Photo Sensor for Anchor Light

[boeing1]

I have installed several Davis anchor led lights with photo cell on several boats at our club. seems to hold up well and not very expensive

[KWISPEL]

you can also connect a relais on your sollar pannels or MPTT. If there is no activity in the sollar pannels, then switch he the light on, ... .

A bulb with a build in switch is less complicated like commented by the others before.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by tidalwavenz

C'mon guys and girls, consider the effect of light pollution. Yes its very real and extremely damaging to all nocturnal ecosystems ..... minimise your footprint on this earth.

Just in case this isn't a troll...

Don't be ridiculous... 200 lumens 70 feet in the air is absolutely not "very real and extremely damaging to all nocturnal ecosystems".

Surely you can find something better to rant about.

jim

[Mike Banks]

My solar panel charger has a terminal for this. When the panel stops charging, the anchor light goes on, as well as any safety low-drain deck illumination you may also have connected to that terminal.

The regulators I use were designed for street lamps powered by solar--hence the switch.

Before buying extra stuff--check your solar regulator if you have one. It may have a night switch incorporated.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by OS2Dude

Unless you are planning to live on the hook, why would you want/need such a thing? Unless you are on a very small vessel, the anchor light is ONLY for when you boat is at anchor. It is NOT a steaming light, it is not to illuminate your wind vane, nor is it 'to make you more visible'. If you want a light to show you are a sailboat, get a red over green light or a masthead tri-color.

Well, first of all, quite a few of us DO live on the hook, and even more do cruise enough to be at anchor at night frequently. We (and all other vessels) are mandated to display an anchor light when anchored after dark.

Most of us already knew that "the anchor light is ONLY for when you boat is at anchor. ". And many of us have noted that sometimes one does not return to one's boat when expected, and when that happens, an automatic anchor light means that we are not illegally unlit and that we can find our boat in the dark.

Seems a no brainer to me, especially when you can buy the LED lamp with sensor from Bedazzled for 12 UKP.

Jim

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Just in case this isn't a troll...

Don't be ridiculous... 200 lumens 70 feet in the air is absolutely not "very real and extremely damaging to all nocturnal ecosystems".

Surely you can find something better to rant about.

jim

Was it a troll or just didn't make any sense?

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Well, first of all, quite a few of us DO live on the hook, and even more do cruise enough to be at anchor at night frequently. We (and all other vessels) are mandated to display an anchor light when anchored after dark.

Most of us already knew that "the anchor light is ONLY for when you boat is at anchor. ". And many of us have noted that sometimes one does not return to one's boat when expected, and when that happens, an automatic anchor light means that we are not illegally unlit and that we can find our boat in the dark.

Seems a no brainer to me, especially when you can buy the LED lamp with sensor from Bedazzled for 12 UKP.

Jim

And it's not necessarily "only" at anchor, either. For example, in Queensland a law has been introduced making it a requirement for a vessel on a mooring to display an anchor light during night time hours.

[sailorboy1]

I installed 2 LED anchor lights above my bimini on each side and now just leave them on all the time at anchor. They hardly use any power so why worry about turning on/off

[a64pilot]

I have just recently installed a rather expensive masthead LED tricolor.
Surprisingly it doesn’t have an auto on feature.
Yes I can leave it on forever, but surely that cuts it’s life by more than half?
My extra anchor light I mounted on the Solar panels is automatic.
I had intended to have it be my anchor light, then at the last minute when the mast was down decided I wanted a tricolor.

[CaptTom]

Dumb question; what's the parasitic draw of the photosensitive circuitry? With LEDs so efficient now, the "leave it on all the time while at anchor" may be a reasonable solution for some. Admittedly, at $4.50, the price of the sensor isn't at issue!

[a64pilot]

I have been sitting here thinking and come to a realization I guess.
On my electrical panel there are LEDs that are constantly on when there is AC and DC power. Boat is 30 years old and both of those LEDs still function, and I’d have to think that the batteries at least were connected the majority of those 30 years.
Maybe just leave the anchor light on is the easiest thing, and if it lasts 30 years, I don’t care, cause it’s very unlikely I have 30 years left myself.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Dumb question; what's the parasitic draw of the photosensitive circuitry? With LEDs so efficient now, the "leave it on all the time while at anchor" may be a reasonable solution for some. Admittedly, at $4.50, the price of the sensor isn't at issue!

Marine Beam's photo sensor bulb is spec'ed at 0.25A@12V. I assume thats lit. If so, the off mode is trivial amps.

https://store.marinebeam.com/dusk-to...or-light-bulb/

LEDs are so efficient you could just leave it on all then time, but they do have a service life which would be shortened...and you would miss out on the cool factor of auto on/off. 😆

Ive enjoyed having one this cruising season just for that cool factor if nothing else. Weve only been making short day hops so it just stays on all the time. Headed out in March and just popped into a marina for the first time recently...turned it off for the first time since March when I noticed some bone head's anchor lite was on in the marina...Doh! Thats my boat! [emoji37]

[sailorboy1]

My 2 LED anchor lights draw 0.35 amps. Not a lot to worry about on a cruiser with solar.

[PassePort III]

Bought the one from marinebeam and very happy about it.
Don't have to worry about the sherrif anymore if I'm not aboard while waiting for my weather window.
https://store.marinebeam.com/led-anc...tocell-sensor/

[noelex 77]

This is not a dumb question. The draw of the circuitry to turn the light off can in some cases be significant.

It is unlikely that there will not be any power savings compared to a non automatic anchor light on 24 hrs. However, with some products the power savings are only slight and it does introduce extra complication and potential failure points.

There are also not many automatic fixtures that are certified to meet regulations, which complicates selection.