Red light for shed

[jasonp]

Hi I've just built a new shiny shed but would like to fit it out with both white and red light. I've done the white. But what is the best red bulb to use?

It's a 10x10 ft I would like to use it so I can avoid going into the house and keep my night vision.

I've seen 15w and 60 w. also how many would I need based on the siZe of shed

Many thanks

[r3i]

For my project I bought these for the white and these for the red.

[michaelmorris]

I have a 5 metre dimmable red LED rope light. It goes right round the observatory. It's secured with cheap water pipe clips.

I think i got it as a LIDL special for less then £10.

[The Sailor]

I bought a few items off fleabay and using one of those funny shaped energy saving lightbulbs given out free by the leccy company I now have a system thats on only when I am in the outer room. Spray painted the light red, put it into a ceiling rose, the switch is an IR proximity and plugged into my system. I enter the observatory and it goes out, I have a red light, same again in there but normal switch.

Jim

[Gina]

I had the red and white bulkhead fittings on two separate dimmable lighting circuits but since I'm into imaging only, I didn't use the red lights. I'm finding though that two bulkhead lights on the dividing wall are insufficient for lighting the scope and fittings at night and thinking about adding extra lighting. The problem is where to put it - the roof and top part of the walls roll off and the end wall has a fold down flap. I was considering spot lights pointing up at the scope but wondered about shadows. Another thought is LED strings and I wondered how effective they were.

[r3i]

I had the red and white bulkhead fittings on two separate dimmable lighting circuits but since I'm into imaging only, I didn't use the red lights. I'm finding though that two bulkhead lights on the dividing wall are insufficient for lighting the scope and fittings at night and thinking about adding extra lighting. The problem is where to put it - the roof and top part of the walls roll off and the end wall has a fold down flap. I was considering spot lights pointing up at the scope but wondered about shadows. Another thought is LED strings and I wondered how effective they were.

I'm planning to do the same as you and have the bulkhead lights on the partition wall. I did wonder if this would cause insufficient illumination around the pier, particularly on the 'far side'. I am planning on having a powered USB hub fitted to the pier and wondered if one of those flexible USB lights might be enough to light the pier area when required? Otherwise I would imagine suitably placed 12V LED light ropes should do the trick.

[Gina]

I'm planning to do the same as you and have the bulkhead lights on the partition wall. I did wonder if this would cause insufficient illumination around the pier, particularly on the 'far side'. I am planning on having a powered USB hub fitted to the pier and wondered if one of those flexible USB lights might be enough to light the pier area when required? Otherwise I would imagine suitably placed 12V LED light ropes should do the trick.

Thank you Think I'll get some LED ropes and see how it goes.

[FLO]

Someone once said if you observe the reflection of your red light in the surface of a CD and see only red, then you have the perfect red light for astronomy. If you see other colours then it isn't true red so is not as effective at protecting your night vision. I hope it's true because it is a quick and easy way of assessing a red light.

Steve

[The Sailor]

So all these years of working in the dark on operations and training I should have checked my red light with a CCD camera lol. Not a problem, am still in one piece, well here in body but not in mind

Jim

[Bizibilder]

The trouble with single source lights (ie light bulbs) is that wherever you put them its bound to be the wrong place as wherever you stand you will cast a shadow just where you want to see!!! That's where light ropes are so useful - there is always some light getting to where you want it. Even so, I still have to use a torch from time to time.

[George]

I had the red and white bulkhead fittings on two separate dimmable lighting circuits but since I'm into imaging only, I didn't use the red lights. I'm finding though that two bulkhead lights on the dividing wall are insufficient for lighting the scope and fittings at night and thinking about adding extra lighting. The problem is where to put it - the roof and top part of the walls roll off and the end wall has a fold down flap. I was considering spot lights pointing up at the scope but wondered about shadows. Another thought is LED strings and I wondered how effective they were.

I use a curly lead for the movable section of my roof.

[stuartjones]

I was going to use red bulbs in my obs build but after seeing the red rope lights I will now go in this direction. great idea...

[luna 2011]

i use a red fireglow bulb (watch out for the orange types tho )they not to bright and really cheap to buy.

[jasonp]

I ended up getting some red LED tape. Its quite bright if looked at directly. Here is a pic of the corner of shed. I just mounted it up high and it reflects quite well.

[Tinker1947]

These work very well ...... http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/LAGBR.html

[The Sailor]

Bought a couple of USB swan neck led lights in Poundland a few weeks back, sprayed them red and they work quite well.

Jim

[jasonp]

The LED is brill just don't look at it directly. I got round that by fitting it above my fluorescent strips.

[ollypenrice]

So all these years of working in the dark on operations and training I should have checked my red light with a CCD camera lol. Not a problem, am still in one piece, well here in body but not in mind

Jim

No, not a CCD camera, a CD (being an improvised diffraction grating.) However, I thought that the red light theory had been exposed as a bit of an urban myth and that green would give you the best result. I use red out of habit and as little as possible.

Olly

[The Sailor]

Have to say I have never heard of this either, when using infra red or image intensifiers wnich have green screens I always had to keep one eye closed so I could adjust as quickly as possible, the only time this was not possible was using the driver screen on armour so when I open the hatch I was completly blind for a minute or two.

Jim

[Astrokev]

However, I thought that the red light theory had been exposed as a bit of an urban myth and that green would give you the best result. I use red out of habit and as little as possible.

Olly

The rods in the retina primarily responsible for night vision are least senstive to wavelengths above 640nm - the red end of the visible spectrum. They are most sensitive to wavelengths around 505nm - blue-green. [source: American Optometrists Association]. Therefore, to retain optimum night vision, red light is definitely the way to go.

That said, I'm sure a lot of generally available highstreet "red" light sources probably contain a range of wavelengths, including yellow-green. I guess to be purist about it, a source with a cut-off below ~ 620nm would be ideal, if obtainable at sensible cost.

When viewing through an intensifier, you need an image that stimulates the eye as much as possible ( that's the point! ). Ergo, low light intensifiers display in green because your eye is more sensitive to green than red.

[Macavity]

I decided to put Red LED units half way down the side walls and below eye level. Added shielding, so that no direct light is visible, but rather the downward illumination met in the middle of the floor. That way, I can observe with the lights ON, without much loss of seeing. Loosely based the idea of cinema stairs lighting? But as yet no one with a tray of ice cream and popcorn during the intervals...

http://www.litewave.co.uk/prod_cat/P_smd-led-module-12vdc_140_led-modules_36.html etc. etc.

[Gina]

The rods in the retina primarily responsible for night vision are least senstive to wavelengths above 640nm - the red end of the visible spectrum. They are most sensitive to wavelengths around 505nm - blue-green. [source: American Optometrists Association]. Therefore, to retain optimum night vision, red light is definitely the way to go.

That said, I'm sure a lot of generally available highstreet "red" light sources probably contain a range of wavelengths, including yellow-green. I guess to be purist about it, a source with a cut-off below ~ 620nm would be ideal, if obtainable at sensible cost.

When viewing through an intensifier, you need an image that stimulates the eye as much as possible ( that's the point! ). Ergo, low light intensifiers display in green because your eye is more sensitive to green than red.

Only one problem with that theory - to be able to see anything in red light it needs to be a lot brighter. Also visual acquity is poorer in the red than blue/green so you can see clearer with a dim green light than with the brighter red light.

[Astrokev]

Gina - you're right in that you can see more clearly in green light - that's because this wavelength stimulates your rods. But, for good dark adaptation, you don't want to stimulate your rods! A brighter red light will stimulate the cones, allowing you to see more clearly, without overly stimulating the rods and thus preserving the capacity of the vital rhodopsin in the rods to help you see the faint and fuzzies.

Oh, and the dark adaptation mechanism is fact not theory.