Dive Blacklight (UV Light)?

[Doc Harry]

trigfunctions,

You got me excited to try this. I'm buying some stuff this weekend and taking it to Cozumel.

 

[LarsB]

trigfunctions,
You got me excited to try this. I'm buying some stuff this weekend and taking it to Cozumel.

Have lots of fun!
Don't forget to report to us here about it!
Thanks!

 

[LarsB]

I found another video

YouTube - Underwater fluorescence disco - Oceans - BBC (2:31)

apparently using gear from NightSea:

NightSea BW-1 Blue/White Dive Light
Filters for UK Light Cannon
BlueStar Light

the first of which is very similar to my own construction, but provides white light/UV light at the turn of the switch and not half/full power as in my case.

My construction is slightly cheaper, though: 309 Euros x 1.3046 (current exchange rate) = US$ 403.12, whereas the BW-1D Dive Package costs US$ 495 minus US$ 30 for the BlueBlock Filter Visor and the Mask Strap Wrapper = US$ 465.

 

[Doc Harry]

Okay, I tried some fluorescent night photography while I was in Cozumel. It was the maiden voyage of my new Nikon. I was a bit overhwlemed with all the news toys so I didn't spend that much time with the fluorescent filters. Here are a few samples:

 

[LarsB]

Amazing!!!
Well done shots!!!
Thanks a lot for sharing!!
I hope you really enjoyed your stay!
Cheers,
LarsB

 

[lucca brassi]

Fantastic pictures ! Congratulations !

@ LarsB . Thanks for uploading pictures from UK Light Cannon . I try to develop that typ of lamp to (recoil led). I have question : as seen on yours uploaded picture ( crosssection ) I see there two leds mounted not direct under heatsink but rectangular on heatsink ?

 

[LarsB]

@ LarsB . Thanks for uploading pictures from UK Light Cannon . I try to develop that typ of lamp to (recoil led). I have question : as seen on yours uploaded picture ( crosssection ) I see there two leds mounted not direct under heatsink but rectangular on heatsink ?

That's correct, the two LEDs are mounted perpendicularly. The reflector deflects the two beams to the front:

 

[lucca brassi]

Has anyone try these filters ? Are they worth of money? Try to do some UV photos.

MicroFire K1 365nm UV Filter - Free Shipping - DealExtreme

MicroFire M-Series 365nm UV Filter - Free Shipping - DealExtreme

Any pictures perhaps

 

[LarsB]

Dear contributors to this project, dear divers,

I recently went to the Red Sea (Hurghada/Egypt) for diving and successfully tested my ultraviolet diving lamp.

You can find some pictures and videos of it here: https://picasaweb.google.com/106199910917431710533/Hurghada2011

I first read about diving with ultraviolet lamps in the following book, during childhood (the book itself is from 1963!):

Amazon.com: Dolphin Island (9780441152209): Arthur C. Clarke: Gateway
http://www.detlef-heinsohn.de/SF-boje5.JPG
http://www.sundermeyer-online.de/SO/Images/Verlage/Boje/BOJE-Die-Delphininsel-100.jpg

In the beginning (2010), I didn't find any ultraviolet diving lamps for sale on the market, so I built (i.e., modified) two of my own:

Picasa Web Albums - O.St. Bey. - How to build ...
Picasa Web Albums - O.St. Bey. - How to build ...

Here are the videos which a colleague and dive buddy of mine and me found about diving with ultraviolet lamps and bio-fluorescence:

Night Dive Fluorescence HiTec LEDs corals Rotes Meer Reef Check - YouTube (10:06)
Reef Night Dives Fluorescence Corals - YouTube (9:08)
Biofluorescent Night Dive – Sunset Reef, East end of Grand Cayman | Led Dive Light Reviews (7:17) or
Biofluorescent Night Dive - Sunset Reef, East end of Grand Cayman - YouTube (7:17)
ElQuseirPartAH264 - YouTube (5:24)
Drachenkopf Scorpionfisch Fluorescence.mov - YouTube (4:16)
Bio - Fluoresence night dive True Blue Dive Club - Grenada. - YouTube (2:55)
Underwater fluorescence disco - Oceans - BBC - YouTube (2:31)
Fluo- diving with Aquanauts Grenada - YouTube (2:20)
Biofluorescent Night Dive # 2 - YouTube (1:59)
Fluorescent night dive @ Grand CaymanCY-FL-Anemone!!!Halo!.MOV - YouTube (1:20)
Coral Biofluorescence with Black Light - diver at end - YouTube (0:25)
Coral Biofluorescence with Black Light - Halo FX - YouTube (0:25)

You might also find the following website interesting/inspiring: Unbenanntes Dokument

Later on I found a site in the U.S. where one can actually buy this kind of equipment (the one used in the 2:31 video Underwater fluorescence disco - Oceans - BBC - YouTube above):

NightSea BW-1 Blue/White Dive Light - NightSea BW-1 Blue/White Dive Light
Filters for UK Light Cannon - Filters for UK Light Cannon
BlueStar Light - BlueStar Light

Recently, I also discovered an article in a French online magazine about this topic with reference to a shop in France which also sells this kind of equipment:

Plongeur.com, la passion de la plonge sous-marine
“Plongeur.com Magazine” » plongee sous-marine
Telechargements Plongeur.com
pages 55-58 of 62 (page numbers according to Adobe Reader), or pages 108-115 (page numbers at the bottom of each page)
Plongimage - Plongimage - photographie sous-marine : caissons étanches, flash, accessoires... Eclairage pour fluorescence
Dyron

Two other interesting articles (unrelated to bio-fluorescence) from the same magazine:

Telechargements Plongeur.com
"Maîtrisez la béance tubaire et dites adieu au Valsalva"
pages 47-49 of 62 (page numbers according to Adobe Reader), or pages 92-97 (page numbers at the bottom of each page)

Telechargements Plongeur.com
"Cette eau qui nous déshydrate"
pages 42-44 of 52 (page numbers according to Adobe Reader), or pages 82-87 (page numbers at the bottom of each page)

And another beautiful underwater photography magazine:
UwP = Your free Underwater Photography Magazine | Home page
The latest issue is always free, back issues cost money.

Enjoy!

Cheers,
LarsB

 

[LarsB]

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?

To answer the original poster's question more thoroughly:

So far, I have found the following manufacturers of commercially available torches for underwater bio-fluorescence (electrical power in parentheses):

http://www.nightsea.com/bw-1_sp.htm - NightSea BW-1 Blue/White Dive Light (3W)
http://www.nightsea.com/uklc.htm - Filters for UK Light Cannon (10W)
http://www.nightsea.com/bluestar_sp.htm - BlueStar Light (1W)

http://www.plongimage.com/index.php?cPath=23_312&osCsid=75e75cc2ef5e5cac77017bdbe7d04616
http://www.dyron.fr/page_article.php?id_article=77&cat_article=eclairage&language=2 (6x4=24W/12x4=48W, or 75W/130W halogen-equivalent)

http://www.hartenberger.de/hartenberger.html?ledTechnik/001.html (mini compact LCD: 7x3.5W=28W, 21x2.5W=50W; maxi compact LCD: 7x3.5W=28W, 21x3W=60W)

All these lamps use blue LEDs instead of UV LEDs, with peak wavelengths around 450 nm.
Allegedly, UV does not excite the red fluorescing proteins (http://www.bild-der-wissenschaft.de/bdw/bdwlive/heftarchiv/index2.php?object_id=32128252 "Dummerweise regt UV aber nicht die Rot-Fluoreszenz an").
I personally suspect that it is also a question of safety (blue light is safer to handle than UV) and price (blue LEDs are probably cheaper - for a given desired output - than UV LEDs).

The Hartenberger fluorescent lamps are also used by Prof. Nico Michiels of the University of Tübingen for his research.

Prof. Horst Grunz has built his own based on equipment from TillyTec.
TillyTec also offers a UV lamp head with a single UV LED and a halogen-equivalent power of 10W.