backup cockpit lighting

Jack Allison wrote in
ink.net:

Since I'm a new instrument student, I can't comment on IFR at
night...but, having done a fair amount of VFR night flying, I've found
S-Lite's version of the lip light (can't remember the name at the
moment, has four LEDs, you can choose which color you like) to work
well. I went with green and like the results. Based on Bob's
comments, however, I'll have to look at my brand new Jepp charts to
see how they look under the green light.

The Jepp charts are very readable under green light, not so good under
red. Blue ink under red light washes out, but under green it appears
black. I haven't found a color except for green that isn't very visible
using green light.

--
Regards,

Stan

Stan Gosnell wrote:


The Jepp charts are very readable under green light, not so good under
red. Blue ink under red light washes out, but under green it appears
black. I haven't found a color except for green that isn't very visible
using green light.


The major key to map visibility and not ruining your night vision isn't
so much color as DIM. Oddly, the best and handiest source I've found
for reading charts at night is to use the backlight from my portable GPS
as the map light. It makes a large area, dim illumination that doesn't
mess up the colors.

On 12/27/04 9:03 AM, Ron Natalie wrote the following:
Stan Gosnell wrote:


The Jepp charts are very readable under green light, not so good under
red. Blue ink under red light washes out, but under green it appears
black. I haven't found a color except for green that isn't very visible
using green light.


The major key to map visibility and not ruining your night vision isn't
so much color as DIM. Oddly, the best and handiest source I've found
for reading charts at night is to use the backlight from my portable GPS
as the map light. It makes a large area, dim illumination that doesn't
mess up the colors.

Here is a pretty good flashlight for reading charts where you want white light:

http://members.cox.net/rigelsys/rigelsys.html

I have the red/white "Skylight" version and it is completely dim-able down to
zero light. It is not as bright as you might want for outdoor walking path
lighting, but either color is bright enough for anything you might need to do in
the cockpit.

Sporty's sells it too.

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 21:48:49 GMT, Mitty wrote:

On 12/27/04 9:03 AM, Ron Natalie wrote the following:
Stan Gosnell wrote:


The Jepp charts are very readable under green light, not so good under
red. Blue ink under red light washes out, but under green it appears
black. I haven't found a color except for green that isn't very visible
using green light.


The major key to map visibility and not ruining your night vision isn't
so much color as DIM. Oddly, the best and handiest source I've found
for reading charts at night is to use the backlight from my portable GPS
as the map light. It makes a large area, dim illumination that doesn't
mess up the colors.

Here is a pretty good flashlight for reading charts where you want white light:

http://members.cox.net/rigelsys/rigelsys.html

I have the red/white "Skylight" version and it is completely dim-able down to
zero light. It is not as bright as you might want for outdoor walking path
lighting, but either color is bright enough for anything you might need to do in
the cockpit.

I have a little "RayOVac" (TM) blue, single LED flashlight. Although
it looks bulky, it's very light and comes with a clip that works on
the bill of a cap. It runs off three AAA batteries with an advertised
life of 200 hours.

I've worn it on IFR night flights of nearly 3 hours and it was always
comfortable.

Cheap too. As I recall it ran around $14 or $17 dollars.

Of course with the lighting in the Deb (and most old planes) that is
the primary lighting while a good flashlight can be the secondary.
I typically carry two with one being a 2 cell "mag light" and one
being a 3 cell "Mag Light". Not much good for cockpit lighting, but
it sure works around the airport. If it didn't reflect so much inside
the darn thing would make a good landing light. :-))

When all else fails you can use one of the big lights by putting your
hand over the lens and letting the light leak through your fingers.
It's dim and it's red. Just don't let the white light shine through
or you really will be on instruments until your night vision comes
back.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com
Sporty's sells it too.

Roger wrote in
news
I typically carry two with one being a 2 cell "mag light" and one
being a 3 cell "Mag Light". Not much good for cockpit lighting, but
it sure works around the airport. If it didn't reflect so much inside
the darn thing would make a good landing light. :-))

If you want bright (and reliability) get one of the LED replacement bulbs
for the MagLights. The Luxeon LEDs actually put out more light than
Krypton bulbs, and last for many, many years, typically over 100,000
hours of use. I had given up on MagLights because of reliability issues,
but with the improvements in LED technology, I think they're worth a
look. LEDs work very well for me for preflights, because they make it
easier to see the oil levels in sight gauges. A thin layer of dim yellow
oil can be hard to see with a relatively yellow light, but the LED light
makes it stand out very well. I will never buy another incandescent
bulb, not for flashlights or for my house. They've been overtaken by
technology, and are too expensive and wasteful for continued use.

--
Regards,

Stan

Agree on the LED conversion of the mini-Mag. I replaced the bulbs with
the TerraLUX MiniStar 2. I also got pyrex lenses to replace the too soft
plastic ones.

Another option, the Inova 24/7. It's multi functioned with low and high
intensity white and a pretty bright red. It also has several signal
modes that are more useful when earth bound. It uses a 123 lithium cell
- which are obscenely expensive if you buy them in a store, but can be
gotten almost as reasonably as AAs online. They have a long shelf life,
last forever with an LED and are lighter than AAs.

JJF

Stan Gosnell wrote:
Roger wrote in
news

I typically carry two with one being a 2 cell "mag light" and one
being a 3 cell "Mag Light". Not much good for cockpit lighting, but
it sure works around the airport. If it didn't reflect so much inside
the darn thing would make a good landing light. :-))


If you want bright (and reliability) get one of the LED replacement bulbs
for the MagLights. The Luxeon LEDs actually put out more light than
Krypton bulbs, and last for many, many years, typically over 100,000
hours of use. I had given up on MagLights because of reliability issues,
but with the improvements in LED technology, I think they're worth a
look. LEDs work very well for me for preflights, because they make it
easier to see the oil levels in sight gauges. A thin layer of dim yellow
oil can be hard to see with a relatively yellow light, but the LED light
makes it stand out very well. I will never buy another incandescent
bulb, not for flashlights or for my house. They've been overtaken by
technology, and are too expensive and wasteful for continued use.

Foster wrote:
: Agree on the LED conversion of the mini-Mag. I replaced the bulbs with
: the TerraLUX MiniStar 2. I also got pyrex lenses to replace the too soft
: plastic ones.

: Another option, the Inova 24/7. It's multi functioned with low and high
: intensity white and a pretty bright red. It also has several signal
: modes that are more useful when earth bound. It uses a 123 lithium cell
: - which are obscenely expensive if you buy them in a store, but can be
: gotten almost as reasonably as AAs online. They have a long shelf life,
: last forever with an LED and are lighter than AAs.

My problem with all the LED lights and conversions for the mini-mags is that
they are all *too* bright. My plane has red flood and a dozen or so red bulbs behind
the panel. I've bought into the theory that the least possible amount of light you
can use the better your night vision will remain. A second's blast of white from a
minimag will blow out my night vision.

I took a regular mini-mag, and bought a T-1 sized green LED... just the bare
LED. It was the brightest I could find, but most conversions use 4 or more LEDs to
replace the white bulb. Anyway, the spacing of the terminals on the LED is the same
as the white bulb, so that fits in great. Trouble is putting a resistor inline to
limit the current of the 2.1v bulb with 3.0v batteries. I ended up taking a 39 ohm
resistor to limit the current to about 25 mA. Using a small piece of double
insulation (think lamp cord, but for about 24 gauge solid wire), I folded the leads
back on each other with the double insulation between them:

_______
-___R___-
|________ | - Resistor config
________|

o o
ooooooooo o
ooooooooo - Insulator config threaded between resistor leads as shown.
Conductors lay on opposite sides in the crease between the double wire sheath
insulation. It fits nicely between the two AA's in the light and inserts the
resistance inline. Works great, it's just bright enough to see a chart, doesn't ruin
night vision, runs forever, and the green+red is enough color to discern just about
everything you need.

-Cory


--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************

Got a product number or something for the Luxeon bulb that
fits into the MagLite?

thanks

Here's where I got mine:

http://www.pocketlights.com/terralux_ministar2.asp

Blanche wrote:

Got a product number or something for the Luxeon bulb that
fits into the MagLite?

thanks

Blanche wrote in news:1104360173.687273
@irys.nyx.net:

Got a product number or something for the Luxeon bulb that
fits into the MagLite?

Google LED conversion and you'll find many choices. The LED Museum,
http://www.ledmuseum.org, has reviews and links for many sources.

--
Regards,

Stan