Tell me about ULTRAVIOLET leds - makers, varieties etc

lumen aeternum

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Sep 29, 2012
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I see Cree has one rated at 365 nm.
Eagtac uses an Edison Opto 395nm UV LED -- awfully close to visible starting at 400nm, so what is that good for?

Do UV LEDs have a really tight emission spectrum? or not -- like to know the actual range.
Do they all have about the same emission (brightness) ?

looking for a biological fluids light, bright enough to scan an area for urine without having to be inches away from the surface.
 

parametrek

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Apr 3, 2013
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Avoid anything that isn't 365nm. Nichia makes the best UV LED and you can get a reasonably priced Convoy with one.

They'll pretty much all have some visible leakage. You can get passband filters that block the visible light. This is a good idea for seeing more subtle florescences.

Kaidomain is my favorite source for UV stuff at the moment. Search '365nm' and you'll find filters, bare LEDs, LEDs on MCPCBs, and a great $9 P60 drop-in that I highly recommend.

If you need something right now there is a UV Jaxman on Amazon. It is the least expensive light that comes with a UV filter. If you need something compact the Jetbeam JET-UV is very good.
 

GaryM

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I've got 2 of the Convoy uv lights and it's pretty bright. I've got a passband filter on one and I'd recommend it.

Uses an 18650 cell. Great for checking the cleanliness of your hotel room. I can see urine stains in carpet with the light at waist level.
 

Number21

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Uses an 18650 cell. Great for checking the cleanliness of your hotel room. I can see urine stains in carpet with the light at waist level.
If you plan on staying the night there...you really shouldn't bring any UV! :candle:

It's more rare that a hotel is clean than dirty. I just took a road trip across the US, different hotel every night...and I brought my own sheets.
 

lumen aeternum

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Got the Convoy with the Nichia NCSU276A 365. Says its 3W -- is that accurate? Sounds like it might be in the range where you should use UV goggles against reflections?

Do the UV coatings on prescription glasses suffice for that much power?
 

mercrazy

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i've been testing UVA products for 20 years only using UV protective eyeglasses or sunglasses.
don't notice any eye problems yet.
my computer screen hurts my eyes worse.
test your glasses by laying a fluorescent material behind the glass and pointing UV source through other side.
if material fluoresces, glasses aren't good enough.
you get a lot more UV from the sun than most 3 amp UV LEDs but i would always use good UV sunglasses or equivalent.
UVB or UVC is a different story with which i don't have experience.
 

lumen aeternum

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Still looking for "UV 400" clear glasses from a source that I would trust to actually meet the spec.

And I put that UV filter lens into my Convoy, and it still seems to have a lot of visible light. Is that right?
 

StarHalo

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looking for a biological fluids light, bright enough to scan an area for urine without having to be inches away from the surface.

Different lights will be better at illuminating different material; the light that works well for one bodily fluid usually won't be very good for another.
 
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