I want to make a red-beamed flashlight.
I don't need it for a specific purpose like hunting or whatever, I just think it would be a cool thing to have as my nightstand light.
I read something years ago about which wavelengths are responsible for waking your brain up (serotonin vs melatonin) and I seem to remember that it was the blue end of the spectrum.
That's enough of a reason to shakily justify building a red light :D
I have found out enough to know that a red filter over a white led isn't a good way to approach this, and that red led's have a lower Vf than white ones.
Unfortunately, I can't seem to find any hard info. I've found plenty about the merits or lack thereof of red light for preserving night vision, but little info about actually building one.
In particular, I'm having trouble tracking down a red emitter, and I don't know how I would go about driving one due to the lower Vf.
Direct drive? Regular driver plus protection resistor?
I did find a red emitter on DX, but it didn't have any specs shown, plus I'd like to get the emitter some time this year...
Can anyone steer me in the right direction?
I don't need it for a specific purpose like hunting or whatever, I just think it would be a cool thing to have as my nightstand light.
I read something years ago about which wavelengths are responsible for waking your brain up (serotonin vs melatonin) and I seem to remember that it was the blue end of the spectrum.
That's enough of a reason to shakily justify building a red light :D
I have found out enough to know that a red filter over a white led isn't a good way to approach this, and that red led's have a lower Vf than white ones.
Unfortunately, I can't seem to find any hard info. I've found plenty about the merits or lack thereof of red light for preserving night vision, but little info about actually building one.
In particular, I'm having trouble tracking down a red emitter, and I don't know how I would go about driving one due to the lower Vf.
Direct drive? Regular driver plus protection resistor?
I did find a red emitter on DX, but it didn't have any specs shown, plus I'd like to get the emitter some time this year...
Can anyone steer me in the right direction?
