lampeDépêche
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- May 15, 2012
- Messages
- 1,241
Abstract: I got some deep red LEDS, and put them into my Photon. I like the result!
On a recent thread, I was touting the advantages of using a Photon Freedom for preserving night-vision.
I am not an astronomer, but I do read in bed at night, and my wife doesn't want bright lights waking her up. In addition, I have read reports that certain kinds of blue wavelengths, in certain intensities, can stimulate wakefulness, whereas I'm trying to read myself to sleep. So for all of these reasons, I like a dim red light. And I can clip the Photon Covert Red to my glasses and never notice the weight.
But on other threads, I have also seen people say that the common "reds" you find in e.g. the Photon and other LED lights are not true reds, but only oranges. And they may not be red *enough* to get all of the good effects of red light. This seemed strange to me, because it sure looks red to me. But the people talking about its orangeness are people whose opinions I trust.
So I tried an experiment.
I bought some 660nm 5mm LEDs from an online supply company. Dirt cheap--about 50 cents a piece.
It was not hard to take apart the Photon, pop the old LED out the front, trim the legs on the new one, and install the new one in the Covert shroud--5 minutes tops.
The good news: it's really much redder! When I use the new 660 red for a while, and then turn on the standard Photon Red, it is *so* orange, almost yellow, that I can't believe I ever thought it was red!
The mixed news: it is a *lot* dimmer, at any power level. This is spec'ed into the LED: the supply company sells a 630nm which is rated at 10,000mcd. The 660nm is rated at 2,000mcd. Yes, part of that is a difference of angle in the bare emitter--the redder LED has a wider angle. But there is also a difference of total lumen output. And the wider angle gets gobbled up by the Covert shroud as well.
It's a lot dimmer. Still plenty to read by, but I'm running it on full power, instead of maybe half-power as I used to with the orange/red emitter.
On the whole, though? I like it. If you want genuine deep red, and if you want dim in any case, then do this simple swap. You get an even better low-level red than the unmodified Photon Freedom was to start with.
On a recent thread, I was touting the advantages of using a Photon Freedom for preserving night-vision.
I am not an astronomer, but I do read in bed at night, and my wife doesn't want bright lights waking her up. In addition, I have read reports that certain kinds of blue wavelengths, in certain intensities, can stimulate wakefulness, whereas I'm trying to read myself to sleep. So for all of these reasons, I like a dim red light. And I can clip the Photon Covert Red to my glasses and never notice the weight.
But on other threads, I have also seen people say that the common "reds" you find in e.g. the Photon and other LED lights are not true reds, but only oranges. And they may not be red *enough* to get all of the good effects of red light. This seemed strange to me, because it sure looks red to me. But the people talking about its orangeness are people whose opinions I trust.
So I tried an experiment.
I bought some 660nm 5mm LEDs from an online supply company. Dirt cheap--about 50 cents a piece.
It was not hard to take apart the Photon, pop the old LED out the front, trim the legs on the new one, and install the new one in the Covert shroud--5 minutes tops.
The good news: it's really much redder! When I use the new 660 red for a while, and then turn on the standard Photon Red, it is *so* orange, almost yellow, that I can't believe I ever thought it was red!
The mixed news: it is a *lot* dimmer, at any power level. This is spec'ed into the LED: the supply company sells a 630nm which is rated at 10,000mcd. The 660nm is rated at 2,000mcd. Yes, part of that is a difference of angle in the bare emitter--the redder LED has a wider angle. But there is also a difference of total lumen output. And the wider angle gets gobbled up by the Covert shroud as well.
It's a lot dimmer. Still plenty to read by, but I'm running it on full power, instead of maybe half-power as I used to with the orange/red emitter.
On the whole, though? I like it. If you want genuine deep red, and if you want dim in any case, then do this simple swap. You get an even better low-level red than the unmodified Photon Freedom was to start with.