On Tue, 7 Aug 2007 05:49:51 -0400, "Roger Long"
wrote:


"Larry" wrote

I just hate to think someone's life isn't worth more than a strobe from
the
flea market when this one is only $20. There's one on my Sospenders with
the 10 year Lithium D cell. I go all out when I'm drowning....(c; Why
not
use the same one on the pole?

Actually, it was a brand new bicycle light that I took apart for the pole.
Bike lights are subject to a lot of shock and weather and are a pretty
critical safety item so I don't think it's being cheap.

The real issue was weight. I could have bought a ready made MOB pole, with
a light even, but a lifetime of doing stability calculations told me that
the ones I saw in stores and catalogues were going to blow pretty much flat
in the water in heavy weather. I wanted to get the light high and the
center of gravity as low as possible. Now that we have GPS with instant MOB
waypoint input, the primary purpose of the light is to enable the person in
the water to find the pole. Trying to find a strobe floating at the surface
can be hard for a swimmer because half the ocean seems to light up. Every
foot of height counts. The super light bicycle components with a large
battery pack making up part of the ballast still seems like a good solution.

The rest of the ballast is a length of steel pipe filled with lead. This
sucker is heavy but should stand up in any wind that the boat can work
against to get back to the person in the water.

I just need a reliable switch.

I don't really want to get between Larry and an electrical problem but
I did once know a bloke that had a built in tube, in the transom,
where he stored his MOB pole. It apparently had a mercury switch built
in. If it was horizontal it was off, vertical on. Seemed to work all
right. As an aside I believe he had some sort of launching device,
i.e., pull the handle and WOOSH the pole was deployed.


Bruce in Bangkok
(brucepaigeATgmailDOTcom)