I have been playing around with LED (Light Emitting Diodes) for the past week. I made one device using a bright red LED from Radio Shack with 2000 MCDs and one amber which said 12000 MCDs (Which may have been a misprint). I dropped the amber into the shell of a standard flashlight bulb with a resistor and but the "bulb" in a standard 2 Dcell flashlight. There was certainly enough light to read by and as a signaling device, quite bright in the dark. It has been on continuously since last Friday with no change in brightness. Last night I built a device with a radioshack battery case, a small switch and the red LED. It's rated at 2000 MCDs but seems much brighter then the amber, and it's VERY visible at night. I intend to leave it on until it dims or fails. Either of these LED units are bright enough to read with and they certainly have the advantage of being invisible to insects. cu Bob Denton Aqua-Gulf Transport bdenton_at_aquagulf.com www.aquagulf.com <http://www.aquagulf.com> *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Another good area in Florida is on the southwest coast. I paddle in the Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserve, consisting of miles of open bay, barrier islands, mangroves and small islands. One could stay at Boca Grande or Port Charlotte or Punta Gorda or even Ft. Meyers and have easy access to Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf of Mexico. Cayo Costa State Park is on a barrier island and has cabins and camp sites, and is only accessible by boat. You could paddle down to Captiva and Sanibel Islands near Ft. Meyers, as well. Take a look at a map of the area from Sarasota to Ft. Meyers. Also nearby, another great trip (did a 16 mile paddle here on Sunday) is the Peace River. There are outfitters along the river - Canoe Outpost is a good one, that will handle the shuttle for a small fee, and they have kayaks as well as canoes for rent. The river is wonderful... large live oaks overhanging the river; cypress trees with their knees resembling sculptures; alligators, and a river flow that makes paddling easy. Check out www.paddlefl.com for links to various Florida Outfitters. Check out www.cyberseas.com/grandetours for a link to the Boca Grande/Charlotte Harbor area. I sometimes lead short Eco-tour kayak trips into Lemon Bay and Charlotte Harbor for Grande Tours, and it's a place you can launch a kayak or rent one for day trips. Susan *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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