Colored flashlight for tracking

I now I saw something about this here but cannot find it using the search function.

My understanding is that having colored light (red, green, blue, etc.) can aid in tracking. I asked about that on another Yahoo Group and it was explained that if you use a light which is close to the color of the surface you are trying to track on, then tracks and their shadows stand out better. [Use green on grass, red on dry pine needles, yellow on sand, etc.]

I also recall someone saying blue makes blood show up better.

I thought I remembered Hacksaw having something to say about this. So, what's up with using colored light for tracking?

Thanks.

You speak of the Carnivore:

I just got the Radio Shack Coast Recon 4 for under $20 with which I will experiment. White, green, blue, and red LED flashlight.

I noticed you can turn on more than one color at a time. Hmmm. Red and blue make purple?

Radio Shack Coast 4 Color RECON LED $15 3 aaa batteries
http://radioshack.com/pwr/product-review...Flashlight.html

I wonder If I could replace some of the white LEDs with yellow?

Yeah. That was my post. If I have time later I'll track it down and post a link to it.

Since I made that post I've had the opportunity to take quite a bit of tracking training and spoken to some real veteran trackers about the matter.

The consensus with the old pros is to use a flashlight with an old fashioned bulb and D cell batteries. The incandescant bulb gives a mellow yellow light with is the least stressful on the eyes and the D cells make sure the flashlight won't die in 10 minutes.

The last time I took some training I had the opportunity to play with lights as we did some tracking in twilight and at night...and we were tired. Started at 8am and kept going until dark which around here in the summer is about 11pm.

I found that for me the color didn't seem to make much of a difference. I had a light I picked up on the internet which has 10 different colors of LED light. The different colors can make certain things stand out, or blend in, but in the instances I was using them in, it didn't really help me to see anything I wouldn't have noticed with just a normal flashlight. I definately didn't notice anything special about 'green on green' type lighting like you mention dweste. Every time I tried the colored lights, I went back to my other flashlight, the 'white' setting on the multi color light, or the orange color as it's nice and mellow and easy on the eyes. If you get tired enough you'll see anything even if it's not there!

When it comes to normal flashlights though, you really want to be careful what you buy. LED lights which are pure white or even a little blue burn your eyes out FAST. Also a light which is too bright (like a K2 Luxeon light for example) will just wash out the sign, burn your eyes, and destroy your night vision. Also avoid lights with 'hot spots'. My Mini Mag light sucks for tracking for example even with the home made diffuser I have on it. Duracell is selling some LED lights I want to try which have a more natural color and a spherical lense to get rid of hot spots...could be a good light.

I found that it's how you use the light that is most important and far more important than color. The angle at which you put the light to the sign, the angle of your eye relative to the light, and the ambient light are all things that make night and day difference.

My favorite new trick which I picked up from training is to use the mirror of my compass to reflect light (natural or my own) on to the sign. You can really control the angle at which it hits and if you are lucky enough to be able to use the sun (like right when it's going down) you can reveal amazing amounts of detail by shooting a beam of sunlight across the track or the sign at a really low angle like 20 to 30 degrees. Unfortunately if the light hits at the wrong angle it can actually help to hide the sign from you by removing vital shadow instead of casting it.

The Carnivore light is great for blood tracking. That feature wouldn't come in handy for tracking a person unless they were wounded. The standard bulbed flashlight would be really good though.

When do you use the various light techniques?

I am an amateur, hobby tracker. I primarily do animal tracking as the opportunity presents itself.

I have read the Tom Brown Jr. books and do carry a hiking / wading staff that I equipped with sliding, elastic marker bands to record track length, track width, stride length, etc. of tracks.

Like all nature observation in my experience, I find that remaining in place and patiently looking often reveals other, smaller, more subtle tracks that have been right in front of me all the time.

If lighting techniques allow faster or better tracking, then that would be great.

I've only used flashlights when it's really dark and only briefly when I absolutely need to...I'll rely on night vision and moon light first. When it's twilight I don't even bother because that level of light puts incredible strain on your eyes. During the day the mirror trick can help to cast or remove shadows (it works with strong moon light too!). A flashlight will do squat in strong noon day sun...you'd have to stare straight into it to even know it's on.

The only thing that will make you a faster tracker is experience...there is no trick or gimmick that guarantees speed or success. I don't intend to consider myself anything but a novice until I have at least 100 hours under my belt of proper training or actual on the job tracking...which I'm working on but not there yet. Animal tracking is good practice. Animals are generally graceful and good at not disturbing things as they pass...people are clumsy and generally don't care.

I have a tip on the elastic bands for your stick though. I've found elastic bands break when you least expect them to. Castration rings work really well. Plus they're designed to break down and biodegrade so if you lose one in the bush, there is minimal environmental impact. The best tracking stick I've ever seen belongs to a friend of mine. It's a fiberglass cattle handling stick with 3 green Castration rings on it (she also uses it to deliver amazingly convincing threats ). Personally I use a cheap telescopic stick and I adjust the sections to mark foot and stride length because once it's tightened it won't move like elastics can as you crawl through the bush.

I think you are reading way too many end of society survival books and have an over active imagination as to what will likely be a survival situation a person will realistically encounter…

Well, I am going to have to find out about this technology now that you have so casually mentioned it, but I think I could have gone my whole life without even considering the idea.

So is there a link to these "items"?

I am just not ready to Google that phrase.

I use the tiny hair elastic loops on my staff; like mini bungee cord. So far they have proved very tough and have not moved on their own. I like that you can get them in colors - one pair for width, etc..

I think tracking is a valuable survival skill Bob...and I think it has nothing to do with TEOTWAKI. I don't see how dwestes post gave you that impression.

Always possible.

Then again: it is fun, animals routinely visit food and water sources that may not be obvious to someone not familar with an area, setting snares or hunting can be more successful if you know where the critters wander by everyday or can find their night resting places, you might want to locate someone who is not "found"or lost a piece of gear somewhere "back there", you might need to backtrack yourself if you are suddenly not "found" or lost a piece of gear somewhere "back there", and you cannot track well without practice. But that's just off the top of my head.

Second thoughts:

Tracking is far more than just looking at the ground. It is developing a heightened awareness of the evidence of "what happened here" all around us.

I am still a babe in the woods, but already I can sit and begin to figure out the "track" of: birds in the air (they are creatures of routine so they fly the same routes over and over), past avalanches, geological events like earthquakes and glacier passage, high water of lakes and rivers, and animals who left hair, nibble marks, scrapes and clawmarks on trees, brush, and plants etc.

It may seem a bit crazy, but it is all there like a book for us to read. And I spent most of my life just not looking.

So if a piece of gear can make tracking easier and faster, then I am interested.

You are already tracking everyday anyway.

You can tell by the way the table is set who did it, who drove the car last by the seat adjustment and the radio station that comes on, who used the toilet last by whether the seat is up or down, who was in the refrigerator by what package is left open and what container is closest to the outside, whether someone is upset by how the car is parked, and a thousand other clues that tell you "what happened here."

Tracking outdoor is just more of the same, but the "tracks" just happen to be different.

in my experience, color rendition is the opposite, Do NOT use red when looking for red stuff, etc. I used a red LED on a map one night in the car, couldn't see the road's for sh*t. Even the blue lines of waterways were tough to find, but at least readable. Anything with red ink was gone.

Jennifer on eastbaytrackers Yahoo Group mentioned success at using ultaviolet light to highlight urine.

As I understand it, and will soon be testing, that is the idea: wash out the background color so the shadows of tracks stand out. Use yellow on sand and the sand "disappears", for example.

So now all I need to find is an LED multi-color and UV combo keychain-sized, solar-rechargeable, waterproof light.

Anybody already got one?

My 10 color LED flashlight doesn't have UV but I carry a UV Photon on a key ring attached to the same light. It won't throw much light but it's handy for things like that. It will also light up some spiders and scorpions which could be handy before you go poking and proding in some matted grass 6 inches from your face.

I should also note that I'm Red/Green color blind so the application of color likely won't work the same for me as it does a person with normal vision. This is something I'm still trying to figure out and why I got a light with so many colors...what works for me might differ from accepted standards.

All that and keychain sized! LOL! That's a tall order. Besides the Gerber Carnivore, there's also the Gerber Recon. Has white LED and red, blue, and green filters. Runs off 1xAA, which you could charge with a solar charger. Water resistant. No UV, though. Cheaper than the Carnivore. Definitely not bright, but I'm assuming that you don't necessarily want bright when you're tracking something at night.

You could add UV capability by getting something like an Inova X1 or X5. The X1 is also a 1xAA light.

Well shut my mouth …

This site has UV flashlights, including a Photon Freedom Micro Covert UV and a Scorpion Finder!

www.brightguy.com/uv-flashlight.php

Hmm, wonder if you can get a UV LED bulb to put into a light you already have?

Well, of course you can:

http://search.ebay.com/uv-led-bulb_W0QQfkrZ1QQfnuZ1QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ32

So now I need to find my new Radio Shack Coastal Recon 4 and see if the LED’s are field replaceable!

I have the Recon DIAL. It's nowhere near bright enough for tracking. Awesome for map reading without killing your night eyes though.

On the Tracker School group:

Zhen Wu Chin reports using UV helps to track in dust.

Steve McCullum reports blue light on light brown pine needles showed deer tracks well.

Naturally the leds are sealed into one round plug-type unit. I do not see how you could repair or replace a "bulb."

Hey dweste,

I have part of what you are looking for in a small UV / LED light.

I recently bought a Quiqlite for use when writing notes and for checking ID, here is a link http://quiqlite.availableresources.com/i...8&Itemid=49

It is not very powerful but works well close-up.

Mike

Played around last night with the colored and white led light on some of my cat's muddy tracks across a tan counter top. Both red and green seemed better than white, blue,or their combination in highlighting the tracks. I liked the combo of red and green the best.

However, the difference was primarily that those colors were easier on my eye, not that they made the tracks stand out that much better. Still, my eye comfort, and therefore endurance in tracking, is important.

Being able to use any one of the four lights, plus any combination, is an interesting feature of this light.

The switches protrude from the body of the flashlight, meaning they can be accidentally pressed. However they must be pressed down against some resistance and must travel a bit before going on. I have put the light on one the EDC keychain that has my car key and have been carrying it constantly. I found the light on once after carrying it in my pocket. I will have to see if this is a significant problem.

More tests, more reports after a week or so.

I am having a hard time getting a grip on muddy cat prints and counter top

Ask Blast.

Or my wife, the queen of Catbite Fever...

Mel on Tracker School:forum reports:

“I've used ultraviolet light to track urine. I was able to find runs of many different small animals this way. It's a good way to find out where the hawks hunt because they can see in a similar light spectrum and can tell where to hunt
by the amount of urine they see.”

UV light is very hard on the eyes. Using it even briefly will cause a lot of eye strain and can cause permanent damage if used often enough. Best saved for very brief and very occational bursts.

Blue is close to UV on the spectrum. Many blue LEDs also put out a fair bit of UV.

I've tested my 10 color LED light on the blue setting with urine and it glows pretty good as long as it's dark out. If I ever need to track somebody through my bathroom who has a bladder control problem, I'm set!

Well, there is tonight's experiment!

Arthur from The Sacramento Tracking and Wilderness Training Group pointed out the many animals,including deer, can see UV. He pointed us to this site which explains most clothing uses UV brighteners that make us stand out to animals:

http://www.atsko.com/articles/hunting/how-game-animals-see-smell.html

"...the deer has only blue peaking and green peaking receptors while the human has a third receptor..."

I have always wondered, how do they "know" that the receptors in a deers eyes work the way that the ones in human eyes work? They may be right, but to me it is just another SWAG. After all, they can't ask the deer...

Pay no attention to the electrodes in your head, deer.

Well, after several non-scientific experiments my conclusion is that colored light can aid in nighttime / dim light tracking. For me a red and green combo was easiest on the eyes and tracks were readily seen shadow-defined shapes. Using white light destroyed night vision, and using red only was not as easy on my eyes or as effective.

I hope to try UV soon.