Friday, August 24, 2018

Help for bad eyes

Last week, when I was building that QRPGuys antenna circuit board, I found out how really bad my eyes have gotten. Placing components was not a problem; but soldering was. I currently wear bifocals, but the "close up" part of them is meant for reading, with the reading material being held at a normal distance. For very close up work, like soldering and inspecting solder joints, my normal prescription is just about useless. So I built without my glasses. I can see well close up without them; but I have to get uncomfortably close - my face has to be RIGHT IN THERE, and I get concerned that that's a little too close for safety.

W3BBO to the rescue!  Bob recommended something to me that I had never even thought of before:


During one of our weekly Skype sessions, we had talked about this very subject. That's when Bob recommended buying a pair of drug store "readers" for the very close up work.  Strangely enough, as an eyeglass wearer, the thought never occurred to me. My normal eyeglasses should be good enough - no? I guess I'm not that much of an "outside the box" thinker.

They have them at the ShopRite where I do our grocery shopping, so last Saturday, I bought a pair. They are of medium magnification, only +1.5 - but they made all the difference in the world! I am now able to get my face right at a comfortable distance from my working area without squinting or getting annoyed that I can't see clearly. I still need a magnifying glass for the super tiny print on capacitors; but for all intent and purpose, kit building is no longer an uncomfortable hassle.

The best thing is that they were cheap - only $15.00 for the pair, and I bet I could have found them cheaper had I done a little shopping around. So, if you have the same problem that I had, a small investment can make as much as a difference for you as it did for me.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous4:03 AM

    Hi Larry, interesting read as always. A trick I have, having now to wear prescription glasses for reading, is to wear these 1.5 / 2.0 cheap glasses over the top of the prescription ones for close up work. This allows the prescription glasses to correct any difference between the eyes and the cheap ones to add the additional magnification.
    HTH. Steve G6XWK.

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