Eberhard Vieg, the CEO of Prebit lighting near Bonn, Germany, is blunt when describing himself and the company’s founder, Michael Woita. “We are really nerds about light,” Vieg says. “Everything on the boat can be high-end materials, but if the lighting is off, it will not appear to be nice. If you change the lighting, it makes a difference.”

Woita learned this lesson after working in the lighting industry and then buying a sailboat, Vieg says: “He found out that lighting was awful on the boat, and he decided to do something.” Woita founded Prebit about 20 years ago. “He created reading lights, and then the company developed and developed and grew.”

Its newest product is the Thoa lamp, which is a portable, rechargeable light that can be positioned anywhere on board. It’s rated IP54, which means it can handle some light spray. Prebit makes the lamp with LED, but in a way that allows it to dim like an incandescent bulb. “If you dim with an incandescent light, it gets red; it gets warmer and warmer, like candlelight,” Vieg says. “Physically, you cannot do this with a single LED. That’s the trick.”

A series of LED colors are used inside the Thoa lamp to mimic the warm fade, with an algorithm making the change seem natural. The Thoa lamp doesn’t just get lighter or darker; it creates mood lighting, including dancing, diamond-type shadows on surfaces when it’s in dimmed mode.

The team at Prebit got the idea for the Thoa lamp about three years ago, Vieg says, after a yacht owner told them what kind of mood he wanted on board. “We thought it was too important to keep it just for that, so we made a series with a complete range,” Vieg says.

Each charge lasts about eight hours, and the light recharges on an inductive pad (like a wireless charger for a smartphone). The lights can be dimmed by touching them, similar to a kitchen faucet with a sensor in it, and they can be controlled via an app. A stowable case that holds and simultaneously charges four lights is also available.

“We’re seeing the owners of big yachts coming in for this,” Vieg says, “and then they’re also buying it for their homes, to use on the terrace.”

Take the next step: Prebit Lighting

The post Onboard Ambience with Prebit’s Thoa Lamp appeared first on Yachting.

Lumishore, known for high-performance LED lighting systems, has debuted the EOS STV 2204-i glass bridge touchscreen rotary dial display.

According to Lumishore, the EOS STV 2204-i allows “unrivaled levels of control” of Lumishore EOS Series underwater lights. There’s a palette wheel for choosing colors, a slide bar for intensity adjustments, optional presets across multiple zones, and effects such as strobe, sweep and cycle. The sound-to-light effect works in tandem with music.

“A great deal of our research and development goes into offering ease of use of these systems,” Eifrion Evans, CEO of Lumishore, stated in a press release. “Our recently released Lumi-Link Command Center lets users control their lights directly from any compatible MFD and/or this new dedicated Lumishore display.”

How big is the EOS STV 2204-i? It measures 3½ inches wide, and requires a plug-and-play cable during installation.

Where to learn more: go to lumishore.com

The post Lumishore’s Glass Bridge Touchscreen Rotary Dial Display appeared first on Yachting.

Lumishore, which makes underwater LED lighting systems, has integrated its technology with the latest Raymarine Axiom and Axiom Pro multifunction displays.

Yacht owners can now control Lumishore EOS and Supra systems from the touchscreens, via LightHouse apps. The interface has a palette wheel for color selection, a slide bar for adjusting the lighting intensity, control of lighting across multiple zones, and the ability to choose modes such as strobe and sweep.

“Whether you are setting the mood for your next boating adventure, using underwater lighting to attract fish or throwing an epic party, the incredible functionality of our system integrates seamlessly with Axiom displays to deliver complete control at your fingertips,” Eifrion Evans, CEO of Lumishore, stated in a press release.

Did you know? Lumishore’s systems have a sound-to-light mode that pulses underwater lights to the beat of any song playing on Axiom’s built-in media player.

The post LED Underwater Lights Now Integrate with Raymarine Displays appeared first on Yachting.

Aqualuma recently displayed its Gen 5 range of through-hull underwater LEDs at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.

Gen 5 LEDs let users customize lighting options by using an interface for iPhone, Android and tablet devices. Users can control strobing, dimming and color changes, and can create and save various lighting scenes.

For installation, according to Aqualuma, the Gen 5 LEDs have a one-piece, corrosion-proof polymer housing that means there’s no need to haul a boat or replace current housings.

How do these lights differ from other Aqualuma products? The Gen 5 series, according to Aqualuma, is its brightest range of underwater lights ever.

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