Marinebeam does it again

flynhi4u · Dec 6, 2016

Jackdaw said:
Actually a Noble prize HAS been giving for LED lighting.... in 2014, specifically for the eventual creation of BLUE light emitting diode, which combined with the much earlier red and green (remember old TI calculators?) allows the creation of WHITE LEDs, which have revolutionized lighting as we know it.

https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2014/press.html

Finally, they gave it to a deserving cause. I just threw away one of those old IT calculators. Probably should have put it on Ebay. Someone might have wanted it for history's sake.
I don't know how I ever got by without my led headlights. I have them in all our vehicles, in the boat, in our backpacks, in the plane. They are worth every penny I have spent on them. Just wish I could find one with a nice close range flood light. All the ones I have tried seem to really concentrate the light, especially up close. Sometimes when I have my head crammed under a instrument panel I don't have room to move my head to get light to where it needs to be.
I installed red and white led's in the front of my headset cups so that I have light where ever I look when I fly at night. I power them off my ANR power pack. No longer does loosing the panel lights or electrical power bug me near as much knowing I have light when and where I need it. Sure beats holding the old mini mag lights in your teeth while you try to fly.

Sam

CYQK · Dec 7, 2016

Thanks Jackdaw........
Well, just bought the pain white one from them a couple of months ago for an install in the spring
Ordered the new one yesterday what a great idea!!
Anyone want a deal on the plain white one PM me
Gary

Force Majeure · Feb 9, 2017

Thanks guys for the kudos on the Marinebeam Tri-Mode Bulb. It was actually the brainstorm of my business partner Pierre Charriere, who worked more than a year with a major LED foundry, and the Bureau Veritas lab (ENSTA) in France to develop it, and the associated microprocessor controls. To create a bulb that can meet the COLREG requirements, as a stand-alone bulb (no fixture, lenses, or external separators needed), was actually a very difficult task. It solves the fundamental problem of being seen off-shore at night, without resorting to the very expensive and difficult task of wiring up a traditional tri-color stack light.

Ken13559 · Feb 9, 2017

I liked it so much I ordered 3! For port, starboard and stern

just kidding. My boating kakis (friends) loved it too. Only problem I've is switching on the Tri-color. If only in comes with a stick-on instructions that I could put at nav station.

CarlN · Feb 10, 2017

At 3 years my Marinebeam LED nav lights are flawless. No leaks. No UV damage on the plastic lense or case. Best I've ever had. I especially like my 3NM steaming light on the mast - bright enough that no tired watch a 100ft up on a tanker bridge could confuse it with a star.

https://store.marinebeam.com/led-masthead-steaming-light/

Parsons · Mar 23, 2017

Based on this thread, I bought and installed Marinebeam's tri-color / anchor light, and wanted to give my impressions. I think that it is a great idea, but a little rough on execution - say 3 of 5 stars. I can only speak for the example I installed, so your-mileage-may-vary. The electrical switching using a single breaker/2-wire connection is great, and worked smoothly in tests. It's remarkable they got this functionality in a relatively small bulb (about 1.5 inches high). It turns on at first in all-around white, and if you turn it off and on again within a few seconds it comes on as tri. I think that the "SOS" flashing mode is a waste, and I'm nervous about triggering this accidentally despite the assurance that there is some delay. The light appears really bright, so I believe their 3NM claim. You cannot beat the low energy use.
My real issue was that I found body of the light difficult to mount. It is about 2.5 inches across, and the majority of that space is filled with the light base, so you can fit only a maximum of #6 screws (no washers) to mount it to your masthead. The small size under the light base makes jamming in proper wiring connectors, hidden from the sun, difficult. A little more room to use larger screws and proper wiring would have been helpful. The base of the light starts about 1.5 inches above the light base, so I was concerned that the light will not be visible close to the boat as it is shaded by the masthead fitting. This will not be a concern for the tri-light as it will only be used at sea, but the anchor light may be dark close in. Marinebeam says that you could mount the interior of the base alone to a 20mm pole, but I don't know where you would buy such an item unless you retrofit an existing light. The plastic material of the base, and thickness of the clear lens appear more than adequate for a long life.
The bulb itself was slightly tilted on its base (bent?) such that red is angled up about 5 degrees and the white-green intersection is down. Marinebeam said that happened on some bulbs, but there's enough light dispersion that it will not be noticeable in the final installation - I've not seen it from a distance, so cannot tell.

Scott T-Bird · Mar 23, 2017

I'm planning to mount mine this weekend. I bought the N3-TRI-CMB for $99 which is the same that I assume that you have. When I opened the packaging, the first thing I noticed is that I could not tell which sides were green, red and white for the proper orientation. Is there some notation that I missed? I also thought about just taking the bulb out and mounting with my existing fixture (Aquasignal Series 20, I think ... it's on a short pole for elevation). Is this the same bulb as the drop-in bulb that they advertise for $89? It would make installation far easier ... no wiring or mounting screw hassles. My existing light is only about 10 years old and looks in great shape. If I can just drop in the bulb, I would still need to consider orientation for the tri-color feature, I think, so it may require re-orientation either way, I suppose.

Looking forward to smooth installation, hopefully!

edit: Now that I see that the base of the "drop-in bulb" is indexed for adjustment, I'm hoping the I can just use the bulb with my current base and simply adjust the base of the bulb.

Parsons · Mar 23, 2017

Scott, you beat me to the solution. The bulb does have an adjustment where three (very) small Phillips screws can be loosened and adjusted (I didn't need to do that). I'd be really careful and minimalist in adjusting as I'm certain there are tiny wires inside connecting all those LED's to power! Anyhow, I could not figure out the color alignment either (it is not labelled) until I got a couple spare pieces of wire and hooked it up to a spare battery. It's real obvious at that point, but don't look right at it.

I believe that the bulb in the fixture is the same as the indexed bulb they sell as TW-TRI-CMB. They also apparently sell that same bulb with a non-indexed single-contact base to replace a Hella bulb as well. As noted in my comments, other than the slight bend, the bulb works great. I found the best way to get the fine-tuned alignment, before drilling holes etc., was to connect the electrical and hook up a test battery at the mast base (it's in a storage rack for the winter). The bulb is bright enough even in daylight to see the red/green dividing line and align it with my masthead fittings.

Scott T-Bird · Mar 24, 2017

I have to admit that I was confused by the lack of instructions. I also tried to look on-line and came up empty. I also have to admit that I opened the packaging and had a quick look at the lamp (I must have taken the lens off to look at it). I realized that I couldn't quickly figure out how to mount the lamp or align it without instructions, so I took it to the boat and haven't looked at it again since then. I'll need to put it on this weekend, though, so the mast is ready to go back up.
It wasn't until your post yesterday that I looked at Marinebeam's website and found the stand-alone bulb for sail. There are attachments that show how the base can be adjusted and it also shows the notch that aligns with the centerline of the boat. These instructions would be handy if they came with the lamp, or at least if they were attached to web page display for the lamp. I only stumbled onto it by chance, probably because I am an internet klutz, basically. I think the website needs some help!

I'm also a bit confused by your description of the wire connectors jammed into the lamp base. My assumption was that the wire connectors and excess wiring would be fed down through the masthead and into the conduit underneath the masthead. Why would the wiring be stuffed into the base of the lamp?

Parsons · Mar 24, 2017

I didn't get any instructions either, and could not find any attachments on their site that you referred to. I guess MB thinks it is obvious how to install a simple two-wire light. Perhaps I am slower or more cautious than the average boat owner, because I found it somewhat of a design challenge. My masthead fitting has a very small (3/8") hole for masthead wires, so I could not jam the connectors down into the mast conduit. There was not room to put removable connectors, and the lamp base came down to the same level as the outside ring. Consequently, I shortened the inside lamp base with a hacksaw (it's only PVC) to allow room under the lamp base, and used butt-connectors. Once it was sealed up, and LockTite added to the 3 screws, it looks nice. It's not removable, but considering it's well made and LED's, that's probably a problem for the next owner.

Scott T-Bird · Mar 24, 2017

Ok, makes sense. I'm pretty sure that I have the Aqua Signal Series 20 all-around on my masthead because I liked the little pedestal it has for some extra height. I remember that being a concern when I compared it to other lamps that seemed to sit directly on the masthead. If that's the case, I'm hoping that I can simply replace the bulb. I paid an extra $10 to get the whole assembly, but I'll throw it away if I don't need it.

Parsons · Mar 24, 2017

Considering it's Marinebeam, I would try to return it. They may not be very good with this design and instructions, but I cannot fault them for customer service. I called to ask about the bent bulb, and the three screws were not originally included, and they were very responsive. They sent screws of the correct size, and told me if the bulb really bothered me they would replace it.

SFS · Mar 24, 2017

That one of the many cool things about MarineBeam - their customer service. I replaced all of the fixtures on my boat with a variety of their offerings. Two styles of light I bought were brand new to them, and the rep described them over the phone, as they weren't even on the website yet. He sent me pics via email so I could make a decision.

One of those styles (I bought three copies) did not originally ship with mounting screws. I didn't know that until 7 months later when I finally got around to installing the fixtures. I made a phone call, and two days later I had the screws, at no charge for mailing.

I wish everyone ran their outfits like these guys.

Scott T-Bird · Mar 27, 2017

Well, I made it to the boat on Sunday and removed my existing Aquasignal Series 20 anchor light. It has a completely different bulb and smaller diameter lens, so bulb replacement with a Marinebeam is out of the question. I also found that my masthead is not really wide enough to get at the 3 hole pattern for the Marinebeam fixture very easily.
So with a little advise from a friendly guy from Canada who came over to say hello, I decided that I will mount the fixture on a piece of starboard and mount the starboard to the 2 hole pattern that I already have. What a nice solution! It won't hurt to get another 1/2" of elevation either! I can tell this guy is an accomplished cruiser as he so easily suggested a good solution while I was scratching my head over a relatively simple problem.

Maybe my brain was frozen as it was just plain COLD in the boatyard yesterday. My new friend emerged from a nicely heated salon!
I see what Parsons means by the exit hole being too small for the wire connections. But I want to connect to the mast wiring, not the old anchor light wiring, so I had to remove the masthead to get at the mast wiring. This way, my connectors are still underneath the masthead and the limited space in the fixture is not an issue.
Did I say it was COLD yesterday? Colder than a witches t... I think it was 72 in Barnegat on Saturday. I hate it when Sue makes me deviate my plans!

Parsons · Apr 11, 2017

Another update -- following a month in the mast storage rack, the base ring on the light has shattered. My best guess is thermal contraction of the tightened screws crushed the ring. I contacted Marinebeam, and they are sending out another ring under warranty (great customer service!). I'll split the new one with a hacksaw and substitute it without cutting the wires. I plan to cut and add some rubber gasket material from the auto parts store to allow for contraction in temperature shifts; frequent in Michigan. I never thought that installing a light would be such an engineering challenge.

Scott T-Bird · Apr 11, 2017

Parsons said:
Another update -- following a month in the mast storage rack, the base ring on the light has shattered. My best guess is thermal contraction of the tightened screws crushed the ring. I contacted Marinebeam, and they are sending out another ring under warranty (great customer service!). I'll split the new one with a hacksaw and substitute it without cutting the wires. I plan to cut and add some rubber gasket material from the auto parts store to allow for contraction in temperature shifts; frequent in Michigan. I never thought that installing a light would be such an engineering challenge.

I've looked at that ring with a lot of skepticism. First of all, what size screw did you use and what length? There is so little room for the screw head that I purchased #6 screws but I also changed my design. I'm not using the ring. I fashioned a 2-piece base out of 3/4" thick starboard. The lower piece is long enough that I can fasten to the masthead with just 2 bolts. The upper piece is 2-1/2" diameter, cut with a hole saw, to serve as the base for the light. I put a 1-1/8" hole though it to accept that lower flange on the light pedestal. With the light and upper base fit together, I used three #6 x 5/8" wood screws to fasten the light to the upper base. The lower base also has a hole through the center to pass the wires through. I'm going to glue the upper and lower piece together to make one base, and then fasten the lower piece to the masthead with two #8 through bolts. I'll take some photos of the assembly this weekend when I put it all together. I'm glad you mentioned this about the ring. I'm going to toss it. It was easy to pull the masthead off anyway, so the wire connectors will be inside the mast.

Scott T-Bird · Apr 18, 2017

I finally made my base for the Marinebeam masthead light and put it all together. I'll wire it and mount it to the masthead this weekend, hopefully. A grew wary of that mounting ring after hearing Parsons experience. Instead, I made a donut from starboard and fastened that to a football-shaped base with 3 screws (#8 x 1-1/4"). The elongated ends are necessary to mount the base to the masthead with 2 small bolts (#8). I fastened the light to the donut with 3 screws (#4 x 5/8"). I did my best to line up the light with the elongated base and any fine adjustment that is necessary can be done with the adjustment screws on the bulb fixture after I have mounted the base assembly.
BTW, I never found any #4 screws that are long enough (1-1/4" min?) to pass completely through that mounting ring and into or through something else, so I don't know how you can use that thing anyway. I can see how the thin walls of the plastic are easily compromised by pressure, especially in cold weather.
The oblong was done pretty crudely with a jig saw, but the finished product is well out of sight. My other objective was to get the light mounted at least as high off the masthead as the previous light, which had a nice little pedestal. I think Marinebeam should work on a more elegant solution for a masthead base because I don't understand how they expect this one to work without customization. For instance, the 3 holes have a footprint that is wide enough to be a problem on many mastheads. I have to offset the mounting holes from the centerline of the light in order to have access to the bolts on the underside of the masthead base (otherwise, the sheaves are in the way).

Marinebeam does it again

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