On the left, the home-built masterpiece a PO installed. The engineering was pretty, but heavy and ultimately failed. On the right, the replacement Tecniq M10. It is tiny, draws less power, is USCG certified, and weighs less than 1/2 ounce. (both are 2.5-inch in diameter, both light through the same vertical angle)
They came from a cottage industry, some nearly works of art and others crude affairs. Some nav lights were the wrong colors. They didn't always shine through the correct angle. Some interfered with VHF, a particular problem with anchor lights, being located right next to the antenna. None were USCG approved.
I don't mind the heights, but the up and down trips for the stuff you forgot are annoying. In this case, I needed two odd size screws from the hardware store. I remembered everything else.
I'm keeping the old one on my bookshelf, like a little lighthouse. But I'm happier the Tecniq is at the masthead.
I replaced the bulbs in my anchor light with LED bulbs, not so much for the power savings, but to avoid climbing the mast so frequently. I like the new anchor lights, but it baffles me why they are not offered in an anchor/steaming light configuration... all it would take is separately wiring some of the LEDS...
ReplyDeleteI replaced my masthead with a Davis, oh, 10-12 years ago. Although the low wattage incandescent bulb was adequate and didn't draw too much power, it also wasn't extremely bright. I replaced the two years ago with an all-round LED. Now it draws even less power, and is extraordinarily bright.
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