Someone else wrote his kid had a Solitaire; I have seen them for as little as $5 now that they are obsolete. I would still give my kid an XM-L with at least one 7135.
I am thinking though that maybe I shouldn’t give a Li ion powered light to my 8 year old nephew, since I won’t be close enough to watch the safety. My grandfather gave me old shotgun shells to take apart for the gunpowder at about that age, and I still think that was right of him. But a smart 8 year old can understand shotgun shells, and lithium ion batteries are more complicated.
Watch out for the 3W police light, who knows what might be in it? I’d be weary of the coating pealing off as well as the body itself.
It’s really your call, if you think he will be responsible with a 0.35A or 0.14A XM-L2 light too, I’d say go ahead.
I have three little ones, almost three, five and seven years of age. The answer is no. Get something like recommended above, and let the education happen. They will always do something when you’re not looking. They will always do exactly what you tell them not to do. At least once per situation.
Good on you for at least taking the time to think about it.
Btw, I’m the farthest thing from a “helicopter” parent you will find. I think we learn a lot from cuts and bruises, but I don’t let my kids play with anything that will permanently harm them, and if there’s any doubt, well, I think that’s why you asked.
The dollar tree has 1$ yard lights with a solar panel 2 ni-cads and a 5 MM nichia .
They make great night lights for kids .
If they need a flashlight I'd get them a Coast 5mm freebie or a single strawhat AAA or AA at most .
Expecting kids not to be kids is stupid
Yep. There are LEDs available with no spike in the damaging blue region. I’ve been making flashlights using them.
These look the best:
mentioned at: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2014/4/lighting
“ the spectrum of PC Amber is virtually the same as with Neutral-White, except for the lack of the blue spike.”
That page has the emission spectra for comparison:
PC Amber: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2014/4/lighting_album/image014.jpg/image_full
Neutral White: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2014/4/lighting_album/image015.jpg/image_full
and they write:
“… Looking at the graphs, it is clear that the spectrum of PC Amber is virtually the same as with Neutral-White, except for the lack of the blue spike.”
When I make flashlights to give flashlights to kids, this is what they get. No risk, no worry.
No criticism for those who don’t believe it’s worth worrying about.
This is how natural experiments get done. In a few decades, we’ll know the result.
I do believe it isn't worth worrying about. I let my kid play outside in the sun, and I give him flashlights with the fearsome blue spike. And I am also a strong believer that destroying your eyesight in the course of your lifetime by exposing your eyes to actual light is a really ok thing to happen, same as destroying my knees after playing volleybal for 25 years, I had a great time doing that :-)
This is starting to conflate two very different issues, which is all to easy to do.
Yes, ordinary outdoor living exposes humans to plenty of blue light.
Yes, artificial light extends the exposure in two ways — total time per day, and intensity.
These are very different issues.
Different physiological and chemical and biological processes, entirely.
The concern I suggest for young children is: avoid adding to the lifetime risk of macular (central vision) loss.
That’s done by the high energy blue light photons, that knock electrons off atoms, ‘photochemical oxidation’ over time.
That’s well known and understood; our eyes, like the rest of our bodies, are pretty good at repairing damage up through reproductive age, 30s or so. After that, wearing out happens. That’s why “blue blocker” sunglasses are recommended.
That’s also perhaps why the lenses of natural human eyes slowly get yellow with advancing age — some “blue blocking” built in.
You know about old ladies getting blue hair from hair parlors?
_
Normal Age-Related Vision Loss
www.laurenscharff.com/research/donia/Doniafinalpaper.doc
“The older, yellow lens acts as a filter for shorter wavelengths …”
_
The old eye lenses have become yellow, so what younger people see as “white” hair looks grayish to the elderly — and so cosmetics people put “optical brighteners” into white hair permanent treatments, that make them glow in sunlight — very bright in the range that old eyes filter out. To the elderly, that blue hair looks bright white.
Okay — the above is the issue I raised. That’s why I build lights with either the old amber emitters, or the new Rebel PC amber.
Now — just, I hope, as a last word — this started to get confused with the pinpoint bright damage burning the retina.
That’s a whole different issue.
We know not to look at little bright white or blue light sources or even specular reflections from them.
That’s like looking at the Sun — same problem
Why don’t people feel that? No pain nerves in the retina.
Why don’t people notice the result? The brain fills in blind spots. That’s how vision works.
Just once, not to follow the red herring, but in the spirit of
Kids Don’t Do This:
> I used to stare into the sun
Please don’t tell kids this is safe. Odds are you don’t know how it hurt your vision.
Don’t look at the Sun!
Have you had a dilated eye exam?
Where the eye doctor looks at your retinas?
Have you had a visual field test
That’s an online link, but again, your eye doctor should do an automated test. Here’s a report on damage from looking at the Sun:
http://www.revoptom.com/content/d/case_report/c/43111/
Once you’ve had a dilated eye exam and visual field test, tell us if you had no retinal damage and no blind spots.
Again remember though, that’s not the issue I raised here.
People confuse two different issues:
— retinal damage from focusing on bright pinpoint sources
— macular damage from lifetime exposure to blue light
Yes, bad idea. Not in the same class as 3yr old playing in the street but why take the chance? At least put some diffusion film on the lens(inside where he can’t eat it).
Yeah, I’ve used diffusion film (or just Scotch Magic frosty tape) along with emitters
like
this amber star: http://www.fasttech.com/products/1609/10001248/1103521
(20mm, fits cheap 3xAAA LED lights as a straight emitter swap)
Likely overdriven as I didn’t change the resistor inside the pill, likely deserves a real driver)
And this works in the SK-68 zoomie:
Yellow Cree XR-E LED w/16mm Base Plate 585-595nm
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1609/10001863/1134700-non-white-cree-xr-e-led-emitters-wbase-plates
(16mm, fits SK-68 — accidentally dedomed it while soldering the wires, but that was apparently the right thing to do). Also likely overdriven on high at least)
Kids do like colored LEDs, and the red, amber, and yellow-green ones should be good.
Besides, they’ll be teenagers raving and zapping one another in the face with violet lasers and designer drugs all too soon anyway. Can’t keep’em safe, hostages to fate.
Well thank you for all the ideas and the opinions. I have decided to get a few cheap hosts and play around with some drive levels. Then program a nanjg to appropriate level. If he still has his eyesight when he is older I may increase the drive level. If he is also well mannered.
Thinking about that one should expand on the flex asgard driver so parent can lower the drive level if the kids are not behaving. I am of course thinking of expanding the capabilities of the driver to be controlling the kid! Not the light. Mwa ha ha ha.
Thanks Hank, I think that clears things up.
Get them the roche f6 with the kubaton spike ...They may meet trouble on the local dirt mound and it might come in handy .
I watched a 14 year old take one of my 800 lumen lights and blast away at my puppy .Even after I told him again and again not to . Guess someone elses kid needed hit in the head that day.
By saying NO to your kid and not letting him have the light he wants you're creating a desire in him to rebell later on in life and someday he'll become the full blown flashaholic his mother always feared he might be . Do the right thing ...keep him away from the good stuff
I’d probably do a simple resistor mod and give the XM-L(2) 20…30mA. That’s probably still brighter or as bright as the non noble gas incan lights I had all trough my youth. Was good enough for tenting in the woods back then.
Or I would go with an actual incan. What about those 2AAA Maglites (or the cheap clones that often even have a clicky)?
They just have to look super cute with their old-school flashlight shape in those tiny hands. :party: