>>While searching the Web for information about night vision, I ran >across several sites offering LED flashlights for sale. Seems to me >that LED lights could be used for a couple of purposes: making >yourself visible to your companions and for illuminating your compass. >For the first use, a low-intensity LED that could be attached to your >PFD would be ideal. It should be fairly easy to make one from parts >bought from Radio Shack. This might open up another can of worms....... LEDs have a specified brightness that is also spec'd with an angle of viewproduced by having a small reflector behind the active chip. Spread that energy over a wider angle and what's seen by an observer would be far less. So as a small source for reading a compass or a map, they'll do fine. As a marker or beacon, though, they may be found wanting. I have used a hikers or bikers LED Patch for night paddling. These are composed of many LEDs with some circuitry to produce an attention getting flashing pattern, or else to pulse the LEDs at a high frequency and higher current to get more apparent light out of them. It's cheaper, probably, to buy rather than build. I bought a small one up in Maine for about $7. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Mar 03 1999 - 11:08:37 PST
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