Docs who perform alt. color vision tests

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C_Parker

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Located in Idaho. Having a hell of a time finding an optometrist who performs Farnsworth. Anybody know of one not too far away?

Thanks
 
Have you tried Opthalmoligists, optometry schools, any of the other acceptable tests, or a SODA?
 
I've called around to about a dozen optometrists in a 100 mile radius with no luck. I haven't tried any schools or an ophthalmologist though. I'm in denial about having to do a SODA evaluation, it's my last resort because one mistake could result in a permanent restriction.
 
C_Parker said:
I've called around to about a dozen optometrists in a 100 mile radius with no luck. I haven't tried any schools or an ophthalmologist though. I'm in denial about having to do a SODA evaluation, it's my last resort because one mistake could result in a permanent restriction.
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I gotcha about the permanent restriction. I will say, that’s not something you do cold turkey, either. Practice, practice, practice with your CFI in the same conditions before hand.

Most (not all) people can discern some type of difference in colors, even if it’s very slight changes in shading. The key is learning what those variants look like to you.

Once you can pass, on multiple tries, the SODA protocol presented in various, random presentations, then you never have to worry about it again, either.
 
@C_Parker , under what conditions are you taking these tests?

The standard Ishihara (sp?) colored dot test is calibrated for light emitted at 5,000 degrees kelvin - aka the sun. If you are taking the tests in the typical MD office with flourescent lighting (typically anywhere from 2,000 to 4,000 degrees kelvin), and your color perception is there but weak, you can certainly fail the dot test in office but have acceptable color vision if you are outside in strong sunlight. Find an optometrist that will walk with you all the way to the parking lot on a cloudless day. And good luck!

-Skip
 
I took the ishihara very informally at the AME's office. He wasn't particularly interested in helping me through it. Pretty much every optometrist has the ishihara book, so maybe I need to just take another crack at it. Newer printing is MUCH easier for me than dull older print. Same goes for sectionals vs. sectionals on Foreflight with the more vivid color. I ordered an Ishihara book from an optometry supply house today, I'll practice with it a bit and see.

I've been practicing on colors a lot lately. I have a PPL but I really want to go commercial MEL so I can do a little 135 stuff part time or maybe even go into business flying. It's been my dream my whole life, that's why I'm so timid about it.

What I've found is I can actually see colors better than I give myself credit for. I found that for years I had given up and threw my hands up when really with just a little effort and some differentiation technique I could figure things out. I noticed I can pick out colors if I go with my gut at first glance rather than staring. I passed an ishihara test on my phone today, but again the sharp color on a display helps a lot.
 
C_Parker said:
... I passed an ishihara test on my phone today, but again the sharp color on a display helps a lot. ...
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And the colors of your particular display may have helped a lot more than resolution. When I was in the photo biz, we calibrated our monitors all the time. There's a vast difference otherwise (look at the monitors displayed at your local MicroCenter, or the TVs at Best Buy) that my affect your ability to pass a test.
 
C_Parker said:
I took the ishihara very informally at the AME's office. He wasn't particularly interested in helping me through it. Pretty much every optometrist has the ishihara book, so maybe I need to just take another crack at it. Newer printing is MUCH easier for me than dull older print. Same goes for sectionals vs. sectionals on Foreflight with the more vivid color. I ordered an Ishihara book from an optometry supply house today, I'll practice with it a bit and see.

I've been practicing on colors a lot lately. I have a PPL but I really want to go commercial MEL so I can do a little 135 stuff part time or maybe even go into business flying. It's been my dream my whole life, that's why I'm so timid about it.

What I've found is I can actually see colors better than I give myself credit for. I found that for years I had given up and threw my hands up when really with just a little effort and some differentiation technique I could figure things out. I noticed I can pick out colors if I go with my gut at first glance rather than staring. I passed an ishihara test on my phone today, but again the sharp color on a display helps a lot.
Click to expand...

RGB displays make color very differently than spot colors on printed materials. Everything is tuned to produce a standard three-dimensional colorspace that looks right to a person with regular color vision, but that doesn't mean the underlying spectrum of two identical-looking (to someone with full color vision) colors are actually the same. The medium really matters!

I'll note the color temperature of the lights inside does make a difference, but the selective nature of the phosphors in fluorescent and white LED lighting mean less information for your eyes to work with. Incandescent light or sunlight are bremsstrahlung, continuous, maximizing your chance at seeing differences.
 
I got my SODA at a towered airport by identifying the light gun signals. I failed the ishihara, also the one at the FSDO where you look into a black box. light guns was my last resort - don't have to worry any more. I did this in the '90's
 
Eric Brunelle said:
I got my SODA at a towered airport by identifying the light gun signals. I failed the ishihara, also the one at the FSDO where you look into a black box. light guns was my last resort - don't have to worry any more. I did this in the '90's
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I wonder if any of the light guns have switched from incandescent to LED, changing the difficulty of differentiating.
 
Dr. Wilson Ko in Flushing, Queens, New York City used to have one. But that was about 10 years ago. I don't know if he still does.

It's kind of a long trip, though; and although I like Dr.Ko a lot, his office is a nightmare. But he does work with a lot of pilots and is familiar with the regs. At least as of ten years ago, anyway.

Rich
 
arnoha said:
I wonder if any of the light guns have switched from incandescent to LED, changing the difficulty of differentiating.
Click to expand...
...just about all are LED, now, with dead batteries and dropped on floor (ruining ability of the controller to aim the thing right at you.....)
 
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