Red light torches

[Connect2space]

Does anyone know where I can get a reasonable sized Red light torch for a low price, searching on amazon I can only find little key ring sized ones which cost about £5.00 not including Postage and packing which seems a extortionate price to me.

[Stu]

Probably better putting some red cellophane over a normal torch. Much cheaper and easier, or paint with nail varnish, that works too apparently.

Stu

[Connect2space]

Probably better putting some red cellophane over a normal torch. Much cheaper and easier, or paint with nail varnish, that works too apparently.

Stu

Good idea, should've thought of that before, thank you.

[Stu]

I got some cellophane from an art shop, sure you can get some cheaply somewhere.

Stu

[dwc]

I got some Brake Light Repair Tape from Halfords after reading about if in another thread. It comes in a pack of 3 colours, the others being amber and clear.

[NigelCampbell]

Speaking of Halfords, have you considered buying a rear bike light instead. An led one is cheap and can be easily converted into a head torch.

[Connect2space]

I have a halfords gift card somewhere, I knew it would come in handy

[LukeSkywatcher]

Most DIY stores sell Red/white head torches for less then a fiver.

An alternative is to coat a normal torch with a single coat of red nail varnish.

[BiG JiLM]

I just marker-penned the end of my AAA mini maglite, seems to work ok! nail varnish or a bit of red diffuser sounds a plan if i can find.

[Joseki]

http://www.scopesnskies.com/AstroBoot

Astroboot are currently selling one for 5 pounds.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Marker pen,nail varnish, DIY bought head lamp etc..................all seem to come in at about £5.

I think a head lamp is the best because it is hands free. It lets you set up/read star charts while not ruining you dark adapted vision.

[robbo_w]

If you have the discount card for Go Outdoors and have one near you then these are good

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/hi-gear-5-led-3fn-micro-equipment-headlight-p143635

[JamesM]

One small caveat regarding the purchase of alternative red lights. Most of them including the head torches are still too bright and although clearly not as bad as a white torch light, they will still interfere with your night vision. What is preferred is a red light source that you can dim and the cheapest that I have seen is the Skywatcher version which you can view here and costs £15.00. I know that this is well over the amount you wish to pay but the difference you get by being able to really dim that light down is really worth the expense in my opinion. Lastly one other reason I went for this option is because I do not have my own supply of nail varnish! :grin:

Clear skies

James

[LukeSkywatcher]

I have an Energizer white/red LED head torch and i was at a star party a few weeks ago and i had it on my head. The red light from it was so dim that me in my wheelchair hit a few potholes and nearly went head first out of the wheelchair. But in my garden for reading star charts etc.............it is fine.

The red light filter on my powerpack is much better.. Much brighter.

[umadog]

It's true, the headlights are bright. I covered mine with 5 coats of nail varnish, 2 layers of red tape, and shorted one of the three AAA battery sites in order to reduce the voltage. I still got a complaint at a star party that it was too bright. There were two problems. Firstly, you need to work hard to dim/diffuse the bright centre spot. Secondly, a head-mounted torch ends up needing to be brighter than a hand-held one. The reason is that you can hold the hand-held light near your star chart so it can be very dim yet still work well. If you set the head torch to that brightness then you won't be able to read the chart easily because your head is much further than your hand was (so the light is dimmer at the chart). You therefore end up with a brighter head torch that can annoy other people as it may shine at them when you talk, etc. Also, the white/red lights are a menace unless you REALLY tape/paint over the white LEDs. Once you do that, though, it can work ok. I once observed with a guy who kept hitting the white LED switch on his head light. He did that all night...

[Mcphisto]

I got some cellophane from an art shop, sure you can get some cheaply somewhere.

Stu

I used the wrappers off the strawberry creams from a tin of Quality Street

[Stu]

Good plan! Isn't that called a 'win-win' situation?

Stu

[jason.p]

Cheap wind-up with nail varnish. Works for me (so far)

[Damo636]

I ditched the red light and now use a green one. The pocket atlas I use at the scope has galaxies marked in red & I was finding it almost as hard to find them on the page as in the sky!

[bigrbuk]

I cut out a bit of red plastic from a ring binder type project pad thing and fastened to a normal 'shake to charge' torch I had.

[Capricorn]

These "white" rechargeable are good:

http://www.flashwear.com/online_store/rechargeable_led_torches_10.cfm

Then cover the front with something transparent and red.

Easy to keep in a car.

[Astronut1982]

I bought myself one of these:-

http://www.sportsdirect.com/karrimor-led-headtorch-786111

It has 3 brightness settings so you can adjust the light to what ever you want, it's only £8 as well so it doesn't cost the earth. It can also be used in white light when you're packing up at the end of the night.

Jeff

[ismangil]

I use the Nite Ize one, it's quite dim and red light only.

Enough for map reading, choosing eyepieces etc.

On mobile (excuse the strange predictive words...)

[Alastair Rae]

I bought the Energizer 2-white, 1-red led headtorch. It's ok but the switch is really light - it's twice turned itself on in transit and run down the batteries.

[Orionis]

These are great red light torches which are not too bright.

http://www.petzl.com/us/outdoor/headlamp/super-compact/elite