In preparation for last years MCA night paddle on Mille Lacs Lake,I tried several compass illumination methods before setting on the little light sticks that are sold for fishing bobber illumination. The short light stick and a piece of duct tape provided illumination for the compass and shielded my eyes from the direct glare of the light stick. I don't know how long the light stick would have provided adequate illumination, we were only out for a couple of hours. I had also tried and rejected using a 12 volt lamp with a 9 volt battery as the power supply. This arrangement gave dim reddish illumination, but not enough illumination to make my compass visible. The other attempt was to use a red LED and a battery pack, again the illumination level was low. In addition to the light stick on the compass I carried a light stick in my headlamp band for a rear warning light and a Petzl Duo. The Duo was necessary to meet the Coast Guard lighting requirements for non-powered boats. One of the other people on the trip used a Silva compass with an internal red LED. For a lightstick he used a LED device lightstick sold for divers. Dana Dickson Chuck Holst wrote: Other compasses would probably require a little more effort to mount the LED. LED batteries should last far longer than a light stick. LEDs might also be the way to go if you want to put running lights on your kayak. One possible problem: if the lights are too dim, power boat drivers might run you down thinking they are on a larger boat much farther away. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Mar 03 1999 - 12:48:58 PST
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:05 PDT