(Edit: It would appear Igor has fallen asleep at the switch, and the project webpage server is currently [Tues Morning] unavailable. We are trying to shake him awake to resolve the issue. Thanks for your patience)
Re: Testing to meet USCG Inland Rules requirements.
A bit of expansion on the decision NOT to have the FrankenBebi lights tested in order to be certified as meeting the
CFR Title 33 > Chapter I > Part 84 - Annex I: Positioning and technical details of lights and shapes USCG Inland Rules.
1. As stated by "Goboatingnow" the requirements are not necessarily valid outside the US Colregs lines.
2. The cost of testing by an outside laboratory and submission for approval of
certification by the USCG is well outside the
budget of this project. In addition, FrankenBebi lights constructed by kit, or open source parts list would not be covered even if
certification were obtained for the "ready to use" version.
3. Using the values specified in CFR33 84.15 Table 84.15(b) and the absolute minimum bin output value at the 21.5mA drive level we are using will be in excess of 4 miles (27 candelas) Typical output at 21.5ma is closer to 32000mC per led. Beam-spread overlap at distances exceeding 200 meters should raise perceived intensity to the 45000mC range. In any case, this is twice the required range for recreational vessels up to 50 Meters. It is expected that recreational vessels in excess of 50 Meters will not be using the FrankenBebi
As far as Tri-Light or other versions of the FrankenBebi, we have decided the issues of required Horizontal Sectors and Color Specifications are beyond the stated goals of the project. 360 degree white... easy to design and implement. Design of lights with (x)degrees visibility within 5 degrees of the requirements
rule 21 and maintaining the allowed chromaticity specified in 84.13.... not so easy to do. While it would be nice to do, the original goal of the project was and still is a replacement for the original OWL anchor light.
Off topic... One little hack we are trying out on the Solitaire. Using the FrankenBebi PCB and Leds mounted in a vertical rather than a radial configuration makes a dandy replacement for standard old-school surface mount dome lights with incandescent bulbs. Remove the old bulb and stick the FrakenBebi guts in its place with a little hot glue. Playing around with reducing the number and color of the LEDs as the anchor configuration is waay too bright.
Current limiting circuit will need to be modified depending on final configuration, but this is trivial.
Cheap alternative to replacing the entire fixture ?
Last dumb factoid learned after spending waay to much time in and around 33 CFR.... Two unscreened all-round lights that are 1.28 meters apart or less will appear as one light to the naked eye at a distance of one nautical mile.