Red LED headlamp

Hello all.

Some of you may know that 2009 is the international year of astronomy. I've always had a fascination with astronomy (The Universe is one of our favorite shows), and my 9 year old son's latest career aspiration is that he wants to be an astrophysicist. (He loves watching Nova Science Now and Neil DeGrasse Tyson is his favorite astronomer right now.) So, we recently purchased a nice 4.5" reflecting telescope and an array of eyepieces, a stand for it, etc. We've had many fun filled family evenings stargazing together, and now that winter is here we're looking forward to having more observing time with the longer nights.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a night-vision preserving headlamp (in the $25 - $35 range) that can be used for these kinds of activities? Ideally it should be a frequency longer than 650 nm to not activate the photopic visual system (cone based color vision) and bright enough to be able to read star maps and coordinate ephemeri but not so bright that again, it undoes dark adapted night vision. I'd like to get at least two, one for myself and my wife to use on these occasions, and perhaps even a third for our son as well.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

A bit over your budget, but how about a Zebralight H501R @$59 plus shipping

They are great little lights :twothumbs In fact I am waiting for the delivery of my
third one, a H501R

Target carries an inexpensive Energizer headlamp with white and red LEDs. I haven't used mine much but for the price I'm very happy with it. The one caveat is that you have to click through three white light modes to get to the red light.

I've got my 4Sevens Prism kit and colored filters on order. If you don't already have a Quark, this would be out of your price range.

chaosmagnet said:

Target carries an inexpensive Energizer headlamp with white and red LEDs. I haven't used mine much but for the price I'm very happy with it. The one caveat is that you have to click through three white light modes to get to the red light.

I've got my 4Sevens Prism kit and colored filters on order. If you don't already have a Quark, this would be out of your price range.

Click to expand...

I'll look into the Energizer light... I have a QAA2 with the XPE emitter, and do plan on getting the prism kit for it and filters as well, but am waiting until I can get one of the new QAA's with the XPG emitter. That would be fine for myself, but my wife would never tolerate me buying a new high end light with the prism kit (x2 each) for her and my son for something like stargazing... :mecry:

Wal-Mart sells a Coleman Max headlamp that has two levels of bright white and a red for $25. You do not have to go through white to get to red. You turn the dial on the side forward for white and reverse for red. I've been surprised at how much I've used this light. I use the red when going to my hunting stand and getting set up in the dark. I use the white for a number of things. The drawback is that it runs on AAA (x3) but that does keep size and weight down. I wish it had more throw and brightness on the brightest setting but that's jus the flashaholic in me.

Edit: here's a link to the latest version. Apparently they have XR-E now! Mine is XR-C.. I'm tempted to update!
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10196615

should be available in-store

brad

There is a recent red headlamp thread in the headlamp forum. Did you check there??

The least expensive Energizer Headlamp has a slide switch that goes from left to right:

RED (1 LED) OFF WHITE (2 LEDs)

They do sell these still in certain Targets but they do have the 6 mode one they provide more retail space for since it is a more expensive light.

For a simple headlamp you can't beat the durability of the original Energizer headlamp. Mine has lasted me over 10 years. I have 3 of them. Then I bought the 6 mode version and while it has more options I prefer the simplicity of the slide switch. The 6 mode switch broke but it still works and it is a much newer light.

Wrong forum. Please acquaint yourself with where to post. We have a Headlamps sub-forum, which is plain for all to see, and obviously this belongs there. I'm moving it there now.

I have a Rayovac headlamp which has 2 red LEDs, a white (bluish) LED and an incandescent bulb. It's activated by a side knob and goes through the modes in that order. Just turn it the other way to reverse through the settings. I've used that headlamp a lot and it's very easy to read star charts with that one. It's a little on the bright side, but nothing a little piece of electrical tape over one LED can't fix. It's also the only red LED headlamp that can be used to safely walk around hiking paths at night and it's right in your budget range.

I've been exploring this night vision thing a while back, and after reading about it, i came to a conclusion that you don't really need a red light, you just need a really dim light. And i'm not talking "low" mode 100 lumens dim, im talking depleted chinese incandescent keychain light. You don't really need anything much to read a starmap if you night vision is "on".

I haven't tryed the red light tho, so it is possible that it works with a proper red light. But i think a nice bright red light will mess up your night vision just as bad as any light.

Just my 2 cents, i'd suggest you try if the high wawelenghts help before spending 100$ for it.

Cataract said:

It's also the only red LED headlamp that can be used to safely walk around hiking paths at night and it's right in your budget range.

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no. There have been other red headlamps mentioned between this thread and the other that can be used to safely walk around hiking paths at night including the Coleman Max and the Zebralight.

brad

This is not exactly a headlamp, but it can be used as one because it comes with a useful clip and pivot accessory that could be attached to a hat, headband, glasses, etc. It is also cheaper than most other options mentioned and has variable brightness. The Photon Freedom coin cell flashlight. Order it with the red LED and preferably the "covert" option to reduce spill light. www.photonlight.com

The other light that comes to mind is the newest version of the Petzl Tikka (edit: Tikka 2 XP) because it makes such a good headlamp for almost any use. However, it is pricy and the red LED is not dimmable.

You could also probably find something from a supplier of telescopes.

Marduke said:

There is a recent red headlamp thread in the headlamp forum. Did you check there??

Click to expand...

DM51 said:

Wrong forum. Please acquaint yourself with where to post. We have a Headlamps sub-forum, which is plain for all to see, and obviously this belongs there. I'm moving it there now.

Click to expand...

why does it seem like you two always come in pairs, one notifies that there's an existing thread and another notify its in the wrong place