NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Lights,Leds and scopes etc.
From: Doug Royer
Date: 2003 Oct 13, 11:30 -0700
From: Doug Royer
Date: 2003 Oct 13, 11:30 -0700
Steven,I ment no critisism of your all around light on top of your mast.I only wished to state that I am seeing more of it lately(maybe because I'm spending more time on inshore waters).It is not only sail boats but power vessels that are near or over the limit who are useing this practice.Most of the time I notice this is when commercial vessels or yatchs are travelling to or from the Tuna grounds here on the west coast.This is deep water and I know that they can't be anchored(unless they are on "the bag").Even if they are "on the bag" none have yet to put on thier anchor lights while doing this while so far from land(60-120 nm). I usually use radar to acquire targets at extended ranges and when they come into view visually use both radar,ARPA or on vessels not so equiped relative motion plots,and my eyes(useing bino's)to track them.I know thier true heading from the plots and can visually keep an eye on them.On a 100 - 500 GT vessel the bridge is usually 12-25 ft. above the surface of the water so my visable horizon(depending on the atmosphere) is much more than on a sail boat or smaller yatch.From that height I can see the lower laying running lights at a further distance than can smaller vessels.On larger vessels with the bridge even higher one has no real problem seeing the running lights of low slung boats if,and I repeat IF,the lights are bright and not obscurred by gear. If a vessel has an all around white light on its mast I will be able to see it visually at a greater distance than one with tricolor mast lights and actually prefer it. Jared,the LED nav. Iights I have do not pulse.They are always on.I looked inside one and there is a diode,capacitor and a resistor chip.They are C.G.approved. Bruce,are you sure the inverting scopes on these Soviet sextants can be married to your Tamaya?If I remember correctly they(Soviet sextants) have a screw in type collar like the old Mark III's and the Tamaya scopes each have the mounting hardware built into the scopes.