I know red preserves night vision and has tactical uses. I have a 1AA amber LED (CMG infinity I think) that was mistakenly sent by a company instead of the white I wanted. Does amber have common tactical uses, preserves night vision better than white but not as good as red, or ...? I've been curious about the uses.
What is amber LED for?
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Ian2381
Enlightened
I think It's Warm/Neutral tint LED and is better in color rendition outdoors as compared to cool whites.
65535
Flashlight Enthusiast
Amber and white are far different colors regardless of color temp.
I can't think of anything aside from decorative or theatre/film that would benefit from it. It's a semi pleasing color though. Maybe just a color they offer.
I can't think of anything aside from decorative or theatre/film that would benefit from it. It's a semi pleasing color though. Maybe just a color they offer.
yellow light bulbs don't attract insects anywhere near as much as white ones and amber LEDs have lower Vf I believe compared to white LEDs. Some lanterns used to have amber night lights either incan or later LEDs but I figure an LED putting out the same amount of "usable" light as an amber one isn't going to attract a lot of bugs and the lower Vf doesn't mean more efficient as everyone has been putting a lot of effort into making white LEDs more efficient but not amber ones that I know of.
Bullzeyebill
Flashaholic
What is the CRI of amber light?
Bill
Bill
Stereodude
Flashlight Enthusiast
I would imagine it is quite low.
I had looked into this many years ago, to decide whether I wanted yellow or white auxiliary driving lights on my vehicle. Here's what I found:
Amber is thought to be better for 'high contrast' lighting by some. Those who shoot target pistols/rifles seem to think yellow/amber tinted glasses improve their view of the target. ( Google 'high contrast glasses' to see what I mean ) I've even known people refer to yellow tinted glasses as 'night vision' glasses, since they think the high contrast lenses improve visibility in low-light driving situations.
As for lighting, 'Selective Yellow' lamps are thought to give better (subjective) visibility in foggy or rainy conditions, as the human eye tends to see yellow better than blue or violet. So, for automotive headlights, this might suggest yellow headlamps for better visibility...but regulations require white. Then come along 'dichroic' headlights, where they bend the blue light slightly off axis, letting the yellow be the main light pointing straight ahead.
Apply these thought processes, and you wind up with a yellow/amber LED flashlight. Since you have one, maybe you could answer the question "Do amber LEDs work better than white?
...Bob
Amber is thought to be better for 'high contrast' lighting by some. Those who shoot target pistols/rifles seem to think yellow/amber tinted glasses improve their view of the target. ( Google 'high contrast glasses' to see what I mean ) I've even known people refer to yellow tinted glasses as 'night vision' glasses, since they think the high contrast lenses improve visibility in low-light driving situations.
As for lighting, 'Selective Yellow' lamps are thought to give better (subjective) visibility in foggy or rainy conditions, as the human eye tends to see yellow better than blue or violet. So, for automotive headlights, this might suggest yellow headlamps for better visibility...but regulations require white. Then come along 'dichroic' headlights, where they bend the blue light slightly off axis, letting the yellow be the main light pointing straight ahead.
Apply these thought processes, and you wind up with a yellow/amber LED flashlight. Since you have one, maybe you could answer the question "Do amber LEDs work better than white?
...Bob
Flying Turtle
Flashaholic
The amber Photon Freedom I got a while back gives a bit more usable light than a red LED light without ruining night vision. And, in a coin cell light it runs, like the red, on one cell.
Geoff
Geoff
Ian2381
Enlightened
There is a P60 drop in in Ebay,
Has anyone bought one?
- CREE 7090 XR-E LED AMBER
- CREE LED R2 an aluminum reflector (light orange-peel-textured reflective coating)
- Max output: 300 lumen.
Has anyone bought one?
darknessemitter
Enlightened
- Joined
- May 14, 2008
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Not a whole lot of special uses for amber LEDs, just what people have already mentioned here. It's a little easier to read with than a red LED, but won't hurt your night vision as quickly as green or blue. Keychain ambers use a single cell instead of two for white, green or blue.
However, I'm guessing with white LEDs advancing more quickly in recent years, it's probably more practical in a lot of cases to just use an amber filter over a white LED if needed. Amber/yellow is one of the few filter colors that works effectively with white phosphor based LEDs, and the width of the yellow phosphor band will give you a bit more color rendition than a single-wavelength amber LED.
You might wanna hang onto that amber CMG infinity though. Even though amber LEDs might not be as handy as they used to be, they still have their uses, and a 1xAA amber light would be a nice reading light, and harder to find these days.
However, I'm guessing with white LEDs advancing more quickly in recent years, it's probably more practical in a lot of cases to just use an amber filter over a white LED if needed. Amber/yellow is one of the few filter colors that works effectively with white phosphor based LEDs, and the width of the yellow phosphor band will give you a bit more color rendition than a single-wavelength amber LED.
You might wanna hang onto that amber CMG infinity though. Even though amber LEDs might not be as handy as they used to be, they still have their uses, and a 1xAA amber light would be a nice reading light, and harder to find these days.
KeyGrip
Flashlight Enthusiast
This is just my experience, but amber is much easier on my eyes at night than any other color. It technically does affect my night vision unlike red, but I can see more detail with amber light than I can with red light.
hank
Flashlight Enthusiast
old thread but brief so I'll add:
Another main use for amber is to protect sea turtles -- they hatch out on beaches and head toward the brightest blue-white light available -- which should be the moon over the ocean: http://www.starrynightlights.com/light_pollution/Sea_Turtles/light_pollution_and_sea_turtles.html
I've also been giving amber LEDs (and yellow CFLs) to people with insomnia for several years, suggesting they try evening time "low blue light" (google it)
and using amber LED flashlights when I"m wakeful-at-night, to improve my chance of feeling sleepy again before the sun comes up. It often helps.
Another main use for amber is to protect sea turtles -- they hatch out on beaches and head toward the brightest blue-white light available -- which should be the moon over the ocean: http://www.starrynightlights.com/light_pollution/Sea_Turtles/light_pollution_and_sea_turtles.html
I've also been giving amber LEDs (and yellow CFLs) to people with insomnia for several years, suggesting they try evening time "low blue light" (google it)
and using amber LED flashlights when I"m wakeful-at-night, to improve my chance of feeling sleepy again before the sun comes up. It often helps.
Blue light in the evenings might actually be harmful. An amber LED will have almost no blue light and will not disrupt your melatonin cycle. So this is what you should be using for reading in bed at night and if you have to "go" in the middle of the night.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19375243
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19375243
