Re: [Paddlewise] FW: paddling at night

From: Joe Pylka <pylka_at_castle.net>
Date: Wed, 3 Mar 1999 16:31:35 -0500
>
>True, but one of the desired features of a personal LED marker is not
>being so bright as to ruin a fellow paddler's night vision, so in that
>application, the low luminance of an LED is an advantage.

    I'm way more interested in having a potential boatcrasher see me at a
distance than I am at ruining my night vision.  The restricted beam of the
led, on one hand, means I can set it someplace where it won't get into my
eyes.  On the other hand, this restriction means that I can't be certain
that the light is directed toward some boat out there....

>Also, one could diffuse the light and improve the angle of view somewhat by
>lightly sanding the LED's epoxy lens.
        but at the expense of intensity.  Still, that's preferable and It's
always possible to use a multitude of LEDs.  Here in NJ it seems as though
all the Red traffic lights have now been replaced with very bright  led
arrays.
        I once had to build a strobe system to "freeze" a rapidly moving
part.  I used a bank of high intensity yellow leds which worked fine, and I
got good photos on B&W film.
        Would some of these other colors work well at night?  How about
foggy conditions?  Would Yellow, Orange, or Green be more noticeable than
red?

> For navigation markers on the kayak, high intensity LEDs are now available
that could be >treated the same way. Nonetheless, I would still wear a
headlamp at night for
>signaling other watercraft.
        In Pennsylvania, Fish & Boating Comm. regs require only a visible
source of light for human powered craft.  That could even be a candle or a
match.  Legal, but I wouldn't trust my life to it....    The headlamp's a
good idea since you don't have to give up a hand to deploy it.
>


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Received on Wed Mar 03 1999 - 13:29:58 PST

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