Bebi Electronics, Ltd).
 
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