RED LED light replacement

[DT6]

Hi Everyone - I do a lot of astrophotography and really need to swap some of my LED lights in my 21C for red-LED's so I don't ruin the night vision for me and my fellow nearby amateur astronomers, especially at star-parties.

Does anyone know of a source where I can procure a red-light replacement for my current main cabin lights, and possibly one outside light?

I have a 2022 21C. BTW - I have procured some red-film sheets that are used in some stage lighting. It helps, but an actual red-light LED would be better.

Too bad "black out" curtains were not available when we purchased the 21. Looking at the website, it appears they are available now, and that may help some as well.

Thanks!

 

[Steven M]

I am making a presumption on the type of lights you have. A quick Amazon search turned up these.


https://www.amazon.com/AUXITO-14-SM...800&sprefix=red+t10+led+bulb,aps,6759&sr=8-10


There are plenty of others.

 

[C&G in FL]

Helped a friend install one of these in his “astronomy van” a few months ago. I couldn’t find a way to do a link but this is a screenshot.

 

[iamunique127]

When I wanted to warm up the colour of some other LED lights I installed coloured gels, as used in photography, over the lights.

Here is one example but there are plenty of others. Photography stores often have sheets of gels available.

Perhaps lining the lens of the light with gel would work for your application. Then you could have any colour or shade you wanted.

 

[Jim Bennett]

Helped a friend install one of these in his “astronomy van” a few months ago. I couldn’t find a way to do a link but this is a screenshot.

I put one similar to that in our bathroom. I like the red light during the night. I has a white light too.

 

[vermilye]

Depending on how much light you need, one possible solution is to add a single (or 2) individual red LEDs. You can purchase 50 of them already wired with a current limiting resistor for under $10.00 at Amazon. I added a pair of them to my bathroom light so night time visits don't flash my eyes. They are wired so that they are on permanently; they only draw 10ma or so.

 

[DT6]

I appreciate all of the tips. I've done a bit with the gel sheets in the bathroom last year as the light fixture in there makes the application fairly easy as the light cover is relatively flat. The main dome lights however have a lot of curve thus making a simple cut and insert on the bottom of the light cover difficult (although I have not taking the time to do a detailed cut that would involve a lot of small cuts around the edges, then folding and taping them together to force it into a concave shape).

I did hear from a supplier in Washington called Kaper II, and they may have a pancake light that is red on one side, and white light on the other. It appears to be similar in style to the current pancake dome lights in Escapes. I sent them additional information they requested and they are supposed to reach out next week with more information. I'll pass it on when I get it.

Back to the gel-sheets. I did find the red gel sheets I got last year and tried putting some directly over the LEDs. I was very hopeful of this for two reasons:

1. They completely cover the lights, so no white-light leakage (I think an astronomer can spot a white-light leak a mile away, so that is important).

2. The LEDs would operate cool enough for this configuration to work without worry.

Well, they did a great job of blocking the white-light, however after 30 minutes the gel sheet started to lose its shape. I won't call it melting, but it became slightly deformed. So worst case it might eventually melt, and best case the gel-sheet would just eventually deform and not be effective. I could test it further, but probably at the expense of the light I was testing with, so I think the gel-sheets while a great idea are a no-go.

So back to either painting the lens cover or finding a red LED replacement board that will fit in the existing light, or possibly replacing the light with a new one that comes with red on one side.

I'll post the solution here once I get it in place.

 

[DT6]

I finally found a red LED solution for my 21C. I reached out to Kaper II in Washington; 2212 Parrott Way, Kelso, WA 98626. Tel: 1-800-336-2011.

I gave them the model number of my current pancake lights and they provided some red LEDs that fit the socket. I placed these on the "single" side of the pancake lights, so when I want white light, I just switch them both on.

It is really nice to be able to go into the trailer to warm up or use the bathroom and then go back outside to use my telescopes and not have my night vision destroyed. It's also nice to have this setup at "star parties" so I can freely go in/out of my trailer and not have to worry about white light ruining other attendees night vision.

 

[DT6]

Kapier II just notified me that they are now listed the Red LED replacement lights on Amazon. These fit my 2022 pancake lights and I would think, but cannot guarantee they will fit any of the LED pancake lights Escape has used since switching over, and I know some of the other forum members have ordered some. Here is the Amazon link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DK664S1N

 

[alanmalk]

Depending on how much light you need, one possible solution is to add a single (or 2) individual red LEDs. You can purchase 50 of them already wired with a current limiting resistor for under $10.00 at Amazon. I added a pair of them to my bathroom light so night time visits don't flash my eyes. They are wired so that they are on permanently; they only draw 10ma or so.

I did virtually the same thing. Took a red LED (the larger size mounted on a small "star" board), added a resistor in series (1000 ohm, more or less as desired), and added it to the pancake light ahead of the switch so it was on 100% of the time. Just enough light to keep from bumping into things and not disturb sleep or night vision. Power drain so low that 1 minute of solar per day is enough to offset the battery loss. Skipping an on-off switch makes the whole installation far easier.