Aging Vision: Visual Acuity and Seeing Better

Are there any more N scalers out ther at 60+ years of age.

The one big thing I worry about in doing N is that eventually my vision will not allow it. There has to be some solutions to this.

If any of you have been there, done that, and bought the T shirt, I would be interested in knowing how you solved the problem and stayed in N scale.

ge-maN

 

ge-maN, I'm 65 and do quite well at Z scale. As do many of the Z scalers in their 70's and a couple in their 80's. Personally, I think this 'eyesight' issue is a bit over blown. However, there are a couple of things that will help you out. Get one of the ramps that fit on the track and you slide the cars on to the track. Get those built in road crossings that are also rerailers. Get an Optivisor. It is the dorky looking gogle thing with the magnifying lenses. Get a pair of simple reading glasses that allow you to work about 14-18 inches away. I know the ones I use for reading are different than the pair I use in the trainroom. I'm sure others will have some more for you. Good luck and don't give up. The benifits of N scale size to the larger scales make it worth it. Cheers, Jim CCRR/Socalz44

 

ge-maN, I'm 74 and have two aids to N-Scale modeling.

First, I am extremely far-sighted, but with Progressive Add lenses, I believe the brand name is Varilux, I can work as close as 6". The benefit of this lens design over fixed-focus (standard bi- and tri-focal lenses) is that I am able to focus at all distances from 6" to Infinity just by moving my head, which becomes automatic after the first few days of wearing the new glasses.

Second, I use a work bench magnifying lamp. There are a few on the market, but the one I use and like best is 10"-12" in diameter and has a 4"-5" lens in the center of a circular flourescent bulb. It clamps to the side of the bench, rotates at the mount, has two "elbows" in its arm assembly, and the lamp itself hinges up and down, and rotates. This makes working with models and structures very convenient.

This is the lamp I use.....http://www.amazon.com/Swing-Arm-Mag...=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1272557642&sr=8-8

BTW, I started with O-Scale as a child, moved to HO as I got older, finally changing to N-Scale at 45 years old, just the opposite of what you'd expect as you aged.....:tb-wacky:

 

There are many threads on this. Search for "visor" in Model Railroading Forums as some of them are in other scale forums. I will put your topic in the How To Forum, too. Good question not to have an answer in the How To Forum.

Here is one thread.

Another good one on switching scales.

Optivisor Question. (2008)

 

I'm 60. I have to use reading glasses to do work on my N scale layout. I have a magnifing lamp but still have to use the glasses with it. If I was modeling in HO, which I do, O or G, I would still need the glasses. Since I have to wear glasses for distance it doesn't bother me to have to switch now and then ( I hate my bifocals ). My layout is 42" from the floor. I may raise it to 46" before I bulid an upper level i'm planning. Also having sufficient light helps, right down to using a lighted uncoupling tool.

 

I am 63 and have been wearing glasses since I was four years old. My eyes are really not worsening, but I find an Optivisor an essential piece of equipment. If you have sufficient lighting in your work area and on your layout, it is probably all that you are going to need. If there are dark spots on the layout where you are going to be working, a bright light would be called for to light up the area for the work. If a workbench, either get a lens with a flourescent light around it or a bright adjustible desk or swingout lamp and use that with the Optivisor. There are Optivisor knock offs available. I can only vouch for the original article, but the other brands might be just as good.

 

BTW-

As long as we have mentioned lighting, remember there is a difference in how something looks on a layout depending on the type of bulbs that are being used.

 

I'm 62. I use reading glasses. I use an Optivisor. Sometimes I use them together! It depends on what I'm doing. I agree with the sentiment expressed above that it's a good idea to use a re-railer, or the special section of track that acts as a crossing/re-railer in one. If I'm at my desk, I use a desk lamp. If I'm in the railway room (the garage!) then I just use the ordinary light.

Regards,

Pete

 

I am 71 & found out that a bench mounted magnifying lamp a great help. I also have my layout height at 57" so I don't have to bend over. Keeps the back ache away.
Because of my old eyes and fat fingers, I sent out all my locos for decoder installs.
Bob

 

I am not over 60, but I am in a club with some folks who are. I have a couple of insights into this if that's okay.

1) Nobody has ever quit our club due to age-related vision loss. Our oldest active member now is in his 80s. while he may not be constructing MTL couplers from those little kits now he is certainly right in the action when it comes to building a structure or running trains. Everyone pretty much does what he or she is able to do and contributes according to the club needs and one's own interests. It works out well.

2) Opti-visors. We have a few members who use them. after maybe an initial period of self-consciousness about one's own "geezerhood," the shyness seems to drop right away.

3) In our club, people often hand the really detailed work to those with steadier hands and sharper eyes. This isn't necessarily correlated strictly to age.

4) Most members have a local guy do work like installing decoders. Sometimes the "local guy" is me.

5) I have problems seeing detail when I don't have enough good lighting, and I am in my mid-30s. I became far-sighted right about when I got into N scale. I know that's kind of backward.

 

I am 63 and I have worn glasses since before starting school. I was near sighted (I could not see the big E on the eye chart without glasses, actually I couldn't even see the chart). But I could read the info in the consolidated stencils on an MTL car with my naked eyes. Last fall I had cataract surgery. With the new lenses, I can see things I never saw before. Unfortunately, making me virtually 20:20, they took away my natural built-in microscopes. So now I have to use an optivisor. It is still a pain getting used to having hunt up my optivisor instead of just holding it a couple of inches from my eye, but that is the way it is. Any thought of changing scales? not in the least.

 

I LOVE my optivisor!!! And my magnifying glass! N-scale is so cool for so many reasons---tried HO scale for a while, but the "charm" of N lured me back. I'm here to stay!!! :tb-biggrin:

 

Optivisor for sure. Remember that the the higher the magnification, the closer the working distance. But you can get several different lenses. I'm not sure about the knockoffs -- the couple I've tried had uncomfortable headbands or cheesy lenses. Optivisor has properly made optical glass lenses. It also sits very comfortably on your head. I sold quite a few to people (with no vanity, I guess) that preferred them over cheaters for other hobby work (stamps, needlepoint, model building) and even reading.

As you get older, you also need more light to work by. So have basic room light plus lamps on or near the workbench. I avoid halogen lamps just for my ability to knock into anything fabulously hot that's sitting on the workbench. There is a bright white LED array that mounts on an Optivisor that works well and is guaranteed to scare pets and visitors. I have two desktop Ott-Lites that are on small risers (books, actually) at either side of the work area. Those lamps are supposed to reproduce daylight (color), so as mentioned above, the lighting may not match your layout for color matching/painting purposes.

 

I second the comment on the type of light at the workbench--if you have incandescant lights on your layout, then the same should be used on your workbench. The word for the appearance of colors depending on the light source is metamerism. (I worked a couple of factory jobs where color matching from lot to lot was critical.)

 

On the color thing. Take a photo of the work. That will give you a truer rendering of how it actually looks.

 

I am 68, had poor eye sight from young. I use my reading glasses constantly when I am doing work on the layout or engines. When I hear that good sighted modelers also lose small parts like horns and springs, I do not feel so disadvantaged!
Cheers,

 

Howdy all,

Thanks for all the replies. I've belonged to a lot of model railroad groups over the years and never have I had such a profusion of good and encouraging replies in so short of time. Guess this just shows how passionate N scalers are about their scale. I already have an Optivisor and its great. I also wear trifocals in Big Boy frames for large field of vision and I love them. I don't even see the lines anymore unless I make an effort to look. Without glasses, I can read fine print close up as small as 1/2-1 mm in height. Great for looking at detail but then who can see fine detail as the train rushes by eh!

After years of flogging about in other scales, returning to N after each size upgrade, I feel like I have come home again. I honestly believe this will be my last scale change as at 63 I feel you have to concentrate your efforts. Time is running out.

Once again, thanks for all the great replies.

ge-maN

 

Im going to jump in here. Im 54 and in the last few years I have noticed having more problems with doing the N scale stuff via vision. A couple of things that have really helped as mentioned above is the optivisor and good lighting. See pictures below.
No extra light.



With extra light. Makes a world of difference. Notice optivisor haning there also.

 

Just to add to my original post, I have an Optivisor and it great but reminds me of wearng my helmet in the military (a heavy weight on the head) Both are very useful in their applications. However, the other night I needed a little extra while looking at some N scale. Picked up the wife's reading glasses and fit them over my ears so they lined up with my close-up part of my tri focal. WOW!! It doubled what I was able to see and was very light. I just glanced up to reume normal distance vision like the optivisor. A set of these glasses are going in my tool box for instant access. Will try more powerful reading glasses in this way and see what happens. Will keep you posted.