Running lights

[alormaria]

The Coast Guard asked him to come back as a consultant to test pleasure boat navigation lights for proper angle and candlepower.

 

[dhays]

Thought PSNEELD would have responded by now:
https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=NavRulesAmalgamated
Scan down to Annex I and then look for Intensity. Drink a cup of hi test coffee first.

Thanks for the link. It led me to the National Bureau of Standards, “Colors of Signal Lights”. 50 pages of information that I once knew but most of which I have forgotten. It predates LED lights but the concepts they discuss for various light sources still holds true. They discuss the issue of the interaction of the chromicity of the light source and the transmittance of the filter.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Greetings,
Mr. ASD. "The oil from you hand will reduce the life of the bulb." Well, for all practical purposes yes BUT it's not quite as simple as that.



Halogens run VERY hot and the envelope is quartz glass in order to resist the heat. The moisture/oils from your fingers will be burnt into the surface upon illumination and subsequent heating. Over time, the surface degrades and amount of light put forth diminishes. Internal temperatures increase, thus causing the tungsten filament to potentially evaporate at a greater rate or the surface of the quartz to etch to the point of failure.


IF you happen to handle the quartz bulb, you can readily clean it off with rubbing alcohol with no negative effects BEFORE you turn it on.

100%

 

[wkearney99]

My Grand Banks has the Aqua Signal series 41 lights. I recently replaced their bulbs with LEDs from Marine Beam. That and the starboard side housing was cracked, and I found a replacement for it via eBay.

My advice is open one of them and look for identifying marks. There should be some kind of label or part number molded into it somewhere. They do look like ones Perko made.

 

[K2D2]

Another component of the light is the interior reflective surfaces of the lamp. They start out shiny chrome or brass but lose a lot of that over time. I put Solas tape in my lamps to restore the reflectivity of the lamp. Using the original bulb, this should not affect the focus of the lens as it is just a restoration to "new" condition. The lights are very noticeably brighter.

 

[Mmfitzpatrick]

Keep the lights, but man you need to spring for a new tape measure.?

 

[firstbase]

Keep the lights, but man you need to spring for a new tape measure.?

Even tape measures got some mojo in 'em.

 

[psneeld]

I believe the inside of a light housing should be non reflective.

Like the light screens/shadowboards being painted flat black, if reflective it would make the angle of view too variable.

All measurements in diagrams of lights I see are from the filament.

This is why the argument about replacing incandescent bulbs with some LEDs has merit.

 

[firstbase]

I believe the inside of a light housing should be non reflective.

Like the light screens/shadowboards being painted flat black, if reflective it would make the angle of view too variable.

All measurements in diagrams of lights I see are from the filament.

This is why the argument about replacing incandescent bulbs with some LEDs has merit.

I wasn't going to say anything because A) I really don't know much and B) I thought I might have read it wrong or dreamed it but.... In my search for info on the LED's I also read that the inside reflective surfaces should be black not reflective which is the opposite of what I was thinking. Go figure.

 

[dhays]

I also read that the inside reflective surfaces should be black not reflective which is the opposite of what I was thinking. Go figure.

Isn't black kind of the opposite of a "reflective surface"?

It is black because it absorbs all colors.

 

[firstbase]

Isn't black kind of the opposite of a "reflective surface"?

It is black because it absorbs all colors.

Yes, black absorbs all wavelengths of light and white reflects all wavelenghts. Again, intuitively it would seem that reflecting them all would be a good thing, make brighter. But I believe that in the case of running lights reflected light like this is not good due to scattering. All of this is coming from me and my vague memory of what I read so...do the grain of salt thing. If I am wrong I have absolutely no doubt that I will be corrected shortly!

 

[psneeld]

You are not wrong...look up running light design and how the sectors are accounted for.

It's not the whole fixture, it's the point light source. So technically there are "NO" reflective surfaces supposed to be in a nav light unless they are part of the sector design.

Even oxidized lenses screw up how the lights are perceived by others.

 

[JohnP]

My Grand Banks has the Aqua Signal series 41 lights. I recently replaced their bulbs with LEDs from Marine Beam. That and the starboard side housing was cracked, and I found a replacement for it via eBay.

Aqua Signal series 41 lights are great--I think they are the way
to go!

 

[Gbinterim]

Who knew that inquiry into replacement of running lights would morph into a discussion of this magnitude. That’s what is so great about the membership.

 

[firstbase]

Who knew that inquiry into replacement of running lights would morph into a discussion of this magnitude. That’s what is so great about the membership.

See it all the time in here. Sometimes I learn more on a different subject that ends up being addressed in a thread than the original thread subject matter itself. Hey, there is a 300+ post on coming up with a forum burgee. Given that, ANYTHING is possible in here.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. Gb. "...so great about the membership." Yup. Sometimes downright illuminating. Other times...not so much.

 

[firstbase]

I'm not buying that one RTF. Looks a little bit staged to me...!!! Heaving an anchor like that in 2' of water? Exactly what was it that caused his entire body to go forward and off the boat? Fake news.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. fb. " Exactly what was it that caused his entire body to go forward and off the boat?"

 

[firstbase]

Greetings,
Mr. fb. " Exactly what was it that caused his entire body to go forward and off the boat?"

Ah, yes, as a non-drinker I forgot demon alcohol. Could be true. Still trying to understand the big heave in 2' of water though.

OK go ahead. Heave. Alcohol. Can't wait.

 

[Capn Bob]

first base-
I plan to replace my running light bulbs with LED's soon. Never thought of using colored lights. Having done that would you recommend it? Instead of clear/white...?

If you use an LED behind a colored lens, you do need to use the same color LED as the lens in order for the correct amount and wavelength of light to be projected. While using a white LED will “look” OK, you’re won’t have as effective a light as you would using the specified incandescent bulb. Search the COLREGS- the Coast Guard has very specific requirements for the type of light (the beam cast, not just the fixture) for each nav light.

Google for Running Lights LED replacement. You’ll see that there are specific LED bulbs which fulfill this need. HOWEVER, the USCG does NOT approve of this swap,meaning the lights aren’t certified except with the original bulb. As someone mentioned, it’s not as though a Coastie is gonna bust you for that swap. More of a concern would be, “Do I want to be SEEN?”

I have the same issue on my boat, and I really don’t like the look of the new LED fixtures. I prefer the Perko-style with nice, big glass colored lenses. Hella type 2984 nav lights, now discontinued but still available, have the classic style are are certified for up to 65’, or 2nm. My boat is 38’ but I’d rather be seen further away than necessary.