>The requirement currently in the US is just to have a white light handy...it >need not be steadily on. I often take, (that is on the occassions we have a night paddle), my bicycle strobe. You can buy them made by Cateye but I make them by using the flash from a disposable camera. The capacitor is reduced in size by x100 which allows for a fast flash rate. Reduce it a bit more and you'd get a faster flash. Runs off one AA. Actually we were give some 2 volt rechageable outdated cells a year ago and my main one is mounted in a clear plastic screw-top jar. If there is a problem with night vision for the rest of the group, how about mounting on the top of a short mast in a shallow saucer? > What is at issue is what lighting scheme actually will work in places like New > York City, San Francisco etc. with lots of traffic and background light blotting out > the effectiveness of a small white light on a kayak. Our local Coastguard have a strobe at the top of their mast, same as aircraft. At least the fast-strobe would be different from back-ground "clutter". > A possibility is to pick a strobe light not in current use although I do > favor >using the orange strobe used to designate a surfacing submarine; imagine >how much that would frighten away motorboat traffic from a kayak! :-) And Japanese fishing boats...... A coloured cover should be easy to fit to a strobe and partially opaque to drop the light output if necessary. Alex . . Alex (Sandy) Ferguson Chemistry Department University of Canterbury New Zealand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Mar 07 2001 - 12:29:43 PST
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