Variable brightness led headwear?

[TheMightyKong]

Is there a red led torch that can be worn on your head (like a miners lamp) AND have adjustable brightness? I've used a mate's headwear led and seen plenty in use at Kelling but they all are very bright! Any with a dimmer like the handheld skywatcher red/white led torch?

Thanks

Rishi

[Rossco72]

Hi there,

I use one of these, 3 different lighting levels and can flip between red and white and also flash if needed.

Hands-free Lighting TacTikka Plus Safety & Compact Head Torch Black: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Leisure

Cheers

Stuart

[TheMightyKong]

Thanks Stuart,

How bright is the red light setting? Would you say it's dim enough to preserve night vision, say even if someone shines it at you?

Cheers

[Rossco72]

hmm, hard to say, I never need it more than the minimal setting to see what i'm doing, but i also turn it off when im not needing it.

Simply havent found anything better yet, if you do, please post and let us know

[MikeP]

I have one too. When on full red, it is quite bright. The third setting is better and probably OK.

It takes 3 AAA batteries and when they run down it does get a bit dimmer. You could use rechargeable batteries and not charge them up too much possibly?

Mike

[PhillyDee]

I have a

LED LENSER Head Fire Revolution Dual Colour Headlamp on eBay (end time 05-Oct-09 16:57:10 BST)

These are awesome torches. The white is incredibly bright (Perfect for rain / packing up gear) and the red is a single LED bulb which can be quite bright. Well made, and mine has been to 2 star parties and works a treat. You can get it cheaper form Cost Co (Find a member).

[The Warthog]

I have a Petzl headlamp that has a dimmer on it, but even at its dimmest, with the red filter on it, it drew some complaints at a star party. I use it at home, but if I'm going to another star party I am going to need to make a denser red filter, as this one looks distinctly orange even at its dimmest setting.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I bought a set of torches that included two headlamps with a single red LED and two white ones. The red is certainly not bright enough to cause complaint, and from the descriptions of headlamps I have seen here, they are available in England. The set of five cost me $14.95, the Petzl cost me nearly $20.

[alfingido]

I use a Eurohike head torch, Millets, HERE

Never used it at a star party so cant comment on how it looks from the other side, but it isnt too bright. The only problem is light bleed from around the flip down red cover ( black tape sorts this) and if it is too bright, I suppose red nail varnish would dim it down a bit. And, its cheap!

Allan

[acey]

LED LENSER Head Fire Revolution Dual Colour Headlamp on eBay (end time 05-Oct-09 16:57:10 BST)

This looks like it swivels side-to-side rather than up and down. I find that the up-down swivel on my Argos headlamp is a very useful feature:

Buy 3 LED Headlight. at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for .

But it doesn't have variable brightness, and on all the headlamps I've used the light is too bright, once I'm dark-adapted (though low batteries help).

I also have a couple of bike rear lamps (from a pound shop) which each contain 3 low-power red LEDs, under a red plastic filter. These produce a nice soft glow - I have them fixed to my map stand. they could be worn on a headband but it would be difficult to adjust the direction of the beam.

Also from the pound shop I got a little flexible led reading light that I painted with red nail varnish, and this clips onto my notebook. And I just stuck a little faint red LED (from a bike shop) in my eyepiece case to keep it iilluminated.

In general I find that having faint lights in the places where I need them is more effective than having a bright one on my head, which I have to keep switching off and on every time I move to or from the eyepiece. I'm trying to get to a stage where I'll only need the headlamp for setting up and taking down (or hunting for anything I drop).

I don't know how this approach would rate at a star party, but my guess is that fellow astronomers might prefer faint beams with fixed downward direction, to one that flashes around with a person's movement.

AC

[The Warthog]

I also have a couple of bike rear lamps (from a pound shop) which each contain 3 low-power red LEDs, under a red plastic filter. These produce a nice soft glow - I have them fixed to my map stand. they could be worn on a headband but it would be difficult to adjust the direction of the beam.

In general I find that having faint lights in the places where I need them is more effective than having a bright one on my head, which I have to keep switching off and on every time I move to or from the eyepiece. I'm trying to get to a stage where I'll only need the headlamp for setting up and taking down (or hunting for anything I drop).

AC

Good point. I've been using a bike tail lamp for some years, now. I use Velcro to suspend it over the accessory tray on the tripod. It might be more useful in the ep box.

[PhillyDee]

This looks like it swivels side-to-side rather than up and down. I find that the up-down swivel on my Argos headlamp is a very useful feature:

<snip>

AC

Nope, up and down. I have one. I know what you mean about dim lights where needed. I LED modded 2 solar powered lamps (see www.themodblog.co.uk ) which last all night, and are handy for marking out your scope / tent at a star party.

[albedo0.39]

I use bike LED rear lights but to dim them down use folded kitchen roll inside the lens. This also diffuses the light from the LED's.

Worked at Kelling - very well !