My red flashlight died halfway through a meteor shower watch in March

I was out in my backyard in Albany trying to catch the Lyrids when my red headlamp just flickered and went dark. Turns out I had cheap batteries in it that leaked and corroded the contacts. Now I keep a spare set of lithium batteries in my watch bag, has anyone else had a light die at the worst moment?

2 comments

2 Comments

river_hall4410d ago

Wait you actually tape a red filter over a white light and that works for you? Ngl that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. I tried that once with a piece of red cellophane and the thing just slid off the second I bumped it against my telescope tripod in the dark. Honestly you're braver than me for relying on that setup during a cold night, those lithium batteries in my headlamp have saved me more times than I can count. Tbh I still have nightmares about that time my light died right as I was trying to read a star chart and ended up fumbling around like an idiot for ten minutes.

kevin_martin10d ago

Hear me out but having a light die is almost a rite of passage for stargazing. I actually prefer my standard white light with a dim red filter taped over it because those cheap red LEDs can be super unreliable in cold weather. Plus that way I can just replace the battery with a regular AA if needed instead of hunting for some specialty battery.