Looking for a high power ultraviolet p60 drop in

[nissan300z90]

I am an avid Disc Golfer and the only way we can play after work this time of year is with glow in the dark discs or by attaching leds to the bottom of the disc. I have been helping outfit some friends with UV lights to light up our discs but I want more power. With more power and a longer throw it is possible to locate discs lost off of fairways and light up discs to incredible brightness levels. We are currently using the DX Ultrafire 502b with a 1 watt UV LED. I had a 3w last year but all the 3w lights I tried ordering recently have not been brighter than the 1w.

Are there ways to modify are current lights with a better driver for more power?

Are there currently better lights on the market for this?

I am really just looking for maximum throw on a UV led.

I would prefer a light that will work with 18650s because I am setup for these now. The p60 style is not a solid requirement.

 

[bnemmie]

This is the only one i know about:

http://www.batteryjunction.com/p60-uv-buld.html

Im sure other people will have other options.

 

[nissan300z90]

This is the only one i know about:

http://www.batteryjunction.com/p60-uv-buld.html

Im sure other people will have other options.

Have you used these? I am getting shy of ordering online without hearing about hands on experiences. I have ordered three different 3w UV bulbs and only 1 was better than the 1w setups. Problem is, I don't remember where I got the good one at.

 

[lightfooted]

I've not bought that drop-in specifically but I have bought from BJ several times, my Olight M21 was purchased from them as was my first drop-in for my 6P...no problems in either case or with anything else I have bought from them. I consider them a safer bet than any DX purchase.

 

[DM51]

UV emitters are difficult to assess, as you can't actually see UV light (at the other end of the spectrum, the same goes for IR).

You may think one emitter is more powerful than another because you can see a strong beam of violet light from one of them, but in fact the one that looks very weak and feeble to the naked eye may actually be much more powerful in the invisible UV. You have to assess them in the dark, with items that fluoresce under UV light. Even then, some items respond to different UV wavelengths, so you need to match the wavelength to the intended use.

 

[Bigmac_79]

Have you used these? I am getting shy of ordering online without hearing about hands on experiences. I have ordered three different 3w UV bulbs and only 1 was better than the 1w setups. Problem is, I don't remember where I got the good one at.

I have one of those, and it works great, but it's the only UV I have other than an Arc AAA UV, which it out-performs easily. I don't have any way to test it's brightness (the photocell in my lightbox doesn't respond well to UV) but I do know that on an 18650 battery, it seems to be able to drain the battery in speeds on par with some of my very high powered lights, and it doesn't get super-hot, so the power must be going somewhere 😉. As for the throw, again, a little hard to asses, but it seems like it might be a little more floody than throwy. I'll try to take it out at night and see if it can make something floresce noticeably at a long distance.

 

[nissan300z90]

Good to hear about BJ. One of the byproducts I have found with the UV lights is that it is possible to locate discs lost by others in the woods. Almost half of the discs sold for disc golf are florescent and will really pop under these lights. I have seen a bush turn bright yellow when I shined the light under it from a lost disc. Most of the time the owners info is on the disc and I can get it returned but sometimes you get to keep it as a freebie when there is no info.

I don't know which wavelength works best for florescent material and glow in the dark. I know that the weaker they look the less the make the discs "pop". I have not tried ordering the lower wavelengths to try them out. Do they usually work better for these applications?

 

[Bigmac_79]

I don't know which wavelength works best for florescent material and glow in the dark. I know that the weaker they look the less the make the discs "pop". I have not tried ordering the lower wavelengths to try them out. Do they usually work better for these applications?

Different florescent stuff will floresce better at different wavelengths, it just depends on some properties of the material. I'll try my UV dropin from BJ on my discs tonight, I'm not sure if they're florescent or not.

 

[nissan300z90]

I might be tempted into building one on my own if I could figure out what the best ingredients would be. I understand the basics of drop ins but do not have the market knowledge to source all the parts yet. I really want the brightest one I can get. Looking for the wow factor to show off to my buddies.

 

[bnemmie]

I've not bought that drop-in specifically but I have bought from BJ several times, ...

Same with me. I don't have any problem doing a blind order from them. I would think it would work for you, but...at the end of the day it is a $20 gamble.

 

[nissan300z90]

I will probably place an order for one.

I have an extra 1w uv drop in laying around. Could I use a higher power driver on it to get make a brighter light? Does anyone have experience building a higher power UV drop in?

 

[Bigmac_79]

Ok, I got the chance to try it out tonight (too rainy last night). I have one disc that responds very brightly to the dropin from BJ (a white disc). Laying on the ground in a dimly lit area, it fluoresced enough to be easily seen against the grass at about 40-50 yards, becoming very bright at around 15 yards. Our course isn't pitch black, but if yours is, obviously the distance would increase.

I'd be interested in hearing if you find one that has better throw, be sure to let us know.

 

[bshanahan14rulz]

I know a laser dot isn't very helpful, but if you defocused it, you could have a spot the same size as the spot thrown by a flashlight. Remove the lens and it will be a floody light. You could order a cheap focusable low power blu-ray laser pointer just to try it out.

 

[tobrien]

has anyone found a good Norland curing UV drop-in?

Norland needs: "within the range of 320-380 nanometers with peak sensitivity around 365nm"

but the Cree UV XL 7090 (395nm) nailbender sells doesn't fall into that range.

I've heard talks of nichia UV LEDs, are those better/worse for curing Norland and available in p60?

edit: or is my best bet to get an Inova UV light? i'd prefer something like a P60 honestly

 

[Norm]

I've posted this in another thread.

My best UV light for curing Noreland is a Pet Pee detecting UV light uses a florescent tube and is quite fast.

Works far better than any LED I have, cost me $10.

Norm