I have plenty of good led lights, but I need one to find and shoot Coyotes on my property without spooking them. Does a slip on filter work as well as a dedicated, colored LED torch for night hunting? I like the idea of buying a $6 filter for my Fenix TK30 rather that buy a $150 Wicked brand hunting light. Also, I read that green works well also, and lets you see further. Is this the case? Thanks!
Red LED vs. red filter for Coyotes
- Thread starter fatelvis
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kj2
Flashaholic
Filter might work, but you do lose some intensity.
ArmyTek has the Predator model with Red or Green led.
ArmyTek has the Predator model with Red or Green led.
Yeah, the filter doesn't send out more red for example, it just removes the "not-red" light....so your total lumens drops very low. The red LED on the other hand is sending out whatever its got, so, for the same lumen output, you typically will get more bang for the buck in cell drain, etc, out of a red led vs a red filter over a white led, etc.
Vinh had done some cool red led lights for hunting for example, for a jump over stock performance.
The human eye is more sensitive to the green/yellow end of the spectrum, than to red, so, for most people, they will see more with a green light than with a red light. Additionally, for the same cell draw, etc, most LED can more efficiently produce greener light than redder light...due to the involved phosphors, etc.
Vinh had done some cool red led lights for hunting for example, for a jump over stock performance.
The human eye is more sensitive to the green/yellow end of the spectrum, than to red, so, for most people, they will see more with a green light than with a red light. Additionally, for the same cell draw, etc, most LED can more efficiently produce greener light than redder light...due to the involved phosphors, etc.
langham
Enlightened
Do you have any capability to modify a light? I can make a red led light for $25 that will get out 200 yds pretty easily and yes it is a lot better to use a red led than to use a filter. In the past manufacturers had poor quality red leds, but with the Cree XP-E2 Red led it is much better. There are better options as well, you can buy a Nightmaster from Onestopthrowshop that will put out red light a long way, or if you are on a tighter budget it is possible to modify a SmallSun ZY-C10-S pretty easily to do something pretty similar with the above mentioned led and at 200 lm it is all around very usefull. I don't know of very many Red lights that utilize the highest bin Red XP-E2 led, but as mentioned by TEEJ Vinh does have some pretty beast products you may want to take a look at some of his.
It's my understanding that green LEDs are very inefficient, compared to blue or red LEDs. Yes, your eyes are much more sensitive to green wavelengths, but if you're going green, you may as well just use a white LED because it's probably more efficient. (The white LED being a blue LED + yellow phosphors, of course.)
It might just be cheaper to buy a red LED drop-in from Nailbender - drop it in a Solarforce host and you're good to go.
That said, I've never used a red LED for long distance shooting, so I don't know if it will help identify, or distinguish, targets at range.
That said, I've never used a red LED for long distance shooting, so I don't know if it will help identify, or distinguish, targets at range.
idleprocess
Flashaholic
Filtering a white LED for red cuts down the output a heck of a lot - it's something like >90% reduction. You'd probably be better off filtering a cheap incandescent at those output levels.
Green is what our eyes are most sensitive to, which is why it was used on early night vision scopes that had difficulty translating low light and near-IR into a visible image. It's undesirable for use as a light source in the dark since it shuts down dark adaptation.
The nice things about red LED's is that the light seems to go on forever and they're incredibly efficient relative to incans. Suggest spending a few more dollars on a decent dedicated light and be happy with it.
A filter will largely weeken throw of white light (i did try) IMO it doesn't really help for night hunting. Just got newsletter from Nitecore about this kind of kit may be helpful http://www.nitecore.com/productDetail.aspx?id=108
dj:litestick
Newly Enlightened
That has been my experience too. After experimenting with red and green for wooded and foliage areas, red turns the best detail distinguished in covert or colored low light. Green light blends everything together and you just can't distinguished dirt, branch, leaves, grass, and insects apart.
