LED Noise?

[pbiJim]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

I think dockhead has mounted antennas on his spreaders

Dave

I'd be interested to see how he did that. Do you know if he posted any pictures of the installation?

[DeepFrz]

I don't believe there were pictures however the thread can be found using the google custom search.

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Dave, unless your anchor light is WIDER than your mast, the mast will fully obscure it from some small angle of view, especially if you have a stout mast and one of the new slim anchor lights. So technically? Yes, the anchor light might very well have to be clear above the mast, unless you've got a fat anchor light. One point in favor of old kerosene lanterns.

"Its just a little obstruction" still counts as an obstruction.

Hum...Actually you're allowed 6 degrees horizontal obstruction in an all round light.

See page 18 of link below. I an tell you that a back stay mounted anchor light mounted so that it clears the sail cover on the boom is less then 5 degrees obscured. My light is on at this moment.

http://www.uscgboating.org/assets/pd...bscscan75b.pdf

[Paul Elliott]

Remember that we are also discussing masthead tricolor lights. Yes, I know we could use deck-level lights, but I want my tricolor.

I have an Optolamp "Amazonia" tricolor, with an adjacant VHF whip, and have not detected any interference. I plan to hook up my spectrum analyzer to the VHF antenna coax and see what I can measure. Will report back.

[FlyingCloud1937]

For your reading pleasure, go to BIRD antenna placement. Or Bird Home.

Lloyd

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

There's no requirement for an anchor light to be that high up. Nor the VHF antenna

Dave

Notwithstanding getting lost in the stars is there not a risk that any lower, at a certain angle, it would not be visible at all. Smaller the further away from the mast but still..............

??

Maybe that is why we had a mast head and two garden lights.

Missed that one by HelloSailor

[zboss]

Originally Posted by Paul Elliott

I have an Optolamp "Amazonia" tricolor

That is exactly what I have been looking for! I really did not want to give up my strobe light.

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by zboss

That is exactly what I have been looking for! I really did not want to give up my strobe light.

Be aware that the tri/anchor/strobe functions are controlled by three wires. The tri/anchor mode depends on the 12V/Ground polarity on one wire pair, and the strobe runs when the third wire is grounded (or connected to +12? -- I forget). Optolamp makes a control circuit, but since I wanted to use my already-labeled breakers I built a simple relay-logic board to handle the conversions.

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by Paul Elliott

Remember that we are also discussing masthead tricolor lights. Yes, I know we could use deck-level lights, but I want my tricolor.

I have an Optolamp "Amazonia" tricolor, with an adjacant VHF whip, and have not detected any interference. I plan to hook up my spectrum analyzer to the VHF antenna coax and see what I can measure. Will report back.

Today I connected the spectrum analyzer to the masthead VHF antenna, and I could not measure *any* VHF interference. I looked at the entire marine VHF band, and for greater sensitivity did a close-in look around channel 16. Any LED switching noise was under the analyzer noise floor.

I also scanned the SSB band. I didn't see any noise, but since my VHF antenna is practically a dead short at those frequencies that was a useless measurement. Using my SSB and backstay antenna I have listened to the standard marine SSB channels when checking the Optolamp and also heard nothing.

So as far as RF noise is concerned I give it a thumbs up!

[muttskie]

Originally Posted by zboss

In the end... I am hoping the replacement MISEA Signalmate tricolor will solve the issue. However, I am then losing my strobe... which I really wanted.

I have the Signalmate Tricolor, also. Have you installed this light yet? If so, what were the results?

[hellosailor]

sailorchic-
Very interesting. The six degrees obstruction seems to be a civilian comment in a USCG booklet of some kind? I've never seen that in COLREGS and you'll pardon me if I don't want to search the USC to find out if it is in there either. I'm using to seeing official USCG material on their official ".mil" sites.

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

sailorchic-
Very interesting. The six degrees obstruction seems to be a civilian comment in a USCG booklet of some kind? I've never seen that in COLREGS and you'll pardon me if I don't want to search the USC to find out if it is in there either. I'm using to seeing official USCG material on their official ".mil" sites.

No, its part of annex I of the international colregs, that lists the fiddly bits about light locations, etc..

The link I gave was from the official USCG but listed under their recreational boating site..

Here's another link to annex I from our friends at the coast guard.

ANNEX I: INTERNATIONAL POSITIONING & TECHNICAL DETAILS OF LIGHTS & SHAPES

[cal40john]

No different at the .mil site.

page 145
http://www.uscg.mil/directives/cim/1...m_16672_2d.pdf


(i) All-round lights shall be so located as not to be obscured
by masts, topmasts or structures within angular sectors of more
than 6 degrees, except anchor lights prescribed in Rule 30, which
need not be placed at an impracticable height above the hull.
of this section by exhibiting only one all-round light, two all-
round lights shall be used suitably positioned or screened so that
they appear, as far as practicable, as one light at a distance of

[zboss]

Originally Posted by muttskie

I have the Signalmate Tricolor, also. Have you installed this light yet? If so, what were the results?

I have not installed it yet... maybe another month.

Originally Posted by cal40john

No different at the .mil site.

page 145
http://www.uscg.mil/directives/cim/1...m_16672_2d.pdf


(i) All-round lights shall be so located as not to be obscured
by masts, topmasts or structures within angular sectors of more
than 6 degrees, except anchor lights prescribed in Rule 30, which
need not be placed at an impracticable height above the hull.
of this section by exhibiting only one all-round light, two all-
round lights shall be used suitably positioned or screened so that
they appear, as far as practicable, as one light at a distance of

That sounds to me like you can have multiple "angular sectors" as long as each one of them is not more than 6 degrees.

[StuM]

Deleted - others have already psoted the relevant section of COLREGs