Looking for UV light

diggumsmack2

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Feb 22, 2012
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Looking for a good UV light, no particular use in mind. Just realized I don't own one, well actually I own the little keychain UV lights. I am looking to upgrade in the UV deptartment. Maybe price range of $30-$50. Anyone got any good ideas?
 

joe1512

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Ok, this is the deal. UV LED emitters are pretty crappy from a technology point of view. You've got:

a) The 5mm ones. These are basically like the lame 5mm LEDS in the showerhead looking lights. Being UV, they are significantly less efficient. We are talking 20 millwatts of power each.

b) The CREE power LEDS. These have a few WATTS of power each, but are HARD TO FIND. CREE discontinued these a while back, so they are way behind in tech. But certainly beter than (a). This is your best bet but expensive due to rarity.

c) Flourescent. If size isnt an issue, get a 8 inch TUBE LIGHT. I have one and it produces TWELVE WATTS of power! Thats a crapload of UV, compared to LED offerings! And it was under 20 bucks. 8 inch tube light with multiple AA batteries running it.


Remember that UV is not the same. You want about 380 nm wavelenght. Many cheaper LEDS produce much higher wavelenghts and you see lots of PURPLE LIGHT but not so much UV. The Tubes (c) produce the correct wavelength.
 

SuLyMaN

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I posted something in another thread. Looking for one too but not too impressed atm. Seen a lot of posts with uv lights displaying horrible tints...hope this thread works out. Cheers


sent from my mob. Excuse misspelling. thanks!
 

TEEJ

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The XeLED UV I have is the best one so far in the ~ 390 nm range...it fluoresces what I'm looking for at pretty long ranges.
 

ZMZ67

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I have several UV LED lights including a CREE emitter but the latest version of the INOVA X5 UV(older versions of the X5 UV have a higher wavelength) seems to flouresce things better.INOVA lists a range for the wavelength so I do not know what the exact nm rating but it is lower than the commonly found 395nm.A UV flourescent tube is more capable than any of the LEDs but the LED flashlights are more convenient to carry than the battery powered flourescent I have.
 

TEEJ

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I have several UV LED lights including a CREE emitter but the latest version of the INOVA X5 UV(older versions of the X5 UV have a higher wavelength) seems to flouresce things better.INOVA lists a range for the wavelength so I do not know what the exact nm rating but it is lower than the commonly found 395nm.A UV flourescent tube is more capable than any of the LEDs but the LED flashlights are more convenient to carry than the battery powered flourescent I have.

I have the older, and newer Inova X5 UV, and they do fluoresce things well, but they don't have the range of the XeLED UV light I recently acquired...not even close. IE: The new X5 works great, but, at closer ranges compared to the XeLED.

And, yup, the tubes are monsters compared to the LEDs. :D
 

TEEJ

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What light do you have do you have from XeLED? I know they specifically make lights in UV and have complete forensic kits.

I don't know of any way to tell you w/o a link, and we're always censored when we do that.

I could PM you if you want.

OK, PM'd you the link.

I THINK its called the:

XeLED-He1UV-395


(Funny, not sure why I couldn't remmeber that catchy name...?)
 
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diggumsmack2

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Feb 22, 2012
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If you already own a SureFire 6p, just get a UV drop-in for around $15.00 on the 'bay.

I recieved the UV led drop in today that I ordered on Ebay. Wow this is great and for a great price, thanks xian13 for the awesome info!

The only negative and it's not really a negative is the new drop in is a tad longer than the Surefire 6Pled stock drop in and so the head doesn't thread 100% down possibly making the light not so water tight? Gotta do some tests on that issue.
 

Kjosn

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Will this ebay Item number:380415867909 fit inside the surefire G3?
 
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ElectronGuru

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the new drop in is a tad longer than the Surefire 6Pled stock drop in and so the head doesn't thread 100% down possibly making the light not so water tight?

Try taking off the outter spring. Many Chinese drop ins are designed for Chinese hosts, which have larger sockets. This creates fit problems with SF hosts and heat sink problems the other way around.

Water is kept out by the oring, which stays in place either way.
 

Johnbeck180

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A good UV flashlight

Hey folks,

Had a friend call me Yesterday. Knowing that I'm in flashlights he was wanting to know where he could get a UV flashlight and what would be a good brand to get. Honestly I've never dealt with UV lights. So i thought I would ask everyone here. Anyone have a suggestion to point him in the right direction. Thanks.
 

edc3

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Re: A good UV flashlight

I bought an Inova X1MT-UVT for a trip to Death Valley a few years ago. It worked great. Great build quality, simple UI and less than $30.
 
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