Re: [External] Re: [Cal_Boats] LED retrofit(Jerry)

Is it me or is there some explanation as to why LED's are easier to be seen from a distance than to use to see for a distance? We bought some big LED flashlights some years ago to use for luff lites for night sailing and as I recall paid a fair sum for them. Long story short, they are pieces of sh*t and basically useless. It seems their light just scatters and provides a very dim light for a short distance but if you look directly at them they seem very bright. Thanks - Paul In a message dated 11/27/2012 12:13:50 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, hu… [at] bah.com writes: An interesting point. I was thinking that the reds and greens might have a problem going through colored lenses since the LEDs a specific to a single frequency, and the passband of the lens might not be good at that frequency. Need to remember that the white light of the LED lamps is a very interesting mix of a small number of specific single frequencies that approximates the white - unlike white sunlight or incandescent light that is a mix of all visible frequencies. Hence maybe the white is weak through colored lenses. Cheers Charlie From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of david dobbs Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 11:39 AM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: [External] Re: [Cal_Boats] LED retrofit(Jerry) Jerry, Yes, but I don't remember where I saw it, something about the white light from an LED not getting through a colored lens, very well. I don't know about a tri-color, interesting question. If I get a chance I'll look for an answer, maybe on Aqua Signal's website or Perko's. David From: Gerald Sobel <so… [at] yahoo.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, November 26, 2012 11:03 PM Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] LED retrofit David, RU shore about that? It looks like the replacement LED for the masthead tricolor are all white bulbs, but I could be wrong. I was thinking of trying to find an LED bulb to replace the bi color fixture that came with my boat, which I haven't used (actually, had removed) because it's located where the jib would land on the deck if it was dropped down. So, I'd have to make a bow pulpit mount for it. Jerry --- On Mon, 11/26/12, david dobbs <tm… [at] yahoo.com> wrote: From: david dobbs <tm… [at] yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] LED retrofit To: "Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Date: Monday, November 26, 2012, 1:11 PM Chris, I forgot, you need to get a green for starboard and a red for port, white won't work. David From: david dobbs <tm… [at] yahoo.com> To: "Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Sent: Monday, November 26, 2012 3:00 PM Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] LED retrofit If you know the bulb type there are charts that tell what the LED replacement is. I used _superbrightleds.com_ (http://superbrightleds.com/) , reasonable prices. David Dobbs From: Chris Campbell <cc… [at] lsnm.org> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, November 26, 2012 1:34 PM Subject: [Cal_Boats] LED retrofit Listmates: I know this is an old and much-discussed subject, but I'll pose my question. Both of my boats are from the 1960s. I'd like to retrofit LED running light illumination because of the battery-life advantages. Neither boat has an inboard engine for charging, and my Cal 20 doesn't even have a battery aboard. I figure that with LEDs, I could use lantern batteries for running light service. The older boat has nice bronze teardrop Wilcox-Crittendon light fixtures, and the Cal has standard little half-sphere stainless steel fixtures. My plan is to e-mail photos of the fixtures to the LED vendor and ask is they can supply suitable drop-in devices. Can anybody recommend bulb suppliers that are familiar with standard-issue boat fixtures and that are good to work with? Chris Campbell

On 11/27/2012 12:27 PM, pw… [at] aol.com wrote: > Is it me or is there some explanation as to why LED's are easier to be > seen from a distance than to use to see for a distance? We bought > some big LED flashlights some years ago to use for luff lites for > night sailing and as I recall paid a fair sum for them. Long story > short, they are pieces of sh*t and basically useless. It seems their > light just scatters and provides a very dim light for a short distance > but if you look directly at them they seem very bright. I carry an LED flashlight on my daily walk/run exercise route after work, which is an after-dark activity at this season of the year. The flashlight offers a variety of flash options, useful for catching the attention of drivers for the portion of the route that's in the road. I have noticed that the LED light is especially effective with reflective surfaces--the various 3M products and similar advanced reflective materials. There must be something about the way the light is polarized. Chris Campbell >

Chris: Here's and interesting read. Also carry a battery operated set for your 20. http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/09/howto/led-nav/index.htm /ch

Btw...thanks for introducing me to Kevin, very interesting lad. /ch

This is the anchor light I used. Easily meets coast guard regs in Canada and the States, sucks virtually no power. Ran a line up to the spreaders and then hung the light from it, bungy cord to the deck. Could see the boat and deck for miles. http://www.bebi-electronics.com/owl.html /ch

On 11/27/2012 4:05 PM, chris123 wrote: > > > Chris: > > Here's and interesting read. Also carry a battery operated set for > your 20. > > http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/09/howto/led-nav/index.htm That looks like an excellent solution for the Cal 20. Add 12 V lantern battery and illumination is at hand. The other boat really does need to retain her old Wilcox-Crittendon bronze fixtures because they're sooo 1961 and bronze and altogether just the right style. When you're an old boat, style is a big deal. The 20 is a bit more hip and adaptable. Chris Campbell >

Send me a picture if you can. It may be able to convert these to kerosone or simple lamp oil burners. All depends on the lenses used. Many long term voyagers hunt out such old lanterns and convert them to kero or lamp oils specifically for that reason. https://plus.google.com/115249722133644145266/posts?banner=pwa You can see them sitting on the decks and there is one below the windvane. /ch

Sorry Chris...that google plus thing just gets in the way all the time. See attachment. /ch

LEDs produce an exceptionally high intensity light from a very small spot. Your eye can see the spot because of the intensity. The amount of light is often fairly small, so it cannot provide much illumination over an area like a sail. Lumens is the measurement of the amount of light. Comparing lumen output of different lights is, well, illuminating. (sorry) Further, these very small spot of light is difficult to diffuse and focus into a beam covering an area. Diffusion costs lumens. With an incandescent filament the light radiates in a wide pattern and is easy to focus into a beam. Ted Wrobel CAL 33 Celebration Newport, RI _____ From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Chris Campbell Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 3:47 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [External] Re: [Cal_Boats] LED retrofit(Jerry) On 11/27/2012 12:27 PM, pw… [at] aol.com wrote: Is it me or is there some explanation as to why LED's are easier to be seen from a distance than to use to see for a distance? We bought some big LED flashlights some years ago to use for luff lites for night sailing and as I recall paid a fair sum for them. Long story short, they are pieces of sh*t and basically useless. It seems their light just scatters and provides a very dim light for a short distance but if you look directly at them they seem very bright. I carry an LED flashlight on my daily walk/run exercise route after work, which is an after-dark activity at this season of the year. The flashlight offers a variety of flash options, useful for catching the attention of drivers for the portion of the route that's in the road. I have noticed that the LED light is especially effective with reflective surfaces--the various 3M products and similar advanced reflective materials. There must be something about the way the light is polarized. Chris Campbell _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1427 / Virus Database: 2629/5422 - Release Date: 11/27/12

Try one of these http://www.costco.com/Life%2bGear-1000-Lumen-LED-Flashlight-with-Flasher.product.100008746.html PS. These were not the ones I was recommending. Allen On Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 3:11 PM, Ted Wrobel <tw… [at] tacticaltech.com>wrote: > ** > > > ** > LEDs produce an exceptionally high intensity light from a very small spot. > Your eye can see the spot because of the intensity. The amount of light is > often fairly small, so it cannot provide much illumination over an area > like a sail. > > Lumens is the measurement of the amount of light. Comparing lumen output > of different lights is, well, illuminating. (sorry) > > Further, these very small spot of light is difficult to diffuse and focus > into a beam covering an area. Diffusion costs lumens. > > With an incandescent filament the light radiates in a wide pattern and is > easy to focus into a beam. > > Ted Wrobel > CAL 33 Celebration > Newport, RI > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] *On > Behalf Of *Chris Campbell > *Sent:* Tuesday, November 27, 2012 3:47 PM > *To:* Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com > *Subject:* Re: [External] Re: [Cal_Boats] LED retrofit(Jerry) > > > > On 11/27/2012 12:27 PM, pw… [at] aol.com wrote: > > Is it me or is there some explanation as to why LED's are easier to be > seen from a distance than to use to see for a distance? We bought some big > LED flashlights some years ago to use for luff lites for night sailing and > as I recall paid a fair sum for them. Long story short, they are pieces of > sh*t and basically useless. It seems their light just scatters and provides > a very dim light for a short distance but if you look directly at them they > seem very bright. > > > I carry an LED flashlight on my daily walk/run exercise route after work, > which is an after-dark activity at this season of the year. The > flashlight offers a variety of flash options, useful for catching the > attention of drivers for the portion of the route that's in the road. I > have noticed that the LED light is especially effective with reflective > surfaces--the various 3M products and similar advanced reflective > materials. There must be something about the way the light is polarized. > > Chris Campbell > > > > > ------------------------------ > > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 10.0.1427 / Virus Database: 2629/5422 - Release Date: 11/27/12 > > >