LED tricolour

[Praxinoscope]

#20, i have used LED asthead lights now for about 20 years, Lopolight on previous boat and NASA on my current boat, and have never noticed any VHF interference from either.
In fact all the lighting on my current boat is LED and VHF seems to be interference free.

 

[Rappey]

A navigation light is meant to meet with regs. Change the focal source ,ie a continuous long filament to a led which has gaps between each light source, project that through the freznal lens . What will it now look like at 2 or 3 miles. Is all of the required light arc still visible? Ive no idea!
A certified item would no longer be certified if a non authorised part was put in it?
A friend told me a percentage of sales of aquasignal go to the german equivalent of trinity house

 

[alan_d]

#20, i have used LED asthead lights now for about 20 years, Lopolight on previous boat and NASA on my current boat, and have never noticed any VHF interference from either.
In fact all the lighting on my current boat is LED and VHF seems to be interference free.

LED replacement bulbs I put in my cabin lights about 10 years ago cause interference on a handheld VHF set when used in the cabin (if the lights are switched on) but the fixed VHF with masthead aerial is not affected. Other LED cabin lights bought more recently don't have the same problem.

 

[Sandy]

I have never needed to ask my insurers because I have never considered putting a LED light fitting into a lens unit that was designed and tested for use with an incandescent bulb that has a single vertical filament.

I tend to take manufactures' claims like that with a pinch large tablespoon of salt. Yes, I have moved to LED as the power saving is significant and can report that to date I've not been hit by anything at night. To be honest the transom light is rather bright and watching dolphins ride the bow wave with a red or green hue was never seen with my incandescent bulbs.

It always surprises me that people are quite happy to use lamps that are 'fogged' and cracked. I suspect will have a greater impact than the difference, if any, between LED and incandescent bulbs.

 

[rogerthebodger]

It you look at the viewing angle of a aquasignal tri colour with a LED bulb compared with the NASA LED tri colour light you will see that the NASA has a much larger overlap than the aquasignal with LED

Also have a look at the light spread in the lens you will also see the viewing angle cut off is not a precise as it could be

It you are concerned light guide could he fitted to block the spread if light as used to be done when the nav lights were oil powered

In my case the LED bulb in the all my aquasignal in noticeable brighter than the incandescent bulb it replaced o can be seen over a greater range

With regard to interference with VHF the early LED bulbs used a frequency of the internal electronics did interfere but later LEDs have a different frequency that do not interfere with VHF radios.

I did have a solar PWM regulator that would interfere with my VHF radio I simply fitted a large electrolytic capacitor across the output of the solar regulator which solved the problem.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

It's not just the geometry of a wider source than a vertical filament.

LEDs don't provide a continuous spectrum of light, as an incandescent bulb does. So unless they are tuned to produce light at appropriate frequencies, the filters in a coloured navigation light can block the light, or produce incorrect colours. Someone above noted that cool white LEDs produced a blue colour in the green sector of their navigation light. So LEDs for use in navigation lights need to be tuned to produce appropriate light frequencies. Several manufacturers produce LED bulbs that produce appropriate light; for example, Plastimo produce an LED bulb for their tricolour (or did). Warm White bulbs will be less prone to this, as they have a phosphor that absorbs and re-emits the light from the actual LED with a more continuous spectrum, but the spectrum will still not be the "black body" spectrum of an incandescent filament. Cool white bulbs produce a very "spiky" spectrum, with energy concentrated in a few narrow bands, which may or may not correspond with the pass band of the coloured filter.

Purpose-made LED lamps avoid this by having LEDs that output appropriate frequencies and either not needing filters or with matched filters.

 

[mattonthesea]

Re NASA

With a following wind and short, steep waves, making our way up the Bristol channel, we were yawing significantly. We were told by a commercial ship, coming the other way, that we were alternating between red, green and white. I can understand the red and green but the white could have been an overlap or an optical illusion.

No one else has commented thus.

 

[PabloPicasso]

#20, i have used LED asthead lights now for about 20 years, Lopolight on previous boat and NASA on my current boat, and have never noticed any VHF interference from either.
In fact all the lighting on my current boat is LED and VHF seems to be interference free.

Some makers like boatlamps say they suppress any vhf interferance from their led lights. Certainly not the case from chinese made copies.


Dont ask me how I know

 

[Dingbull]

I replaced the tricolour fixture several years ago, but I found by chance that the bulbs which were issued with the fixture produced RFI to the VHF, making it "deaf".

I then replaced both the tricolour and the anchor bulbs with the ones sold by Boatlamps. RFI disappeared, but the tricolour lasted a little more than two years, enough to make the warranty void.

Finally, I bought tricolour and anchor bulbs from Mast Products, which are of better quality than the Boatlamps ones; the tricolour comes with a socket to replace the existing one, so that it fits fixtures of all makes. It takes the trouble to replace it, but I am happy with the result.

Of course, no more RFI, and an emergency warm white lamp can be used to replace the tricolour.

Regards,

 

[Roberto]

the tricolour comes with a socket to replace the existing one, so that it fits fixtures of all makes.

Hello,
is this adaptor socket added to the existing one? Is it something one can do while hanging at the masthead, with very very limited visibility of the existing socket -the eyes would probably be level with the light fixture?
thanks

 

[Dingbull]

Hello,
is this adaptor socket added to the existing one? Is it something one can do while hanging at the masthead, with very very limited visibility of the existing socket -the eyes would probably be level with the light fixture?
thanks

None of the above... The existing socket base must be replaced with the one which comes with the bulb, and this is something one simply cannot do while dangling at the masthead: awkward stances, too many little screws and pieces to fall... better not! What I did was to remove the whole fixture, and, once on deck, disassemble the fixture, reassemble the new socket and up the mast again. I took the opportunity to check and clean all the contacts and lenses.

It is a nasty job for sure, but it is a one-off, since next time I will only have to replace the bulb. Of course you are tied to the brand forever, but I see no problem here because Mast Products has very good quality items. Now I have a bright tricolour light, far brighter, greener and redder than those with warm white LEDs.

Regards,

 

[Roberto]

None of the above... The existing socket base must be replaced with the one which comes with the bulb, and this is something one simply cannot do while dangling at the masthead: awkward stances, too many little screws and pieces to fall... better not! What I did was to remove the whole fixture, and, once on deck, disassemble the fixture, reassemble the new socket and up the mast again. I took the opportunity to check and clean all the contacts and lenses.

It is a nasty job for sure, but it is a one-off, since next time I will only have to replace the bulb. Of course you are tied to the brand forever, but I see no problem here because Mast Products has very good quality items. Now I have a bright tricolour light, far brighter, greener and redder than those with warm white LEDs.

Regards,

Thank you Dingbull.
r.

 

[VicS]

Thank you Dingbull.
r.

Dingbull's new holder something like mine I guess

 

[Roberto]

Dingbull's new holder something like mine I guess

View attachment 159386

What brand is that, if I may?
I bought one Boatlamps replacement bulb during early Brexit period, I did not receive it and after enquiry the customs said "most likely wrong sender paperwork", I did not get the bulb and Boatlamps hinted the only solution was to buy another one, which of course will not happen from me, hence I am looking for other suitable solutions.
It must be RFI free (have both VHF and AIS at masthead), so no untested bulbs.

 

[VicS]

What brand is that, if I may?
I bought one Boatlamps replacement bulb during early Brexit period, I did not receive it and after enquiry the customs said "most likely wrong sender paperwork", I did not get the bulb and Boatlamps hinted the only solution was to buy another one, which of course will not happen from me, hence I am looking for other suitable solutions.
It must be RFI free (have both VHF and AIS at masthead), so no untested bulbs.

Sorry no idea. I bought it a good few years ago from either Force4 or SeaTeach. ( the latter I think )
I was expecting a bulb that would fit the Aqua Signal lantern without modification but it really did need the holder to be orientated differently.

 

[Dingbull]

Dingbull's new holder something like mine I guess

View attachment 159386

Exactly the same!

What brand is that, if I may?
I bought one Boatlamps replacement bulb during early Brexit period, I did not receive it and after enquiry the customs said "most likely wrong sender paperwork", I did not get the bulb and Boatlamps hinted the only solution was to buy another one, which of course will not happen from me, hence I am looking for other suitable solutions.
It must be RFI free (have both VHF and AIS at masthead), so no untested bulbs.

It is a Mast Products bulb:

Home - Mast Products

Be confident that it is RFI-free.

Mast Products is a Dutch company, so you shouldn't have any difficulties to buy from them.

Regards,

 

[Roberto]

Exactly the same!



It is a Mast Products bulb:

Home - Mast Products

Be confident that it is RFI-free.

Mast Products is a Dutch company, so you shouldn't have any difficulties to buy from them.

Regards,

Thanks, by the look of it not something I could fit while hanging up the mast

 

[Dingbull]

Thanks, by the look of it not something I could fit while hanging up the mast

The bulb, being only slightly larger than ordinary bulbs, is easy to fit; the socket is not, believe me!

Regards,