so I got this UV-Led light, and ...

[sotto]

UV light: fun things to do?

I picked up a purple UV Photon Microlight II over the weekend. Nice little watch pocket sized (but bright) UV light. Any suggestions for "fun things" to do with it??

Thanks. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[McGizmo]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

sotto,

This could be a good thread to watch and I hope to learn as well! You will likely want one of the "invisible" pens used by laundrys for marking clothing. You can embark around your house on a junior forensics mission, looking for bodily fluids. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

You can also check out the strip in the new bills. Some of the guys were talking some time ago about hunting for scorpions with RB Luxeons. I assume that the UV will also spot light these critters?

- Don

 

[lemlux]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

I am thinking about buying the X5T in UV which has 5 UV LEDs. I currently have a couple cheapie "money checker" single LED button cell lights. These sell for $4, but I received them as "free" premiums with each $50 of batteries and chargers I bought from BYDUSA.

The cheapie will make the money strip visible, but it is dim and subtle and doesn't act much like a black light in the room.

I'm hoping to hear good things about the intensity of the X5T UV black light glow effects. The ads say visible at 10' which means nothing, since what is visible is the blue light. This light is premium priced at $73.99, so I'm not ready to jump, yet.

What is the most effective LED UV light in people's opinion.

 

[d'mo]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

UV fun:

Money checker
Credit card checker
Scorpion hunting
"Charging" GITD objects
"Writing" on CRTs and TV picture tubes (in the dark, TV off)
Looking for traces of bodily fluids

 

[e=mc²]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

Some interesting UV phenomena I have noticed while dubbing around in the laboratory include:

1. If you have dental work ie, bridges and/or crowns, take a look inside your mouth. Pretty neat.

2. If you have such artifacts as vinyl LPs from the dark ages of the 70's and 80's, look at the black discs in the dark illuminated by just UV. Some, not all, exhibit marble like textures visible only under UV.

3. When gaining admittance to an event or theme park where you are stamped with "invisible ink", check out what is actually being stamped on you. For example, on my last trip to six flags, everyone was oblivious to the invisible markings, but I, having my trusty 'lil photon UV handy, saw that they had stamped "USDA Choice Beef" on my hand. My wife was immediately ROTFLHAO at that statement. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Butt when I pointed out that she too, had the same "branding", the humor sank to her hips and she no longer found it humorous. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Ed.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

Looks like d'mo beat me to it on this one.
But here are a few more uses:

Checking around the toliet for stray pee, checking carpet around cat boxes & near couches and chairs and such for cat pee, checking around holes & cracks, under sinks, and in closets for rat & mouse pee, checking shirts at the thrift store (or bought on ebay) for dried up armpit sweat puddles, looking for spilled washer soap on or near washers & dryers, checking glass articles for repairs (the most common glass glues glow), looking for vaseline glass at flea markets, and shining at mail (envelopes or boxes) to find hidden bar codes.

$0.02

 

[LEDmodMan]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

"USDA Choice Beef" that's classic...

 

[e=mc²]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

Hey Craig, if you or anyone you know takes one of the B Complex vitamins, check out the extra "umpf" it gives to the fluorescence of their pee. Quite neon-esque, to say the least. The vitamins claim to be 100% natural, so I don't suspect any dyes. Could that be beta carotene doing it?

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Ed.

 

[shipinretech]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

If you need a more serious UV source, we offer a 20 UV LED adapter for 3C/D Mag-LITEs.
http://www.inretech.net/adapters.htm

Please note that you should not ever point any of our products at your eyes. Our UV adapter is the product you should least point at your, or anyone elses, eyes. Our other products operate primarily in the visual range and they hurt to look into; the UV adapter does not give sufficient pain to make you look away although it is quite bright.

I have not seen any other portable LED UV source that comes close to our MC adapter in UV. My opinion is biased, I am part of a competing company.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

[ QUOTE ]
e=mc² said:
Hey Craig, if you or anyone you know takes one of the B Complex vitamins, check out the extra "umpf" it gives to the fluorescence of their pee. Quite neon-esque, to say the least. The vitamins claim to be 100% natural, so I don't suspect any dyes. Could that be beta carotene doing it?


[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Ed,

I'm pretty sure that the riboflavin (vitamin B2) is the guilty one here, rather than the beta carotene. It turns your pee a BRIGHT YELLOW that these LEDs have no trouble with fluorescing. You can get riboflavin teepz at the health food store, or get riboflavin from any of those "B-Complex" vitamin teepz.

Dissolving one of these vitamins in a cup of hot water will give similar fluorescence without that characteristic "pee" smell, though you may notice that peculiar "vitamin" odor near the cup. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[sotto]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

Me again with an update--
I discovered that one of my old clear toothbrushes fluoresces brilliantly, that the lettering and some other symbols on some of my wife's women's magazine covers also glow like crazy under UV light, and that bits of powdered laundry detergent around the washing machine light up like little brilliant beacons. More to come, no doubt.

Thanks for the suggestions so far!

 

[lemlux]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

Patrick:

I notice that Inretech's 20 LED UV adapter for a 3D mag is "unavailable at this time". When do you expect it to be available and what is it's price?

Is the output of your 395 nm UV adapter a simple 4 times more than the X5T (20 LEDs / 5 LEDs) or is Inretech its typical self in refusing to overdrive to the extent much of the competition does.

 

[IlluminatingBikr]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

Here is a link to Vicomptel's webstie with lots of things you can do with UV lights. You have to scroll down a little (it's towards the bottom of the page), but it has lots of cool things to do with a UV light. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[INRETECH]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

Our supplier for the 395nm UV LEDs was behind on their production at the time; they have fixed this problem and we have plenty of stock on them now; they are a very nice adapter and put out approx 2w of 395nm light

 

[McGizmo]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

Mike,

Each of the 5 mm LED's puts out 100 mW (Po) of light at 395 mm? Wow! I have a proto Nichia 2Watt UV and it only puts out 88 mW of light at 379 nm! What are the Vf and If of these LED's if I may ask?

I think I am confused here.......

- Don

 

[Tomas]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

... marketing ... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[tvodrd]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

[ QUOTE ]
McGizmo said:
sotto,

This could be a good thread to watch...."

- Don

[/ QUOTE ]

Indeed! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Larry

(I hate scorpions!)

 

[road__kill]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

I played with my X5MT-UVT for a while tonight and found that it
also shows all the spots where my cat puked on the carpet. Even after cleaning real well it still shows the spots. Gross!

 

[shankus]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

[ QUOTE ]
The LED Museum said:
Checking around the toliet for stray pee

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought I was seeing things. When I was younger, I smoked my doobage in the bathroom, with a blacklight going. This is when I discovered pee glowing under a blacklight.
I was quite surprised when I read your post tonight.

Another good use is to check the crotch of your drawers
to see if the washing machine is doing it's job.

 

[kitelights]

Re: UV light: fun things to do?

Please be careful with any UV lights. They are very dangerous to your vision. The danger is not from the intensity that usually hurts your eyes, but the UV itself. The danger is not short term, but long term. You don't feel it, but it destroys your vision (causes cataracts). It's like loud music (or gun shots). How many of us really thought that loud sounds would hurt our ability to hear? Well, here I am years later with hearing problems. I work with UV lights in my business (not LEDs), so please be careful. Most of us think that if something doesn't cause pain or discomfort, then it's not harmful. Not the case.