whats an "OK" UV light

I have been thinking about picking one up, what is a decent one, i dont want to spend too much.

if you want it to work, when you need it, they way you expect get the new ARC AAA P UV. for useability- being there when you need it- the AAA size can't be beat. for about the same $$$, you could also consider the Inova X5 UV. it takes CR123 cells. with UV light the quality of the LED is more noticable. It doesn't pay to get a cheap UV LED if you have a serious need for UV lighting. For less than $40 for either light it's an outstanding value IMHO

Inova X1. Uses 1AA battery which is nice. Runtime seems kind of short with the latest version.

If you want a bit more UV action go for the Inova X5. This has five 5mm LEDs. Puts out a lot of light. X5 is a bit more expensive. Uses two Cr123 batts. Has a regulated circuit so the output is pretty flat for a few hours. It does seem to have a long tail so it would produce light for awhile.

X1 review.

X5 review.

Check out the StreamLight TwinTask 3C UV which gives two wavelengths of UV plus white light.

Click here.

ok

Thanks for the replies

Others have mentioned the top contenders for quality, so I'll interject the cheap side if you just want one to play around with.

http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.912

not including:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3414

I recommend the terraLux TLE-5UV for the MiniM@g. Mine works very well. If I remember correctly it features a Cree die LED. If you have an old M@g lying around, you can update it for about $25. Runs very well on super cheap AA alkalines too.

2000xlt;

I've built and sold a couple hundred UV lights over the last a couple of years.

I started with eight 5mm 395nm LEDs powered by a lithium ion 1350 mah battery.

Then I tried 20 to 50 of the 5mm 380nm LEDs powered by 1800 mah lithium batteries.

Next came the 1 watt Cree UV 395 nm LEDs with 2200 mah lithium batteries.

Next were the Cree 3 watt 395 nm LED lights with aspherical lenses & 2400 mah Lithium batteries (Also in UltraFire C2 bodies).

Finally, the triple Cree 3 watt lights with four CR123A lithium batteries.

Each light worked a little better for fluorescing the the common items such as urine, scorpions and UV dyes.

The 380 nm worked well, but didn't have the brute power that Flashaholics have come to enjoy.

The 3 watt UV Crees definitely perform better in my testing for biological stains and routine fluorescence.

9 Watts for the diehard "power hungry CPF types.

{2020 edit} New much stronger LED's have hit the market & our triple LED light is now over 20 Watts

Larry Cobb

Arc AAA, short wavelength goodness

I recently got a Peak LED Solutions Kilimanjaro UV flashlight. It is using 7 360nm LED. It does not throw at all but it's small and fun to light up things with it!

The 3 watt UV Crees definitely perform better in my testing for biological stains and routine fluorescence.

9 Watts for the diehard "power hungry CPF types.

Larry Cobb


Any stock suggestions?

Optik49;

The easiest "mod" is a light that has a Cree led to begin with.

The Cree 3 Watt LEDs have a higher voltage requirement, so you need a light that drives the existing Cree pretty hard.

I have some extra UV LEDs if you want to mod your own light.

For complete lights, Xenopus and myself both make complete lights.

Larry

Cool. Any pics & beam shots of your lights. I'm sure people would like to see them. I know I would.
:thumbsup:

Optik49;

Here is the 4" long shirt-pocket 3 Watt model w/lens:

This is the 3 Watt C2 model:

This is the 9 Watt Triple-Cree model:


The first two have #18650 Li-Ion rechargables and the 9W is 4 rechargable CR123s. All have improved heat-sinking.

I'll have to get some fluorescent targets and UV filters for the beam shots.

Larry Cobb