Hi All, My wife is usually at a complete loss to pick out gifts that I really need or want when it comes to my ham radio stuff. Recently I was working on a small building project, and using my Opti-visor magnifier and a small flashlight to inspect a circuit board. Apparently she had just seen an ad on TV about some new lighted magnifier reading glasses being marketed by Foster Grant. On a whim, and sort of as an early Father's Day gift, she picked up a pair for me. Guess what? I like them!
She got a pair of 2.5 diopter magnifers (you can get various levels of magnification), which is good. It's a bit stronger than what I usually use for reading, but for close up work it is better to have the extra magnification. I think that's also about what my Opti-visor magnification is. This new product by Foster Grant is called "Light Specs". It has two super bright LED's, one on each side, and each can be independently turned on. They are very effective. They are really intended for things like reading at night in bed, etc., but I can think of all sorts of other uses. Also, if you turn even just one side on, they are a very effective flashlight if you are walking in the dark. Turn both on, and you have an exceptionally well-lit path in front of you. At my age, I have a problem which is probably due to a lifetime of abuse by not wearing sun glasses often enough. My vision is good otherwise (except for needing "readers"), but in a low light situation, I need additional light to read, etc. That really makes it tough when working on electronics projects, and I always have to get a good lamp in addition to what would otherwise be reasonable room lighting. It's difficult for me to look inside a radio, in an otherwise well-lit room, and see the connections adequately. These glasses are perfect for that, and "hands free". The added magnification makes it just that much better. I'm also betting these will be very helpful the next time I have to hunt for an SMD that went flying off the workbench onto the floor!!!!! I've also already found these to be very helpful around my operating table. If I need to check a connection on the back of the radio, where the light isn't apt to be nearly as good, these things solve that immediately. They would also be great for Field Day operating at night. Anyway, I really like these, mainly because they are not nearly so bulky as the Opti-visor, and actually can double for regular readers, although I don't think I would substitute them for normal daily use. They are a bit bulkier than regular readers, but not terribly so. They wouldn't be nearly a total substitute for my Opti-visor, but they do a lot of what I otherwise would use the Opti-visor for. Of course, for just reading in bed, etc., they are excellent. These things aren't particularly cheap, which is something of a negative. They cost around $25, but I have seen them on the internet for a bit cheaper. There are also some less expensive "look alikes", but I also saw user reviews of those that weren't too complimentary of the quality. It remains to be seen how these hold up, but they seem to be pretty good quality wise. The "Achilles Heel" of these things will probably be the two little slide switches to turn the lights on--one on each side. They use CR1632 button cells for power (2 on each side), which are supposed to last (per the ad) for around 50 hours. Since one side is usually more than enough illumination, I suppose you could stretch the battery life to closer to 100 hours. I've already ordered some battery replacements on the internet at a fairly low price--much, much cheaper than Radio Shack or Walgreens! Anyway, I thought these might be of interest to some. You folks with great, young eyes, probably won't be interested, but I bet I'm not the only one out there who could use a little help. There are alternatives, of course, like the head lamp gadgets, etc., but these are so much more comfortable and practical. Dave W7AQK P.S. I already posted this on QRP-L, but I started thinking about when I was putting my K3 together. Often I needed some "help" when looking inside the chassis, like when trying to make sure the pins were all properly aligned to seat the board inter-connections, etc. I expect to have the same issues when I put my KPA500 together! So---FWIW! Dave W7AQK ======= Email scanned by PC Tools - No viruses or spyware found. (Email Guard: 7.0.0.18, Virus/Spyware Database: 6.17610) http://www.pctools.com/ ======= ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
