Push/pull gooseneck RED lighting?

I've got a couple of places where I could use some better nighttime red lighting, powered by 12vdc. Upper and lower helm, and near the main breaker panel. I'd like to find something that could extend for use, but not remain extended all the time. I've seen various schemes for pop-out lighting on stuff like AV rack equipment, but nothing with red LED lighting.

I really don't want something cheap-looking. Little Lite and others have white LED units, but my searches haven't found any with red (or, better yet, dual color).

Anyone run across lighting that might work for this?

I was thinking of a goose neck chart light that surface mounted with screws. May this will give you some ideas:

https://www.defender.com/category.jsp?name=reading-chart-lights&path=-1|65136|2312540&id=2312541

Ted

Go to:
Marinebeam.com

They have a dual color gooseneck.

These look good and do a great job red and white.





Aircraft Spruce - smaller than a AA battery.

Something like the pull-out light on a rackmount power conditioner is more of what I'm after. The idea being to be able to pull it out only when light is needed below/around where it's pulled from.

The gooseneck comes to mind as some headsets (pc/game consoles) now have a mic that retracts into the ear piece. Something similar would be great if it had a light on the end of it.

I don't know of anything (unfortunately), but I could see that being a great idea. The combination of gooseneck and retractable would be really neat.

I have often found it easier to start with the mechanical fixture part that works, then add my own alternate lighting inside -- whether that be red LED or whatever. You can get the LEDs so small that you can glue them in just about anywhere, in any fixture.

Sounds like a fun project!

Marine beam has dual color led to replace incandescent. No new wiring or switches. Turn switch in - red off & on again-white. Simplest solution for me

There are some very small and light headlamps with red led's. That way its always there when you want it.....where ever you are.

This is slightly off topic vs. your original post, Bill, but I'll mention it anyway, in case it might be of interest...

There are times, running at night, when we've needed some light in the galley (which is a bit aft of our helm on the same side). I searched for years, before coming across a solution that would not destroy my night vision. It's an extremely compact, flexible and dimmable LED light. 12v or 24v. You can select white or red with a simple push of a button. Even the red is dimmable. This has totally resolved our problem with night vision and galley work. I looked at the layout for your boat online and see that your galley is "down" - but if the ceiling of the galley is open to the helm area, perhaps this item could be of interest. LED lighting options are available everywhere, BUT this is the only one I've ever seen that's dimmable and can be switched to red (which is also dimmable)
It's made in Germany. A bit pricey - but worth every bit of the cost, in my opinion at least.

The picture below is from a piece of literature, as I don't happen to have a good picture of mine handy...


I've also attached a couple of pdf files, which provide better images and a "German amount" of engineering detail ;-)


I presume there must be a US dealer for these, but you might need to contact the company to find out.

I had a couple of places where I could hide a self-adhesive red LED light strip for indirect night lighting. Once hidden, who cares if it is a cheezy 50 cent light? And they can be cut to length and still work.

Check aviation sources too....

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0038JJ1O6/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_TVaoFb4QVJFS8

Frosty said:

I don't know of anything (unfortunately), but I could see that being a great idea. The combination of gooseneck and retractable would be really neat.

Click to expand...

It was after using the headset for a bit that the retractable gooseneck light idea came to me. I generally find anything that can be 'stowed' on a boat is better than something that can come loose.

I've seen the pull-out cylinder on the rackmount setups. The diameter on it is pretty big though. Large enough for use on a 1U rack faceplate but a bit large for one particular place I've often wanted better light.

I did manage to find a video online that shows the guts of one. It's a simple setup, just a stud on the back of the cylinder that contacts a microswitch. I don't know that a light like this would "have to be" automatically controlled that way, especially not if one wanted both red and white illumination.


Likewise, the clipped-on gooseneck. That's an improvement but it still leaves something set up in a way that's likely to come loose. On AV gear that wouldn't be an issue (well, maybe during rough handling by roadies it might).

The inspection 'borescope/endoscope' cameras these days also have an LED on the end of them. Their use of a flexible gooseneck is also useful.

Perhaps if I can find a decent and reasonably compact light I could fabricate a mounting cylinder like the Furman... hmmm...

This motorized mic would certainly be interesting.... not enough room behind where I'd want to put it though. And I'm sure the price-point is well into the "if you have to ask" territory.