I got some 1142 tower LED automotive bulbs from
http://www.autolumination.com. They have opposed pins, so I
filed one off and installed them into Aqua Signal nav lights.
They work real well, really bright in stern and anchor lights,
they can easily be seen two miles away. They're up on eBay,
search on "1142 navigation". I think they're $19US now. These
people are very easy to deal with. I may try a couple of
their 12 volt spotlighty things with 30 LEDs in the red/green
lights.

I got two tower bulbs from ProfessorLED on eBay and in the end
they're very bright too, but there's a lot of hassle from the
seller. Originally he sold anchor light bulbs with a solar
switch and that's what I bought, but he recalled them and the
replacements had no solar switch, and for a rationalization he
didn't care what he said. I paid promptly by money order and
his computer generated a formal complaint that he had to
withdraw. For shipping I paid $18US for two bulbs and he paid
$2.10US. His web site shows some very nice bulbs, but they're
overpriced etc. etc. His illustrations all still show a solar
switch. The bulbs are indexed pins and they fit Aqua Signal
light sockets.

I wish someone else would start producing those things because
autolumination's bulbs are not indexed pins.. The towerLED
bulbs are very easy to produce if you're an electronics
technician. ProfessorLED manufactures his, I think in a 1/2
car garage sized operation.
--
Joe

Joe Kovacs
SV Sea Breeze

"Joe Kovacs" wrote...
I got some 1142 tower LED automotive bulbs from
http://www.autolumination.com.

I got two tower bulbs from ProfessorLED on eBay

Oh. Yes. The Autolumination tower bulbs with 20 LEDs use 1.8
watts of 12 v power. That's not a misprint, they use one
decimal eight watts, almost two watts. The ProfLED bulbs with
18 LEDs use a little less. They are very bright. They're very
clear one mile away, I haven't been able to look at them from
two miles away, and am sure they can be seen from farther away
than that.

I read that it takes 20 LEDs to equal the light of one 10 watt
incandescent bulb. I know that there are different sizes and
brightnesses of LED bulbs, and think that that's 20 of these
LEDs. And note that an incandescent bulb puts out its light
over 360 degrees, and an LED bulb can have its 20 LEDs aimed
over 32 degrees.

The colour of navigation lights is strictly defined in the
ColRegs. While they are a good red, green and white these
particular bulbs don't meet those regulations. LED lights with
USCG certification do.

How do these LED lights compare with the incandescents that
were in there? The bottom line is, They're different. They're
extremely bright, good colour, the low power consumption is
overwhelming making the decision to use them or not a
no-brainer, in ten years all the lights will be LED anyway and
these are well on the way to that. They're different.

I also have two Hella red and green nav lights. Again, thay're
very bright, 2 mile visibility and they are USCG and IMO
certified. They have different LED elements, and the two use a
total of 8 watts.

I have a 32 foot offshore cruising sloop and all my navigation
lights are LED. Firm.

--
Joe

Joe Kovacs
SV Sea Breeze