Fun with UV Flashlights

Hi all,
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What do you do with your UV flashlights? Feel free to show pictures :slight_smile:

You briefly mentioned scorpions. Nighttime scorpion hunts are popular in the Southwestern U.S. This announcement is for a group in Palm Springs that does several types of nature events.

Also, blacklight posters were popular when I was a kid. We figured out that you could write messages on walls with chapstick and it would fluoresce when the blacklight was on.

I got a 365nm LED in a purple ’501B that I took with me when staying over in a motel after a wedding (too far to drive home). Took it to the beach to try to find glowing minerals, nada. What did light up was all the garbage like plastic bottlecaps and the like. :stuck_out_tongue:

Did a once-over in the room, and it was amazingly DNA-free. The only “hotspot” was the light-switch next to the bed (!!). But even the bathroom was pretty clean and didn’t show any nasties.

Had a coupla of possums here, now only one skinny one that finishes off the catfood each night. I found that they fluoresce red. Even got it on video. :smiley:

Mr. Vesturofblood I noticed today that you look a bit like Shia Lebeouf the actor. Now back to flashlights. Do you recomend or have a favorite UV model flashlight?

Wish I looked enough like him to sneak in a pick up his check on pay day :face_with_monocle: …. Of the 3 lights I reviewed in this video I would probly choose the zoomie, as its the most portable. Aside from that I would likely go with a Convoy. I don’t have their UV light, but as a brand I don’t think a guy can do a lot better.

yeah a Convoy UV for 20 bucks has more UV output and more useful wavelengh

I am disappointed you did not throw those junk lights at the end of review against a wall, after you made em look like shit compared to an real UV light

Did not see any UV flashlights on your website. Nice store and cool stuff by the way. Purchased a Jetbeam Jet uv.

I bought a convoy S2+ UV from Simon recently because my wife wanted to check her marble collection for uranium glass (she found one).

But one night recently I was playing with it off the deck. Here’s a photo into the lilac bushes lit by my Astrolux S41.

Looks like a bunch of similar green leaves, right?

Under the UV light (from almost exactly the same position) the lilac leaves fluoresce a dull purple, but the morning glory leaves fluoresce bright red. UV is a weed finder!

I am very pleased with my Convoy UV. Spotted many a scorpion in Baja. Powerful little UV.

http://www.gearbest.com/led-flashlights/pp_277704.html?lkid=10940210

Back in 2012, I lived in a location with a heavy population of scorpions. I posted about using my Manafont purchased P60 dropin to hunt for and eliminate them. I posted about it here:

… but had unfortunately hosted the pics on Photoblechet and they aren’t viewable now. I caught over 80 scorpions on one single night using that light. We have since moved, now living about 10 miles from that location, and I haven’t seen a scorpion since.

Since then, I’ve built a nice 365nm light with one of the pass filters. It’s fun, but doesn’t see much use. I took it to the beach one time to see if I could find anything but was disappointed. I did find a small stone that fluoresced faintly under the UV, but it wasn’t anything of value (like the amber hunters find in Europe).

I also have a funky UV triple I built with some cheaper emitters, but it’s pretty worthless.

What is the wavelength advantage?

Ya, a lot of my reviews are just that… Most of my $$$ is tied up in the products I manufacture ( like the upcoming EDC brass). I wasn’t aware jetbeam made a UV light. I do like the quality of their products though.

Good one.

Okay, just for fun, I went and downloaded all my important pics from Photo bucket since they are now internet-breaking jerks.

Here’s a sample:

If you are into internal combustion and cars oil/coolant UV dye are a nice tool for locating leaks.

[quote=vestureofblood]

What is the wavelength advantage?

the Convoy has a 365nm deeper UV light, almost no visible
at least 6 times more UV output than the small UV light shown here
it is way more focused in one hotspot and useful spill

as the photons have more energy they light up things you dont see at 385nm

those 5mm plastic LEDs are usually not deeper than 380nm as the plastic absorbs deeper wavelengh

I posted this picture of my Convoy S2+ UV with the optional filter installed in another thread a while back. It’s powerful and has almost no visible light other than the illuminated pick guard on my bass.

Anyone try peeing with 365nm light?

I’ll try tonight and take a picture if my camera will work under those conditions. Don’t worry, I’ll block out my massive manhood……lol!

you could replace in any penlight the LED with a cree 3535 footprint LiteOn 365nm, just the problem is you need a UV filter to get rid of the white wastelight

I got my first "real thing" UV light in the mail today and am pretty amazed so i wanted to share and name the thread "UV Fun" but i first had a try at the search thing with that name and eventually ended here (obviously UV light are fun ! ;-) )

What i got : Convoy S2 with LG 365nm led and ZWB2 filter

A big lot more powerfull than anything i had my hands on before (crappy multi 5mm blue/violet lights) and the ZWB2 filter does a very good job removing what visible light the led might have.

Since i came home this evening and found the light in my mailbox i can't help but every 10 minutes or so i take it and try to light something new but the overall resultv is that i feel like i live in some creepy movie house :

  • All the (usually white painted and clean) walls and ceillings are greenish-dark-brown with mysterious lighter/darker shadows everywhere and even some hands printed on the walls and doors.
  • The tiles on the ground have some bright yellow signs inside them (tried to rub the marks but they seem to be really under the coating)
  • Each time the invisible ray hit a piece of white paper i am half blinded by a glowing blue light.

The kitchen is even worse with my old (mostly 100-130 years old) earthenware crockery covered with brown stain and greeny slime and my glasses glowing green (oldest ones), blue and even some pale orange and rosy auras, not even talking about the fruits, covered with various sickening shades of light or my bottle of "vieux calvados" that look like filled with mud.

On top of that and despite the whole place beeing frequently vacuum cleaned (last time was two days ago) there are so many bright blue and green specks everywhere that i almost can feel my lungs filling with dust.

Sorry all that is amazing to look at but i can't have it look good on pictures (and i don't feel like showing everyone how durty my home is ;-) )

The ghost sneaker (everything blue/white is because it SHINES under UV light) :