Dive Blacklight (UV Light)?

[trigfunctions]

Has anybody seen an underwater blacklight (ultraviolet light) for sale? I know many corals and things are fluorescent so I was wondering if a uv light would make them glow with strange colors -especially on a night dive. Any ideas?

 

[2Tours N Iraq`]

Inova makes an flashlight called the X5 utilizing LEDs and come in a variety of colors to include UV light. They are water resistant to 150 feet (as claimed by the manufacturer). I have personnaly swam with an X5 but haven't taken it to depth yet. A simple yahoo or google search for the Inova X5 will get you to their website and contact info. Good luck

 

[Spoon]

Inova makes an flashlight called the X5 utilizing LEDs and come in a variety of colors to include UV light. They are water resistant to 150 feet (as claimed by the manufacturer). I have personnaly swam with an X5 but haven't taken it to depth yet. A simple yahoo or google search for the Inova X5 will get you to their website and contact info. Good luck

i have the x5 and used to dive with it but noticed that the on off button depresses when i go at depth and its on the fully depressed position more than 50ft. they make an awful light and its beam is pretty useless in such a wide arc of a beam

 

[Rev. Blade]

I bought a couple battery operated blacklights that run on AA batteries (I think you can order them from Radio Shack). I stuck them in a big 2 gallon ziplock bag, then that bag in another zip lock bag (most of the air squeazed out of the bags), then into a third bag with a 5 pound weight. It'd be worth using a bathtub to get the bouyancy close to neutral.... It's kind of interesting, but most corals do not flourece. I also bought a blacklight filter for my Light Cannon, but so far my Cannon has not been functional on any of my night dives. I'll hunt around to see if I can re-find the link that got me started on my do-it-yourself BlackLight quest.

 

[Rev. Blade]

The filter I used to turn my Light Canon into a Blacklight was the model 3650 "Woods" filter from Rosco Industries. (I found Rosco by doing a Google search... but this link might take you to a pdf of their catalog. http://sitelevel.whatuseek.com/query.go?crid=224ad5b773223f54&query=3650 ) ...but after you get the (expensive) filter, you still need to make a do it yourself mount.

I couldn't find the portable Blacklights tonight.. except on eBay, or in the UK. The ones I bought were called "JellyBar Portable", in case you decide to try to find some... here's a link to the product on eBay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4453935149 but of course that link is temporary.

...and I did not find the site that sells a ready-made version... that got me interested in the first place. If someone finds the site (and posts it here) you can download some interesting video of coral under blacklight.

 

[trigfunctions]

Interesting ideas. Thanks.

 

[Canadive]

Take a look here.
http://www.nightsea.com/home.htm

 

[drbill]

Try PM'ing radinator here. I think he just bougfht one for his GF.

 

[Firecracker]

Inova makes an flashlight called the X5 utilizing LEDs and come in a variety of colors to include UV light. They are water resistant to 150 feet (as claimed by the manufacturer). I have personnaly swam with an X5 but haven't taken it to depth yet. A simple yahoo or google search for the Inova X5 will get you to their website and contact info. Good luck

http://www.botac.com/inx5tacledfl.html

 

[SmileMon]

$150 for a UV light?

If you're a DIY kind of person, you can get the UV LEDs off the internet (look for 400-360nm range - you can mix LEDs to get to the full spectrum) - each led should run about $1 per unit (if its more expensive its because its harder to make the low end of that spectrum - 250-350nm are the most expensive ones and can run to about 40-400 dollars per LED!).

Get a UK C4/D4 (cheapest), get the lamp out and build your circuit.
I think the D4 is better - more room to place more LEDs, the best layout is honeycomb.

I would recommend using NIMH rechargable batteries - you'll get hours of juice out of them - or if you have a lot of $$$ - get the monster battery (not rechargable - but 18AH!!!)

The only reason I wouldn't recommend to do it, is time and the risk of flashing that thing into someone's eyes, frying your buddy eyes under water is not a good idea.
(or above water for that matter)

BE WARNED, LOOKING DIRECTLY AT THOSE LEDS EVEN FOR A SHORT TIME CAN CAUSE PERMANENT DAMAGE TO YOUR EYES!!!!! DO NOT TRY THIS IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST UV OR DON'T HAVE THE DISCIPLINE TO USE IT SAFETLY!!!
DO NOT FLASH IT ON SOMEONE ELSE, THE SCATTER CAN BOUNCE BACK OR WORSE, SHINE IN SOMEONE ELSE'S EYES!!!

UV is definatly not for kids, even those flouroscent blacklights can cause damage in prolonged exposures.

(how's that for a disclaimer?)