wrote in message
...
On Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:58:39 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Roger Long" wrote in message
.. .
Cool. Someone who likes things more complicated than I do (or people
here
think I do, anyway).

I've gone to LED nav lights so the voltage drop and consumption are not
such a big issue.

--
Roger Long




There are all interesting suggestions. I agree that complexity shouldn't
be
the goal, and I want something that is not much less bullet proof than
what
I currently have.

I very much agree that one must confirm that on-ness or off-ness of the
lights no matter the setup. My intention was, is, will always be, to do
that
confirmation at the fixture, but my goal here is to find something that
can
be used relatively faster than having to go below or ask someone else to
go
below, perhaps someone who is less familiar with the panel.

I teach and do charters on my boat, so I don't like to rely on a
student/customer to do something that I can't immediately confirm.

All things being equal, I'd like to be able to flip the switch on my own,
then, when the opportunity presents itself, confirm things are working.

Another thing to keep in mind is that while I always confirm my bow lights
work before I leave the dock, there's no easy and sometimes no safe way to
confirm they're on underway. I cannot imagine leaving the helm to go all
the
way forward in less than ideal conditions or asking a less experienced
person to do so to confirm the bow lights are on. The masthead is easy to
confirm of course, as is the stern light.

If you are teaching, your boat probably should be set up as close to
"typical"
as possible. Your students need to learn what to expect when they get on a
boat
without you there to double check them. Setting up what you propose, to me
at
least, seems like it would be a disadvantage for the students. They need
to know
that just flicking the switch is not really enough. You need to flick the
switch
and then try to confirm that the lights came on.

It depends on if they're students or if it's a charter. Also, there's no
reason why they can't or shouldn't toggle the switch below in most cases.
This is not intended as a substitute for teaching, but I have to say that I
believe it's a minor issue even for that. My main area of interest is when I
need to get it done now in a variety of situations, including urgently with
students, urgently on a charter, or when I'm single-handing and don't want
to leave the helm. Even messing with the autohelm and remote control takes a
lot more time than this kind of setup would.

That said, If you do a little digging, there are "current sensor" devices
that
can be wired to your panel that sense if the lights out at the end of the
wires
are drawing current when the power is turned on. If the sensor doesn't
detect
current draw, it flashes a warning LED on the panel telling you which lamp
is
not lit. You can have individual sensors with indicators for each lamp
without
running extra wires all over creation. Of course if you can't go forward
to
check if the lights are lit, how are you going to get out there to fix one
that
the remote indicator says is not working? :')

I'm sure there are those available, but I think it's a bit overkill for my
intended purpose. I think there is a difference, however, between fixing (or
not as the case may be) and not being aware of it being down. I would much
rather know that something isn't working and not be able to do something
about it than not know.

I think it's more a redundancy issue that an absolute certainty issue.
Another part of the puzzle is whether or not I would even see the warning
LED, given where the switch would be placed. It's under the seat, so either
I'm toggling it or not. If it craps out after I use it, I wouldn't know.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com