Nitecore tube UV

disclaimer product was sent for review by gearbest.
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I`m sure that everyone knows about Nitecore tube, so once UV version of regular Tube is the same with only minor differences, review will be short.

Package is the same, blister in Nitecore colours .



What is the difference? Obvioulsy it is 365nm UV LED and just one mode (on\off).

The rest - polycarbonate body, USB charging port is the same as well.




I measured 74mah capacity.

What does UV light show? As for my wife, it`ve shown her terrible things that our small kids made to bathroom.




Now she inspects bathroom after cleaning with this keylight.

But i assume that it is more useful to check banknotes. This light will be most portative counterfeit money detector.
LED is not powerfull, good working distance is no more than 1-1,5meters.


I suppose that target audience of this light is small. Anyway, product itself is well-made. I`ve got no complaints about anything by now. Hope this small text will be of some use to readers.

Good to check a hotel room with.:sick2:

You might consider wearing UV-resistant glasses with that. I have found that UV LED lights give me headaches and make my eyes feel weird (scratchy/sandpapery) even with very short exposure, like 30 seconds or so.

That would be even more of a problem for me with the Tube, because the LED is unshielded, and so shines in every direction.

Still, I can see why this would be very convenient and economical for some purposes, e.g. checking for counterfeit notes.

lampeDépêche said:

You might consider wearing UV-resistant glasses with that. I have found that UV LED lights give me headaches and make my eyes feel weird (scratchy/sandpapery) even with very short exposure, like 30 seconds or so.

That would be even more of a problem for me with the Tube, because the LED is unshielded, and so shines in every direction.

Still, I can see why this would be very convenient and economical for some purposes, e.g. checking for counterfeit notes.

Click to expand...

When you are saying 'UV-resistant' I am thinking UV filtering, and wondering since the purpose of using the Tube UV is to see things by UV, why would one want to filter that UV. I agree that one must be careful with UV lights, especially ones further up the spectrum than 365nm. Short bursts, long time between uses if possible to allow tissue recovery would be the recommended pattern.

Timothybil said:

When you are saying 'UV-resistant' I am thinking UV filtering, and wondering since the purpose of using the Tube UV is to see things by UV, why would one want to filter that UV.

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The purpose of using UV lights is usually to see things that fluoresce under UV light--body-fluids, scorpions, anti-counterfeiting marks, etc..

"Fluorescing" means: absorbing a higher-energy photon (e.g. UV, x-ray), and re-radiating a lower-energy, visible-spectrum photon. Those stains and marks up there on the bathroom wall? They are not reflecting UV light. They are *absorbing* UV light, and *radiating* visible-spectrum light. That's why they look yellow, green, and so on, not UV. Same thing when you hunt scorpions: the scorpions *absorb* UV light, and *radiate* light in the greenish-blue region.

So you can filter out all of the UV light coming into your eyes, and still see exactly what you were looking for: visible, non-UV light produced by objects fluorescing under UV light.

Has the reviewer checked to see if the Tube UV can reveal the anti-counterfeit strip on the American 100 dollar bill?

lampeDépêche said:

The purpose of using UV lights is usually to see things that fluoresce under UV light--body-fluids, scorpions, anti-counterfeiting marks, etc..

"Fluorescing" means: absorbing a higher-energy photon (e.g. UV, x-ray), and re-radiating a lower-energy, visible-spectrum photon. Those stains and marks up there on the bathroom wall? They are not reflecting UV light. They are *absorbing* UV light, and *radiating* visible-spectrum light. That's why they look yellow, green, and so on, not UV. Same thing when you hunt scorpions: the scorpions *absorb* UV light, and *radiate* light in the greenish-blue region.

So you can filter out all of the UV light coming into your eyes, and still see exactly what you were looking for: visible, non-UV light produced by objects fluorescing under UV light.

Click to expand...

You are correct. I was not thinking properly when I responded, in this case it was a matter of not 'Putting brain in gear before running fingers'. Given these facts, then yes, UV filtering lenses would be a good idea, especially if there are any shiny surfaces around that could reflect the UV directly back at the user. By the time one notices any problems from being exposed to UV, it is already too late, and most of the damage is already done, and as far as I know, there is no remediation available either.

i`ve got no dollar bills at home. that`s forbidden here in Russia. -)

seriously, all my dollars are at Paypal account, there is no need to hold it at home.

lampeDépêche - thanx for some popular science

narmattaru said:

disclaimer product was sent for review by gearbest.

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congrats on your free light

in this thread started by Kitrobaskin, we learned the Tube UV will not reveal the redline on the US$100 because it is not a true 365nm LED, even though Nitecore claims it is.

in this thread to which Kitrobaskin contributed, we learned the Nitecore Tip lockout feature drains the battery.

Two Nitecore products (that Kitrobaskin did not get for free) that do not work as advertised:

hm.
i was going to visit bank tomorrow, so i`ll pick this light and check there.


now what i can show

Hey jon_slider,
Check out 3 minutes, 3 seconds at the end of this video of Nitecore UV flashlights. There is a still image implying that the Tube UV excites the strip on the US$100 bill. I was wondering if maybe Nitecore got it together so it does work now, or is it more of the same from Nitecore?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gXgJUa05ouQ&feature=youtu.be

KITROBASKIN said:

Hey jon_slider,
Check out 3 minutes, 3 seconds at the end of this video of Nitecore UV flashlights. There is a still image implying that the Tube UV excites the strip on the US$100 bill.

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I see what you mean, but afaict that is the same photo they were using when you bought your Tube UV and discovered that it does not actually show the red line in the photo. My guess is they used a CU-6 to get the image, not the Tube.

Until I see a photo from someone that owns a Tube UV, that shows the redline in this photo, I remain an unbeliever. afaik so far, the Tube UV is actually a 380nM light, not 365.. Honestly, I dont trust manufacturer claims until a user confirms them. Nitecore has low credibility in regards to web spec accuracy imo.

i couldn`t get to bank today, as i promised I (some personal reasons). but as i really have to visit it, i will take nitecore uv with me

if i be lucky, they have some foreign currrencies besides deutshcmarks

narmattaru said:

i couldn`t get to bank today, as i promised I (some personal reasons). but as i really have to visit it, i will take nitecore uv with me

if i be lucky, they have some foreign currrencies besides deutshcmarks

Click to expand...

Great news. Thanks!

What is so different about the strip in the $100 bill as opposed to the ones in the other denominations? I haven't seen a hundred dollar bill in a long time, but my Tube UV lights up the strips in the $1, $5, $10, and $20 bills just fine.

Timothybil said:

What is so different about the strip in the $100

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It is RED, but you have no way of knowing that
read Nitecore Tube UV and look at the pics
also read Looking for a UV light, with more pics

Hey guys! Found your thread and thought we'd give you some answers.

Here's a shot taken with a Tube UV:


You can see the red strip from the back side if you know what you're looking for and you're in a relatively dark environment - this image was taken in a dark room with the door open, so not complete darkness. I also tested it with the new Thumb LEO, but it uses the same UV LED as the Tube UV, so the results were pretty similar.

If seeing the red strip is a high priority, you're better off with something like the MT1U, which is what I used for these shots:



Hopefully we'll have a stronger UV keychain soon.

NitecoreStore said:

Tube UV:

MT1U:

Click to expand...

excellent photos, the MT1U shows the $100 RedLIne very clearly, the Tube UV does not.

Here is the MT1U page it uses the same generic $100 redline photo as the Tube page (which your pics confirm is not correct for the Tube).
Thanks for informing the Tube UV, and the new Thumb LEO UV use the same LED (that cannot show the RedLine on the US$100, because they are not true 365nM UV leds).

NitecoreStore said:

Hey guys! Found your thread and thought we'd give you some answers.
...snip....
Hopefully we'll have a stronger UV keychain soon.

Click to expand...

Thanks, Nitecore Store! I for one really appreciate your follow-up on this.

But from what I understand, the issue is not exactly needing a *stronger* light, if that means higher lumens, higher watt, higher output, etc.

The issue is the *wavelength*. The Tube is plenty strong enough--lots of current through that circuit to drive a white LED that bright. If you get the right LED spec'd for this, with the right UV wavelength, then you will have a UV Tube that can work on all currency.

And the lockout on the Tube UV lasts for weeks without completely draining the battery.