Other Aids to Navigation
All In A Shell has established links with the world leaders in the manufacture of:
Through these channels we provide the Irish customer with direct access to worldwide design, best practice and experience, while maintaining at all times a local Irish focus and attention to our customer’s needs.
Other Aids to Navigation
Sector Lights
PEL 3
PEL Sector Lights display a different colour when viewed from different angles at sea. Very sharp colour boundaries – a complete colour change typically occurs within 1 minute of arc. With optional oscillating boundary, the signal alternates between two colours in proportion to the distance across the sector. PEL Sector Lights indicate the precise vessel position in confined waterways. They are used in situations where extreme accuracy is required, or where only a single station is possible. Each light is custom-configured for its site.
- Invented in New Zealand by Norman Rumsey, acclaimed international optical designer and astronomer.
- Modern optical design techniques and minimisation of optical aberrations achieve very sharp sector boundaries.
- Up to 19 Nm range at night (coloured sectors, 3.5° subtense, 100 Watt TH lamp, anti-reflection coatings).
- Great configuration flexibility – each light is customised to suit the exact requirements of the end user.
- Wide choice of subtenses, individual sector angles, lamp types and sizes, flash characters and operating modes.
- Designed for use in rugged marine environments without further protection. Sealed enclosure, built from gunmetal (marinegrade bronze) and stainless steel.
- Energy efficient – each optical system makes best use of energy available from the lamp
- Suitable for solar power – operates from 12 Vdc. Light can be flashed to reduce power consumption.
- Uniform intensity from one side of the beam to the other – intensity does not reduce due to movement off axis Delivered fully tested and ready to operate, complete with Vega 6-position lampchanger and CALC-2001 controller.
- Long service life – many PEL-3 Sector Lights have been in continuous service for over 20 years.
- Can be interfaced to remote switching and monitoring equipment – interfaces are available. Optical isolation recommended when connecting to other electrical equipment.
PEL 6
- Up to 6 nautical miles range in daylight (coloured sectors, 3.5° subtense, 250 Watt TH lamp, favourable background).
- Over 21 nautical miles range at night in coloured sectors, up to 25 M in white sector (3.5° subtense).
- Automatic intensity reduction at night using lamp voltage reduction combined with insertion of neutral density filter.
- Boundary definition and sector accuracy typically better than one minute of arc (for subtenses less than 20°).
- Optional Oscillating Boundary provides up to four extra sectors and proportional indication of lateral changes.
- Colour integrity – selection of correct colour filters ensures that sectors are recognised correctly in all types of weather
- Rugged construction and sealing – proven life exceeds 20 years in typical harsh marine environment
VLS-46
The First Precision LED Sector Light
- Separate optical projector for each colour
- Peak intensity: 2,000 candela (red, green, white)
- Nominal range: 10 nautical miles at night
- Horizontal divergence: 0.5° – 5.0° each projector
- Vertical divergence: 3.0° (±1.5° at full intensity)
- Boundary resolution: 3 minutes of arc
- Width of each sector is user adjustable on site
- Single flasher (VLF-43) for up to 4 projectors
- Choice of 256 standard flash characters
- No maintenance required (except cleaning)
- Enclosure fully sealed against ingress of water
- Base plates available for 2-way, 3-way and 4-way
- Suitable for remote and solar-powered sites
- Robust aluminium construction
Day / Top Marks
Racon
The HEKLEO-SX Racon is compliant with the IMO/IALA regulations. It operates on both the S and X bands.
The HEKLEO-SX frequency agile type of racon is designed to measure the frequency of every incoming radar pulse, and transmit a Morse code response back to the radar on that frequency. It answers all active radars in the vicinity employing a Side Lobe Supression system to better discriminate the pulses to be responded to. The length of the morse code response matches the display range setting, by programming the duration of the answer according to the incoming pulse length.
Low power consumption is important on solar powered devices, so the HEKLEO-SX has been designed for low power requirements and implements a power saving strategy. In addition to low power consumption whilst it is active, it has user progammable idle time. This saves energy and gives time for the navigator to check for the presence of echos unintentionally hidden by the racon response. Additionally, if no radar is detected in the vicinity, the racon enters into a quiescent period where only the monitoring circuits are active.
The unit is easy to install and program. No special tools or training is required and a standard laptop can be connected to the user port to check and program the racon. The racon is delivered with a user manual, power supply cable and programming cable.
AIS
AIS transponders automatically broadcast information, such as their position, speed, and navigational status, at regular intervals via a VHF transmitter built into the transponder.
The information originates from the ship’s navigational sensors, typically its global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver and gyrocompass.
Other information, such as the vessel name and VHF call sign, is programmed when installing the equipment and is also transmitted regularly.
The signals are received by AIS transponders fitted on other ships or on land based systems, such as VTS systems.
The received information can be displayed on a screen or chart plotter, showing the other vessels’ positions in much the same manner as a radar display.
