Red over green

Leighb said:
That is basically what I have. There are two rocker switches on the electrics panel with an Up, Centre and Down position, Centre is OFF. Up on left one switches on bow bicolour and stern light. Down switches on masthead tricolour (and switches off the others).
Up on the other switches on steaming light, down switches on masthead anchor light (Except it is not fitted) Thus both UP = under power, left alone DOWN = under sail. Right down, at anchor but not fitted. I also have a deck flood light combined with the steaming light, but this is on another switch. I could also have just the bicolour and stern light on for sailing if I wish.

Hope this is reasonably clear.
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Prefer a rotary - pointer indicates what's lit - saves going out and peering!
 
Ah, but my electrical panel has a yacht outline with little leds of appropriate colour which light up when switches are ON. ;)

Unfortunately they still light even if a bulb has blown. :(
 
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Adrian Jones said:
I don't quite understand your setup. Normally with your lighting arrangement you would have three separate switched circuits:

1. For motoring, a switch connecting - Port, starboard, steaming light and stern light.
2. For sailing, a switch connecting - Tri-colour light
3. For Anchoring, a switch connecting - Anchor light
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If a steaming light is a 225 degree forward facing white light , I don't have one.

I have:

Switch 1: mast head tricolour
Switch 2: mast head all round white (anchor)
Switch 3: bow mounted green red + stern white, all deck level

I think I need to split the white stern light out onto its own circuit, then for steaming have bow red green + masthead all round white? With stern light switched off
 
alahol2 said:
Many years ago I searched all over (even asking on here) for a simple way to show that a nav light wasn't working. I failed to find a simple system. If you have a circuit that will do it and 'fail safe' I'm sure there are plenty of people who would be interested.
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If you search for Lamp Outage Detector in this document...

http://cds.linear.com/docs/en/application-note/an105.pdf

there is a sample circuit.
 
AngusMcDoon said:
If you search for Lamp Outage Detector in this document...

http://cds.linear.com/docs/en/application-note/an105.pdf

there is a sample circuit.
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Thanks for that, I've got a copy for further study with my very limited electrics knowledge.
Initial thought though is that the 0.5 ohm resistor would drop the voltage across a 25W nav lamp to about 11V. Maybe that wouldn't be significant?
Could you just use a resistor from the 12V in to provide the 3V in? (Shows the level of my knowledge?)
 
alahol2 said:
Thanks for that, I've got a copy for further study with my very limited electrics knowledge.
Initial thought though is that the 0.5 ohm resistor would drop the voltage across a 25W nav lamp to about 11V. Maybe that wouldn't be significant?
Could you just use a resistor from the 12V in to provide the 3V in? (Shows the level of my knowledge?)
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Yes, you are right. That circuit has a rather high shunt resistance, but it is a clever circuit in that it senses a bulb failure even when it is switched off. I had a look at a few other circuits last night, and it can be done with a much lower resistor of suitable heftiness and an op amp feeding into a transistor to switch the LED on or off. However, I don't think I could get the price low enough for a YAPP for it to be a worthwhile project.
 
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I quite like the idea of having red over green lights as I'm often torn between using the tricolour for increased conspicuousness above waves and the deck level lights to avoid the possibility of causing confusion to others about range. Seems to me that it gives the best of both worlds, and more lights to increase the likelihood of being spotted can only be a good thing. An all round red on the masthead and a 180 degree green on each side of the mast seems like the best solution on a fractional rig like ours.
 
alahol2 said:
Many years ago I searched all over (even asking on here) for a simple way to show that a nav light wasn't working. I failed to find a simple system. If you have a circuit that will do it and 'fail safe' I'm sure there are plenty of people who would be interested.
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They are in fact quite common. every comercial vessel has this system even very small ones.
 
OceanSprint said:
OOps - then I think my newly aquired Jag 24 is set up incorrectly.

It has deck level green/red and a stern white.

It has mast head all round white and all round tricolour.
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My boat has bicolour on the pulpit, tricolour and all-round white at the masthead and that's yer lot. All separately switched. I think the idea was perhaps tricolour for sailing, bicolour + white for motoring, white for anchoring. In view of comments I have seen here about deck level lights being preferred in some situations, I'm thinking of adding a stern light.
 
alahol2 said:
I'm sure they do. I think there are quite a few cars that have a system. I've just never been able to find one.
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The systems I have come across in cars were very simple, and relied on looking for imbalances across the car, rather than for individual bulb failure.
 
A very sinmple solution to current sensing is to wind a small coil of wire around a magnetic reed switch. About 10 turns of 20 gauge wire is typically what is needed. This can be very low series resistance. The reed switch is a tiney glass tube a bit like a small fuse witha wire out each end. 2 iron wires are near one another inside such that in a magnetic field they close together. Thus you have a switch that operates when current flows. These reed switches are often used in nurgular alarms where a permanent magnet is attached to a window frame and the switch is embedded in the outer frame. With window closed the reed switch makes contact. if the window is opened the reed switch opens to operate the alarm. good luck olewill
 
OceanSprint said:
I am reading many books at the moment on single handed sailors, like RK and bernard moitessier. Both of these often, when in deep water, just want to be seen at all costs, and don't pay much heed to the letter of the law when it comes to lights (both at times simply hauled a single bright hurricane lamp up the mast). I guess single handing already breaks the "keep a lookout at all times" part of the colregs when sleeping.

My point is, couldn't we follow cyclists example? Their aim is to be seen by bigger powered vehicles and they forget the highway code (?) and use all manner of flashing lights.

in the middle of oceans, where small sailing boats just want the bigger boats to know they are there, could we not use a mast head bright white 360 degree xenon strobe light as a " watch out, i exist" light? To be used as a measure of "last resort" ? Or even a few such strobes at masthead and deck level?

I know its strictly against colregs, but then some of the watch keeping on the big boats we are trying to avoid also don't sound too legit. (And it would look good at xmas).
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Years back aircraft had basically the same requirements as ships Instead of mast head or steaming light they were required to have a flashing all round red light. Manufacturers started fitting white strobe lights in lieu of flashing red (or as well). They were accepted by exemption until finally the rules were changed to accept white xenon strobe light which ar eenow the nrom. Why not boats? I guess in factt you can fit any light you like provided it doesn't detract from Nav lights. I see party boats around here with so many forms of flashing lights (plus continuous sound signals) certainly you could neverr miss their presence. olewill
 
William_H said:
A very sinmple solution to current sensing is to wind a small coil of wire around a magnetic reed switch. About 10 turns of 20 gauge wire is typically what is needed. This can be very low series resistance. The reed switch is a tiney glass tube a bit like a small fuse witha wire out each end. 2 iron wires are near one another inside such that in a magnetic field they close together. Thus you have a switch that operates when current flows. These reed switches are often used in nurgular alarms where a permanent magnet is attached to a window frame and the switch is embedded in the outer frame. With window closed the reed switch makes contact. if the window is opened the reed switch opens to operate the alarm. good luck olewill
Click to expand...

Like this...

http://uk.farnell.com/hamlin/mdsr-4-22-38/switch-reed-spst-no-0-5a-200v-axial/dp/2103636
 
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