Comin' to a lighthouse near you...

[ancora]

In a cost-cuttin' move, our Point Loma lighthouse has been fitted with LED lighting. The result is a loss of ten miles of range, from 24 miles to 14 miles. Ain't progress great?

 

[CaptTom]

Without getting political, the CG *is* part of the federal gov't, and gov't spending isn't going UP any time soon.

You'd be amazed how much money it costs to maintain a long undersea cable to a remote lighthouse, set up and monitor an automated system to change bulbs as they burn out, maintain the mechanism, replace the bulbs, etc.

The LED lights are set-and-forget. They can be powered by solar cells.

I'm a bit of a purist. I still keep and sometimes even use up-to-date paper charts. I like to maintain my piloting skills. I still feel that lighthouses "should" be maintained in their original glory. But realistically, nobody really depends on them any more.

 

[Arch]

With AIS virtual aids to navigation, we may see traditional lighthouses go away altogether one day soon.

Virtual AtoN | Research and Radionavigation

Arch

 

[Tom.B]

Going the way of the caboose it would appear. Meh.

 

[magicbus]

It took a private group to raise funds to relight and maintain ours (with LEDs too).

Dave

 

[timjet]

Going the way of the caboose it would appear. Meh.

And Loran.

With virtual A to N maybe they'll get rid of day markers too!

 

[psneeld]

And Loran.

With virtual A to N maybe they'll get rid of day markers too!

If they keep cutting back on dredging the ICW, they might as well lose the markers!