# Looking for recommendations for UV LED flashlight near 365nm



## Antares (Mar 12, 2009)

I'm looking for recommendations for a UV LED flashlight. I know this has been asked a million times and I've looked at a lot of the threads, but I've also found a lot of models for sale and wondering if anyone has experience with them to help narrow it down.

These are my preferences:

* The lower the wavelength the better, approaching 365nm. 

* The higher the UV intensity / the less visible light the better.

* Runs on common batteries, like alkaline AA's or AAA's. Ability to use NiMH or lithium a bonus.

* Compact, perhaps 3-AA size or smaller.

* Ideal would be something good for close up use but also effective at longer range like 10-20 feet.

* Under $50, but I'd consider more if there's a good reason for it.


Here are some of the lights I've seen, roughly in ascending order of advertised wavelength and price. Does anyone have any experience, recommendations, or opinions regarding these models, or others? I've purposely left out the Photon Micro -- I don't want that size / type of switch. I've also excluded lights with wavelength longer than 385nm.

The 5 x Nichia 365nm light for $55 seems like a pretty good deal? Or would I be better off with an Arc? Or for half the price, perhaps the Streamlight Stylus UV (at 365nm or 375nm -- can't tell for sure) or the 9 x 375nm from ledwholesalers.com would be a good deal? At the low end there's a 1 x 375nm light and a couple of 380-385nm lights for less than $10. (These prices don't take shipping into account.)


www.ledwholesalers.com
5 x Nichia 365nm ; 3-AAA ; $55


www.tek-tite.com
2 x 365nm or 2 x 375nm ; 3-AA ; $40


www.tek-tite.com
4 x 365nm or 4 x 375nm ; 3-AA ; $50


www.xenopuselectronix.com
8 x Nichia 365nm ; 2-AA (alkaline, lithium, NiMH) ; $112


store.advancedmart.com
1 x 370nm ; 1-AAA ; $18


store.advancedmart.com
12 x 370nm ; 2-AA ; $20


store.advancedmart.com
28 X 370nm ; 3-AAA ; $30


www.ledwholesalers.com
1 x 375nm ; 1-AAA ; $6


streamlight.com
1 x 375nm ; 3-AAAA ; $20ish
(Streamlight provides inconsistent information about the wavelengths of their devices in different documents. The web page and PDF fact sheet say 365nm, the PDF info sheet says 375nm.)


www.ledwholesalers.com
9 x 375nm ; 3-AAA ; $25


streamlight.com (Twin-Task 51010)
3 x 375nm & 3 x 390nm ; 3-C ; $40ish
(Again with the inconsistent information. The web page says 365nm, the PDF info sheet says 375nm.)


www.arcflashlight.com
1 x Nichia 375nm ; 1-AAA ; $40


www.maxmax.com (16LED375)
16 x 375nm ; 1-CR123A Lithium ; $78


The following 9-LED models appear to me to possibly be the same model, or at least using the same body, perhaps stemming from this article?
www.instructables.com

9 x 380-385nm ; 3-AAA ; $7-40

www.blacklightshop.com
www.ledwholesalers.com
www.blacklightworld.com
www.teachersource.com
www.batteryjunction.com


www.lighthound.com
12 x 380-385nm ; 3-AAA ; $10


www.ledwholesalers.com
7 x 380-385nm ; 3-AAA ; $15


www.ledwholesalers.com
32 x 380-385nm ; 3-AAA ; $25


www.ledwholesalers.com
51 x 380-385nm ; 3-AA ; $27


store.advancedmart.com
12 x 385nm ; 3-AAA ; $14


www.batteryjunction.com
14 x 385nm ; 3-AAA ; $15


www.ledwholesalers.com
21 x 385nm ; 3-AAA ; $18


www.delasco.com
9 x 385nm ; 3-AAA ; $44


www.jackstoolshed.zoovy.com
4 x ?nm ; 3-AAA ; $13


www.spectrum-scientifics.com
8 x ?nm ; 3-AAA ; $20


www.professionalequipment.com
4 x ?nm ; 3-AA ; $50


Several flashlights with unspecified wavelength
store.advancedmart.com
www.riskreactor.com


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## niner (Mar 12, 2009)

Antares said:


> The 5 x Nichia 365nm light for $55 seems like a pretty good deal?
> 
> www.ledwholesalers.com
> 5 x Nichia 365nm ; 3-AAA ; $55


 
It kind of depends on your applications. I just got the above light. It is direct-drive w/ a single resistor, all five emmiters are parallel, total at 100ma. I use it to cure small area of adhesive. It works okay, takes longer than I would like, but it works as long as it doesn't need much of UV penetration.

It works perfectly fine to light up watermarks.


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## Ryanrpm (Mar 12, 2009)

And here is the most expensive one....probably out of your price range:

365nm with 3xAAA by Sunlite. Good quality lights though.


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## yalskey (Mar 12, 2009)

I did a review on Amazon for this one...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009JVQE6/?tag=cpf0b6-20

Check it out. Hope that helps.


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## Glock27 (Mar 12, 2009)

8 LED AA-powered UV Flashlight *Item Id: CH8LEDUVAA_FL * $6.99

http://www.lighthound.com/8-LED-AA-powered-UV-Flashlight_p_57.html

I got one of these for checking currency. Not real powerful, but does what I need it to.
G27


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## RyanA (Mar 12, 2009)

Ryanrpm said:


> And here is the most expensive one....probably out of your price range:
> 
> 365nm with 3xAAA by Sunlite. Good quality lights though.



Man I really like the look of that one!:thumbsup:


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## Antares (Mar 13, 2009)

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

*@niner*, Thanks for the feedback on that particular light, lucky for me to get a reply from someone who has it. I have no immediate plans to do any curing, I'm mostly interested in making things fluoresce. Sounds like it would be reasonably effective for that. Any idea at what range it would be effective at making things fluoresce, in a dark room?

I have to admit, I'm not too familiar with flashlight technology. Does direct-drive mean that it isn't regulated and output will not be consistent throughout the life of the batteries? I know what the emitters are, but I don't know what it means that they're parallel. Is 100ma a measurement of the output intensity?


*@Ryanrpm*, Yeah, that's probably more than I want to spend. The Streamlight Stylus UV is similar (at least superficially) and is a fraction of the price. If the Streamlight is really 365nm, is there something that would make the Sunlite superior enough to justify the much higher price? Is the output more intense?


*@yalskey*, Yeah, I'd actually seen your review before I even posted here. The dual wavelengths is nice, but like you I wish it was smaller.


*@Glock27*, Thanks for the link. Like many lights that one doesn't state the wavelength, which I always assume means >= 390nm.


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## Ryanrpm (Mar 18, 2009)

Antares said:


> *@Ryanrpm*, Yeah, that's probably more than I want to spend. The Streamlight Stylus UV is similar (at least superficially) and is a fraction of the price. If the Streamlight is really 365nm, is there something that would make the Sunlite superior enough to justify the much higher price? Is the output more intense?




Well, I took your question to the manufacturer of Sunlite products, and this is what they said:

*From the technical aspect, I will add the following.

Streamlight UV chip is packaged in a traditional T-1 3/4 package. 

The chip size is very small, only around 13x13 mil. 
The chip structure is not designed for high power use, meaning heat cannot be removed away from the chip, therefore cannot be powered at high current. 
The package is not designed for high power use. Heat generated from the LED chip becomes trapped, and the temperature of the LED chip will rise to over 125 degree C in only a few seconds. The UV light therefore will shift to a longer wavelength of over 400 nm.
In addition, the epoxy encapsulation turns yellow after exposed to the UV light, the light therefore degrades over time.

Our Slim UV LED light (365 nm) uses a Power UV LED chip 40X40 mil. The flip-over chip structure allows heat quickly removed from the LED chip itself. The LED chip is directly alloyed onto the copper housing, so the heat generated from the chip is efficiently drained to the heatsink. As a result, the temperature of the LED chip stays nearly the same as that of the LED head. Our 365nm UV LED is powered at 2 watt. We use glass lens to prevent yellowing and degradation.

*
I posted your question on their message board. You can view it here.


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## tsask (Mar 18, 2009)

I EDC a UV AAA Arc on my keys. It is not as bright as I would have expected, yet it does work very well. 
The build quality is superb, of course.


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## Antares (Mar 18, 2009)

Ryanrpm said:


> Well, I took your question to the manufacturer of Sunlite products, and this is what they said



Wow, thanks. I thought you might know just off the top of your head, but thanks for looking into it.

*@tsask*, Thanks for the feedback. I'd consider checking one of those out, but I guess availability is pretty hit or miss? When I was looking around at different lights I'm pretty sure the Arc website said they were in stock at the time and I didn't realize that it was a total fluke that they were available at the time I happened to be looking and would sell out in short order.


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## Ryanrpm (Mar 18, 2009)

LOL.....well, on their forum I did mention my thoughts, but I knew they would know more technical info as to its superiority over the Streamlight.

The things that come to my mind, are the lifetime warranty, the build quality, 2w of output, runtime, quality of light emission, and interchangeability with other Sunlite LED heads.

Have you landed on one yet?


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## Antares (Mar 18, 2009)

Yeah, those comments are interesting. I'm not sure if the person who posted that is an employee of the company or what?

I doubt I'm going to end up spending the money on the Sunlite at this point, but perhaps I don't want the Streamlight either. Even though the Streamlight is a fraction of the cost, if it's actually going to produce 400nm plus (as seems to be suggested in the post on the Sunlite forum) rather than 365nm, I wouldn't consider it to be an appealing option or a good value for me. I'd think that if it was producing 400nm plus that would be pretty obvious based on the amount of visible light. I guess I need more information.

2W isn't actually a measure of the intensity of the output, correct? My understanding is that 2W is the amount of power driving (not sure if that's the correct term) the LED.

Do you happen to own a UV Sunlite?

I haven't purchased anything yet. If I'd realized how limited their availability is, I probably would have bought an Arc when they were available. If I liked it, great. If not, I assume the resale value would be pretty good since the supply seems scarce. I may give that 5 x Nichia 365nm model from LED Wholesalers a shot. Not sure yet.


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## parnass (Mar 19, 2009)

Another option is to buy a UV flashlight from Peak LED Solutions. They have a 25% off sale until the end of March.


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## Antares (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks for the suggestion. However, according to Choosing a Peak LED Solutions Flashlight (PDF) their UV lights are 395nm.


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## Luke_Y (Mar 19, 2009)

Antares said:


> Thanks for the feedback everyone.
> 
> *@niner*, Thanks for the feedback on that particular light, lucky for me to get a reply from someone who has it. I have no immediate plans to do any curing, I'm mostly interested in making things fluoresce. Sounds like it would be reasonably effective for that. Any idea at what range it would be effective at making things fluoresce, in a dark room?


 

I may be able to help. What sort of things are you trying to fluoresce? Different substances have different optimal wavelengths. Allot of substances fluoresce with long wave uv. 
 
Long wave uv lights are plentiful as you are finding. But, short wave uv <280nm lights are more scarce. If you end up in the short wave end use caution. These lights can be detrimental to your eyesight.
 
If you are already well versed, sorry, just disregard.


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## Antares (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks Luke_Y. I certainly don't claim to be an expert on this stuff, but I know what you mean. I'm definitely looking for a long wave light, but I want the shortest wavelength (closing in on 360nm-365nm) that I can get. It's my understanding that a considerable amount of caution is appropriate even with the long wave lights.


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## HKJ (Mar 19, 2009)

The Sunlite is a good UV light, here are some examples on different UV lights with a Swedish 100Kr note:

First a white led:






Next up is the Inova X5 with 5 UV leds, it is possible to see the hidden text:





The ARC-UV is much better (375nm):





And the Sunlite 365nm:






Edit:
All the pictures are with the same camera setting and the UV lights at the same position.


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## Antares (Mar 19, 2009)

Wow, those pictures are awesome! Thanks so much for posting those, they are really helpful.

How accurately do the Arc and Sunlite pictures represent what you see with the naked eye? The Arc picture makes it seem like it does a good job of fluorescing the text while the rest of the note in the background remains dark and barely visible. The Sunlite picture makes it seem like it does an even better job of fluorescing the text, but the rest of the note in the background is clearly visible. Is the Sunlite actually generating visible light that makes the background visible, or is that just something the camera is picking up?

Thanks!


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## HKJ (Mar 19, 2009)

Antares said:


> Wow, those pictures are awesome! Thanks so much for posting those, they are really helpful.
> 
> How accurately do the Arc and Sunlite pictures represent what you see with the naked eye? The Arc picture makes it seem like it does a good job of fluorescing the text while the rest of the note in the background remains dark and barely visible. The Sunlite picture makes it seem like it does an even better job of fluorescing the text, but the rest of the note in the background is clearly visible. Is the Sunlite actually generating visible light that makes the background visible, or is that just something the camera is picking up?



They are close to what I see.

When I received the Sunlite I turned it on and saw some white light, my first reaction was that I had got a ordinary light (but a bit weak), not an UV light. But my test with the Swedish bank note convinced me otherwise.:thumbsup:
The ARC light also has visible light, but not as strong (To week for the camera to pick up with the settings I used) and much more blue.


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## Antares (Mar 19, 2009)

Huh, that is really interesting. I wouldn't expect a 365nm light to generate that much visible light. The one demo picture that Sunlite has on their website for the Slim UV gave me the impression that it was generating quite a bit of visible light, but given the overall awful quality of that image file I didn't take it for granted that the apparent amount of visible light was an accurate representation. It's also my understanding that a digital camera may make some UV light appear to be visible light. Based on your photos, the Sunlite does seem to do the best job of fluorescing the text, but I'm surprised at the amount of visible light.


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## HKJ (Mar 19, 2009)

Antares said:


> Huh, that is really interesting. I wouldn't expect a 365nm light to generate that much visible light. The one demo picture that Sunlite has on their website for the Slim UV gave me the impression that it was generating quite a bit of visible light, but given the overall awful quality of that image file I didn't take it for granted that the apparent amount of visible light was an accurate representation. It's also my understanding that a digital camera may make some UV light appear to be visible light. Based on your photos, the Sunlite does seem to do the best job of fluorescing the text, but I'm surprised at the amount of visible light.



I was also surprised with the amount of visible light and that is was white, but that said, it is not a huge amount of light, probably below 1 lumen.

My camera is a Nikon D300 and it has good UV and IR filter, but many camera's does not have good filters.

Do not expect the Sunlite to be the best light for everything, some stuff has better response with one of the other UV light.


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## parnass (Mar 19, 2009)

Antares said:


> Thanks for the suggestion. However, according to Choosing a Peak LED Solutions Flashlight (PDF) their UV lights are 395nm.



According to this thread, Peak offers to build UV flashlights at wavelengths of *350 and 360 nm* using "laboratory quality UV LEDs from the Fox Group" upon request.

Best to call Peak on the telephone. They are good folks and very helpful.


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## RyanA (Mar 19, 2009)

parnass said:


> According to this thread, Peak offers to build UV flashlights at wavelengths of *350 and 360 nm* using "laboratory quality UV LEDs from the Fox Group" upon request.
> 
> Best to call Peak on the telephone. They are good folks and very helpful.



Woot. great info!:twothumbs


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## Ryanrpm (Mar 20, 2009)

This comment from Sunlite may clarify the 'visible light' that you guys say you were seeing from the Sunlite 365nm UV.



> We can make stronger UV LED. Stronger UV LED will be bigger because it will require bigger heat sink.
> 
> The traditional epoxy housing 5mm T-13/4 is not designed for high power use. The epoxy will be gradually yellowing after exposure of UV light. We don't make 5mm LEDs, we make power LEDs. We make UV LED with glass lens to prevent degradation after use. .
> 
> ...


 
It's a little fun being the middle man. Get to learn a lot in the process.


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## HKJ (Mar 20, 2009)

Ryanrpm said:


> There is no white light from this 365nm UV LED



The light might not be designed to emit white light, but somehow it does emit some white light, it might only be 1% (A total random number) of the total light emission, but it is very visible (because the UV is not visible).

It would be a problem if the light only emitted UV light, you would not know if it was on or off.


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## winston (Mar 20, 2009)

The 365nm Nichia that LEDWholesalers uses can't be the same part as the 365nm Nichia in the Xenopus. I've seen them both, and they are different beasts.
The Streamlight Stylus isn't 400nm. It's 375nm, but there just isn't much light coming out - visible or otherwise.

I was all ready to point out that this is the same old "Which UV light should I get?" post, but it's actually the most comprehensive list of UV flashlights I've ever seen. 
-Winston


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## Antares (Mar 20, 2009)

HKJ said:


> I was also surprised with the amount of visible light and that is was white,


Right, I'd expect there to be a small amount of visible purple light.



HKJ said:


> Do not expect the Sunlite to be the best light for everything, some stuff has better response with one of the other UV light.


Right, understood. In my experience, the shorter the wavelength, the more limited the supply of products and the longer the wavelength the more plentiful the options. Right now I'd like to get a light in the 360-365nm range, but it's easy and cheap to get lights with longer wavelength for tasks that they perform better at. I came across this appliction matrix a day or two ago that purports to show which wavelengths are suitable or ideal for particular tasks.

I guess you have a good camera -- I just have a point and shoot digital and I found out recently that the sensor is able to detect UV and IR. For example, I learned that you can see the IR from a remote control by viewing it with the digital camera.


*@parnass*, Oh, ok, thanks for the link. I wasn't aware of that at all, I will look into it.


*@Ryanrpm*, Thanks for all of the info you've gathered. After you pointed me to their forum I posted in the thread you started, but for some reason they have not approved my post. Part of my post was asking what they mean by "power UV LED" -- I don't know if that's a brand name, a type of technology, a descriptive term, or what.

Do they know the details (like epoxy housing) they're mentioning about the Streamlight LED for a fact or are they just guessing? I don't know what LED is used in the Streamlight, but doesn't Nichia, for example, make a 5mm 365nm LED with glass lens?

I don't understand their explanation of the visible light. If the emission is confined to a narrow band peaking at 365nm, then even at high intensity shouldn't there be little visible light? And shouldn't the visible light that is emitted be purple?



> This 365nm UV LED has a very narrow spectrum with the half width of about 12nm.


Does this mean that there is emission at +/- 12nm from 365nm -- so 353nm and 377nm -- and that the intensity of that emission is 1/2 the intensity of the emission that is at 365nm? (I'm not suggesting that there wouldn't be any emission farther than 12nm from 365nm, just wondering if this means it's a curve peaking at 365nm and at +/- 12nm the intensity has fallen to 1/2.)




HKJ said:


> It would be a problem if the light only emitted UV light, you would not know if it was on or off.


I agree that if you're dealing with a UV light with very little visible output, it's ideal for there to be a really obvious way to tell that it's on. I guess there are a number of ways to do that, including perhaps having a small visible light LED indicator somewhere on the product.




winston said:


> The 365nm Nichia that LEDWholesalers uses can't be the same part as the 365nm Nichia in the Xenopus


That's interesting. Can you describe the differences at all?

LED Wholesalers says they're using the Nichia NSHU590B LED.

Xenopus says their light has a beam angle of 10 degrees approximately, which would make me think they're using the NSHU590B, but they also say the output power is ~16mW, which seems more consistent with the Nichia NSHU550B (100 degree). 

According to this page, the NSHU550B has a typical optical power of 2mW while the NSHU590B is 1.4mW. So 2mW x 8 LEDs = 16mW? Or perhaps the optical power of multiple LEDs is greater than the sum of the optical power of each individual LED and 1.4mW x 8 LEDs = 16mW?

Is it possible that Xenopus is using the 100 degree LED and the reflector in their light is directing that into a beam angle of 10 degrees approx.? It doesn't look like a very deep reflector, but it does appear that each LED is slightly recessed within a little scoop that would limit the spread of light away from the center of the head.

As seen here the NSHU590B and NSHU550B have a different physical appearance:
http://store.nichia.com/index.asp?Category=15&PageAction=VIEWCATS


Re: the Streamlight, based on things I've seen on the web, I think perhaps it used to be 375nm and they changed it to 365nm. The post on the Sunlite forum seemed to be suggesting that due to the way the Streamlight Stylus UV is engineered, the output would actually be at a considerably longer wavelength than the advertised one. You can see the actual quote in post #8.



winston said:


> I was all ready to point out that this is the same old "Which UV light should I get?" post, but it's actually the most comprehensive list of UV flashlights I've ever seen.


I hear you. I considered not starting the thread because of that, but the reason I did is that I had found all of these models and I was hoping people could give feedback on some of them to help narrow it down.

Considering how haphazard it is to find out what products are available, and considering that I actually did end up finding all of them (the ones that I found), I'm considering creating a little finder application on my website to consolidate all of this information about what UV flashlight products exist and where to find them in one place. Would anyone care about that?


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## Ryanrpm (Mar 20, 2009)

Antares said:


> *@Ryanrpm*, Thanks for all of the info you've gathered. After you pointed me to their forum I posted in the thread you started, but for some reason they have not approved my post. Part of my post was asking what they mean by "power UV LED" -- I don't know if that's a brand name, a type of technology, a descriptive term, or what.
> 
> Do they know the details (like epoxy housing) they're mentioning about the Streamlight LED for a fact or are they just guessing? I don't know what LED is used in the Streamlight, but doesn't Nichia, for example, make a 5mm 365nm LED with glass lens?
> 
> ...




Your explanation of the 12nm seems reasonable. But I myself have no idea. I'm very much learning as I go here.

The term "Power UV LED" or "Power LED" may just be a brand name. Or more likely, it is a descriptive term to describe the intensity of their LED's. They are indeed High Power, Application Specific, LED's. The deeper you go in UV wavelength, the more power it takes to get the same intensity. At least that's what the guy at Peak Solutions told me. So that explains why the 365nm Sunlite is 2w and the 395 Sunlite is 1w.

As far as the visible light being emitted at high power, that may be possible, but I would take Sunlite's word for it. They know more about it than I do. BTW, your 1st two posts there are awaiting review before being posted for public viewing....that's why there has been a delay.



> Considering how haphazard it is to find out what products are available, and considering that I actually did end up finding all of them (the ones that I found), I'm considering creating a little finder application on my website to consolidate all of this information about what UV flashlight products exist and where to find them in one place. Would anyone care about that?



I would care about it. :thumbsup:


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## HKJ (Mar 21, 2009)

Ryanrpm said:


> The term "Power UV LED" or "Power LED" may just be a brand name.



It is a description of how the led is made. A power led has a surface that can be mounted on a heatsink, the 3mm and 5mm led does not have this possibility.

Here is a picture of a power led mounted on a star:






And a 5mm led:


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## BlueBoom (Mar 21, 2009)

I own you all!

Around 25 USD!

3aaa!
Gift box!
INVISABLE!
Woods glass filter!
375nm!

CHEAP!



http://www.ledshoponline.com/8_led-flashlight.htm#375nmUV


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## Ryanrpm (Mar 21, 2009)

HKJ said:


> It is a description of how the led is made. A power led has a surface that can be mounted on a heatsink, the 3mm and 5mm led does not have this possibility.
> 
> Here is a picture of a power led mounted on a star:
> 
> ...




Thanks for the clarification. Makes total sense.


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## csshih (Mar 22, 2009)

huh..HKJ, what happened to the dome on that cree?


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## HKJ (Mar 23, 2009)

csshih said:


> huh..HKJ, what happened to the dome on that cree?



I am also wondering about that, probably my storage was to hard on it


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## Antares (Mar 23, 2009)

Ryanrpm said:


> BTW, your 1st two posts there are awaiting review before being posted for public viewing....that's why there has been a delay.


I noticed that, but what does it take to get a post reviewed over there? -- they still haven't approved it.



Ryanrpm said:


> I would care about it.


Thanks, I guess that's one vote for it. I just don't want to bother if there's going to be no interest.


*@HKJ*, Thanks for the description of power LED. Even _after_ seeing your explanation, I couldn't find good basic information about it by searching Google. Is there any relationship between power LED and surface mount device (SMD) style LEDs, or are those two totally different things?


*@BlueBoom*, Thanks for the link. I've seen a couple of lights like that. It just seems like a really inefficient way to do it compared to using LEDs that emit UV, but I guess the effectiveness and cost effectiveness are of more practical importance. Do you own that light, and if so, how well does it work? I'm curious if that's the same as this light. They're the same body, both 14-LED and 3-AAA. The one I linked to does not show a picture of the front of the light, specify the wavelength, or mention using a Wood's glass filter vs. UV emitting LEDs, so it's inconclusive.


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## HKJ (Mar 23, 2009)

Antares said:


> *@HKJ*, Thanks for the description of power LED. Even _after_ seeing your explanation, I couldn't find good basic information about it by searching Google. Is there any relationship between power LED and surface mount device (SMD) style LEDs, or are those two totally different things?



To be a power led is has to be smd (At least I have not seen any leaded leds that could qualify as power led), but not all smd are power led, they need to be of a certain power before they can qualify. I can not give you a specific limit, 0.1 watt leds does not qualify as power led, but 3 watt does.


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## JNewell (Mar 24, 2009)

The chart linked above interested me so I dug out my three UV-ish lights and experimented a little last night. Subject lights are a Mini-Mag with the Terra-Lux drop-in, the Lighthound 9 (?) LED UV light and a deep purple (not UV) Photon. I was surprised at how different the results were. For example, only the Lighthound light would really light up my MV operator's license. I had not focused on how specifically you need to consider just exactly what it is that you want to use the UV light with.


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## Ryanrpm (Mar 24, 2009)

Antares said:


> I noticed that, but what does it take to get a post reviewed over there? -- they still haven't approved it.


 
I saw it yesterday. In fact, it is there now.

According to Sunlite, .5w and a size of 24milx24mil is the minimums of a 'power' led.


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## Antares (Mar 24, 2009)

*@HKJ*, Thanks for explaning the relationship between power LED and SMD.


*@JNewell*, Yes, that chart is interesting in showing that a variety of different wavelengths are useful and ideal for particular purposes, as your testing confirmed. I wonder if the other 2 lights would be any more effective if you were wearing amber glasses. It's my understanding that they improve the visibility of the fluorescence at least in some applications and that they can be used with blue lights to see some of the effects that would otherwise require a shorter wavelength UV light.


*@Ryanrpm*, Oh yeah, there it is. Thanks!


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## coors (Mar 26, 2009)

Really nice thread, here. So much information! I recently purchased a 51-LED 385nm w/ Woods filter flashlight. The Sunlite 365nm @ 60mw looks quite interesting to me too. Anyone try to use the Sunlite 365nm for curing Norland?..does it work well?
The Nichia NCSU033A is capable of 4x the output of the Sunlite 365nm, but I haven't found a source yet for stars etched for reflow soldering this emitter to. If I can find a source for these stars then I plan to get one of these, but will also have to have a custom copper heatsink built for my little light, as well.
Does anyone know of any lower than 365nm wavelength UV LED emitters, currently available?


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## Ryanrpm (Mar 26, 2009)

Just the Peak LED Solutions which go down to 350nm.

Need to call them up.

I believe Sunlite will also create a custom wavelength...need to call them up too.


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## coors (Mar 26, 2009)

Thanks for your reply, Ryanrpm! I should have specified that I'm interested in the shorter wavelength "surface mountable type" UV LED emitters.. not that your sources don't have that type, I just realized after reading your post that I wasn't very specific.


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## etc (Mar 26, 2009)

...................


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## etc (Apr 24, 2009)

Excellent thread - 

Sunlite 365nm looks really interesting.

I do however want something that uses 123s.

Peak Pacific building one sounds interesting, or getting a P60 drop in from nailbender - is there a group buy anytime soon for Nichia units?




> The other item is there are very few surface mount leds that are 365, I searched for another member and they are rare. Nichia is the only surface mount led that I know of at 365nm. They are 115 dollars just for the led and that is hot the most expensive one.


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## Antares (Apr 24, 2009)

*etc*, Xenopus is advertising a 365nm, 250mW device as coming soon (this device showed up on their website after I started this thread).

If you google the model number, XeLED-Ni1UV-R3-365, you'll find a link to a PDF that says it uses a Nichia emitter and 2 x CR123A batteries. It doesn't say specifically what emitter it is, but the Nichia NCSU033A is advertised as 365nm and 250mW.

I'm hoping to launch my ultraviolet lighting product finder website soon and there are a couple of other devices already in my database that take CR123A's: a 375nm and 390nm.


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## erlon (Apr 24, 2009)

etc said:


> Excellent thread -
> 
> Sunlite 365nm looks really interesting.
> 
> ...



:thumbsup:


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## cryhavok (May 2, 2009)

Just as a reference, I used the Nichia 10º 375nm UV Leds in my Kroma build...they work great. There is a slight white light, but the UV put out is excellent.


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## Liszt (Sep 2, 2009)

Great thread! Just wish I'd found it hours earlier.

So did you finally decide on a light? Or narrow down the candidates?

And just how careful does one need to be with a powerful 365 or 375nm light? Things such as occasional currency checks, carpet stains, or charging GITD items? Also for caving expeditions. Plus as an illuminator for fluorescent dye in a waterfall.


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## 1o57 (Jun 6, 2015)

I know this is an old thread, but it's a great discussion of UV lights- which is one of the main reasons I joined these forums.

A few people had mentioned Woods filters in this discussion- I've Googled for (without much success) Woods Glass but can't seem to find any sources, anyone here know where I can find Woods glass?

Last year I went on a purchasing spree and ordered samples of UV LEDs from every source I could find- I was curious about the lifespan of the UV leds (they break down due to the plastic as opposed to glass)- and about the claimed wavelengths vs what they actually put out (I had access to a lab at the time where this could be determined)- A majority of the off the shelf lights and LEDs were significantly greater than the coveted 365nm wavelength- 

(The reason that so many people believe that 365 nm wavelength is what they want is that there are hundreds of websites that claim the 365nm lights won't have as much 'visible' light- so people looking to make "neat stuff glow" believe that the best result will be from 365nm- when in reality other wavelengths will be just as neat, just add some Woods glass 

Anyways, awesome thread, I really like this forum-

Consequently, if you're looking to use UV lights for secret writing, I did a pretty comprehensive study on the off the shelf UV inks that are on the market as well, if anyone is interested....


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