LED Anchor Light

[goboatingnow]

Remember don't feed the troll


Dave

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by scoobert

right. the 5MM leds are quite worthless at distance.
i somehow doubt the 5mm leds would be very visible at 2 miles.

What makes you think this?

[scoobert]

Originally Posted by capt-couillon

<rant>
What..... sitting on the dock, or in front of your computer?
You think your $400 led masthead lights under go this kind of testing?Bebi Electronics-Product Testing of Marine LED Running Lights I got your "High heat, right here

and it still works..... This is real world, real cruisers who actually rely on this stuff to be safe. Looking at your blog you might want to spend a little more time working on that iron gennie and a little less time in front of the computer. </rant>

Ooops, I fed a troll.... sorry all but I couldn't help myself

P.S. I have no affilliation with Bibi, just use their products with excelent results. Good does not = expensive

i doubt that test is real.
the lens on the led is plastic, and will melt at the same speed as the PVC they are using.


its also funny that for a PVC end cap, and a few 5MM leds and a driver they are asking $35

[solarbri]

I had a Bebi anchor light for the past two years in Mexico. Unfortunately, after dropping it in the drink a few times, it stopped working.
An electric Coleman lantern got us through the last couple of months.
When I got home this past spring without the broken light, I wrote an email to Bebi about what happened (not expecting much of anything).
The next day, I was informed that a new one was shipped, free of charge, and all they asked for was as many details as I could give them about how it stopped working.
The light is AWESOME!!!
The company, and their customer service is also AWESOME!!!

[Vasco]

The problem with internet forums is sometimes individuals who have little practical experience and even less technical knowledge sound off on matters about which they would be better served keeping silent.

I have used the Bebi anchor light for a few years now. It is without doubt the best anchor light I have seen. I can pick out my boat in a crowded anchorage because the anchor light is so bright. There are many led anchor lights in use nowadays but the Bebi light beats most of them. And it comes with a genuine lifetime warranty.

Here's a pic of another one I have.

[scoobert]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

What makes you think this?

light output vs lens spread
8 lumens and the optics are very poor quality. i can see they are lighting the table as well as casting light directionally ahead. so the light loss is great.
on a perfectly clear night, you may make out a spot of light at 2 miles, but very unlikely.

now, if they were 1 watt LEDs, with a 5 degree lens on them, then 2 miles, even in light fog should be no issue.
lumileds is what i would use. but you cant just drill a hole and glue them into a pvc pipe cap
i think i still have a dozen laying on my electronics work bench. if someone wants to build a better anchor light... or i could manufacture them and sell them $$$~!

wow, come to think of it i bet i could certify it as coast guard approved for 5 miles with very little headache....

EDIT:
sorry they are opulent, luexon rebel's on star boards.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Vasco

The problem with internet forums is sometimes individuals who have little practical experience and even less technical knowledge sound off on matters about which they would be better served keeping silent.

I have used the Bebi anchor light for a few years now. It is without doubt the best anchor light I have seen. I can pick out my boat in a crowded anchorage because the anchor light is so bright. There are many led anchor lights in use nowadays but the Bebi light beats most of them. And it comes with a genuine lifetime warranty.

Here's a pic of another one I have.

That's because you wired it for a 0.000000000000001% voltage drop!

Mark

[Opie91]

Another fan of Bebi lights. The owl is great!!! Even has a light sensor for auto on/off.

Scoobert, you should by the Bebi instead of the $3400 one and use the savings to get a can of paint for that engine.

[scoobert]

Originally Posted by Opie91

Another fan of Bebi lights. The owl is great!!! Even has a light sensor for auto on/off.

Scoobert, you should by the Bebi instead of the $3400 one and use the savings to get a can of paint for that engine.

deck aesthetics come before engine aesthetics.

[Blue Crab]

As usual, I don't know jack about this topic but I want these lights in my rig so perfect timing. Just today I hired a guy who was willing to go up the mast. The bad news is he doesn't have a clue so I guess I'll get him to haul me up. I want a good long look around anyway, and install the modern bulbs, and run another topping lift. That's after I start with messengering a new main halyard to ride up on.

Speaking of, I just briefly considered buying a bosun's chair. $167 at We$t. Ha ha ha. I haven't been up in 20 years but betcha a 2X8 still works.

Mr Scoobert, I luv ya man, but you haven't shown any expertise so far on any subject I've noticed. That includes not knowing the rig on yer own boat. Why would you argue with these guys out there doing it, sir?

[dugout]

Originally Posted by scoobert

that is the single worst thing i have ever seen used as an anchor light short of a garden solar light. LED's that do not need active cooling are worthless. they do not produce sufficient light at distance.

This is too funny. You have never seen one of these lights. You are arguing based on theory with folks who have real experience with Bebi lights.
The Bebi lights represent one of the absolute best values in marine lighting of any type with a real lifetime warranty. There effectiveness is demonstrated in any anchorage. The lights are bright and they last seemingly forever.
Buy what makes you happy.

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by Blue Crab

Speaking of, I just briefly considered buying a bosun's chair. $167 at We$t. Ha ha ha. I haven't been up in 20 years but betcha a 2X8 still works.

Well, please be careful. It's hard to slip out of a proper bosun's chair. Better yet, a climbing harness keeps you secure even if you turn upside down.

[RaymondR]

lumileds is what i would use. but you cant just drill a hole and glue them into a pvc pipe cap

Why not? I have done that for about the last fifteen years, initially using amber yellow LED's because white did not exist.

You glue them in, connect them in series and put a current limiting resister in series. I usually goo the leads to try to limit corrosion.

I have also done a fair bit of mucking about with circuits to reduce the current flow. It is amazing how low you can get the current draw by rapidly switching them on and off one at a time by hooking them up to a decade counter with an oscillator connected to the clocking input. You can also use a simple relaxation oscillator and drive transistor to do the same thing.

If you knock them up yourself and keep them cheap enough you can afford to change them out every twelve months or so.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by scoobert

on a perfectly clear night, you may make out a spot of light at 2 miles, but very unlikely.

The coastguard requirements for light to meet the 2mile visibility standard is a brightness of 4.3cd
The Bebi Owl comfortably exceeds this with average minimum of 6.0 cd, the average 9.1 cd, 'typical' 10.5 cd and the expected maximum would be 12.1 cd.
The calculations are here:

Bebi Electronics-What Our Marine RV & Off Grid LED Specifications Mean

It is also not difficult to do a simple practical comparison and I have done so.
I have the following navigation lights and I have turned them on and compared the relative brightness. This is my estimation from brightest to dullest

1.Bebi Owl anchor light
2. Loopolight stern light
3. Aqua signal led anchor light
4. Incandescent anchor light
5. 50 led anchor light


I hope the combination of theoretical calculations together with a practical test convinces you.

It is shame and ill-informed to condemn the Bebi anchor light as inadequate when in fact it is the brightest alternative.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by scoobert

sorry they are opulent, luexon rebel's on star boards.

If you install a Bebi Owl you will find that your your boat invariably has the brightest anchor light when sharing the anchorage with other boats.
However, It is certainly possible to build an anchor light that is brighter, even much brighter.

Using Luxon Rebel emitters to make a home made anchor would work well. The difficulty is designed and producing an optical system that would direct the light where required (like the commercial lights that use these emitters have)
It is possible to ignore the optical system and simply generate more light.
Three or four good quality Luxon Rebel emitters, would make a very bright anchor light and I have thought about doing something similar. The difficulty is without a suitable optical system would be the power consumption, even under-driven, it would be much higher, negating one of the major advances of the led anchor lights.

When considering a better anchor light rather than just focusing on brightness give some consideration to installing a light (s) where it can illumate some of the superstructure. This avoids confusion with shore light and makes distance judgments much easier for boats entering the anchorage.

A 2 mile anchor light at the top of the mast with a couple of the rebel emitters mounted as deck lights underneath the spreaders would be good solution. In this application the light of the emitters is directed where needed, so the efficiency is high. It is legal and makes you far more visible than much brighter anchor light at the top of the mast.
The main drawback with this approach is that dark adaptation is lost making it difficult to keep track of other boats in the anchorage that may be dragging.