What's the best light for a chart table? Red LED's are useless!

[PetiteFleur]

What\'s the best light for a chart table? Red LED\'s are useless!

Fitted a red LED light over the chart table in the spring but when used a couple of weeks ago found it was more than useless as I couldn't see the majenta lines or marks at all. As we were crossing the new Sunk precautionary areas at night it was bit disconcerting but ok after I'd switched on the original white fluorescent lamp which I had left in position. What is the forums opinion on the best lamp to use? I was using the Imray C30 chart at he time.

 

[npf1]

Re: What\'s the best light for a chart table? Red LED\'s are useless!

I've got both red and white at the nav station - like you, I end up using the white when I need to take a close look at the chart. But I do leave the red on at all other times.

Have often wondered what green would be like, which, I was once told by an RN man, is what some Navy vessels now use.

 

[Loginname]

Re: What\'s the best light for a chart table? Red LED\'s are useless!

I've got a white LED over mine. Seems OK.
I was under the impression that, these days, the idea that it must be red was a load of tosh and that the intensity is what matters.

Someone will be along shortly to give a definitive answer.

 

[michael_w]

Re: What\'s the best light for a chart table? Red LED\'s are useless!

I think the Aqua Signal (scroll down a bit, they're called Toronto) chart table lights are the dog's whotsits. They dim by using a nifty polarising filter rather than a red shade. Not cheap.

Worst things are those bendy car ones. Complete rubbish as the area of illumination is usually far too small. You have to keep on adjusting the poxy things.

 

[davies]

Re: What\'s the best light for a chart table? Red LED\'s are useless!

The red helps me find the chart table in the first place, but I use white for reading the chart.

 

[Conachair]

Re: What\'s the best light for a chart table? Red LED\'s are useless!

Found this http://stlplaces.com/night_vision_red_myth/
I nearly always use a LED headtorch with a red filter now at night, for cooking, chartwork etc. Though from that artical the fliter may just help by cutting down the total amount of light.

 

[sarabande]

Re: What\'s the best light for a chart table? Red LED\'s are useless!

as posted once or twice previously.

http://stlplaces.com/night_vision_red_myth/

To ensure that you get full colour discrimination on a paper chart, a dimmable WHITE light is the only answer. Reds around the cabin are fine to enable crew to locate themselves and their socks.

 

[jeanne]

Re: What\'s the best light for a chart table? Red LED\'s are useless!

I have read that there is no magic ´níght vision protection´in the colour red, it is simply that a red bulb will be dimmer than a white one of the same wattage. Fit a lower wattage white one and you have the same illumination power, without the problem of seeing the magenta lines.

 

[pampas]

Re: What\'s the best light for a chart table? Red LED\'s are useless!

Managed to get hold of some orange lights,the type for low voltage that are used in alarms for secruity about 2.5" dia base the lense has a frezel effect, one above dist.panel two in center of cabin and one in the elastic band space. 5 Watt feston bulbs instead or the original 10 Watt. Found to be excellent for reading charts and nice and soothing when in the scratcher. Incidently Blue light not very bright is the best colour for night use,most ships use a orange shade, one ship I was on, an experiment was carried out with different colours and shades,the mates agreed that the tinted blue was the most pleaseing but nothing more was heard. I think red was used,probably because red glass was easily produced and all Naval gun decks were red in order to reduce the visual impact of blood to the occupants.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

Re: What\'s the best light for a chart table? Red LED\'s are useless!

I use one more like this

But mine has a bulkhead fitting rather than plugging into the 12v socket. I find it gives a very nice spread of light and as I only turn it on when required it does not need to be LED. I think I have 5W festoons. I bought 2 for some reason, I still have the second unopened.

The nice thing is the flexibility, I can twist it away so that it is not in my eyes and as it is such a low wattage bulb does not kill my vision.

I think I originally bought from cpc but have spent 30 minutes searching and this is the best match I have found, if they are discontinued I am glad I bought 2!

I know you mentioned map lights, but this is not the same, the lamp is not coned and so is more alike a car interior light above the seats, if you see what I mean...

the best I found is here. If interested, you may be able to convert to bulkhead, though it may suit to be a 12v socket fitting,..

EDIT>>

found another image, this is the type of lamp head, though the flexi part on mine is quite different..

 

[maxi77]

Re: What\'s the best light for a chart table? Red LED\'s are useless!

It is now many years since watchkeeping was my day job, but from experience yes red lighting is lower intensity so your irisopens wider making it easier to see in real darkness. I think also you see more clearly with low intensity red light than with low intensity white light. For actual chart work we used lights which had both a dimmer and gradual red filter. All red allowed you to see the chart basics but to see all the detail you did need some white. Some chart symbols are almost invisible in red light.

By the way if you want to have full night vision immediately you need 'black lighting' even if you have been using dim red you do not have full night vision for a minute or so.

 

[Sy-Revolution]

Re: What\'s the best light for a chart table? Red LED\'s are useless!

I have both red and white. The red is a 9' neon tube from an auto factors, the sort of thing boy racers stick inside their cars, seems to work ok. Draws 0.3 amp.

 

[deep denial]

Re: What\'s the best light for a chart table? Red LED\'s are useless!

How about just keeping a pair of sunglasses by the chart table, using them at night with ordinary white light?

 

[jerryat]

Re: What\'s the best light for a chart table? Red LED\'s are useless!

[ QUOTE ]
I think the Aqua Signal (scroll down a bit, they're called Toronto) chart table lights are the dog's whotsits. They dim by using a nifty polarising filter rather than a red shade. Not cheap.

Worst things are those bendy car ones. Complete rubbish as the area of illumination is usually far too small. You have to keep on adjusting the poxy things.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, that's the one we've used on our boats for many years! Really excellent bit of kit. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Agree with you that the bendy ones are rubbish. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[geoffatstanpit]

Re: What\'s the best light for a chart table? Red LED\'s are useless!

Doesn't anyone use the old boy scout's trick any more for map reading at night without spoiling your night adaptation? Just shut one eye, turn on the torch, read map, turn off torch. You have one-eye vision for a few minutes but better than nothing and soon gets to be a habit. Very cheap solution to the problem!

 

[moody1]

Re: What\'s the best light for a chart table? Red LED\'s are useless!

[ QUOTE ]

We use same - in 12v version, but hubby removed the plug and adaptor as they were unreliable. The resulting flexi end was suitable to press into a drilled slot to fix with epoxy. Cable exiting behind and wired up.
We painted the lens apart from flat that directs exact at chart table with red lacquer. That way we have good light on chart, but subdued red around to reduce effect on vision. Hubby bought a handful of these and has plans to fit above bunks as reading lamps.