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#21
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Stan Gosnell wrote:
"Stan Prevost" wrote in : My own experience is that red works well for me except on sectionals. Some of the red lamps I use are a little brighter than I would like but I don't find that they mess up my adaption even when falling directly on my face briefly. White light does mess me up unless it is very dim. I haven't used other colors. I keep a little white Photon microlight handy for looking at sectionals when needed, but it does mess up my vision because it is so bright. One problem for me with red light is that I have about a dozen gauges with red lines and red areas. Red light doesn't help much in seeing these. If the instrument lights fail and I have to rely on my own light, red ain't gonna cut it, because there is likely to be lots of stuff going on, and I need to know if I'm approaching limits on the engines, RPM, torque, oil temps and pressures, hydraulic systems, and everything else. I need to be able to see at a glance where the needles are in relation to the redlines. If red is adequate in your aircraft, then use whatever works for you. I've tried red, and don't like it. Same here and I like it less every year since I turned 40! :-) Matt |
#22
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I may be imagining this, since I can't find one now, but I could have sworn
I have seen some NACO approach plate PDFs which have terrain features in some shade of brown. In any case, the Jeppesen low altitude enroute charts certainly have colors. "Bob Gardner" wrote in message ... This is an IFR newsgroup, and I assume that everyone is using black-and-white charts. |
#23
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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. This unit isn't cheap (was last year's Christmas present) and the battery case has no cover, something I need to permanently fix. At the moment I use one of those velcro cord wraps around it. The LED brightness can be controlled and you can select between the single spot LED, three "flood" LEDs, or all. I find the "flood" setting works well. I also carry two flashlights in my bag, a 2-D cell maglight for preflight and a 2-AA cell maglight for pre-engine start stuff in the cockpit (could use my lip light but I don't put my headset on until after engine start and the avionics master comes on). Jack Allison PP-ASEL, instrument student |
#24
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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 |
#25
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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. |
#26
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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. |
#27
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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. |
#28
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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 |
#29
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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. |
#30
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Got a product number or something for the Luxeon bulb that
fits into the MagLite? thanks |
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