New UV Question - Already have the Premierlight

OK, so as a newbie and much deliberation, I chose the Premierlight at a killer price. Last night, late, I just about stepped on a little scorpion about 2 inches long. Remember, I'm in Arizona. This makes the 4th one, 3rd one IN the house. So I immediately grabbed the PL and went hunting. (didn't find anything)

Does anyone know of a good but not too expensive UV flashlight that throws better and is brighter/stronger than the PL-UV? It did OK, but it has to be dark to light up those suckers. With the dim hall light on, I had to be about 12 inches from the scorpion to light it up. Do they make lights stronger so I don't have to turn ALL the dim night type lights off when I go hunting? Then I'd get REALLY creeped out!!

My husband thinks I'm obsessed, but I don't want the kids to get stung.

Thanks in advance, guys. 'Bout time I bought another light anyway ...

Try the Terralux UV retrofit for a Mag-2AA. It's based on the Cree 7090 X-Lamp series of high power LEDS. I recently picked one up and I'm pretty happy with it's brightness and throw.

The Terralux-UV drop-in is going for $30.00-ish and well worth it IMO.

Good luck! I HATE creepy-crawlies myself!

I've been interested in getting a UV light and from what I've read it's hard to beat a flourescent lamp for UV power and price. I doubt it will throw very far, but might be worth a check.

The Streamlight Twin-Task 3C UV is a pretty good thrower for a UV, plus it gives you 2 wavelengths of UV and a good incan all in the one light. Might be worth a look.

Andrew

Where are you in AZ? If you're in Tucson, I could show you a Jil 1.3W UV and an Aleph19 UV. The Jil is kinda floody despite the reflector because it needs a diffusion lens to smooth out the beam, but it'll still throw better than the multi-5mm LEDs like the <$10 chinese ones or the Inova X5. The Aleph actually throws quite well considering the McR-19 is described as a "flood" reflector (to be honest, I don't find it all that floody).

Either uses the Cree 7090 UV which is far more powerful than the 5mm LEDs that you see in the clustered flashlights. Plus the fact that it lends itself well to reflectors means you can get a throwy beam from them which isn't really possible with the clustered LED lights (all adding more LEDs does is add to volume which doesn't do much good to throw the beam unless you focus it).

The Cree is also at 395nm wavelength, which is ideal for scorpion hunting. Unfortunately, there aren't many lights made with the Cree. Xenopus makes a 4D cell Maglite modded with 3, but it's over $200. The Aleph19 UV is also over $200, although you can get a head for $150 which can fit a Surefire E series body (E1E, E1L, E2E, E2L, E2O, L4), Vital Gear, or Aleph body. The CR2 Ion is $165 for the UV version, but it's all flood (bright, but all flood). The cheapest option is the Jil UV, under $90. The new version has a orange-peeled texture which helps smooth out the beam compared to the old one (like the one I have). The Ion and Jil both use CR2 batteries, which you might not want to go with if you're not into semi-obscure, more expensive batteries. Both can handle rechargable Li-ion batteries though, if you want to go that way. They're both keychain sized too, so you can carry one with you easily if you want (you don't have to run somewhere else to find it).

EDIT: I just noticed PhotonWrangler's post about the Terralux UV drop-in for the Minimag. Looks like a great idea.

It looks like you're in the Phoenix-ish area (judging by the 602 area code listed in the website in your signature). Oh well, if ever in Tucson, drop me a line.

Oddly, even though I own a few UV flashlights, and live in the Sonoran desert, I've still never seen a scorpion, day or night.

Yeah, so far the Terralux drop-in looks like the cheapeat way to get into a focusable Cree 7090-UV light. Xenopus makes some fine UV flashlights for the more serious UV users (mineral hounds, for example), but if all you need is to spot scorpions, the Terralux is the way to go. I got mine at Brightguy.com, althouygh I know that there's another vendor in CPF-land that's selling them also.

BTW I've been to Tucson and Phoenix several times. I love the quiet, powerful beauty of the desert.

Yes, I'm thinking that so far the Terralux drop-in will be the cheapest route. Planterz, I know we've talked about these lights before .. How do you think the Terralux drop-in will compare to that Jil UV? I need the throw, definitely, because I'm not going to go crawling around on my hands and knees to find these buggers - they're really creepy! I need to be standing up and still have them glow up brightly enough to really see them easily. PhotonWrangler, I have BrightGuy's site up now - Is LightHound another CPF'r? Thanks everyone!

What about this thing? BA-1 Bulb Adapter

Coupled with the Terralux_TL-5UV

Than stick all that in my Mag2C?

PhotonWrangler -

Do you notice the OEM MagAA lens(window) attenuating the UV?

- Jeff

Look what I just found! And it has a CREE too, Planterz!

http://www.batteryjunction.com/miulvikitwi1.html

CREE 1 W UV LED peaking at 395nm yielding 200 mW output - includes the reflector, too! I am thinking this might be my best bet. What do you guys think?

Hmmm. Where have I seen that before?

Here's some secret code. Haven't tried it.

Icebreak said:

What about this thing? BA-1 Bulb Adapter

Coupled with the Terralux_TL-5UV

Than stick all that in my Mag2C?

PhotonWrangler -

Do you notice the OEM MagAA lens(window) attenuating the UV?

- Jeff

Click to expand...

Interesting idea, Jeff! You could then get a lot more runtime out of the Terralux.

Yes, I noticed a small amount of UV attenuation with the OEM Mag window and I'm considering replacing it with something better. I briefly toyed with the idea of leaving the window off altogether, but I dismissed that idea after thinking of how much schmutz would collect around the LED after awhile.

Well, I tried to pull the trigger five times. Apparently they don't think I know my own mailing address even though I'm typing straight off the statement.

Finally got the PayPal function to work. I'm sure the 15 year old kid across the street could have placed the order in 2 minutes.

Shipping was pretty high. Got 5% off using the secret code.

Guess I need to get a couple more UCL lenses. Ever notice how when you buy one thing you end up buying something else?

I wonder if I can read this board for a whole month without buying something.

Anyway, I'll let you know how it works out.


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OK, Icebreak! You win!

The text for that link of yours didn't say the same thing - or at least it didn't register that way to me!!

OK, so I totally missed that whole thread. I'll just go away and be quiet now.

I'm off to make my purchase. Thanks, guys!

And thanks again, Icebreak! I think I had a really long week ... :laughing:

dental4usa -

If we can't razz each other a little then it just ain't as much fun.

Thanks for bringing up the topic. Luckily we had PW, nethiker, atm and Planterz around to help us figure it out.

cheers

- Jeff

Icebreak -
Absolutely! Life would be boring without kidding around! :thanks:

Thanks again for all of your help, and everyone who responded! I am placing my order right now, though I had to add the tailcap switch ..

Take it easy ...

- Marilyn

Good information here. Thanks. I've just placed my order for the TerraLux-TL-5UV and employed the 5% CPF discount which helps a bit. Was just about to pull the trigger on an X5 UV but this should outperform that. Cheers.

I think you'll like it, fnmag. Mine's the first real UV thrower in my collection. :thumbsup:

Looks like i finally have a use for my white miniMag. Woo-hoo! I'm assuming a glass lens would be a bad idea with this?

Glass does a mediocre job of passing longwave UV, which is what the Cree Xlamp (and most other NUV LEDs) produce. I'd suggest conducting your own tests with and without a lens in front of it.