Not so OT - Avoiding eye strain while building effects?

[skiraly017]

I wear glasses/contacts. When building pedals if I leave my contacts in I have trouble focusing while working on small parts, wiring switches, etc. If I take my contacts out I find it much easier to focus, but that means that my face is about four inches away from what I'm working on and I end up with a bad headache from what I'm assuming is eye strain and a backache from being hunched over my desk. Anybody else have this problem? Is there a solution? Thanks for the help.

[Strat Cat]

Have you considered using one of these?

MCM part # 22-6475

[smccusker]

those dealies are fantastic because you can use those clips for all manner of things where more than two hands are required.

[bass_econo]

They have something similar at ratshack too -
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=64-2991



Or maybe even something like this -
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=350-010

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

I don't find those 'aids' any use at all.
In particular, those 'ring ullumination' things, seem to distort everything.
If I had a lot of close work to do, I'd try a higher desk (or maybe a solid box of some kind to work on, so I wan't hunched over).
Also the brighter the light is, the tinier your pupils are, and so you have greater depth of field.
Jeweller's flip-down glasses are the go, in my opinion. But it is vitally important to be sitting comfortably, in exactly the right place, because you focus by moving your head & body, and if you aren't sitting pretty, then you will pay for it.

[troubledtom]

I wear glasses/contacts. When building pedals if I leave my contacts in I have trouble focusing while working on small parts, wiring switches, etc. If I take my contacts out I find it much easier to focus, but that means that my face is about four inches away from what I'm working on and I end up with a bad headache from what I'm assuming is eye strain and a backache from being hunched over my desk. Anybody else have this problem? Is there a solution? Thanks for the help.

how old are you? between the age of 35-45 yr's old. the lens in the eye
starts to harden it's called presbyopia and it is normal. i've never wore
glasses and i'm 20/20 near and far, but just in the last month or 2 i got a pair of +1.00 readers for very very small work. but ,i don't need them for reading a book or computer work.
     if you are much younger , you may be over corrected minus like to be over minused.
   i worked w/ eye doctors for 15 yr's.
                   peace,
                         - tom

[Mark Hammer]

I've got a huge collection of reading glasses from +1.00 through +3.50 from the dollar store.  I get them in essentially every degree of magnification available so I can adjust strength to whatever I need that day for that circuit.  I've started tinkering with surface mount stuff so the +3.00"s and +3.50's are pretty handy these days.

Ton/Puretube had a shot of his workbench recently with one of those terrific "space arm" magnifyers embedded in a round flourescent bulb.  Love to have one of those myself.

[mojotron]

I have the RS clip thingy there as well as the big magnifying light and I really don't use them that much with the magnifying glass. I took the glass off of the RS thing - those little arms are really great though!

My wife is super far-sighted, so I actually use a pair of her old glasses - which work great - until I try to focus on something further than 2' away  :shock: - YIKES!!

I probably look funny, but I try to reuse stuff where I can.

[10acErnie]

I've got a huge collection of reading glasses from +1.00 through +3.50 from the dollar store.  I get them in essentially every degree of magnification available so I can adjust strength to whatever I need that day for that circuit.  I've started tinkering with surface mount stuff so the +3.00"s and +3.50's are pretty handy these days.

Got myself a pair of $1 glasses a few weeks ago just for FX projects. That was the ticket for me!

[Dirk_Hendrik]

When was the last time you had your eyes checked? The problem you describe suggests they're not optimal for your eyes focus capabilities anymore.

Or,
As was actually my mom's case, she has to put her glasses away at the age of 38 when losses that come with age compensated for sight problems experienced at earlier age.

[KE4NYV]

This is the one I use...

[pi22seven]

:lol:

I should probably get one of those!

[puretube]

Tubecircuits instead of SMD-stuff...  

[zachary vex]

that may explain what's going on with me, Ton!  8^)

honestly, i'm all about lots and lots of light, and i have a great loupe that i bought for a quarter in 1984.

[puretube]

is that the one you wear in that pic with the "stetson" hat on?

[jmusser]

I have both of those apparatus, but I get the most use out of the magnifying lamp. It's easier to manipulate where you want it. Before I got that, I had a heck of a time, and then I got bifocals. I figured that would remedy the problem, but I would have had to have trifocals to adjust to mini world of pedal building. The light helps, especially identifying component values, since sometimes you have to turn the component until the glare is just right off the number stamp, to make it out.

[Nasse]

Certain food is believed to be good for your eyes, something about this might be true. Old people used to say you should eat butter because of this. Contains some vitamin E. There was a recent Elvis document where late E was in TV and was asked how he looked so good and young after all those years, and Elvis replied "I don´t know, maybe it is because of vitamin E"

Another wonder stuff for almost every health problem I don´t know the word for english language but in swedish it is "Fiskleverolja" that translates like "Fish Liver Oil" or something. I know a teacher that used to punish kids by forcing them to take it if they were not nice. I might buy a bottle and take it, even though the taste is awful, it is a proven nature product.

But just now again blueberry is said to be one of the best things for tired eyes. The small wild ones that grow here in northern Europe is said to be many times more effective than those big ones that grow in bushes in America. During the war they used to feed it to fighter pilots.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Nasse, those "cloud berries" are the reason I'd like to get to northern Europe!
The "active ingredients" in fish liver oil are Vitamin D and E, also omega-3 fatty acids. There is so much vit D and E in fish liver oil that it is possible to overdose on them. Omega-3 is something deficient in modern diets.
Tehre is some evidence that (in the long term) antioxidants like lutein reduces macular degeneration (common form of age-related blindness).
OF course, the single best thing you can do to inprove eye health, if you smoke, is to stop smoking.