Red Beam LED Flashlight

OK, it's freezing here in Colorado so I can't go outside with my telescope tonight. I do need your advice though to help me out with future viewing sessions. I need a red LED flashlight to help me look at star charts at night. The red color won't affect my night vision. Any suggestions for a source? Thanks!

Personally, I'd probably make my own, using an old PR-2 incandescent flashlight bulb and a 5 MM red LED. (A red LED requires less than 3 volts to operate at full brightness, which makes it easy to use it in virtually any 2-cell flashlight that originally came with a PR-2 style bulb - no voltage up-converters or other fancy circuitry required).

Although it's been covered before, the conversion is easy: Crush the glass envelope on the original bulb with a pair of pliers, use a dremel tool to clean out any remaining 'innerds' inside the base of the bulb, and then solder a red LED to the bulb's center pin and metal base (long LED lead to the center pin, shorter LED lead to the metal base). Ideally, you would also want to solder a 68 or 75 ohm resistor in series with the longer lead, so as to keep the LED from drawing more than 0.02 amps of current. Install it in place of original bulb, and you're set.

You might want a Photon Freedom 'to the max' red 'with covert nose' (meaning the led is shielded except in front). The nice thing about Photons is that the brightness is continuously variable.
The cheapest place to get them is http://www.batteryjunction.com/phfrmipesafl.html $11.45 for the red covert + shipping ($3.95 I think).
They come with a clip so you can put them on a visor, and also a lanyard. Batteries are cheap on eBay, and they have amazing battery life.
It looks like you can save 5% with coupon code CPF2006 - confirmed. it worked. The total was $14.83
In fact. I'm ordering one of these right now. Thanks for pushing me over the edge.

The Eternalight Derringer has a red LED and two whites. The red has two levels. Low should be good for your needs. The only problem might be that you have to cycle through the white levels to get to red. Of course, you could just cover the whites with your finger while cycling to red.

Geoff

Gerber Infinity

A2, or something as simple as a minimag with drilled out reflector and a red led.

Photon Proton.
Continuously adjustable red and white leds, 1AA.

Perfect astronomer's light.

Second the Freedom in Red w/ covert. Beautifully designed function.

I'll second the Gerber infinity ultra with red led (natch!). That's what I use for the same purpose. My local Astronomy shop (Widescreen centre FYI) does a variable power red led, but I always thought it too expensive and not robust enough to hold up in general torch usage.



Be lucky...

The red SAFElight is great. They're free somewhere now, too, with purchase of white SAFElight.

greenlight said:

The red SAFElight is great. They're free somewhere now, too, with purchase of white SAFElight.

Click to expand...

The buy one, get one free deal is at EDC Depot:

https://edcdepot.com/merchantmanager/product_info.php?cPath=5&products_id=92

They also have a 5% coupon code, "CPF".

A headlamp is very handy for working in the dark. Some have red leds and some have red lenses.

Take a look at the Gerber Foreman Task Light:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=148212

Available at BrightGuy.com for less than $20.

Leon Palmer (aka CPF Username Rigelsys?) teaches astronomy out west and has a company that specializes in selling his own accessories for the hobby. He has a number of lights in red and other colors that are designed specifically for astronomy. They are all variable output and can be used very dimly if desired.

Check out the Rigel Systems flashlight page for some cool lights designed specifically for astronomy. They are relatively inexpensive and the new Minis are probably still available for even less than the stated price through a CPF Group Buy if you email Leon.

I have one of Leon's new Minis and I love it.

The energizer co. makes 2 different headlamps, with one or two red LEDs. They're cheap and available at tarjay and hallmart and everywhere else.

Another option is a Peak with a red led. I don't have one, but they are available in most of their AAA and N cell line, and they offer light dimmer caps as well.

Another vote for Rigel Systems products....they are designed for this very purpose. I have a Skylite that is equipped with both red and green LEDs; the unit has a thumbwheel to adjust beam intensity; it runs on a single 9 volt battery and it comes with a nice neck lanyard; I think this would be an excellent choice for your needs.

Places that sell astronomy stuff commonly sell red-LED lights, and many are variable as well.

These are not built as rugged or water resistant like what you'd probably expect from a typical flashlight, but then, your astronomy equipment probably isn't all that rugged or waterproof either.
~
[edit]
Also--if yo go to star parties, DO NOT bring ANYTHING but RED lights. DO NOT bring these "combo" green+red, or white+red lights, or blue+red "hunting" lights,,, or anything but red-only. You will hit the "wrong" light sooner or later, and it will not only jack your vision but everyone else's near as well.
It's common courtesy--RED LIGHTS ONLY at observing parties.
~

If you have a 2AA Mini-mag, you could get the RED Niteize upgrade module, with the new, more robust IQ Switch.

That way, you'll have the option of going 100%, 50%, or 25% of red beam intensity.

I've upgraded a MM this very way, and use it every night for those 3AM nature calls. Its great for night adapted vision - no scorching of the retinas.

...DO NOT bring these "combo" green+red, or white+red lights, or blue+red "hunting" lights,,, or anything but red-only. You will hit the "wrong" light sooner or later, and it will not only jack your vision but everyone else's near as well....

Click to expand...

Emphasis mine.

That would be very hard to do with a Rigel two-color light -- unless it was intentional. They don't bump on at 100%. If you rotate the wheel the wrong way they come on at a level so low that I doubt it is very much brighter than what the normal production level of rhodopsin could handle anyway so it certainly wouldn't set you back very far in terms of night adapted vision. The light is, after all, designed by an astronomer for astronomers. These lights have gone through numerous incarnations over the years in their development and they are quite well thought out for the intended purpose of preserving night adapted vision.

This would also probably be a good time to mention that the vast majority of 'red' lights sold for the preservation of scotopic vision are not red at all. Most fall into the ~625-630 nm orange range -- which the rods are still sensitive to.

The red LEDs used in the Rigels are at ~660 nm wavelength, which is actually beyond rod sensitivity -- a claim inferred by most who sell orange lights as red. If you're looking for a red light to preserve scotopic vision be sure to read the fine print and don't buy a light with a shorter wavelength than ~640 nm. There are very few lights offered for sale that are even the right color.