LED Anchor Light

[SoonerSailor]

The problem with 5mm LEDs is that their leads are their only heat sink. When driven at their rated 30mA they lose luminosity fairly rapidly. I think Bebi underdrives theirs to mitigate this problem, and that is a good thing.

Constant current to the LED is a good thing. Switching regulators produce RF noise which can be hard to suppress. A "linear" current regulator, while less efficient, should be RF quiet unless you implement PWM dimming.

I think the large body of satisfied users here speaks a lot for Bebi.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by kentobin

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ts-111109.html

I understand they have gone through a change in owernership with the company now being entirely owned by Fijians.

I hope the difficulculty contacting them is not indicative of a change in customer service which has always been exemplary in the past.

above comment by noelex 77 at link

My most direct contact information - last time I communicated with Michael. Their site is quite entertaining.

Michael
Bebi Electronics, Ltd.
www.bebi-electronics.com
Waitui Marina Bldg
PO Box 814
Main Street
Savusavu, Vanua Levu
Fiji Islands
Phone/FAX: (679) 885-3031
24 Hour Mobile: (679) 997-2558
Proud Winners of the Government of Fiji's Unique Exporter of the Year Award

[bratzcpa]

We mounted a Bebi owl light on the masthead. Very very pleased. Definitely the brightest light out there in the anchorage.

Full disclosure - - we had some problems in ordering (December 2012) and it took a number of emails to get it solved. Eventually, the light arrived - - and we're very happy with it.

[Bestathook]

All links I found to Bebi lead to an "out of business" message. I would prefer to buy their product, but sadly, it appears that is no longer an option.

There is an excellent Youtube video on building your own, though there is no mention of how to incorporate a photosensor to turn it on and off automatically with the daylight. Any tips on that will be greatly appreciated.

To find the video, search youtube for "DIY anchor light". One of the key ideas is to buy LEDs in the 3.0 to 3.4 voltage range, which you can on popular auction sites. 4 in series will work on battery voltage of 12 to 13.6, but chargers may exceed that. The video's poster sayss his has worked well for a long time.

It looks like you can build one pretty close to the Bebi light for under $5.

[scoobert]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Scoobert, your ignorance and arrogance are once again showing. There are a great many of us who have been using these lights for some years and they are quite bright, especially when compared to the standard 25 watt incandescent.

Uninformed attacks like this demean the CF community.

Jim

We regret to inform our thousands of customers in over 76 countries, that we've very reluctantly have chosen to close Bebi Electronics down.

This has been a very difficult decision, after working for more than 10 years creating a viable business in a very obscure location, and in spite of all of the hurdles thrown at us by the current regime in Fiji.

The political situation within Fiji has degenerated so much following the military coup in 2006 that by 2012, the expatriate investor's in Fiji (Michael and Kendra), felt that our personal safety had been compromised by the regime. Thus, for our safety (and the safety of our child who was born in Fiji), we departed the country a year ago.

After the daughter of a high ranking official embezzeled a large amount of money, we tried our best to keep things going remotely, but without the cash cushion (and without continuing innovation in a rapidly evolving field), the business trend was downward, and this (shutting down) was the only viable decision.

We have very much enjoyed working with 99.99999999% of our customers, and consider many to be friends.

Farewell and much love from Michael, Kendra, and all of the staff in Bagasau.

Vinaka Vaka Levu (Thank you very much) from Bebi Electronics.

so, how is that lifetime warranty working for you?
lets check this one,
Hella marine - Hella Marine

oops, still there.
if the owners of the lights are smart, they will remove the lights, recycle the PVC, and buy a nice LED by a vender that can be found in business a year or two, or 10, or 100 later.

[Opie91]

Originally Posted by scoobert

so, how is that lifetime warranty working for you?
lets check this one,
Hella marine - Hella Marine

oops, still there.
if the owners of the lights are smart, they will remove the lights, recycle the PVC, and buy a nice LED by a vender that can be found in business a year or two, or 10, or 100 later.

Ok, just arrogant....

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by scoobert

if the owners of the lights are smart, they will remove the lights, recycle the PVC, and buy a nice LED by a vender that can be found in business a year or two, or 10, or 100 later.

Scoobert, what's your beef here? In spite of your previous posts where you attempt to explain how such a thing would be impossible, the Bebi lights have worked well for lots of people, and they have proven to be quite reliable.

Now, Bebi has gone out of business. This is too bad, but I suspect that people with installed Bebi lights will continue to be satisfied with them for many years. If/when they fail they will replace them with something else. There is absolutely no need to remove them while they are still working.

And no, I don't own any Bebi lights.

[scoobert]

If you were to have a massive failure, read fire, where would you go to be compensated? electrical devices do have a failure rate, and can fail in a way as to cause fires.

i wonder what a surveyor would think of such a light? ARC?

[Rubikoop]

You are too funny Scoob!!!

There's a concept known as over current protection...

Next

[scoobert]

Originally Posted by Rubikoop

You are too funny Scoob!!!

There's a concept known as over current protection...

Next

i am talking about the driver failing, not the wiring.
thou the wire sheave would be nice enough to carry the fire as it burns.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by scoobert

If you were to have a massive failure, read fire, where would you go to be compensated? electrical devices do have a failure rate, and can fail in a way as to cause fires.

i wonder what a surveyor would think of such a light? ARC?

And if Tayana goes out of business, are you going to immediately get rid of your boat because you won't have someone to sue if it 'fails'?

[scoobert]

Originally Posted by Paul L

And if Tayana goes out of business, are you going to immediately get rid of your boat because you won't have someone to sue if it 'fails'?

My Tayana is past its service life.

[Rubikoop]

Originally Posted by scoobert

i am talking about the driver failing, not the wiring. thou the wire sheave would be nice enough to carry the fire as it burns.

Since you seem so bored and attention starved you need to rant about a device you don't have any personal experience with, would you mind providing a link to all the fires that have been caused by Bebi anchor lights?

[RaymondR]

Some solar regulators incorporate a day/night sensing function which can be switced through an auxiliary terminal.

[jkindredpdx]

I'm bummed that Bebi went out of business. I clicked on the first link with the picture of what looked like a very practical and durable design and saw their OOB Msg, then I scanned all 6 pages of rants looking for someone to tell me they just changed name or web address too bad.