# Best color to use in fog/haze/smoke?



## Redball (Aug 17, 2002)

Since I don't have an Arc LS (yet), will the AA mag filter kit fit on it. I like the idea of being able to change beam color.


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## ChrisA (Aug 17, 2002)

i guess the mag will do just fine on it's tightest setting... it may be useless to choose a broad beam or too bright light because you would blind yourself in really thick fog/smoke.


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## Redball (Aug 17, 2002)

Thanks Chris,

I was just looking on Craig's site at the Opalec Mod for the mag AA. He has it listed as having a medium narrow beam w/mild hotspot. Do you think that might be too bright?


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## ChrisA (Aug 17, 2002)

that would be just about perfect for that task... not too bright, long runtime and very sturdy.


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## BrightShadow (Aug 17, 2002)

Ohhhhhh, The green laser to be sure- you would be blind as a bat but you could play star wars.


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## brightnorm (Aug 17, 2002)

Try this:


BEST FOG LIGHT COLORS 

Brightnorm

.


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## [email protected] (Aug 17, 2002)

Brightnorm, thanks for the link. It helped me clear up some things...


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## Roy (Aug 17, 2002)

In my limited experince it's not so much the color that's important in fog lights, as it is the SHAPE of the beam pattern! Fog lights usually have a flat beam pattern to reduce the amount or light reflected back into the drivers eyes. Shine your fog lights at your garage door and you'll see that the pattern is cut off at the top.


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## Wim Hertog (Aug 17, 2002)

It's a fact that longer wavelenghts (yellow>red) are better in foggy conditions,they reduce glare and don't shatter as much as the shorter wavelenghts.


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## ChrisA (Aug 17, 2002)

maneuvering in heavy fog/smoke is more about not blinding yourself than being able to throw a beam on objects far away. that's why i would choose a rather dim and narrow beam of red (the least perceived by the human eye) colour.


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## brightnorm (Aug 17, 2002)

> Originally posted by Roy:
> *In my limited experince it's not so much the color that's important in fog lights, as it is the SHAPE of the beam pattern! Fog lights usually have a flat beam pattern to reduce the amount or light reflected back into the drivers eyes. Shine your fog lights at your garage door and you'll see that the pattern is cut off at the top.*


<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">That ties in with the fact that fog lights are most effective when they are mounted as low (close to the road) as possible.

Brightnorm


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## CiTY (Aug 17, 2002)

I guess that's why my car came with white Halogen fog lamps as standard on the front air foil.


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## Redball (Aug 18, 2002)

Hi all,

What's the best color to use in a foggy/hazy/smoke filled environment? I am looking at either Photon or Arc.

Thanks.


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## The_LED_Museum (Aug 18, 2002)

Blue is definitely a no-no.
Longer wavelengths tend to do better; anything longer than yellow or amber might work well.

Smoke and fog experts?


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## [email protected] (Aug 18, 2002)

Now I'm confused... we used to have yellow car lights here, wich were supposed to give less glare, but now people are promoting HID lights, wich have a slight blueish color, as the ultimate lighting...


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## ChrisA (Aug 18, 2002)

i would also choose yellow or red... using a red led arc aaa would give you a tight focused beam and wouldn't affect your low light adaption.

chris


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## Lux Luthor (Aug 18, 2002)

I've tried different color LED headlamps in thick fog: white, green, amber LS, red LS, red/orange LS. What's been said about longer wavelengths is true.

Also, roy makes a good point about the backscattering into your eyes. That's why headlamps are not well suited for fog. I would use an amber or red/orange LS in a handheld fashion. It's a tough call because red cuts through fog better, but yellow illuminates things better. Orange is a compromise.


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## Lux Luthor (Aug 19, 2002)

> Originally posted by Redball:
> *Hi all,
> 
> What's the best color to use in a foggy/hazy/smoke filled environment? I am looking at either Photon or Arc.
> ...


<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Oops. I overlooked your original question. I would get an orange Photon. I have one, and it's fairly bright and runs on a single lithium (half the cost). Don't get the yellow Photon. I have one of those too, and it's too dim to be of any real use. It's the biggest disappointment in a Photon.

I'd love to plug the Arc, since it's a much better light, but it's not available in long wavelength colors anymore. If you decide on that, though, get the turquiose. It's roughly monochromatic light is better than the white for fog. Atleast, I've noticed my green headlamp is better than white. White is the worst.


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## Redball (Aug 19, 2002)

I just wanted to thank everyone for the great input... 

I'm planning on ordering a few Photons from Vicomptel. Arc still has an Orange AAA, but at $28, the Photons are a better deal.

I'm also ordering the Opalec Mod for mag AA and use the filter kit with amber/red lenses.

Just out of curiosity, does a light with a red filter produce the same wavelength as a true red led?


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## ChrisA (Aug 19, 2002)

red light has an approximate wavelenght of 630 - 750 nm. the filter in front of your mag simply blocks every other wavelenghts from passing through it. so the 'produced' colour should be the same as of true red leds.
take a look at craig's review page. there's a ton of information about every type of led. just enjoy





chris


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## NightStorm (Aug 19, 2002)

People,

The choice of color of fog lamps are based more on legality and perception than actual physics. I have run both amber and white fogs on rally cars that I have built, so my opinions are based on practical experience.
First, red is used for stop and taillights and therefore would be easily confused in traffic situations. Secondly, single wave length light tends to make shadows darker and therefore enhances contrast. Amber is utilized because it is perceived brighter than blue, green, orange or red. The last point is, the reason fog lights are mounted low so any reflection off of the water droplets is not in the line of sight (lighting "kick back"). As long as the reflection is in the line of sight, the greater the light output the greater the reflection.
So unless you mount your flashlights on your shoes, there is not much you can do (though we used to joke about using enough power to raise the air temperature above the dew point to disperse the fog).

Dan

One mile from I-5, the world's longest parking lot.


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## Hemingray (Aug 20, 2002)

I tried an amber Luxeon Star/O I got off Ebay a while back, it worked decently during a recent pea soup fog condition. VF for this one is about 2.9V, I run it off 3 D Cells and a 3 ohm series
resistor, so it is getting about 400-450 mA.
Used an Eveready yellow plastic "industrial"
flashlight, that has the batteries in a separate
section from the lamp end. These are easier for
LED modding and other nefarious deeds.

/ed


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