I have a few ultrafire 501-502 ect. and a trustfire tr-3t6 and they work great.
I would like to find a UV light that would throw a beam maybe 100 ft that would run an hour or two on an 18650.
I want to light up a fishing bobber @ 100 ft or so, at night.
A regular 501 ect will light a bobber a little, but I’m thinking a UV painted bobber and a UV light might work ?
Should I just buy a UV drop in for a 501-502 or what.
Thanks !
UV doesn't throw very well. You could try using a UV drop-in...
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/taiwan-3w-380nm-uv-flashlight-dropin-module-42v-max-p-5697
with a smooth reflector...
...to see if that works for you. I've never tried on the water like you are attempting. I did add an aspheric optic to my 501b with the UV drop-in and it didn't work well. Either the UV is just too dim or the glass lens filtered out too much of the UV to make it effective. For my use, I use an OP reflector because I'm generally looking up close and want to cover a wider area:
Thanks for the links Keltex, im also looking for UV-drop in.
Preferably, ill just buy the emitter and make it myself. Anyone know where those are sold?
Review on the one from MF.
Anyone know which is better or the difference? Im leaning towards the one from MF.
That Manafont drop-in is the same one as I linked to and is a 3W drop-in.
The DX drop-in you linked to is only 1W so it will be much weaker.
Based on the reviews I've read, the Manafont drop-in is the best budget-priced option available.
Yes I know. But I never trust specs from DX and MF anyway.
MF say 3W, but according to the review, it draws 450mA, which could be 350mA to the emitter, or about 1W.
This is why I would like to just buy a bare emitter that has a max amp rating, and a hopefully more trustworthy wavelength rating.
Advertised wavelength and price makes me lean towards MF if I should buy a complete drop-in.
Reviews are different for some from Manafont; that drop-in seems to be really dependent on the cells you use. With good/freshly-charged cells, I'm able to get 800-900mA at the tailcap from mine.
I've purchased several of these bare UV emitters that are available on DX:
http://dx.com/p/jr-3w-410nm-3w-410nm-purple-light-led-module-silver-white-173533
...but haven't had a chance to do anything with them yet. I'm trying to make a 9W UV triple-emitter. Initial setup didn't work well; I'm wondering if these operate at a higher voltage than typical Cree emitters. The problem with these is that it is difficult to find P60-sized star boards for these emitters. DX has them, but only in a 65-pack:
http://dx.com/p/diy-16mm-1w-3w-5w-led-pcb-boards-65-pack-140015
Is there a reason why it needs a pcb board?
Looks like it could just be re-flowed to a copper plate/disc or something. Assuming the middle part is for heat sinking and you can just bend the positive and negative leg slightly upwards so that they don’t make a short.
Or am I missing something?
Edit: added pictures, and thanks for the info on the MF drop in. 
Fujik it down to a penny, insulate under the leads with Kapton tape... I don't know if the center pad is isolated on these or not...
I just like things done neatly when working on something like this.
Make sure it’s a 1981 penny or older for 95% Cu other wise it’s 98% zinc. No 1943 zinc coated steel either or 1943 Cu, for that matter, or you’d be destoying a valuable one.
I recently reviewed a small $11 uv flashlight from dx that was performing unexpectingly well, it has a fairly new type xpg size emitter that throws very well for such small light. I'd say buy one, take the emitter board out and put it in a light with a smooth bigger reflector, for instance a p60 drop-in, I promise it will light your bobber very nicely. As a bonus you are left-over with a nice host for the next mod.
Does it absolutely have to be a true UV emitter, or would a 'royal blue' one that has the same effect on glowy things get the job done?
I have a XML2 with the phosphor removed, driven at 3 or even 2 amps and in a p60 reflector it would just laugh at your measly 100' range requirement.
I also have a 6v MTG2 with no phosphor, but that would just be silly.
Many fish can see UV light so that may not be a good idea at night.
Get a TF-R2 and put the UV p60 in it.
Thanks everyone for the comments !
As usual I’m a little confused, I’m just not familiar with UV / royal blue ect.
Now I’m thinking of a button battery and a little led taped to a bobber Lol …hmmm how would I do that ?
