KX3 Backlight color will remain amber

[wayne burdick]

I found that kind of change to the backlight color would be very time-consuming and expensive, requiring new tooling at the LCD manufacturer. This is not practical for the KX3. Sorry about that.

Meanwhile, another approach would be to turn the backlight off and aim a colored lamp at the KX3. (I'm only half-joking. I've had to do just that on some Field Days, because we shared our favorite site with an astronomy group. They want things either totally dark or illuminated only with red lamps, which they happily supplied.)

73,
Wayne
N6KR

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

[Jessie Oberreuter-2]

      I removed the green backlight LED from the K1 backlight kit, and
replaced it with a red one :).  I like it!  -kb7psg


On Wed, 1 May 2013, Wayne Burdick wrote:

> I found that kind of change to the backlight color would be very time-consuming and expensive, requiring new tooling at the LCD manufacturer. This is not practical for the KX3. Sorry about that.
>
> Meanwhile, another approach would be to turn the backlight off and aim a colored lamp at the KX3. (I'm only half-joking. I've had to do just that on some Field Days, because we shared our favorite site with an astronomy group. They want things either totally dark or illuminated only with red lamps, which they happily supplied.)
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

[KC9TNH]

FYI, if you're going to do as Wayne suggests and just turn the display off aiming a light at it (saving battery drain also) red is NOT the color that best enhances night vision if that matters to you. It's actually a shade of green often referred to as "traffic light green" or if you think of what's seen through night-vision devices. Red is (unfortunately) a hold-over/myth from the old photographic darkroom days. Find a nice little LED light with a green shade you can hang in your tent or from a limb or whatever. Happy trails.
Wes
de kc9tnh . .

[k6dgw]

On 9/23/2013 2:42 PM, KC9TNH wrote:
> FYI, if you're going to do as Wayne suggests and just turn the display off
> aiming a light at it (saving battery drain also) red is NOT the color that
> best enhances night vision if that matters to you.

Cabin lights [and cockpit lights too] in C=130's were red to keep from
affecting our night vision capabilities on jump nights.  I was under the
impression that red affected nightvision less than other colors.  We
were all colorblind [still are :-)], maybe it didn't matter for us.

I can discern the numeric keypad labels on my K3 only with strong light
from an angle.  They seem to be just a tad shinier than the button body.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2013 Cal QSO Party 5-6 Oct 2013
- www.cqp.org


______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

[Matt Zilmer-2]

As a pilot, I use red lighting in the aircraft to view instruments,
read charts, etc.  Red is supposed to affect night vision the least,
but maybe that's for reflected light?  Incident light might be a
different story.  Traffic light green doesn't cause night blindness
that I know of, and we all use it as incident light when driving at
night.

I don't know if amber has such qualities, but I do know I turn down
the K3's backlight to its lowest setting when there is no other
ambient light.  The lowest setting seems to minimize "ghosting" or
whatever the eyeball equivalent of video DC Restoration is.

73,
matt W6NIA

On Mon, 23 Sep 2013 16:40:00 -0700, you wrote:

>On 9/23/2013 2:42 PM, KC9TNH wrote:
>> FYI, if you're going to do as Wayne suggests and just turn the display off
>> aiming a light at it (saving battery drain also) red is NOT the color that
>> best enhances night vision if that matters to you.
>
>Cabin lights [and cockpit lights too] in C=130's were red to keep from
>affecting our night vision capabilities on jump nights.  I was under the
>impression that red affected nightvision less than other colors.  We
>were all colorblind [still are :-)], maybe it didn't matter for us.
>
>I can discern the numeric keypad labels on my K3 only with strong light
>from an angle.  They seem to be just a tad shinier than the button body.
>
>73,
>
>Fred K6DGW
>- Northern California Contest Club
>- CU in the 2013 Cal QSO Party 5-6 Oct 2013
>- www.cqp.org
>
>
>______________________________________________________________
>Elecraft mailing list
>Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
>This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Matt Zilmer, W6NIA
www.elecraft.com
831-763-4211  x129

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

[Nr4c]

The use of red light in darkrooms, went out many decades ago with the
introduction of pantographic film emulsions that were sensitive to all
colors.  Orthographic film as used in the early days of photography were
'blind' to red light, hence the use of red in the darkroom.  For over 50
years, darkroom 'safe lights' have been yellow-amber.

Safe lights are used so we can see, but the color is chosen to make it a
color that the film doesn't see.  Its not necessarily best for our vision,
just best for the film or other light sensitive material.

I've heard that night lighting inside submarines is blue to protect the eyes
for those that are transitioning from inside to outside.

...bill  nr4c

-----Original Message-----
From: Ron D'Eau Claire [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Monday, September 23, 2013 8:48 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KX3 Backlight color will remain amber

Also, human vision has the lowest acuity in the red region. That is, we see
less detail in red illumination.

73, Ron AC7AC


______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html