| Author | Message | ||
     David Sheriff Board Administrator Username: admin Post Number: 279 Registered: 01-2004 |
A small, tired crew can get into trouble very fast. One of my customers has installed the Watch Commander to help address the situation. It's worth looking into. The device is set for an interval of some minutes. Pressing a button at the helm resets the timer. When the timer expires, a small reminder beep goes off. If the button is not pressed within a short time after this, a very loud "wake the dead" alert goes off. My friend tells me that it does not work well with partially deaf crewmembers even though they may have nodded off within a few feet of the device. I suspect this is because the audible frequencies of the piezo alarms are too high. Age induced deafness damages the higher frequencies first. I'm going to make an equivalent device with a pair of time delay relays and use a low-frequency buzzer as a "wake the dead" sonic element. We'll see what it takes. High voltage electrodes embedded in the cockpit cushions?  If you have never been too tired to stay awake on watch you don't have enough experience. |
