The Beacon Is Back On

[dogg57]

Barnegat Lighthouse is lit again, after persistent technical tinkering with the mechanism that powers the Fresnel lens. It wasn’t Sandy that extinguished the beacon but lightning last summer, said members of the Friends of Barnegat Lighthouse State Park.
“The light was back on again Tuesday night (Feb. 26),” said Friends Trustee and Past President Angelo Rinaldi, “and like an expectant and nervous parent, I checked on it three or four times to make sure it was working.
“It had died completely right after Sandy, but the problem started after the lightning storm back in August,” said Rinaldi, who had a big hand in the repair. (MARIA SCANDALE)

http://thesandpaper.villagesoup.com/p/the-beacon-is-back-on-atop-the-lighthouse/969366

 

[LARGO]

It is a little surprising to me that it has to be so complicated. Part of my background exists around significant lighting projects on industrial and commercial scale and that thing is no more than a glorified Pulse Start Metal Halide and/or Halogen type flood on a slip ring rotator of some sort. I've eyeballed it myself.
There is of course a great deal of intricate working to maintain the flashes per minute and turns oper minute and in the end, the prismatic lens, like all photometric designs is really doing most of the work. A staionary lightsource with a rotation prism always seems the most practical. Using a battery bank for it should not be much different that the storage banks for D/C solar systems to convert for home or industry use. There is also the fact that having it on a charger for 24/7 is not as benificial as you might think. Many batteries have a nasty little habit of developing a memory so you need to be careful. Although I would think there should be some back up to the back up. It would not take much of a GENSET with an Auto transfer switch to hold that. the biggest cost there would be getting one to widthstand the environment. Heck, as things move along (even though I am realistically skeptical since some benefits and longevity are not 100% proven) L.E.D. sources may take over here and really keep the draw down. Truth be told, switching to an L.E.D. design could make that run time go a lot farther that the hours it gives based on demand now. I am doing a project on the boardwalk lights at Ocean City and wow what a diff,,,
As far as surge protection, it has to be done right and you can't go cheap and cheesy. There are a couple big players/manufactures that offer real protection and there are many junk names, Most people do not know the diff. They they should not be shocked about the price.
I was there the night of the lighting and honestly, I got choked up. It was a true event and long overdue.
I have to say though, with the lighthouse really playing an official roll in safety and navigation, it should be in part an obligation to front up some of those tech guys to get it right for the first, and hence, last time.
I know $$$ are tight but there has to be a way to get it from somewhere beyond donations.
I absolutely never fail to fall in love over and over again as it comes into sight while I drive up Long Beach Blvd.

Wow, I am worse when I get going about work stuff.

g.

 

[46er]

I was there the night of the lighting and honestly, I got choked up. It was a true event and long overdue.
I have to say though, with the lighthouse really playing an official roll in safety and navigation, it should be in part an obligation to front up some of those tech guys to get it right for the first, and hence, last time.
I know $$$ are tight but there has to be a way to get it from somewhere beyond donations.
I absolutely never fail to fall in love over and over again as it comes into sight while I drive up Long Beach Blvd.

I was also there for the lighting, but across the inlet with about 250 other folks As I recall, it was a cold and windy evening.

Barny was officially deactivated as a Coast Guard aid to navigation in 1944, It may serve as an informal aid, but it is not within the official CG system. If it were, the CG would be responsible for maintaining it and it would not be out of service for very long.

 

[LARGO]

I was also there for the lighting, but across the inlet with about 250 other folks As I recall, it was a cold and windy evening.

Barny was officially deactivated as a Coast Guard aid to navigation in 1944, It may serve as an informal aid, but it is not within the official CG system. If it were, the CG would be responsible for maintaining it and it would not be out of service for very long.

 

[LARGO]

46er,
That was a super serious cold that night. If I recall, it was some awful temp with a wind chill putting it into the single digits.
I ran into Lgench (another forum member) and he had to bail. Of course to really see it happen you had to be out on the beach which was not for the faint of heart. My whole family bailed back to the car and the wails of many staying the course was erie. Seeing it light was worth every frostbitten digit.

I was not certain at all that the light was "official" but the day colors still identify it so using the light would seem odd to me
to consider it to be just decorative. Did they not program it to match its original signature rotation and flash signal?
I actually have that in a book somewhere what the sequence was.
Darn shame they can't get it on the books so to speak. You are correct... It would not be out of commision long under their service.

I was a "Coast Guard Brat" as a kid when my dad was in the service. Wonderful times indeed.
I remember walking the boards and beach up at Jenk's often test running emergency equipment and generators to be 100% sure they would be ready when needed.

g

 

[46er]

The sequence is 10 seconds every 4 minutes. Not sure if the power of the light is the same.

Yes it was a cold one, but well worth it. Heading home there was a string of tailights stretched along the beach. We rode down to the kayak launch to get the second shot. As you can see, the bay out to the sedge islands was frozen.

My brother recently retired from the CG Rerserves after serving active duty for 25 years. He was in Kuwait for a few years with Desert Storm. Most of my fathers family earned their living on the water.

The CG replaced the light tower at the end of the south jetty, which was destroyed by the Oct storm, by the first week of December. Dropped it in with a 'copter.