[ARC5] LED Flashlights Aren't Collector (or Human) Friendly

[WA5CAB at cs.com]

Groups,

There is a big push on by the environmental nuts to replace all 
incandescandent lamps with something else, often LED's.  Here in Houston they are 
replacing all of the traffic lamps and school zone lamps with them.  The red's 
are generally OK.  Visible under most conditions.  The yellows not so much, 
and the greens so bad that I have gotten in the habit of assuming that if a 
traffic lamp isn't red, it must be green.  And blowing through it.

But tonight, I discovered a problem with LED lamps that isn't life 
threatening but is quite aggravating.  To vintage military radio collectors, anyway. 
 What started it is that for whatever reason, the final maniual on the 
TS-382(*)/U audio oscillator covers the A, B, D, E and F models but skips the C. 
 Naturally, I have three C models.  I discovered that I also have a very 
poor partial copy of an early un-numbered Instruction Book coverering the A 
and C models.  So I'm trying to add the C to the main TM.  Not pertinent to 
this tale but as it turns out, the C is more like the A than the B.  And the 
majority of differences are in component physical location rather than 
differences in the schematic.  So I'm trying to ID components and edit the photos 
of the A model to match the C model.  As in most military sets (and very few 
civilian ones), the component circuit symbol designators are stenciled on 
the chassis or on the terminal boards.  The ones on the chassis are no real 
problem.  But the ones on the dark brown terminal boards, which are also 
coated in MFP varnish, I found I just couldn't read using the lighting in the 
shack so I got out both of the small LED flashlights I've been keeping on the 
bench since receiving them as freebies with equipment I've bought this year. 
 I got out some Q-tips and water and washed down the boards and was able to 
read a couple, but with difficulty.  Then I went in the machine shop part 
of the shack and got the small incandescent MagLite I still have and shined 
it on one of the stenciled designators.  It was clearly legible as C109.  
Back to the LED lamp and I could barely make out the 9 through the blue-white 
glare, but the rest was invisible.

The two LED lamps are now in the S-can (I salvaged the AA batteries).

Robert Downs - Houston
wa5cab dot com (Web Store)
MVPA 9480