[Milsurplus] LED Lighting and EMI

[WA5CAB at cs.com]

One unpublicized problem with LED lamps is that people with cataracts may 
have trouble seeing the green ones and to a lesser extent, yellow.  At least 
I did.  Especially against a green background like oak leaves.  This makes 
it difficult to see traffic and school zone warning lights.  I'm happy to say 
that after my cataracts got bad enough to remove, that problem went away 
for me.  But I had to put up with the problem for over a year.

Another problem is with the white ones used in flashlights.  If you have a 
component that is MFP coated, especially from the 1940's, you will have 
trouble reading anything printed on the part that is covered by the coating if 
you shine one of the LED flashlights on it.  All that you see is a shiny 
surface.  Whether the same thing happens with newer conformal coatings or with 
white LED ceiling lamps, I don't know as I'm still running fluorescents.

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

In a message dated 03/08/2014 06:28:13 AM Central Standard Time, 
nerd at verizon.net writes: 
> Those CFLs were terrible from the start.  Poor reliability, short life, 
> slow 
> turn-on, EMI, mercury, can't dim.  The LED ones, by comparison, are very 
> promising.  I have had very good reliability and life(so far only one has 
> died 
> out of over a hundred I've installed), instant turn-on and dimmable (some, 
> you 
> have to check but those tend to be the better quality ones), no dangerous 
> materials, and many have low EMI.
> 
> In areas of very high electric rates all of these are welcome as their 
> payback 
> is quite rapid.  At 30 cents a kWh when you have a lot of lamps it makes a 
> big 
> difference.  Also, where labor is very expensive (as in, NYC), there is a 
> very 
> compelling reason to replace large numbers of bulbs when a crew goes out 
> at all.
> 
> You can argue about being told what to do but I've enjoyed watching the 
> rapid 
> advancement of LED lights.  They're amazing how much light comes out of 
> such a 
> small device.
> 
> Peter
>