Recommend a low RF LED Tricolor

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by estarzinger

BTW, the lopo's actually suck. Poor quality (I had multiple fail) and had RF noise.

Sorry to say, I've also had bad luck with the Lopo's. I had a bi-color Lopo (aluminum body version) on the bow and the green sector failed within a year. Lopo replaced the light, but the new one failed after two years. The second failure was different -- it kept popping my circuit breaker, and when I measured it it looked like a diode drop across the power leads. The original had screw terminals, and the replacement had a potted power lead pigtail.

I replaced that one with the Marinebeam bi-color and so far so good. I haven't spent so much time bashing into big seas since then, so perhaps the comparison is a bit unfair. I didn't checke the Lopos for RF noise, since my bow-mounted Lopo was a long way from the mast-top antennas.

[CarinaPDX]

Originally Posted by nepal

The Aquasignal 32 or 34 are much cheaper, don't have RFI and were tested as best by Practical Boat Owner (UK)(october 2009).

And the LED Series 43 bi-color and masthead (steaming) lights directly replace the Series 40 and 50 lights - same mount. The Series 34 tri-color/anchor plugs directly into the quicfits base of the old Series 40 tri-color/anchor lights. Nice to not have to mess with mounting and electrical at the masthead...

Greg

[jr_spyder]

This thread is just what I was looking for as I finally figured out why I lose AIS targets at night. After a lot of testing it's clear that when I turn on my tricolor light I lose all but very close AIS signals. I have an older Aqua-signal fixture that I put a Marinebeam LED in three years ago.

Reading this thread I'm happy to confirm the problem, but now troubled by what to do since others here have no problem with their Marinebeam tricolor led bulbs.

My dedicated AIS antenna is on the mast head about 8 inches from the light. I have a B&G AIS300 transceiver. My boat is full of Marinebeam bulbs, including all the other nav lights, but none of them impact the AIS. Of course all the wiring for the light, the AIS antenna and VHF antenna run down the mast together for 65 feet of cozy RFI/EMI intermingling, if that matters.

This is a dilemma since people have had mixed results with different brands of LED bulbs and fixtures. There seems to be no sure thing, except to not use the tricolor. Another option would to move my AIS antenna off the mast which I know would have other potential benefits regarding VHF, but I've never noticed a problem between them. And moving the antenna would be no small project.

Any new news/advice on this subject in the last six months since the last post?

Thanks,

JR

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by CarinaPDX

And the LED Series 43 bi-color and masthead (steaming) lights directly replace the Series 40 and 50 lights - same mount. The Series 34 tri-color/anchor plugs directly into the quicfits base of the old Series 40 tri-color/anchor lights. Nice to not have to mess with mounting and electrical at the masthead...

Greg

Hmm I did not have that experience when I bought a new AquaSignal TRICOLOR masthead 40 series to replace my old incandescent 40 series. The concept was the same but the mount was different. It was not a big deal to swap the mount.

One nice feature of the AquaSignal is the mount and how the light is easily removable, just unlock it from the mount. Great for when you have the stick down.

On the flip side, AquaSignal has basically zero support. I thought I had lost the retaining ring for the light (easy to do, it's not captive, bad design) and tried to contact them every which way to get a replacement $2 part (if they even sell it) for a $250 piece of equipment, without success. Glad I later found the part.

I can't comment on the RF interference, although I have not noticed any impact on my VHF when switching the lights on.

I went with AquaSignal as the deck-level AquaSignal lights on my boat were still fine after 32 years. That told me they were doing something right and I hoped they were still at it.

[jr_spyder]

I'm happy to report that I spoke with a very nice tech guy at Marinebeam today and discussed the issue. Although rare, he was aware of the issue especially when the AIS antenna is very close to the light (8" away in my case). He told me they are have a newer model of the tricolor LED bulb (mine is three years old) that puts out much less RFI. Amazingly he is sending me one under warranty for free. I hope that does it, or else I'll move the antenna.

Thanks Marinebeam.

[a64pilot]

You pay more for Marinebeam than others, but sometimes you get what you pay for,

[rgleason]

Matt, Neptune's Gear, just want to let you know that our Optilamp Miriam Amazonia is working great. Thankyou.

[jls095]

To close the loop on this thread, I installed a new tricolor made by Lunasea that was specifically designed to avoid RF interference issues. Apparently the problem for most is that they're dual voltage (12 and 24). Anyway, it's super bright and does not impact AIS transmissions / reception at night. Highly recommend!

[rgleason]

Btw, see Evans experience with Amazonia, below. - No interference

[True Kiwi]

Has anyone out there installed a ...
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Weems & Plath LX TriColor/Anchor LED Nav Light with Photodiode and Strobe (Item #: LXTA-SP)?
LX TriColor/Anchor LED Nav Light with Photodiode and Strobe
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Need to replace my 360 anchor light with tri-color/anchor combo to meet ARC requirements.
Particularly interested in any Electro-Magnetic or Radio Frequency Interference (EMI/RFI) concerning AIS and VHF.
Thanks!