Hi Chuck, I looked at those as well. They did not have the Strobe at the time, to get the strobe you had to go DIY. It has nice features. The main difference in price is the certification and the machined aluminum case. The MarineBeam and most of the units in that price range "meet or exceed" the certification guidelines but are not actually certified. As I understood it the certification process was expensive and they pass the cost to you.
Some folks said online that if your masthead unit is not certified you may run into insurance issues if you ever made a claim. I'm not sure if that's actually substantiated. The machined aluminum case will definitely be more impervious to the elements. Since my mast stay up for extended periods I figured that in the big scheme of things it's worth the extra 200 bucks. One could make the argument that the plastic units cost 1/3 therefore they only have to last 1/3 long to break even and you keep your money all along. That's a fair argument. I went for the "less likely to have to climb the mast" side of things. I don't have the mast climbing equipment and paying a guy to do it for me is about 80-100 bucks round trip as I found out last year. Tomatoes / Tomahtoes :-) -Francois 1990 34+ "Take Five" Lake Lanier, GA On Mon, May 7, 2018 at 7:36 PM, Chuck S <cscheaf...@comcast.net> wrote: > Responding late to the discussion. My mast is out so I am replacing all > the light fixtures and wiring and selected MarineBeam's Anchor > Light/tri-color/Strobe Combo that works with two wires. > https://store.marinebeam.com/smart-led-tri-color-anchor- > light-and-strobe-n3-tri-cmb/ > I tested the light and it is very very bright and works just like they > claim and the strobe flashes S-O-S. Lots of features for $109 and it seems > very well made. We'll see how it holds up. > > Replaced the VHF antenna wire too. > > On May 7, 2018 at 1:34 PM Matthew Schlanger via CnC-List < > cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > > Thanks. > Still thinking a white anchor light, but you reflect my experience, at the > last minute I started thinking just change it out. > > Matt > > On May 7, 2018, at 1:28 PM, Francois Rivard <jeanfrancoisriv...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > Hi Matt, > > When I took my mast down I took a good look at the brittle dried-up > housing, crazed plastic lens, and iffy led conversion on the existing unit > and threw it in the trash. I replaced it with the SignalMate tricolor ( > https://signalmate.com/navigation-light-models/combination-tri-color-with- > anchor-2-wire/) > > They claim it's made to mil specs... I believe it. It's completely > sealed, the machining and anodizing on the housing is beautiful, and the > lens is nice and thick. > > It's pricey but to me, worth every penny as it is completely "install it > and forget it". Living in Georgia my mast does not come down very often so > no maintenance is a big plus. As a bonus it's by far the brightest mast > light on the lake, I consider it cheap insurance against drunken pontoon > pilots. > > Good luck with the project. > > Best Regards, > > -Francois Rivard > 1990 34+ "Take Five" > Lake Lanier, GA > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and > every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use > PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > > > >
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