12 LED/ 4AA LED lanterns....

sorry, this might be in the wrong forum.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=137513

Looks pretty nice. I might consider picking one up for use on the boat as an anchor light to hang under the boom. The sailboat's normal anchor light is 40' up the mast, making it visible to commercial vessels that know what they're doing, but drunken yahoos in pleasure craft might miss it.

Anyone have any experience with these? How weatherproof are they/

Those do look nice. Anyone try them? I'd be curious if the leds make beam spots or are they well diffused.

I just bought one...for CPF sakes of course. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

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RonM said:
Looks pretty nice. I might consider picking one up for use on the boat as an anchor light to hang under the boom. The sailboat's normal anchor light is 40' up the mast, making it visible to commercial vessels that know what they're doing, but drunken yahoos in pleasure craft might miss it.



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Interesting indeed.

I'm suggesting something fairly bright, red or orange, flashed when it's dark. That is put a battery, photocell, flasher/driver in a jar.......

Fun idea. "Let's talk".

Doug Owen

Doug, flashing lights on a boat are a strict no-no. Coast Guard regs define in very strict terms what is allowable and what is forbidden. An anchor light has to be white and must not flash. Though to be fully in compliance, you should be using only CG approved anchor lights, which the Cabela's lantern obviously isn't. But, like I said in my original post, my regular anchor light might not protect me from getting run over by some knucklhead in his cabin cruiser.

Understood.

Your 'legal' anchor light is on the mast, as I understand the regulations other lighting is not restricted. That is, if you have proper running lights, your shipboard lighting is not an issue.

I'm not suggesting a substitute for the requriement, but as 'extra protection'. For sure you don't want to be confused as an aid to navigation.

Doug Owen

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not suggesting a substitute for the requriement, but as 'extra protection'.

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Still no go. Even if you display a legal anchor light, you are not allowed to display a strobe. Apparently strobes have very specific purposes, which are unknown to me, so you can't use them as an extra measure of protection.

Ron,

I believe you're right WRT white strobe lights (especially around once per second). In order to not interfere with locator beacons. Flashing lights S/B OK, I recall we used a flashing amber light on tail tows as part of a siesmic sled locator in a radar transponder project years ago. You could turn the light on and off via the RF remote as an aid to visual location should you fail to find it by reflected (or transponded) radar. Either the light or the transponder could return either quick flashes ('dots') or one of several morse characters (L being popular as I recall). The radar transponder needed the boat radar to trigger it (plus a fixed delay of half or one mile) of course, the flashing light ran asyncroniously.

They were used in oil exploration all over, so some had to be used in CG controlled waters.

Even without flashing, it's still a neat idea...

Doug Owen

Doug Owen

Just got my lantern. I haven't had a chance to load it with batteries and try it yet, so please, no questions.
Not just yet, anyway. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Looks like it'll be sometime after 5:00pm PDT that I'll get batteries in there and try it.

Well, I ordered the three pack, plus a light with the CCFT in the handle.

BuddTX, let me know if that CCFT light has a positive bulb tip, if you'd be so kind...

Ok, I just put batteries in my lantern and tried it.
The "beam" is a bit spotty, but not what I'd call obnoxiously so.
And the lantern has five power levels, plus off. It's not an anlogue style control like the Nuwai CK-120 lantern has; it's a digital control of some kind.

Physically, the lantern looks like the POS I have reviewed right here, except this lantern has a 5-position switch, the LEDs are aimed outward instead of upward, the lantern body is green and black, rather than yellow and red, and this lantern FUNCTIONS PROPERLY, instead of being a piece of {vulgar term for feces} that doesn't work right. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I don't have any pictures yet, since I'm still in the middle of reviewing a SureFire L2 Digital Lumamax, and a Pelican Nemo 8C is next up in the queue. But maybe I can sneak some pictures a little later on. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Ok, I snuck in a few pictures while nobody was watching. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif


Photograph of the lantern itself.


Photograph of the lantern in my hand, for size reference.


Photograph of the lantern's "beam" from ~4 feet.
Admittedly, this isn't a good shot, as it isn't dark here yet.

I just posted my initial evaluation of this lantern.
It's right here if anybody is interested. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

From TheLedMuseum's Review

"To change the batteries in the 12-LED lantern, unscrew and remove the bottom, and throw it away...O WAIT, YOU'LL NEED THAT!!! So just set it aside instead."

I'm pleased that the loosability issue has been addressed. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Thanks for the review Craig. How are the LEDs? Are they Nichia quality or off brand and off color?

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RonM said:
Thanks for the review Craig. How are the LEDs? Are they Nichia quality or off brand and off color?

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The LEDs appear to be Nichia, but I have no way to verify this for certain without smashing the lantern open. I managed to get the globe off (something I'll update the page with at once), but not the diffuser.
So I guess this will have to be up to somebody with a hammer and a spare lantern to sacrifice in order to find out. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif

Craig, any idea of what the current draw is on the different settings?

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Phaserburn said:
Craig, any idea of what the current draw is on the different settings?

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Sorry, nope.
But let's get out my DMM and see if I can measure that...BRB...

30mA on setting 1 (lowest)
74mA on setting 2
140mA on setting 3
181mA on setting 4
228ma on setting 5 (highest)

I'll go ahead and add these to my web page at once. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif