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MOB pole light
I want to put a strobe light on top of the MOB pole I’m going to
build. I haven’t seen one I like, too heavy, too hard to activate reliably, etc. I don’t want water activated because of false activation and complication so I think I’m going to have to build one. Any suggestions, comments, or especially links to suitable circuits appreciated. Back in the 70’s, there were these toys called eternal flames which were a strobe and battery encased in a solid block of casting resin. They would blink for years so it shouldn’t take much of a battery to provide a night’s worth of flashing. I’d like to build something similar, with a Normally ON magnetic reed switch so that the whole thing was totally watertight and insulated from the elements. The unit would then be kept off by a small magnet on a light line attached to the holder. The light would then go on as soon as the pole separated from the boat with no other action required. All this would be tucked up inside the cover for the flag that holds the top of the pole to the backstay. With a GPS MOB position, I don’t think much of a strobe would be required. This is just to help the person in the water find the float and not for guiding a miles wide search. A bigger strobe on the lifejacket should do that job. It shouldn’t take much of a strobe to guide a boat over a couple hundred yards. Any thoughts on this also appreciated. Another question: I think the pole should be very closely tied to the horseshoe buoy I'm going to throw over with it. Too much line risks entanglement. I'm figuring on just 2 - 3 feet of poly so it will float and not be long enough to get into feet. OTOH, a long line would give the swimmer a bigger target. I also have a lifesling for final recovery. I'm going to try to set it up so just throwing the horseshoe overboard deploys the pole and turns on the strobe. Long line or short line? BTW, I saw the link for the pole with the built in light. Too rich for me. Besides, I like building stuff. -- Roger Long |
MOB pole light
On Mon, 20 Mar 2006 12:41:22 GMT, "Roger Long"
wrote: BTW, I saw the link for the pole with the built in light. Too rich for me. Besides, I like building stuff. Most people attach a floating strobe to the base of the pole with a lanyard about 6 feet long. These strobes are readily available as MOB lights, are waterproof, and have a gravity operated switch which turns on when the light is upright. I think you'll end up with a cheaper and more reliable unit if you buy a commercial unit as opposed to rolling your own, even though it might be a fun project if you have the time and expertise. Attaching anything to the top of the pole other than a small flag or streamer is a bad idea because it will tend to make the pole top heavy. |
MOB pole light
"Wayne.B" wrote
Attaching anything to the top of the pole other than a small flag or streamer is a bad idea because it will tend to make the pole top heavy. That's one of the reasons I'm building my own. I've spent a lifetime making things float upright:) http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/Boats.htm I want the light at the top. The swimmer with his eye one inch above sea level is going to have a hard time getting to a floating light. -- Roger Long |
MOB pole light
Roger Long wrote:
I want to put a strobe light on top of the MOB pole I'm going to build. I haven't seen one I like, too heavy, too hard to activate reliably, etc. I don't want water activated because of false activation and complication so I think I'm going to have to build one. Any suggestions, comments, or especially links to suitable circuits appreciated. Back in the 70's, there were these toys called eternal flames which were a strobe and battery encased in a solid block of casting resin. They would blink for years so it shouldn't take much of a battery to provide a night's worth of flashing. I'd like to build something similar, with a Normally ON magnetic reed switch so that the whole thing was totally watertight and insulated from the elements. The unit would then be kept off by a small magnet on a light line attached to the holder. The light would then go on as soon as the pole separated from the boat with no other action required. All this would be tucked up inside the cover for the flag that holds the top of the pole to the backstay. With a GPS MOB position, I don't think much of a strobe would be required. This is just to help the person in the water find the float and not for guiding a miles wide search. A bigger strobe on the lifejacket should do that job. It shouldn't take much of a strobe to guide a boat over a couple hundred yards. Any thoughts on this also appreciated. Another question: I think the pole should be very closely tied to the horseshoe buoy I'm going to throw over with it. Too much line risks entanglement. I'm figuring on just 2 - 3 feet of poly so it will float and not be long enough to get into feet. OTOH, a long line would give the swimmer a bigger target. I also have a lifesling for final recovery. I'm going to try to set it up so just throwing the horseshoe overboard deploys the pole and turns on the strobe. Long line or short line? BTW, I saw the link for the pole with the built in light. Too rich for me. Besides, I like building stuff. My last one had an adaptation of the life-ring light found on most throwable rings. It was attached to a plstic collar at the top of the pole, and a magnetic clip/switch of the plastic horseshoe push-on type kept the light from being lit. This clip had a thin line attached to the rail so that when the pole was deployed, the clip detached from the collar and the light came on. The whole thing was small and extremely lightweight. A small battery was housed beneath the light base, and kept the light going for about 40 minutes. The bulb was only about the same as a toy flashlight bulb, so had low current drain. There must be some of these around in chandleries surely? Dennis. |
MOB pole light
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MOB pole light
Wayne. B wrote: On 22 Mar 2006 06:45:49 -0800, wrote: Basically, we want to use a $20 strobe that we already have, instead of buying a $100 floating strobe. Any ideas from the group? How much is your time, and possibly some ones life worth? A delta of $80 sounds reasonable enough to me. I've had a pair of the floating STROBES for over 20 years and they still work well, float upright everytime, turn on automatically and are USCG approved. Which brings up another point: Suppose through some unfortunate twist of fate that someone goes overboard from your boat and is lost. During the inevitable inquests and recriminations, how would you like to be on the witness stand explaining exactly how you built, tested and certified your homemade light? We are trying to make better use of the materials we already have. I guess you think it would be better to not have a strobe attached unless we buy one specifically for this purpose. I would rather have a C-Strobe tied to the horseshoe buoy than have nothing tied to it if someone goes overboard at night. We're not the type of people who are always thinking about lawsuits and inquisitions and recriminations. If we were, we probably wouldn't ever have guests aboard our boat. Also, we will never have every possible piece of safety gear aboard - we try to use common sense and make the most of things we already have. To Bob and I, sailing is about adventure and innovation, not buying stuff to avoid being sued. We obviously live in a very different world than you. |
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