In need of a Beacon light

[savumaki]

I have been searching for a smallish beacon/strobe light that would be similar to a Xmas tree bulb that you could hang in a tree or similar mount to identify the location at night. Primary use would be for boaters/fisherman who are out on the lake well after dark and need to see where they should be going to return to the landing. Blue would be preferable
Since it would be used in the north where we have little or no ambient light it would be readily visible even with very low output.
Several DIY projects have been discussed on the forums but I need something I can buy in multiples of six.

Thoughts and/or suggestions.

 

[calipsoii]

http://www.glo-toob.com/products4.html

They work quite well, though I'd recommend the Lithium version that takes CR123/RCR123 since the CR2 version burns through batteries quickly. Get yourself a charger and some rechargeable batteries that fit and they should do just fine.

Keep in mind anything powered by batteries eventually needs replaced. If they need to be visible from a distance and run for a very long time, you'd be better off running a long extension cord and plugging in a string of Christmas lights.

 

[savumaki]

Glo-tube does sound interesting barring cost. The batts are no problem since I have plenty and the charger to boot.
An extension cord would have to be a mile and a bit long :thumbsdow

 

[beley]

How about a mini mag LED (2nd+ version, ie. not the one with the luxeon I/III), you can get one(or six) anywhere, no very expensive, uses normal batteries. Alternitivly i think that pretty much all the mag led products also have strobe, if you want something bigger or smaller.

 

[Gregozedobe]

How about some fauxtons (I buy mine from DX these days) and replace the LED with one that is constantly flashing (the electronics are entirely in the LED itself). If these are too bright or you want a different "look" there are also random flashing RGB LEDs available too (bit of a "disco" look). Pretty cheap option, but if you use them a lot you will need to buy more batteries.

 

[bnemmie]

Proably a little over powered for what you need, but this is the current issue for the Coast Guard (#640 Sirius LED Strobe)

http://www.lifesavingsystems.com/base/general/frm_lsc.htm

It is the strobe light they put in all of their PFD's. Its waterproof, rugged, runs for 20+ hours, visible for over 5 miles and bright as all hell. Not sure what kind of emmiter it uses tho. Its intended for emergency use and search and rescue. Its smaller then a pack of cards or pack of smokes. Im sure its too bright for what you need, but you could always tape over most of the lens to reduce the output. Then when you dont need it, you have a emergency signaling device on board.

Hope it helps.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

I like the fact it is LED.

1) Is it as bright as the xenon models?

2) Is it overly directional, as some LEDs tend to be?

EDIT: I just called and spoke with the gentleman who engineered and built it. How often does that happen outside out of our custom modders?

His name is Sam, and he gave me permission to post the following:

-it uses the Osram Oslon

Link

-it is three times brighter than many xenon versions
-it has 180 degree visibility, which he said is required to get Coast Guard approval
-it uses a magnetic switch, so no need to worry about contacts corroding

Here is its spec sheet:

Link

$50 is a bit on the high end, but you will never need to replace a xenon bulb, and it is, as I just found out, designed and manufactured in the United States. Pretty cool!

 

[savumaki]

Gregozobe- sounds like an option however my days of fine soldering are gone, seems that with each passing year the hands want to shake more.

LEDAdd- that would do it; great for my own personal use but if I lend it to customers from the lodge I would lay odds it would disappear! I am in Canada; where could I order it?

Sorry for the delay in response but 8" of snow (on top of the 20 already here) knocked out the internet.

Beley- too directional and surely to grow legs.

 

[MattE]

How about a PALIGHT

Comes in blue LED too

Claims 80 hrs on strobe

 

[Gregozedobe]

Gregozobe- sounds like an option however my days of fine soldering are gone, seems that with each passing year the hands want to shake more.

Repacing the LED in a fauxton is quite simple - no soldering needed (the following detailed instructions are probably not needed for you, but may encourage someone else to try this simple, cheap mod):

1 Undo 4 screws and separate light into two halves (leave the side wth the switch facing down)

2 Remove batteries (note polarity for re-assembly)

3 Note length and shape of legs on orginal LED (I use needle nose pliers to shape)

4 Ascertain correct polarity on new LED (ie which leg goes on the bottom). If it lights up you've got it the right way round, if it doesn't, just rotate 180 degrees and it will (no harm to LED possible).

5 Cut and bend legs on new LED to be same as old LED (length isn't critical, bends are)

6 Assemble (without screws) and try it out out - I often need to fine tune the bends in the legs. If it stays on all the time try bending the bottom leg slightly downwards (towards the sliding switch). It should have momentary on with a decent amount of pressure, and stay on without flickering when you slide the switch away from the LED (it goes over some bumps which push the leg towards the battery).

7 When you are happy with your adjustments, put the scews back in.

Voila, cheap flashing light. If it goes missing then you haven't lost much $$$, but it might be hard to find your way back in the dark


Now I know what I'm doing it takes me about 2-3 minutes to swap a new LED in. First one I did took a lot longer to understand the significance of the bends in the LED legs. If your hands shake a lot it will take longer, but with perseverance you can probably get there - give it a try and you might surprise yourself.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

LEDAdd- that would do it; great for my own personal use but if I lend it to customers from the lodge I would lay odds it would disappear! I am in Canada; where could I order it?

Once I sell off some things, I intend to get one as well, to use when I am walking, or, when the return trip on a night hike takes me a on a very busy highway, where a "see me" light trumps a hiking light. As noted, the asking price is steep, but I like supporting American small business when possible, and besides, if you consider it a long term investment in personal safety, then the initial cost doesn't look so bad. It looks so compact, and is reputed to be very bright, so if I do order one, I will probably photograph it and give it its own thread.

With respect to ordering one, they seem like a small shop. I would just call the number in the PDF and ask to buy one.

With respect to finding something cheap to fix to a tree or pole to serve as a beacon, I don't think you can get much cheaper then a fauxton. I've played with some other blinkies in my time, but nothing so cheap and without the accompanying guilt if it gets lost or damaged.

 

[savumaki]

I must have had a brain fart- fauxton- of course!!! I have a handfull of them.
Greg- would you happen to have the item # at DX- I go there and its like swimming in moss and mud only to find out its sold out. I think this could work so its time to make several and test them by the lake with customers.
My thought is to give them to customers who are portaging to adjacent lakes.

Palight- I've had one on the bedstand for five years but didn't think of it; a bit cost prohibitive (except for personal) and I would like to know the angle it would be visible at. (time for emails).

Thanks for your input

 

[TEEJ]

If looking for a way to increase the visibility at off angles, mount the device at a wider reflector, a mirror/aluminum foil, etc... for example. To reduce theft, you could mount it higher up, to at least make it inconvenient to walk off with it.

As even a glowing cigarette butt can be seen 1/2 mile away in pitch darkness, you won't need many lumen to be bright enough to see it.

If feeling ambitious, consider a solar cell to charge it daily so you don't have to tend to the batteries. Those little drive way lights that come with an LED and a solar cell to charge them might be a cheap solution for example, as that's an all in one product that doesn't need to be plugged in. Around here at least, you can get 12 of them for ~$15-25.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

...and I wonder if you could swap a blinking LED directly into one!

 

[savumaki]

That would be neat!
The driveway lights are certainly an option- no fuss, no muss- just climb up a tree and mount it there for the season (where's my son in law!!!!!!!!!!)

 

[flashy bazook]

A couple of points on the Glo-Toobs: if you intend to use them with the RC123A's (rechargeable lithium ion), you will lose the different modes, it will just run on the highest output.

If you want the other options, e.g., a strobe, you'd need to use LiFePO4 rechargeables (or primaries, of course).

A strobe might be a good option which is why I mention it specifically. But you'd need to experiment a bit to see how far out it is visible, as the lumen output of the Glo-Toobs is not very big.

On the plus side, you can find them in blue, and they are waterproof which would be useful near water and possibly rain.


I wonder if you could use several together, they might then be visible from a useful distance, if you do experiment please let us know what you find!

 

[CarpentryHero]

+1 on glo-toobs they also replace glow sticks.
Princeton tec used to make beacon lights in red.

 

[Gregozedobe]

Greg- would you happen to have the item # at DX- I go there and its like swimming in moss and mud only to find out its sold out.

SKU 20248 is a 10 pack in blue plastic (white led) for $US 4.48 ie 45 cents each (cheaper per unit if you buy more)

Palight- I've had one on the bedstand for five years but didn't think of it; a bit cost prohibitive (except for personal) and I would like to know the angle it would be visible at. (time for emails)

If the PALight comes with a convex focussing lens it is easy to swap in a flat lens to give a much wider angle of view (I've put flat plastic lenses in several of mine, as it makes them much more useful for inside illumination).

If there is much chance of the light going AWOL then the fauxtons are a much, much cheaper option.

 

[spexmaniac]

Have you seen the Pelican 2130 its about $10 from amazon but sounds a lot like what you want.
hth
John

 

[DM51]

A strobe will catch the eye better than a constant light. Have a look at emergency strobes used by divers and others. Good ones use a system similar to a camera flash, which makes them visible a long way away.

Princeton Tec make a range of strobes, but also look at the Leland Marine Emergency Strobe - $13.41 at Amazon.