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This floated up while I was cleaning the boat. It has a white strobe, flashes about 1 per second. Just wondering what it was used for...Its about 4 in dia. and 2 in tall.
A good possibility is a strobe light that got knocked off the top of a school bus(!!) by a low hanging tree limb or wire during the floods, etc. during H. Matthew.
Why strobe lights on top of school buses? If 'they' really want distractive safety devices, it would be much better to apply SOLAS international-orange smoke generators. :-o
Don't think its from a buoy or a school bus... It is battery powered with the switch on the under side. Also doesn't look like it has a permanent mounting... Maybe its just a novelty item.....
I wouldn't rule out buoy lantern because it has a switch on the bottom. Spare buoy lanterns need to be stored in warehouses and in ships stores when not in use. The older buoy lanterns had external power sources that could be disconnected when not in use, modern ones often have a switch on the bottom that the seaman or technician activates before replacing the lantern. It would be hard on the batteries and annoying having these things half flashing away in ships stores or warehouses when not in use.
As for the mount, it might have been damaged when the buoy was run over by a ship.
I would discount the school bus theory, because vehicle operated strobes tend to be operator activated and have external power sources.
This one is solar powered, with internal batteries, matches the light characteristics of a North Cardinal buoy and was discovered in the marine environment.
A lot of moored boats on our local lakes use similar devices mounted to the mast head in place of a proper anchor light. The first time I saw one flashing was at quite a distance and I had to sail towards it about a half mile before I could tell it was atop a boat. It's not to regs, but it does get your attention and being self charging and auto on, it is very convenient for folks who leave their boats moored weeks at a time between visits.
Ya, white strobes are pretty well spoken for 60 fps or qf north cardinal, distress signal inland Canada and the US, 50-70 fps, fairway Morse A. Red strobe, lateral buoy. Green strobe lateral buoy. Blue strobe SAR or other government. Amber strobe ODAS and other special buoys and certain towed barges inland.
Yipes, I would avoid any strobe.
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