# color blind



## 220/221 (Sep 25, 2007)

I worked with a guy who couldn't tell yellow from green.

He didn't tell anyone until after I turned on some 277v lights he wired. 

Dead shorts is several jboxes. :jester:


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

The topic of color blind electricians comes up on here from time to time, and I'm always surprised to learn how many there are. I worked along side one for 4 years, and I thought maybe he was the only one. He had the most trouble with red and green, but a few other colors as well. He was among the smarter guys I've ever worked with, and he taught me a lot. Certain jobs, though, if they involved lots of colors (like wiring a machine control panel or punching down cat5), that was my job. He just did other stuff, and let the color things to me. He was okay at pulling wire.

We lost two pretty good accounts from his mistakes; a commercial bakery and a concrete plant, which was most regrettable. I've run into other guys who, while technically not color blind, have a hard time with colors that are close to each other. I remember a job where we were pulling IG circuits with two greens... one olive and one almost neon green. There was a guy who couldn't tell them apart. He swore they were the same. After we had the pull done, I just went around quick and skinned the one a little bit so he knew the difference. 

I guess most of the color blind guys have developed some kind of system to cope with it, and I suppose it works out most of the time. It's good to know who these guys are, however, so that you can adjust the workload so that the non-color blind guys are doing the color critical work. No big deal. There's usually plenty other work to be done were color is not as important.


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## milehiwire (Feb 21, 2010)

I used to joke with an old neighbor who loved to grow tomato's. He could not tell red from green so I would help him pick the ripe ones. I told him he would never make it in the electrical trade.


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

I worked with a helper that was colorblind. he found out by accident that with a colored flashlight he could overcome his disability and tell the colors apart (can't remember which colors he couldn't see - I think it was red/green ?)


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## Rudeboy (Oct 6, 2009)

About 8 percent of Caucasian males are color blind. The most common form is red/green which doesn't necessarily mean that you can't tell red from green. It means you have trouble distinguishing either red or green from other colors.
I'm mildly color blind. With an led flashlight I have no problem distinguishing phase colors. When I work with boy (which is not very often) colors I have to be careful not to mix up brown and green, but with the led I'm fine.

You may be colorblind. Want to find out? Here's a link: 

http://www.robinsonscamera.com/color_blindness_test.htm

Try to read the number before you read the captions.


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## LGLS (Nov 10, 2007)

MDShunk said:


> The topic of color blind electricians comes up on here from time to time, and I'm always surprised to learn how many there are. I worked along side one for 4 years, and I thought maybe he was the only one. He had the most trouble with red and green, but a few other colors as well. He was among the smarter guys I've ever worked with, and he taught me a lot. Certain jobs, though, if they involved lots of colors (like wiring a machine control panel or punching down cat5), that was my job. He just did other stuff, and let the color things to me. He was okay at pulling wire.
> 
> We lost two pretty good accounts from his mistakes; a commercial bakery and a concrete plant, which was most regrettable. I've run into other guys who, while technically not color blind, have a hard time with colors that are close to each other. I remember a job where we were pulling IG circuits with two greens... one olive and one almost neon green. There was a guy who couldn't tell them apart. He swore they were the same. After we had the pull done, I just went around quick and skinned the one a little bit so he knew the difference.
> 
> I guess most of the color blind guys have developed some kind of system to cope with it, and I suppose it works out most of the time. It's good to know who these guys are, however, so that you can adjust the workload so that the non-color blind guys are doing the color critical work. No big deal. There's usually plenty other work to be done were color is not as important.


I agree. I worked with one who was so badly colorblind that he never worked with wires, and had to have his wife pick out his clothes.


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## Rudeboy (Oct 6, 2009)

LawnGuyLandSparky said:


> I agree. I worked with one who was so badly colorblind that he never worked with wires, and had to have his wife pick out his clothes.


That's very rare. It's a very very small amount of people who see in shades of gray.


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## RIVETER (Sep 26, 2009)

I wonder if the color blind tomato picker was union or not at his work. I suspect that it did not make a difference. It is good to hear reports of persons on the job helping those with slight difficulties to get by. There has to be some common ground somewhere.


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## milehiwire (Feb 21, 2010)

RIVETER said:


> I wonder if the color blind tomato picker was union or not at his work. I suspect that it did not make a difference. It is good to hear reports of persons on the job helping those with slight difficulties to get by. There has to be some common ground somewhere.


He was a postal worker all of his life and told me stories about catching the mail bag from a moving train. I took him to the hospital once when he had a heart attack and later I took him home from his hospital room when I went to visit and he said he had had enough of the place.

His dream was to be a pilot and I took him up a few times. Big problem not being able to tell red from green there.


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## s.kelly (Mar 20, 2009)

A comment above reminded me of a professor I had in college. He was color blind or some sort,so all of his clothes were blue. Guess it made getting dressed a non brainer.


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## Rudeboy (Oct 6, 2009)

Just out of curiosity. Anyone take a look at the test?


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## milehiwire (Feb 21, 2010)

Rudeboy said:


> Just out of curiosity. Anyone take a look at the test?


I did. Some of the later "x's" kind of got me.


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## Rudeboy (Oct 6, 2009)

milehiwire said:


> I did. Some of the later "x's" kind of got me.


Yeah I was wondering how accurate the test is. I can't see any of the numbers past image seven.


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Rudeboy said:


> Just out of curiosity. Anyone take a look at the test?


I guess I did okay in the color blindness department. I got them all right. Maybe I shoudl inform the press? :jester:

I started to get worried with a few there, where I thought to mysef, "I don't see a number", then I read the caption. Certain examples, only color blind people see a number.


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## milehiwire (Feb 21, 2010)

Rudeboy said:


> Yeah I was wondering how accurate the test is. I can't see any of the numbers past image seven.


I'm good to image 14. After that it is spotty.


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## active1 (Dec 29, 2009)

Rudeboy said:


> About 8 percent of Caucasian males are color blind. The most common form is red/green which doesn't necessarily mean that you can't tell red from green. It means you have trouble distinguishing either red or green from other colors.
> I'm mildly color blind. With an led flashlight I have no problem distinguishing phase colors. When I work with boy (which is not very often) colors I have to be careful not to mix up brown and green, but with the led I'm fine.
> 
> You may be colorblind. Want to find out? Here's a link:
> ...


What color light dose your LED flashlight provide? Which colors do you have trouble with?

There is a phone app for iphone and maybe others to help. It may not be the ideal tool it's only $5.

http://www.theiphoneappreview.com/02/color-blind-aid-iphone-app/


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## Rudeboy (Oct 6, 2009)

active1 said:


> What color light dose your LED flashlight provide? Which colors do you have trouble with?


I'm not sure how to answer your first question. The led changes the intensity of the colors I guess.
I have trouble with dark brown and dark green, especially if the area I'm working is not well lit. If it's a light green, no problem. Some orange and light brown phase colors confuse me.
Red and green, no problem
BRB colors, no problem.

Besides phase colors, i have trouble with other stuff. Like, I really can't see fluorescent colors. They just like bright yellow or green.


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## waco (Dec 10, 2007)

I am. Never passed a color blindness test in my life. Red/green. In fact, I can see them both, but not when they are close to each other or in hues rather than bold primary. Had a heckuva time with resistors and capacitors in the old days!

I still have problems with small wires and their tracers, but I leave them to the telephone folks.

The reality of this work is that many colors fade over time anyway, so we must develop methods that don't depend on color to differentiate wires.

But, I also know my limitations and have no problem being honest about them.


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## drsparky (Nov 13, 2008)

Same a Marc, buzzed threw them until I couldn't read one and was worried until I read the caption.


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## s.kelly (Mar 20, 2009)

I tried the test, and it was much as I remembered from eye tests as a kid. I test as the majority of the normal pretty much throughout.


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## prldrp1 (Jun 1, 2009)

in chicago, when applying for an apprenticeship your tested for color blindness...flunk it....your out of the program


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## Mike_586 (Mar 24, 2009)

Rudeboy said:


> Yeah I was wondering how accurate the test is. I can't see any of the numbers past image seven.



I can think of a number of things that could cause your computer not to display the proper color range throwing off the accuracy of the images i.e. windows setting at 16K vs. 32K colors, poorly calibrated monitor, your graphics card or possibly your web browser.

I could make out all the ones that said someone with normal vision could see. But I wouldn't sweat it too much without getting a pro check your eyes out.

I've worked with guys with different conditions from color blind, ADD, phobias (heights and claustrophobic being the two big ones), epilepsy, etc. and the way I see it, so long as they are up front about any conditions they have, its easy to figure out how to work with them and around their conditions.


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## BCSparkyGirl (Aug 20, 2009)

my eyesight is the pits, but I see colour just fine, thank goodness. One of us has to be able to dress Mr Sparkygirl in co-ordinating clothing....:laughing:


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## milehiwire (Feb 21, 2010)

BCSparkyGirl said:


> my eyesight is the pits, but I see colour just fine, thank goodness. One of us has to be able to dress Mr Sparkygirl in co-ordinating clothing....:laughing:


Canadians spell funny.


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## BCSparkyGirl (Aug 20, 2009)

We speak the queen's english my boy!!


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## milehiwire (Feb 21, 2010)

BCSparkyGirl said:


> We speak the queen's english my boy!!


Ain't no boy but okay


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## BCSparkyGirl (Aug 20, 2009)

milehiwire said:


> Ain't no boy but okay


all the men I know are boys at heart..........


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## waco (Dec 10, 2007)

One test I took was one red and one green ribbon. I had to tell them which side the green was on. I passed.

The one with the book is a whole different thing. I do better or worse depending on the lighting. My best was in natural sunlight. I think the test, if it is used to decide who should and shouldn't work, should only be given in natural sunlight with measured parameters.

I once had an eye person show me the book while I looked through filters. It proved there are numbers there.

Natural sunlight with defined parameters should be the test method.


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## Bob Badger (Apr 19, 2009)

BCSparkyGirl said:


> all the men I know are boys at heart..........


We have hearts?


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## BCSparkyGirl (Aug 20, 2009)

Bob Badger said:


> We have hearts?


theoretically........


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## wishmaster68 (Aug 27, 2009)

Worked with a guy in the local. He was in for years and was color blind. He had a problem seeing the difference between gray and green. He did a lot of 277v termination on a floor. Took a few days to go back and fix all the connections. I guess being in the local he could get away with it. Everyone knew he was color blind.


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## gardiner (Sep 25, 2007)

While working at 19 years old on PBX systems and managing to wire half of a telephone exchange backwards (interchanged brown/whites with the gold/whites), the company I worked for had my eyes tested. From this found I out I was color blind in some spectrums, basically could not tell brown from gold, or a dark blue from a dark green from a black. It amazed my friends that I didn’t even know it but to me I had no reference as to what the colors really were. 
One day about 25 years ago I was sitting in my living room and I had a really bad sneezing fit could not stop for about 15 minutes, couldn’t breath right, I saw stars, my head started to hurt, and finally it stopped. At that point my wife had some pictures hanging on the wall and I asked here what had happened to them they had funny shades all over them that I could not identify. They were the colors I had never seen before. No one has ever been able explain it but all of a sudden I could see what I had never seen before a beautiful experience one I will never forget. After that my children started to teach their dad his colors.


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## slickvic277 (Feb 5, 2009)

I worked with a color blind guy once.He was a pretty good electrician.He carried a white index card in his chest pocket and would put the wires on top of the card.He said it would help him distinguish the "shades" better.
I worked with him for a couple years,I don't remember him screwing anything up because of his handicap.I guess it's a matter of how color blind you are.


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## waco (Dec 10, 2007)

slickvic277 said:


> I worked with a color blind guy once.He was a pretty good electrician.He carried a white index card in his chest pocket and would put the wires on top of the card.He said it would help him distinguish the "shades" better.
> I worked with him for a couple years,I don't remember him screwing anything up because of his handicap.I guess it's a matter of how color blind you are.


It works. I have a heckuva time with greens and grays, but, grays are not really colors but shades, but I often cannot tell a green from a gray.


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