After having my third strobe fail, (two of them were ACR Firefly's, an industry standard) I'm interested to know if anyone has experience with LED's used as strobes. As LED's seem to be the light of the future and have a very low power use, they would make sense for an emergency signalling device. I know little about electronics, but as my bike LED's flash, it seems it wouldn't be hard to build something along the same lines, if a manufacturer isn't already. Cheers John Kirk-Anderson Banks Peninsula 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/ ***************************************************************************
John wrote: - >After having my third strobe fail, (two of them >were ACR Firefly's, an industry standard) I'm >interested to know if anyone has experience with >LED's used as strobes. G'Day John, My sympathies over your strobe failures I've also had two fail so far. On taking back a strobe designed for use with lifejackets the salesman looked puzzled as I showed him the corroded switch. He kept insisting it was water resistant. My point is such 'water resistant only' units have no business being on sale for use with lifejackets, they need to be waterproof. However, LED's would not have anything like the range of a strobe and many LED's are also very directional. Someone on Paddlewise did mention a laser LED torch that seemed as if it would be useful though. Can't remember the name. Paines-Wessex advertise a nice looking EPIRB/Strobe/reflective-tape combination (Mini Res-Q-Sat RB3 + Strobe Light). It looks as though it might be a reliable unit. All the best, PeterO *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
--- PeterO <rebyl_kayak_at_iprimus.com.au> wrote: > My sympathies over your strobe failures I've also had two fail so far. On > taking back a strobe designed for use with lifejackets the salesman looked > puzzled as I showed him the corroded switch. Perhaps the manufactures never anticipated the strobes would get wet so very often? I suppose they were only designed to be used once (if at all!) in the water. Man overboard situations are fairly infrequent for large craft, I suppose. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Web Hosting - Let the expert host your site http://webhosting.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
John wrote: - >Perhaps the manufactures never anticipated the strobes would get wet so very >often? I suppose they were only designed to be used once (if at all!) in the >water. Man overboard situations are fairly infrequent for large craft, I suppose. G'Day John and Paddlewise, Your point about larger craft makes sense but I'ld be dubious about accepting that as an excuse. Some of the racing skiffs and smaller sailing boats in our area have crew that get soaked frequently and wear their PFD's and wetsuits all the time! There may be a cultural difference - I can see that regular soaking might not be anticipated in a colder climate where immersion is far more hazardous. The company that sold me one of the failed strobes was good enough to replace it and the replacement unit hasn't failed yet so I am assuming the original was a faulty unit. I still don't feel confident with it and will replace it when I replace my EPIRB. The second strobe failed not due to water ingress but some kind of electronic fault It was a truly hermetically sealed unit - sorry - should have made that clear in my earlier post. Regards, PeterO *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> After having my third strobe fail, (two of them were ACR Firefly's, an > industry standard Hi John, I´m little bit confused. Do you really mean the ACR Firefly, the flat one, also used by several coast Guards and the Military, these "Mercedes" und the pesonal strobe lights? But check out, there are several strobes called "Firefly", the cheap Firefly Plus (round shaped with a constant lamp also) and the Firefly2 Serie (flat shaped for 2 Mignon cells, no cord) and the Doublefly (which is a Firefly2 with integrated lamp). Which parts got failed and why? Got a Firefly2 myself and got no idea which parts may get fail, there is a magnetic switch and the bottom is sealed with O-Ring (give it some kind of fat time to time). bye Jochen *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
>>Hi John, I´m little bit confused. Do you really mean the ACR Firefly, the flat one, also used by several coast Guards and the Military, these "Mercedes" und the pesonal strobe lights? << Greetings Jochen, Yep, both Fireflys were the genuine article. The first I 'kept' when I left the army. It was an older version and had a rubber boot over a switch on the bottom, beside the battery cover. The rubber perished and presumably flooded the unit. The one I have now is the "Firefly Rescue Lite ACR / 4G". It seems to be the sliding magnetic switch that is playing up, as by pushing hard down on it when sliding it sometimes worked. Now that doesn't work either. This failure has surprised me, as I know the abuse that the units get in the military, and that they are built to take it. The other unit to fail was a cheaper unit that took a C cell battery and had a rotating magnetic switch on the bottom. It has failed in the strobe unit itself, as far as my limited testing can ascertain. Cheers John Kirk-Anderson Banks Peninsula 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/ ***************************************************************************
>It was an older version and had a rubber boot over a switch on the >bottom, beside the battery cover. The rubber perished and presumably flooded >the unit. You may be able to dismantle it and scrub it out, use alcohol and water and a toothbrush. Dry well before reapplying power. >The one I have now is the "Firefly Rescue Lite ACR / 4G". It seems to be the >sliding magnetic switch that is playing up, as by pushing hard down on it >when sliding it sometimes worked. A possibility that the switch or magnet are out of alignment. I presume they use a reed switch. These are encapsulated in a glass tube and they do need to be aligned with the magnet to some extent to work. Dismantling and shorting the internal switch (reed) will check whether the unit works and then its a matter of sorting out the switch. >The other unit to fail was a cheaper unit that took a C cell battery and had >a rotating magnetic switch on the bottom. It has failed in the strobe unit >itself, as far as my limited testing can ascertain. You can always bring them to a kayak meeting and I'll have a look at them. Let me know and I'll bring a meter. Alex . . *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Hey all, after having my first strobe fail I purchased a Princeton Tec Aqua Strobe. http://www.princetontec.com/outdoor_aquastrobe.html It's inexpensive ($30US) and small. It's been sitting on my PFD for six years and works great. Well, it flashes when I turn it on since I've never had to actually use it. I've had it in fresh, salt and pool water. It's not as fancy as the ACR, but I've had great luck with it. -Patrick *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated Mon, 18 Nov 2002 09:55:38 +1300, a.ferguson_at_chem.canterbury.ac.nz writes: > > >It was an older version and had a rubber boot over a switch on the > >bottom, beside the battery cover. The rubber perished and > presumably flooded > >the unit. That's probably a Firefly 4F military unit you're describing; check it at http://www.acrelectronics.com/ffly4f.html. It may be out of service now, but was the mainstay of strobes for many years. The fact that it's still on the site is encouraging. For what it's worth, when my four year old AA cell-operated Firefly 2 switch failed a few weeks ago, I contacted ACR and their only reaction was that switches should work, and please send it in and they'd fix it or replace it. (It had a one year limited warranty.) That's the kind of reaction any company dealing with survival issues ought to take, but it must cost them! (Then again, that little strobe of mine now retails for over $80 US, but was on sale for $53 at http://www.brokenlegdave.com/Manufacture/ACR/strobe_lights.htm.) Haven't seen mine come back yet, but will publish something when it does. Good company. (I'm not suggesting that ACR would or even could solve your problem, but an email to <rlong_at_acrelectronics.com>, their customer service coordinator, might be worthwhile.) Good luck with that good ol' strobe. Jack Martin *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Hi, Seems that I never re-subbed after deciding MSN was not the way to go. Took care of that a little while ago thankfully. :) I just updated my web page. Recently I sent messages to two of our local kayak clubs, offering them my remaining w/w boat for free, to use in pool sessions. Never a response. The offer is still open to anyone who wants to pick it up, barely used, I still feel it would be great for pool sessions. I've a drysuit that while having a couple of very small holes, is easily [and relatively inexpensively] repaired by the maker-same thing, pick it up... My contact information is on my homepage specifically under the "Sea-kayaking Gear For Sale Nov '02" link. I still maintain an interest in seakayaking. :) My stamina and ability to think on my feet however? Lets just say that I'm probably safer with a knife and chisel...<g> It is good to be signed back on and able to once again drop into my PaddleWise mailbox once in a while, and read messages that are posted :) I still grin from ear to ear when I see a vehicle with a sea kayak or two strapped atop it, heading down the highway to what I'm sure is a great day in the PNW... :) I haven't "quit" sea kayaking per se, just maybe shifted to the "inactive reserve..." for a while... <g> peace... Tommy... Tommy... <gadfly911_at_attbi.com> "Attitude of Gratitude" with out it? Hope is sometimes impossible... Survivors of Traumatic Brain Injury [SoTBI] http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SoTBI My Pages http://www.geocities.com/totemwood2001/index.html *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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