>> Chuck thanks for pointing to the article - they seem to be having quite a debate on the subject. At the end of the article he suggests a simple exeriment comparing different colored LED's. But as well as the color of the light what about the intensity rating of the LED? Is a standard LED bright enough to read maps by? Is an ultrabright LED too bright? >> A standard LED has a brightness of only a few millicandelas, and would not be bright enough to read a map by. I doubt that an ultrabright would be too bright, but if you make your own LED light, you can always dim it by using a larger series resistor. From what I've read on the web, ready-made single-LED flashlights seem to be slightly less bright than normal flashlights, though this may be partly a matter of optics. For an interesting line of coin-size LED flashlights, see http://www.photonlight.com/index2.html. The Photon Micro-Lights are cheap and small enough that I think I might be able to make a glow stick replacement by putting one in a translucent plastic bottle or tube. Their Web site also has some interesting pros and cons on the different LED colors they have available. Some LED flashlights use up to six LEDs to increase brightness. See http://www.ndsproducts.com/ledlite.html. They're pricy, though. Remember, if it is bright enough to read a map by, it is bright enough to affect your night vision, no matter what the color is. However, this is probably less important for kayakers than for amateur astronomers. >> I followed the LED discussion a while ago with a lot of interest in the context of night kayaking safety lights. On checking our local "Radiospares" or "Farnell" catalogs (Do you have these in the US?) found there was a huge difference in the intensity of LED's available, with not much difference in power consumption. <snip> PeterO. >> We don't have Radiospares or Farnell here, but we do have Radio Shack, which might be the equivalent. That's my present source of LEDs and accessories. My newest project is to see if I can convert the Ritchie compass on my wife's kayak from a 12V incandescent light to a 3V green LED light. I also have an old Tekna flashlight I'm going to try to convert to an LED flashlight. This LED business is all Dana Dickson's fault; next month he's leading a weekend Inland Sea Kayakers trip to a large lake in central Minnesota (Lake Mille Lacs) that will include a night paddle under the nearly new moon. I'm just trying to get ready for it. ;-) Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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