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Seasick Steve · 24-04-2016, 14:08

Hi All
I'm replacing the ancient (probably original) anchor light on the top of my Westerly Centaur's mast. I want a LED tricolour up there too to use when I'm sailing and have found these possibilities:

NASA Super Nova Combi Tri Anchor LED
Aqua Signal LED Tricolour Anchor HSG
Lalizas/FOS LA-71311
Mantagua 75 LED Tricolour with Anchor

Anyone have any experience of any of them? Or any others?

DumnMad · 24-04-2016, 14:33

I wanna know too. Two trips across the Tasman and on both trips we lost our tri lights.
1st one we had traditional lights with LED repacements but not water-proof enough for LED's.
2nd trip on a different boat, Force 9 or 10, blew or shook the whole thing off leaving two wires sticking up.

**Paul Elliott** · 24-04-2016, 15:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seasick Steve

NASA Super Nova Combi Tri Anchor LED
Aqua Signal LED Tricolour Anchor HSG
Lalizas/FOS LA-71311
Mantagua 75 LED Tricolour with Anchor

Anyone have any experience of any of them? Or any others?

Sorry, no direct experience with any of these. One thing to watch for is the radio interference you might get with an LED light. You certainly want LEDs up there, but some lights will seriously interfere with VHF reception, especially if the antenna is at the masthead too.

Don't rely on the manufacturer claiming that the light meets FCC requirements -- it might meet the requirements, but still interfere. The requirements aren't nearly tough enough to prevent this kind of interference.

Marinebeam is a vendor that seems to know what they're doing when it comes to radio interference.

I personally have the Amazonia tri-color / anchor / strobe from Optolamp. This has been working well for many years and many miles, and puts out zero radio interference. The electrical interface is a bit quirky (reversing polarity for tri/anchor) so if you consider this one make sure you will be able to control it the way you want.

steve77 · 24-04-2016, 15:55

We are very happy with our Stecktronix unit. The photocell control of the anchor light is a nice feature. Tricolor, anchor light, and strobe using one one pair of wires.

One Atlantic crossing under its belt with attendant weather. We are very glad we installed it.

gjorgensen · 24-04-2016, 16:30

We've had an OGM tir-anchor for about 5 years and couldn't be happier. It's inches from our VHF antenna and I haven't noticed any interference. It's vastly brighter than my incandescent deck level nav lights.

sailjumanji · 24-04-2016, 17:59

Stecktronix. Very bright. Always works. Not cheap but worth it. My rigging company recommended it due to Stecktronix replacing some lights at great cost early in the development process. Now no issues in their experience.

gabilo · 24-04-2016, 21:06

In my opinion best design and quality available on the market

http://k2wlights.com/index.php?id=3&L=1

Neptune's Gear · 25-04-2016, 03:23

Optolamps. Simply the best. See http://www.neptunes-gear.com/index.p...-lighting.html

Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

Seasick Steve · 25-04-2016, 03:53

Hmmm.... those K2 lights look very good - and very expensive (can't see a price anywhere) and probably overkill for my little boat. If I were setting off across oceans....

Sandero · 25-04-2016, 04:30

I just installed an AquaSignal series 34... waiting for the mast to be stepped. Looks well made and easy to install.

Seasick Steve · 25-04-2016, 05:24

Yes - that looks like the superest-duperest most robust one. It's also one of the most expensive. Of course!

philtrick · 25-04-2016, 08:53

Would anyone have a link to the Stecktronix unit?

Mr Google is coming up blank...

Alika · 25-04-2016, 09:05

I echo the concern re RF interference. A sailing instructor teaching a course said that he lost all AIS readings when he turned on his Tri-colour as he sailed the Pacific coast. With some trepidation I then bought and installed a Lunasea Tri-Colour and I have had no problems with such interference when tested in port. (Many boats seem to keep their AIS turned on in port, so it was easy to test.)
Unfortunately, the instructor did not know what brand of light was giving him the trouble. Not all LEDs are created equally.

muttskie · 25-04-2016, 09:57

I have installed various SignalMate LEDs, including tri-colors, on my last two boats and recommend them without reservation. High quality and no VHF interference.
https://signalmate.com