Dimming a spotlight for gator hunting

[polk county]

Gator hunting season is almost over and I still have a tag to fill. In Florida gators are hunted at night with spotlights and harpoons. Here's the problem. Late in the season in heavily hunted areas every gator in the lake goes under as soon as you shine the spotlight. If I had a way to turn the light down as the boat approached the gator, I think that more of them would tolerate the light. The idea is to shine full blast on gators far away and turn down the light as the boat approaches. Does anyone know of a way to adjust the intensity of a 12 volt 1 mil CP light?Thanks for the help.
Here is a pic of one we got earlier this year

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Dimming a spotlight for gator hunting

If you check the automotive electrical department at any farm store, or the electrical dept at NAPA, O'Reilys, etc, you will find "generic" rheostat style heater motor controls that were made for old cars. These are getting scarce but they are still available. This device is infinitely adjustable from full on to almost off. WARNING: This device gets very hot as it must disipate the heat that the voltage you are pulling away from the light. So mount the control in a manner that you won't burn yourself or set fire to flammable material. And for gosh sakes, keep it away from fuel tanks. It looks like this.

 

[polk county]

Re: Dimming a spotlight for gator hunting

Thank you very much I will post pics of the results. Very few people would have know about that!

 

[Andrew Leigh]

Re: Dimming a spotlight for gator hunting

Have you investigated infra red? A filter over the front of the torch may help?

 

[jlinder]

Re: Dimming a spotlight for gator hunting

in theaters and Television studios they use a gel (just what it is called, it is really a sheet of plastic). These come in all types, including neutral density.

You can use one of the neutral density filters and double or triple it up to get what you want.