Review: UV - cheap - 16340 - USB charging - Nicron B10-UV

the light—-nicron B10-UV

where i got it—-aliexpress

cost—-$9.99 free ship

[claimed] features—-
UV 365nm
16340 cell included “650mah”
charger built in - micro usb

link—-
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/NICRON-2W-Mini-UV-LED-Penlight-Flashlight-Purple-Light-Waterproof-IPX8-LED-USB-Rechargeable-Torch-Lantern/32799030739.html?spm=2114.search0305.4.5.PDFpQM


summary—-

it seems ok really

the thing is, i am not really sure what it is supposed to do
what color the light should look, what should glow, what shouldn;t, with this exact UV type
there are so many UV types, at least 4

it has more visible light than my old fluorescent, but maybe it is supposed to

i hate twisty switches but i knew that going in

only has 1 mode, for some reason i thought it had low and blink mode
maybe 1 mode is for the best, i hate multi-mode twisties even more


what i liked—-

it is made well

seems waterproof, only one threaded opening

even the usb port can be covered by rotating a rubber ring
-not sure they intended that but it is possible

usb charging is convenient

it is very small and light, due to TIR optic, floody pattern, and no tail switch

shipping was 2 wks from china, fast

cheap, seems like a good buy mostly


what was questionable—-

it seems to make a lot of non-uv light, greenish yellow, maybe that is what 365nm UV looks like, i don;t know

it is kind of dim - NOTHING glows in day light, even regular room light overwhelms most glows

money especially glows very dimly, you have to be in the dark to see the glow stripe

claimed 90m range, no way - 9 feet is more like it

cannot take apart, driver seems glued in

no clip, but i don’t really use them

extremely bad instructions


what i didn;t like—-

only one mode

twisty switch - though to be fair it is a good twisty at least, a little firmness in the twist but not too much

odd beam pattern, neither flood or spot
hard to describe

would be better if it was a flood but then the light would need to be brighter to spread out
it is too spotty most of the time

you have to turn the light on with the twisty, to charge it
weird but without doing that, the battery is not connected to the top part of the light, where the charger and driver are
then when you unplug it it turns on because it is on via the twisty switch
(it doesn;t stay on when charging at least, it blinks dimly until charged, then quits)


notes—-
i have not tested on scorpions or cat p*e :slight_smile:
have tested: diamond, fake diamond, american money, visa cards, etc


tir lens and UV, :lol:

There are TIR materials that go down to 350nm

Yeah, that ain’t gonna end well…

i doubt that they will use that materials instead cheap one

If you want to see what some people do with UV lights look at this site Nature’s Rainbows . There is a post there on the Convoy S2+ with the Nichia emitter. Honestly I think this is the light all budget UV light should be judged against. For $20 I think you should just get the Convoy and forget the others. Thanks for the review though, you never know what you will find.

Convoy S2+ 365nm: ——> too spensive, too big…

maybe one day

wle

what is wrong with TIR and 365nm UV though?

wouldn’t it have been cheaper to use a mirrored reflector, so my guess is, TIR does something desirable…?

wle

UV doesn’t pass through PMMA too well, or hardly at all.
I guess the little UV Jetbeam uses the proper material for their TIR, but unfortunately it has no filter (you know, the ‘black’ glass lens).

Do you have a link to this light?
Can’t find it on AE

link

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/NICRON-2W-Mini-UV-LED-Penlight-Flashlight-Purple-Light-Waterproof-IPX8-LED-USB-Rechargeable-Torch-Lantern/32799030739.html?spm=2114.search0305.4.5.PDFpQM

wle

the jetbeam mini uv uses reflector, not tir though

O, Okay.

I.i.r.c. Djozz has a zoomie with UV LED, i think with a plastic lens.

Thanks.
Nicron.
It’s a nice little light, also available with white LED (of course).

yes, the white one apparently has high, low and blinky modes

wle

You have a point.
On the other hand, and not meant to offend you: a light that emits more visible light than UV light is pretty useless IMHO. Read the reviews on this site, or on the site https://www.naturesrainbows.com/ . The Convoy I got came with a ZWB2 (black) filter, but you can buy them separately. It is a world of difference. This filter blocks the visible light, so we don’t have to ask ourselfs constantly, was that fluorescence or wasn’t it.

Nope, my UV zoomies have a glass lens swapped in.
Polycarbonate is hopelsss at 365nm (Carclo)
PMMA works, but blocks quite some 365nm light too (Ledil)

The OP describes a led that sounds like 365nm, or close, so perhaps a PMMA TIR is used.

all i know is, there is some visible light.

i can;t see the UV, so how would i know what the ratio is?

i do know the light gets warmish in a minute or so, so i assume there is a lot power going somewhere, i hope it;s to the UV, not just the visible part, or the heat itself…

wle

Hmmm… 1 mode would be preferable, i agree.

This might interest you perhaps, it’s on a discount at the moment:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/-/32833403772.html

Most 365nm leds emit some white/yellowish/greenish light, that is apparently inherent to the design principle of these leds (385nm and 400nm leds do not have this). Nichia 365nm leds are better in that aspect, the amount of visible light they emit is minimal (but not absent). Compared to the invisible UV-light, the visible light is only a small part of the output, but it can blur any fluorescence that you want to see.

To get an idea of the ratio, point the light at a piece of white photocopier paper, the blue fluorescence (that is a measure of the UV that it comes from) hugely over-shines the visible light from the led itself.