The new Arc-AAA UV

Originally posted by Gransee on 8-21-07 HERE.

Yes, I am gearing up to produce the new Arc-AAA ultraviolet. I estimate we should be able to ship by the end of september. Price is $44.95 each. Output is 375nm Nichia at ~15mw. LED is rated for 2000 hrs and we warranty it for 1 year (same warranty as before).

As some of the long time members will recall, we used to make the Arc-AAA with an Ultraviolet LED several years ago. It was the most popular color we produced after the white LED. It was discontinued because we were having trouble getting a good LED.

Ultraviolet is the part of the spectrum above ~400nm. The most common use is in "black lights" for gemology, stamp collecting, finding insects like scorpions, activating glow in the dark materials, parties, entry control (hand stamps), oil and gas industry (detects oil), leak detection, detecting counterfeit currency, forensics, etc.

The first Arc-AAA UV used the 370nm Nichia in the metal can. It was difficult to make and dim in output (1-2mw) so we switched to the 395nm cree units. these were brighter and more reliable but did not produce a deep enough UV for my tastes.

This past month, Nichia has announced their new 375nm, 5mm epoxy housed units. Ideal for our Arc-AAA design. I tested samples and am pleased with the results. I immediately placed a pre-order (the led is not shipping yet) and begin production. The housing will be marked "Arc-U" and have a dedicated retail card with the appropiate UV warnings attached.

I have tested this new LED in the Arc-AAA housing and it shows true color for every US currency note from the $5bill(blue) to the $100bill(red). I have used them to find over a half dozen scorpions (they glow an eery green under uv), charge glow items, etc.

pictures are coming...

peter

Copied Replies:

parnass08-22-2007 10:24 AM
Re: The new Arc-AAA UV

Cool. Wishing you best success with the new UV light.

THE_dAY08-22-2007 10:31 AMRe: The new Arc-AAA UV

sounds great!

i have the photon uv370nm coin cell light and it picks up US currency except for the $100.
the Arc-U will definitely replace it.

do you have any runtime estimates?
is it correct to assume that it will take energizer aaa lithium?

Gransee08-22-2007 10:33 AMRe: The new Arc-AAA UV

The driver is the same as the white version so I expect runtime to be similiar (~5hrs). Yes, energizer AAA lithiums should work great.

peter

BT13243508-22-2007 10:50 AMRe: The new Arc-AAA UV

Hmm, i thought the warranty was lifetime?

THE_dAY08-22-2007 01:07 PMRe: The new Arc-AAA UV

Quote:
Originally Posted by BT132435 (Post 2057291)
Hmm, i thought the warranty was lifetime?

it is for the regular Arc AAA, but it was 1 year for the lower wavelength version way back then.


Peter, is this Arc-U the new Arc AAA that you had mentioned in that other thread where you showed the pic of an Arc AAA w/ turbo head? or is there something else?

Gransee08-22-2007 03:22 PMRe: The new Arc-AAA UV

The warranty is less on a UV product because the higher wavelengths actually destroy an LED more quickly (more energetic photon). Nichia is rating this part about the same as previous generations (~1k hours), so our warranty is the same. Just ask anyone who owns the previous Arc-AAA UVs about their experience.

The new Arc-AAA UV will look just like the current Arc-AAA white except for the Arc-U marking and the violet-blue glow coming from the LED. The other thread has a photo of a cree prototype that I am not planning on for production.

peter

Sinjz08-22-2007 03:41 PMRe: The new Arc-AAA UV

Does this light up the $100 USD from a distance or do I have to put it right up against the strip? I've tried the nichia 365 nm 5mm LEDs and they only worked when very close to the bill. I assumed it was because the red strip of a $100 glows best at 360nm, but I was using coin cells, so maybe I didn't have enough power? :thinking:

This will be great if it lights up all US bills easily!

KenAnderson08-22-2007 04:49 PMRe: The new Arc-AAA UV

Looking forward to this one. I EDC the original Arc UV but long for a more powerful one. Wonderful for Art, Antiques, etc, and I love the small form factor. I use mine daily.

Ken

Gransee08-22-2007 05:59 PMRe: The new Arc-AAA UV

Sinjz, the $100 bill seems to be more difficult than the other denominations. In my test it did appear red but brightness is hard to tell since the room was not completely dark both times I tested it (each time it was someone else's bill). The LED centers around approximately 375nm. This means some spread above and below that. Although 360nm would be better for the $100bill (and worse for some other tasks), one of the nicer features of this 5mm is that is is brighter than any other 5mm type I have seen and I have been collecting unusual UV leds for awhile now. The wavelength spread combined with the brightness make the part more usefull than a lower wavelenth, tighter wavelength, dimmer part, in my opinion.

I am running the LED at about 45mA, which is what the previous UV Arc-AAAs ran at as well. I do notice that this unit runs cooler than previous units, which is expected from the greater efficiency.

btw, the part number for the LED is NSPU510CS

I admit, UV is one of my favorite colors to play with. I have been playing with the new Arc-AAA UV for about a month now and have tested it in numerous places.

peter

yaesumofo08-23-2007 01:13 PMRe: The new Arc-AAA UV

Good.'
I have a whole bunch of black uv heads from wa back. Peter could ou possibl tell me which emitter was used in them?
Thanks
I love UV flashlights and look forwared to seeing this one.
Yaesumofo