DIY Anchor light / flag pole combo

[GreyNurse]

Here is the skinny on how to make a simple but very bright anchor light, visible from at least 1000 yards. While I haven't taken it on the water as yet, it's bright enough to enable you to get around on the yak. I didn't glue the screw coupling to the lower section of PVC because it gives me the option of taking it down and using it as a torch. It gives off about the equivalent of a 3W light bulb.
Oh, and at the risk of stating the obvious, don't glue the screw coupling to the top section of PVC, or you'll not be able to change the battery.
All up, the cost of parts comes in at around $35. Hardware and electronics stores are the best source of parts, but if you've got bits lying around (and you probably do), it will be cheaper.

Parts:

1 x 1 meter of 25mm of white PVC tubing, cut into two sections, 400 mm and 600 mm.
1 x 25mm PVC cap
1 x 25mm PVC Screw Joint (screw coupling)
1 x clear plastic 30 ml medicine cup
4 x 5mm White Waterclear 10000mcd LED’s
2 x 150 ohm ¼ watt resistors
500 mm Red Light Duty Hook-up Wire
500 mm Black Light Duty Hook-up Wire
200 mm 4mm heat shrink tubing
1 x 9 volt battery snap
1 x 9 volt alkaline battery
1 x SPDT Miniature Toggle Switch - Solder Tag
Sufficient bright yellow material to make an optional flag. 500 mm x 250 mm will make a flag 250 mm x 200 mm

Tools required:

Wire cutters
Wire strippers
Pliers
Solder
Soldering iron
2 part epoxy (24 hr Araldite)
Silastic Sealant (Selleys Marine All Clear)

Solution 0: 2 x 2 array uses 4 LEDs exactly    +----|>|----|>|---/\/\/----+  R = 150 ohms    +----|>|----|>|---/\/\/----+  R = 150 ohms

The wizard says: In solution 0:

• each 150 ohm resistor dissipates 60 mW
• the wizard thinks 1/4W resistors are fine for your application
• together, all resistors dissipate 120 mW
• together, the diodes dissipate 256 mW
• total power dissipated by the array is 376 mW
• the array draws current of 40 mA from the source.

Arrange the LED’s and resistors in the bottom of a clear plastic 30 ml medicine cup so that each of the led’s face outwards 90 degrees from each other. Solder the legs of the led’s and resistors as per the circuit layout above.
Solder 500 mm of red hook up wire between the “front” two led’s. Twist and solder the resistor legs together and insulate with heat shrink. The resistors can stand up in the centre of the arrangement so that the heat shrink will be clear of the epoxy.

Use the 9 volt battery to test the circuit at this point. If all the led’s light up, then proceed. With the led’s and resistors in place, mix and pour 10-15 mls of epoxy into the medicine cup so that all the led’s are completely submerged. Set the medicine cup aside for 24 hrs for the epoxy to completely harden. Do not use 5 min epoxy as this gets very hot as it sets and can melt the medicine cup. It also has a yellow hue, which you do not want.

When the epoxy has set in the medicine cup, trim back some of the heat shrink from the resistor legs and solder on 500 mm of black hook up wire. Insulate the solder joint with some heat shrink. Drill a 12 mm hole in the centre of the cap. and bring the hook up wired through the hole. Bring the wires down through the PVC tube. Place the cap loosely over one end of the 400 mm section of PVC. You should have about 100 mm of wires dangling out the bottom.

Drill a 6 mm hole in the 400 mm PVC about 300 mm from the cap to mount the miniature toggle switch. Take the wires back out of the tube and mark them against where the hole was drilled. Allow an extra 30 mm and cut either the black or the red wire. Not both. Strip the ends of the cut wire and solder them onto the switch so that when the switch is mounted, the ‘up” position turns the light off and the “down” position turns it on.

Pass the wiring and switch through the cap and down the PVC tube. The switch may have to be captured with pliers in order to pull it though the wall of the PVC tube. Secure the switch in place with the supplied lock nuts, ensuring that the orientation is as previously described. Test the circuit.

Place a bead of silastic around the rim of the cap and push the cup down onto the silastic. Do not press to hard as this will squeeze the silastic out from the rim of the cap, which will leave an insufficient amount for the medicine cup to adhere to. Leave for about 30 minutes before moving on to the last step.

Once the silastic has set so that the medicine cup is adhering to the PVC cap sufficiently, slide some heat shrink over each of the the hook up wires and solder the battery clip so that the red will run to the positive connection and the black will run to the negative connection. Connect the battery and test the circuit again. Assuming it is working, cover the solder joints with the heat shrink then slide the battery back up inside the PVC tube. Push one section of the screw joint coupling onto the open end of the tube. The battery should rest on the small inner diameter of the joint without any strain being placed on the hook up wire. Take the other section of the screw joint coupling and push it on the end of the 600 mm section of PVC tubing and screw the two sections together. Secure the assembly to the kayak in a place of preference.

So that the kayak may be made more visible during the day, especially dull days, a flag made from some bright yellow material can be fixed to the PVC just under the light. I used a yellow gloss plastic waste bag folded on three sides, leaving the unfolded end to glue to the pole just under the light. It needs to be about twice as long as the length of the finished flag in order to wrap it around the pole a couple of times. I "glued" the hems with Selleys all clear silastic. Run a bead along the open end and place it on the pole. Apply a bead of silastic about every 1/2 turn until the flag dimensions look right. If you want to use fabric for your flag, I suggest you swap out the silastic for a sewing machine.

A working man's effort.

The on/off switch

Edited January 28, 2014 by GreyNurse