Night lighting niggle ...

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Plastimo Contest Bulkhead compass .... LED lighting so dim that I still need to shine a torch on it ...

Echo-sounder digital display also near zero lighting ...

Has anyone modified there's to have readable lighting ??

I have a couple of LED's from a car acc's counter that I think may improve matters ... and thought to mount them external to the devices so that threy direct onto the areas to read - instead of the edge lighting in place.
 
probablly the easiest way is to buy a couple of largish 12v red leds,the boat voltage can affect them but they are cheap enough so worth experimenting with,the car one may not be 12v ,no reason not to mount them externally,if all is ok put heatshrink over the legs or a blob osilicone to prevent corrosion and barebits touching each other and away you go
 
The car ones are 12v ... actually they are fitted into windscreen washer bits for boy-racer fitting to bonnet !! They shine a blue light fwd down the bonnet ... I just removed the washer bit and had the led's alone. They are relatively bright ... so now just needs to find way to mount .... Compass is not so hard - a blob of hot-melt glue can do that ... but the E/S display needs more spread light ....
 
My compass is lit 0- but its just so dim and blurred. To stop shining light too often - I steer by keeping the blurred number aligned ! Every so often shine light to make sure I haven't skipped a number !!
The compass has a rubber piece that sits over top of globe with the led in it ... so that it shines vertically down through the compass globe. I will try and up this light ... maybe try a grain of wheat bulb from model railway !! Or a better LED .. maybe the car one I have can be fitted in there ...

The E?S though has edge lighting around the lcd panel ... more difficult to sort.... so this may need a mounted light above on a stalk ? maybe an LED map reader .. with red filter ?
 
I think the point about blue light at night is that the most sensitive part of the retina is that which gives peripheral vision which is why you should look to the side of a very faint object if you want to see it. You can test this on the Great Nebula in Andromeda. Red vision is less sensitive generally, which is why the moon looks blue even though it isn't. Because red vision is so little used at night it causes less deterioration of one's adaptation to low light and hence is less "glaring". Full accomodation to darkness can take 3/4 hour.
 
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The car ones are 12v ... actually they are fitted into windscreen washer bits for boy-racer fitting to bonnet !!

[/ QUOTE ]

If I were you, I would check them before blowing them. All lighting stuff for boy-racers I've seen are low voltage (1,5V) LEDs, with a current limiter resistor somehere in the lead or cigarette socket.
A good source for 12V coloured lighting are computer shops specializing in case-modding.
Dim white or blue light is better for night lighting IMHO, I always found red only useful if bright enough, and then it is too intrusive.
 
Boy racer lights ... 12v

Definitely - packing says 12v ... and I've already had them powered up from my 12v Power pack ..

I'm now starting to think about a mapping light with nght light filter ... or even a battery independent light that can be velcro mounted - the type you buy to fit into lofts / stairwells etc. that require no mains or connection. You can get some real small ones ... with red or coloured lens - could do the trick. Have to make sure of course that they don't shine outboard as in an nav light ...
 
Re: Boy racer lights ... 12v

Is this what you are looking for

vh84.jpg
 
Re: Boy racer lights ... 12v

That'll do ... I saw in shop other day a mapping light ... very small LED job with very stiff flex lead ... actually stiff enough to have ciggy lighter plug direct and no mountings.
But I would prefer to remove plug and wire in through bulkhead etc.

Here's compass ... not a lot of light there !! just to the right of Ed's head ...

003-August52007_SA005.jpg


General view fwd ... yep - you cannot see the instruments ! Compass is to left and ES is to right of companionway ....

017-August52007_SA093.jpg
 
NIGHT VISION and RED LIGHT - the myth

There was a thread earlier this year to which I made some submissions on the basis of experience gained from some work on reading emergency plans and reference material under sub-normal lighting conditions.

A couple of reference papers to show that red light is not now regarded as the best colour to use for instruments and viewing diagrams.

http://www.stlplaces.com/night_vision.html


Page 134 of
http://hfetag.dtic.mil/docs-hfs/mil-std-1472f.pdf

I am sure there's some work going on with the new generation of LEDs for use in variable lighting intensity and colour for operational systems. I'll see if I can ferret out something.


Wasn't there an adverse comment on red lighting in a recent MCA / MAIB report on Pride of Bilboa, I think ?
 
The peripheral parts of the retina are less sensitive to red light than to blue so exposing a dark adapted eye to red light does not affect your dark adaptation as much. In the late sixties at university in research studies using dark adapted eyes it was quite acceptable to go for a tea break wearing dense red goggles sealed to the face for up to twenty minutes at a time in normal lighting without affecting adaptation at all. It didn't do much for your snooker though!
 
That's odd. I have just been sailing a boat with a newish Plastimo bulkhead compass - not sure what model - with red LED lighting and it was just perfect. Exactly right to easily read the card but not impair night vision. In contrast the non-adjustable lighting on the navman instruments was too bright and so they were off most of the time.
 
Re: Boy racer lights ... 12v

sorry kermudjon might be being a bit thick here but which was the better blue or red or should i say the most user friendly,/reccomended the reason i ask is i'm going to experiment with leds so might as well start with the correct colour.
 
Re: Boy racer lights ... 12v

Red is always better, ive always found it easy to read under with little or no adjustment.
With LED's just make sure their voltage regulated if you think there could be even a small power surge, people keep buying cheap and popping them
 
Perhaps too simple but why don't you just replace the LED with a brighter one? There are a whole range of LEDs of different diameter, colour and brightness - you can even buy flashing ones! Look at Maplin or RS components. As regards voltage just fit an appropriate resistor to limit the current to the working level at 15V or fit a varaible resistor and adjust the light output to suit you(motoring at 15V or sailing at 12.5)
 
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Wasn't there an adverse comment on red lighting in a recent MCA / MAIB report on Pride of Bilboa, I think ?

[/ QUOTE ] I think you have got things a bit muddled. On the PoB the 2nd officer had removed the red shades, they were designed to be removed, from the lights in the chart room because it was his preference to have white lighting. There were other factors in the report relating to the chart room lighting.

My preference is also to have subdued white light both over a chart table and for the compass. My compass light simply has a 24 volt bulb in it.
 
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