6W UV LED - what should I put it in?

Hello all, I've found someone who will sell me 6 watt UV LEDs... the only problem is the price (upwards $100 USD)... here are the specs:

6 Watts
18.5-20v @300mA
395nm
TO-66 power package
150-200mW radiant flux @200mA, expect about 1/3 more @300mA

Anyway, I'm really thinking about getting a few to build into proper lights and distribute to CPFers. What I'd like are suggestions: what sort of light should I build it into, how many should I make, and what would a fair price be? How many people would be interested in such a beast? One of the design challenges for such a light would be getting the voltage up that high with that much current. Anyone have any suggestions on that front? If you're interested in getting one (or more) of these monsters for yourself, check out the group buy thread. These would make great lights for everything /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. Just don't point it at anyone's eyes... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Paul

18.5-20v =\ thats a major turn off, even with a step-up convertor.

yeah, I know... a bunch of 123s, and/or this step up circuit. It looks like it just might be able to handle that voltage if the input were 2x123...

That sounds like the nearest thing you'll get to a UV Luxeon! I wouldn't recommend putting it in any kind of torch, though! At that kind of power it could cause serious eye damage if pointed inadvertantly at an onlooker!
The other problem is voltage. 18.5 Volts is at least 13 cells! For 20V fourteen cells. To make a torch of reasonable portable length you would have to use some of Elektrolumens' battery cages (four cages of AAA's, the last cage containing 2 AAA's and two shorting bars), in a 4D torch.
A great idea would be to have the device facing backwards, facing the reflector, in the front of the torch, then coat the reflector in some kind of fluorescent phosphor to give you an incedibly bright fluorescent torch! I don't know how easy these phosphors are to come by, unless you work in a bulb factory or similar industry!

This could potentially be quite dangerous to use without the proper eye protection. It's not even advised to use the Inova X5T UV without it, especially when working with reflective surfaces.

They'd be great for hunting minerals and for investigators though. Maybe I should see if the guys in the detective division would like something like this.

I think it would be very cool in a torch, you just have to be very sure you keep it away from the kiddies... I'm afraid I'm gonna need to make people sign a "it's not paul's fault if I do something stupid with it" agreement...

as for the voltage, I was thinking that it would be better (easier, cheaper) to go with a step up circuit, such as the one in my previous post. From that, you could run it on a couple of 123s or else fairly easily in a 3 or more cell M@G... Your idea of fluorescent phosphor is an interesting one, but I imagine it would be more efficient to just go ahead and produce that light directly, rather than converting it (heatsinking would be impossible, too)... a phosphor like that would, however, give you a wide range of accurate colors you could produce... I'm sure I could get ahold of some, if anyone wanted to mess with it...

My suggestion would be George's nifty converter.

I'd 'talk to him' and see if he would cobble you up a couple with 300 mA output ('factory' is 350 mA), but 350 mA might be fine for short runs with good heatsinking.

For a battery, I'd go to three nine volt alkaline 'transistor radio' batteries in series. From the Eveready curves I'd estimate over an hour continuous, close to two intermittent. As another poster suggests, safety concerns are going to tend to limit long full power runs.

It could make a very powerful, but relatively small, light.

Fun to note that something like 3% of the energy into the LED results in usable UV out. Makes current Luxeons seem kinda efficient somehow.....

Doug Owen

Beretta: I'd be up for making them for anyone who wants one, so please, go find people who want them... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Doug: That's a good thought. The thing is, who wants a flashlight made of 9v cells? It would be clunky and odd form factored, not to mention expensive to run. I think that I'm going to see if I can go with a step-up circuit, rather than a regulator. Then it can be powered off a reasonable number of normal cells. The luxeons aren't that much more efficient... (<10% or so)

How do people feel about a Mag 2 or 3 C or D cell light modified for this? What about a drop in reflector replacement mod? It would (if I use that step up) be good for anything from about 1.8 volts all the way up to 28 volts input.

Sounds interesting. I would think since you need some oompf for it, a 3D Mag would be the better host. You could do a good heat sink and/or reflector combo in it as well. Maybe you could come up with a warning label too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Yeah... The mag would be easier to work with, and much less of a headache in terms of heatsink material to work with. I'm hoping I won't have to do too much of a reflector, because odds are, people aren't going to care quite so much about throw in this sort of mod as they do under other circumnstances... Perhaps I could machine a reflector/heatsink combo for it myself.

What I really need for a warning label is someone who can do laser engraving. Then we could have some really cool label graphics that wouldn't rub off... Increase the safety of the light while at the same time increasing it's value and coolness factor...

Some trophy shops are reasonable with their pricing for laser engraving. That may be a place to start unless you know someone with the machine.

well, laser engraving would only be worth it if I knew someone... otherwise it would be useless cost... Actually, though, with that step up, I think I could make it run off of a 2x123 cell setup, which would be a really nice size light.

Paul

Ok, it's now a proper group buy...

I'd be in for a complete light /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

CM

Well, then. I will put you at the top of the list for completed lights. Now I just need to figure out how to make them... I suppose I could design and turn my own head... that way I could make lots of heatsinking...

Is anyone else interested in a complete light? I could set up to make a couple of them. What about input on bodies? I think it'll need at least 2x123 to run it (or 3 D cells... can anyone say M4G?).

Paul