Night Watch Deadman's Switch?

[R Hutcheson]

Try an egg timer, or digital watch with countdown timer.

[NaClyDog]

Originally Posted by R Hutcheson

Try an egg timer, or digital watch with countdown timer.

As I've said, not very useful if people choose to ignore setting it. Defeating the purpose.

[DeValency]

Originally Posted by NaClyDog

As I've said, not very useful if people choose to ignore setting it. Defeating the purpose.

Would you trust, with anything, a single night watch not adhering with this simple requirement?
I wouldn’t.

[NaClyDog]

Originally Posted by DeValency

Would you trust, with anything, a single night watch not adhering with this simple requirement?
I wouldn’t.

If it was intentional, absolutely not.


I'm just saying in a sleep deprived, tired state it's easy to forget to do something.

[MainMan]

Try the watch commander
You can see Drake Paragon rave for it on his YT
https://youtu.be/SjH9-3QMu6s
Sleep well / but maintain your vigilance lol

[Dave9111]

This could be a good Arduino Uno project. Add a driver or relay board and you could be all set. I would put a keyswitch on it so it can only be turned on/off with the key. Keep the key below. I have been known to turn off alarms in my sleep. I'm sure I am not unique in that skill.

Industrial beepers, which are waterproof as well, can be varied in volume by the duty cycle of the signal. Start quiet and get louder until the reset is pressed. You could also use a red pilot light to signal that it needs a reset before starting with the audible alarm. I need to make one of these since I mostly singlehand. I would wire the box into the boats electrical system. Power consumption would be close to nil.
This would be a good winter project.

The github source code quoted before requires Microsoft .Net which means its a PC application. Tha'ts not really appropriate for a timer box that must be made idiot proof so a person who falls asleep can't override it in his sleep stupor.

[opusnz]

After sleeping through egg timers many times, I got a Watch Commander. Great bit of kit. You could do the same thing probably with a program on a phone but the Watch Commander is pretty rugged. You don't have to worry about salt or water splashes and you can cancel the warning in the dark by feel alone.

[Sailbaum]

There's a phone app called Marine Awake by moonc.mobi I believe there's an android and iphone version.

It is a phone version similar to the function of the watch commander. you can set the dead mans switch to a given time, restart at any time and if you miss the reset it progresses through several alarm levels. You can require a password to turn off the timer. It will also send an email to someone if you miss the alarm (assuming of course you have internet access or an email server on board - both unlikely.)

I have not used it offshore, yet, but it has potential. One - potentially fatal - flaw is that it appears that there is no volume overide. You can turn the volume down on the alarm, which effectively circumvents the operation and purpose. I have not found a way to lock the volume.

[murianne]

Would something like this be useful.
I bought this nearly 10 years ago. They may be still available. Have a look.

[CyKlop]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

There is a commercial MOB product which uses the limited range of BlueTooth as its activation mechanism. Each person has a BlueTooth device, if it goes out of range an alarm is sounded. Would be easy to add to this project.

My personal MOB uses a slightly different method. If it activates, it sends a DSC Distress message to the radio I've programmed into it. If that doesn't work, after some time (I think 30 minutes) it sends a group DSC Distress message so that other boats in the area get the call. It also sends a MOB signal so that properly equipped chart plotters in the area can find me. Of course, there are problems with that too (heavy seas might mask the signal, etc.)

The OP asked specifically for a watch guard. For the purposes of his question, we're not dealing with an MOB situation, I think. We're dealing with a situation where the watchstander falls asleep while on watch - a very real concern with small crews, extended passages, early morning watches.

In such a situation, you can go for a fancy electronic system with arduinos and a sound signaler of some sort, or you can go with the mechanical egg timer route.

Advantage of an electrical system:

1. Can have multiple tiers of alarm
2. Can make it auto-reset each time it's acknowledged
3. It can give a little warning before blasting the crew
4. Can be sealed against salt water (mostly)
5. Can be programmed for the interval that YOU want rather than what the watchstander wants.

Disadvantages:

1. Another damn thing to maintain
2. Another drain on the battery (though likely quite small. A watt here, a watt there, sooner or later it adds up to real power)
3. Needs careful sealing. Electronics and salt water are a bad combination
4. Expensive off the shelf. Although simple to build, might be beyond what a person wants to do.
5. Running wires through the boat for personal alarms in the various cabins.

Disadvantages of egg timer:

1. Easy to lose the darn thing.
2. Crew member might forget to/opt to not reset it.
3. Watch stander might set it to a much longer interval
4. Mechanical things dislike salt water slightly less than electronic ones do.

[Dave9111]

It does not appear that the WatchCommander is still available.

All the links I could find are dead ends.


I'm sure its a very small market for such a device. Commercial ships would likely need something more elaborate.



Dave

[AKA-None]

Or this https://lostpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Countdown_timer

[botanybay]

Originally Posted by Sailbaum

There's a phone app called Marine Awake by moonc.mobi I believe there's an android and iphone version.

It is a phone version similar to the function of the watch commander. you can set the dead mans switch to a given time, restart at any time and if you miss the reset it progresses through several alarm levels. You can require a password to turn off the timer. It will also send an email to someone if you miss the alarm (assuming of course you have internet access or an email server on board - both unlikely.)

I have not used it offshore, yet, but it has potential. One - potentially fatal - flaw is that it appears that there is no volume overide. You can turn the volume down on the alarm, which effectively circumvents the operation and purpose. I have not found a way to lock the volume.

Not in the google play store unfortunately

[Sailbaum]

It is there, but you need to search for marineawake (one word) to find it. You can also go to the website moonc.mobi and there's a link to the Google play store.

[capt jgw]

Watch Commander is another commercial one. Youtube channel Drake Paragon did a piece on it recently.