About mineral lamps

Many people have asked me where they can get a short-wave ultraviolet light to view fluorescent minerals. I usually recommend to skip the tiny, battery-powered lamps and save your money for a good, powerful lamp-- you won't regret it in the long run. I've found the new UltraLight 5000S to be a great unit... I've begun using one myself in preference to a Superbright 2000SW, at least for home use. Now, that may change if I get my hands on one of the new generation Superbrights.

The Superbright 2000SW is still hard to beat for field collecting. The UltraLight is a bit large to haul around in the field, but if you hook it to a motorcycle battery and power inverter (carried in a backpack), it can be serviceable for field use, provided you're careful not to break the extra-large filter glass. It is a very bright lamp, that's for sure.

With either brand of lamp you should put a piece of chicken wire over the filter to add some protection against rocks. During field collecting it's all too easy to set the lamp face down on a rock and crack the filter. Everyone thinks they'll never do it, and then it happens.

Left: Here's why you should use chicken wire to protect your lamp's filter. This is my Superbright that I've used for field collecting since around 1998 or 99.

There's the filter, broken in 4 places at different times and put back together with epoxy glue. It still works.

In the case of the Superbright, usually I see collectors put the wire mesh guard between the rubber feet and the lamp body, but I've also seen it put on outside the feet.

The biggest complaint I had about the old Superbright was the battery connector. The original one pulled out every 5 seconds or so during field use. It was maddening. I actually took mine, removed the original connector, and re-wired it with a screw-on military surplus connector. I had to drill a bigger hole in the case to accomodate it.

The revised Superbright II has a similar connector now, but I still like mine better because it's a garage job. My connector is also 100% metal, with no plastic that can crack into itty, bitty, useless fragments. UPDATE (30 May 2007): I recently spoke with Mr. Newsome via email; combined with my own, recent observations of the new Superbright, it looks like the the bugs have been worked out. The plastic connector on the new lamp is impact-resistant, made for abuse by collectors like me. I understand that tests were done by dropping a 3-lb hammer onto the connector, and it continued to function.

For historical reference, the other major annoyance with the old Superbright was that the cigarette-lighter adapter used in the original battery pack often came loose. As in, every 10 seconds. It was either one end or the other that pulled loose, making a typical field-collecting trip little more than an intermittent string of cursing and swearing. I know there are collectors who remember hearing me curse up a storm. There was one night dig in particular in the Noble Pit that I was on a roll.

The light would wink out constantly, so I finally removed the cigarette-lighter adapter in my battery pack and just hard-wired it. No more problems occurred after that. So what if I can't use the AC adapter anymore? Mine burned out years ago anyway.

Left: My connector. I took out the old connector, which pulled out at the drop of a hat, and replaced it with this military surplus connector that screws in securely. There was some soldering involved, as well as working with tiny screws.

You can see my lamp gets a lot of abuse in the field. Since my re-wiring, it has stood up well to such treatment.

When I go in the field with a light that requires a power inverter, I duct-tape the battery clips to the battery so they won't pull loose in the backpack.

More photos forthcoming. I have a Raytech LS-88 that needs a new bulb, but the thing borders on being an antique. I suppose I shouldn't take it or my old Mineralight into the field. The latter has already survived several trips to the Buckwheat, but its plastic has become scratched.

-Chris