White vs Blue LED's

[UtahBassKicker]

So I'm looking at adding some courtesy lights to my boat but can't decide between white or blue LED's. Do the different colors have benefits and drawbacks or is it more of a preference thing? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

[dyeguy1212]

Depending on who you ask, some colors won;t impact your night vision as much, especially green and red. But I don't think the difference between white and blue is going to matter much.

 

[UtahBassKicker]

Thanks dyeguy. I don't do much night fishing but with this mod, I figured I'd add the lights just in case I decide to start night fishing. In your opinion, would it be worth going with red lights or should I stick to my initial plans of white or blue?

 

[russ010]

clear and blue both affect your night vision... that's why you see all of the military equipment for night vision in green and red. Trust me - it makes a difference.

The green and red are not as bright - don't get me wrong, they are BRIGHT - but they don't dilate your pupils when you look down at them and then back into the vast darkness

 

[dyeguy1212]

Well I'm a little biased towards red lights.. I think they look badass. But from a funtionality stadpoint, I'd go for a new color. If they're going to be used for night fishing, you're best off getting red or green. If you want blue or white, I'd limit them to storage areas.

 

[russ010]

for the decks, I would go green... it's just as bright and probably the easiest on the eyes for night fishing

 

[UtahBassKicker]

Thanks for the info guys, I appreciate it.

 

[ebcbob]

Can you hard wire to a 12 volt battery a 6 AA batteries LED light, will it burn up the LED's?

 

[russ010]

I dunno bob, but that's a good question... shoot bluewaterled a PM and ask him - he does get on here every once in a while.

 

[longjohn119]

Can you hard wire to a 12 volt battery a 6 AA batteries LED light, will it burn up the LED's?

Not directly, you need to add a dropper resistor (current limiter) or change the internal one to a higher value. I have 4 USB 1 ft. flexible LED lights that are set for 5 V so what I did was get 4 USB jacks and add a dropper resistor and wired that to my fuse panel. they would end up under the tips of my poles and you just adjusted them with the 1 ft flexible part. When I'd travel I'd just point them to the floor. People would freak when I'd pull up to the dock at night with those 4 lights glowing. The down side is USB jacks don't take abuse very well and flexing the lights would eventually make the socket loose so I had to replace them every couple of years. The lights themselves on the other hand have performed flawlessly, I'm working on a different more resilient plug and jack for my new boat.

I also have a couple of those 5 LED lights that clip on your hat, I bought them because the batteries cost more to replace than the 3 bucks for the new light with battery so I was just going to steal the batteries for my other light. I'm building a swing up rack with four pole holders off the back of my boat and I'm trying to find something I can rig as a swivel mount for them, mount them on the pole holder rack and wired back to a switch on the control panel.

I also have a bunch of Dollar Store white LED lights and other stuff like bad 'solar' yard lights I'm taking the LED's out of and using for hatch lighting and such. My last boat had a mix of conventional and LED lighting but my new one will be all LED except the navigation lights and I'll eventually go LED for them too

In case you didn't notice, I night fish a lot for flathead catfish, need to see my pole tips, and hate spending money on batteries .....

https://netbook2chartplotter.blogspot.com - a glimpse at my work on a current project