Best Red LED light for reading charts?

MrBenchmark

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Alright, this forum has me hooked!

I'm looking for a light that I can use to read star charts. I've got several red LED flashlights, a couple of them are rigel systems lights that have a variable brightness. (This is very useful!) Is there anything better? The rigel lights work - but they are fragile. Aside from mechanical issues, DEET based insect repellent (mandatory in Texas) melts the plastic housing of the light!

I have an Inova X5T red LED light - but it's really too bright for reading charts. (I use it to navigate around at night - from the dark site where I do astronomy, I can use it instead of my headlights to leave the site!)

I've considered a red LED Photon Freedom Covert - it's small, has variable brightness and fairly inexpensive. Anyone know how dim it's dimmest setting is? (If the answer is "too dim to seem useful, then it's probably about right!) Is there something better out there? I'd like something pretty indestructible, but that will let me preserve my dark adaptation as much as possible.

I know this is a weird question - usually discussions here are about bright lights, not dim ones...
 

paulr

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There have been a few other threads about dim lights. Too bad about the DEET vs the Rigel. I wonder if the Freedom might have the same problem. The Freedom at its dimmest level is very dim, though.

Why don't you just put a piece of black electrical tape over your Inova and poke a pinhole in the tape? That gives you an indestructable light that's exactly as bright as you want it to be (depending on the pinhole size).
 

KevinL

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CMG Infinity non-Ultra in red? DEET doesn't eat through aluminium. If it does you have bigger problems with applying it... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Batterystation still has some CMG Inf classics in red. You might want to check it out.
 

MrBenchmark

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[ QUOTE ]
paulr said:
I wonder if the Freedom might have the same problem.

Why don't you just put a piece of black electrical tape over your Inova and poke a pinhole in the tape?

[/ QUOTE ]

I wondered that about the Freedom myself.

The tape idea is pretty reasonable. But having something that's variable would be really nice. As your eyes become more dark adapted, you need less light, so you'd have to start out with bigger holes, and then make them smaller, which is hard to do. (Or it seems that way to me, anyway.)
 

paulr

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OK, poke a bunch of tiny holes, and then cover them with a second piece of tape. Peel back the second piece of tape to uncover as few or as many of the holes as you want. You could even do something fancy, like put the pinholes on one side of the bezel, then have a rotating cap on the bezel with a hole that covers or uncovers more or fewer of the pinholes as you turn it. Some black paper and rubber bands could probably do a good job of that.

By the way, the red Infinity is quite bright. It's a good light but you'd want to do some similar pinhole trick.
 

MrBenchmark

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Thanks. I'll think about the pinhole idea. Keeping it idiot proof is the main thing - it's dark, it's often cold so your dexterity is not great, and it's often wet. (dew).
 

paulr

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I'm disappointed to hear you didn't like the Rigel. I've been wanting one for a while. If you really want to be fancy, maybe you could set up something with crossed polarizers. Just glue a piece of polarizer over the end of the light, and then make a friction-fit cap with another piece of polarizer in the end. Then twist the cap to adjust the brightness.
 

Leeoniya

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a really really really really underdriven luxeon? hehe. actually i think for reading maps you want something close to the size of a Photon2 not an inova, except on almost dead batteries, you can also just make a very simple voltage regulator using just a 3v source that u can get from any button cell, a overvoltage protection resistor and a potentiometer for dimming., 4 component circuit that'll cost you about $5 with the battery. and if you want to go surface mount, you can fit it into any TINY enclosure of your choice. and now that i think of it, i'd prolly go with all surface mount components, including the LED since surface mounts tend to be dim as it is, that'll keep the whole board flat and 1cmx1cm square. but thats just me
 

Leeoniya

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if you're gonna go my route, using a 3v button cell, most surface mount red LEDs have a Vf of 2V and If of 20ma, that gives 100ohms/LED leaving 50ohms to drop the 1V@20ma. so go grab a 50ohm resistor in line with a 200ohm or 250ohm trim pot, a surface mount LED, and a button cell. whoala!
 

DharmaBum

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I would take a look at one of Peak's 1 AAA "prototype" lights. The bodies on these "prototypes" is exactly the same as the ones on the Arc AAA's, but the aluminum ones are not anodized. You can also get the same body in brass. They currently have both the brass in red LED and the aluminum and they're $15 shipped. I ordered and had mine two days later. Peak tends to "underpower" their LED"s a bit whereas Arc put them in serious overdrive, so I would think that the Peak AAA would be great for you. Someone figured out that you can really smooth the beam and blobs out on these lights by putting a piece of satin-finished scotch tape over the end of the bezel! It works really awesome and dims the light just a touch, too. Here's the link for Peak's discount page where you'll find the red AAA lights (at the bottom of the page. The rest are N cell lights):

http://www.peakledsolutions.net/disc.html
 

BC0311

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Welcome to CPF, MrBenchmark.

It's not inexpensive, but if you want indestructible you might consider the Surefire L1 with a red LED. You have two output options and the lower output is very dim.

It'll run for a long time on a single CR123A on dim. The hard anodizing (III) will stand up to DEET just fine.

When you are navigating your way in the dark, having the higher output option is very handy.

Replacing the stock optic with a satin finish McFlood reflector is an inexpensive modification that improves the quality of flood a great deal. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
 

jaa

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How about the PALight? It has a "find me" mode that is very dim, as well as "low" and "high" settings. The rubber Sanoprene case should not be affected by DEET.
 

Spudman

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Here is another suggestion. I've used the inova 24/7 at the telescope. Hanging it from my neck works as well as a headlamp for walking around. When using it at a star chart you can cover one of the red leds (with a finger) for less light, or if that is still too much you could try the pinhole in tape method.

I've also used the arc4 with a maglite red cover. You can adjust the brightness levels that way, but I like the convenience of a light I don't have to hold.
 

chmsam

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If by "navigating" you mean just walking and moving about, any of these suggestions are very good. However, I found that using charts and maps with just one color of light is a pain. Very few maps and charts use only one color for details as subtle as even roads and highways.

So, for the uninitiated reading this, using a red light on a map that shows roads in red, is a small problem. Ditto for using a green light on topo maps. I don't want to carry four or five (more) lights (I know, I know, blasphemy). What works for me is an Eternalight Rave'n 2. At my age I find that I go to less and less raves each year and might not want to make others queasy by goin' nekkid at Burning Man, but the lights like this one that are designed for raves work great. Also, several rave lights let you dim the led's as well.

Not to mention that they really come in handy when you want to attract the hotties and they can't hear you with the loud industrial techno music. Hey, I'm old and married but I ain't dead.
 

Spudman

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Chmsam,

He is talking about using it on star charts. Most of these are intended for use with a red light. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Gotta preserve that night vision.
 

Flying Turtle

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It won't be DEET-proof (or waterproof) but the Eternalight Derringer offers two levels of red light in addition to the white LEDs. It's easily pocketable and relatively cheap.
 

BC0311

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Spudman is correct. Yes, I was talking about walking back to the car or house at night. Star charts are meant to be viewed with red lights.

You are correct, chmsam, about using any color other than "white" for viewing maps. Color light makes it difficult to impossible to distinguish features if the maps use colors and tones to communicate information.

The various red tint slip-on filters are an option if you don't mind the extra bulk. The MiniMaglite filter and cap works on 1" outside-diameter bezels. The Surefire E series beamfilters are pretty nice too, they have a flip-up version now. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 

MrBenchmark

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[ QUOTE ]
paulr said:
I'm disappointed to hear you didn't like the Rigel. I've been wanting one for a while. If you really want to be fancy, maybe you could set up something with crossed polarizers.

[/ QUOTE ]

I had the same idea about crossed polarizers! Yeah, that would be the way to go.

I may give Rigel another look. I realized my rigel light is 7 years old or better, and hey, they've changed their design a lot. Go figure. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif They are still plastic - but they do at least advertise that they are waterproof. This is a big deal - the dew at my site is horrible sometimes.

In terms of functionality, the one I have is perfect for reading starcharts - it's just rather more fragile than I'd like. I need to look at one of the rigel lights I guess.
 

MrBenchmark

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Thanks for all of the great suggestions - I've got quite a few more things to look into now! Y'all do not disappoint!

The funniest thing about all this is watching the ongoing debate about light in my astronomy group. They really hate green laser pointers - all the photographers are terrified that their photos will be ruined. However, to drive those CCD cameras, they use - laptops, which emit a *lot* of light, even with a red filter over the LCD panel.
 

Lurker

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I think a covert Freedom would meet your needs very well. I don't know about it's resistance to DEET, but the case is a high quality glass infused resin that seems indestructable to me. It is definitely not just cheap plastic. The dimming range is impressive, too. It's lowest level is almost undetectable unless looking into the LED. In a completely dark windowless room you have to hold it about 2 inches from something to see the beam, and then it is very faint. You will not be disappointed in how dim it will get. It also gets bright enough to walk by and comes with a neat clip that can be used to turn it into a headlamp for hands free use. The battery on the red one lasts very long, too. Despite it's tiny size, this is a serious lighting tool.
 
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