| First things first. A "black light" will not work for most fluorescent minerals. Blacklights are long-wave UV. They are usually un-filtered. They are also cheap. What you need is short-wave UV. These lamps are filtered. They cost more. Blacklights will make your laundry fluoresce, but they're not much good for most minerals. Do yourself a favor and take the $20 you were going to spend on a "blacklight" and put it toward a good mineral light. (A 4-watt, by the way, is not a good mineral light. See below). Decent short-wave lamps start at around $300. Consider this the entry cost to the hobby. It's just like any other modern hobby. If you're going to fish much, you should invest in a decent rod and reel. If you're going to play golf, you want a good set of clubs. Collecting fluorescent minerals is no different, except I think it's more fun than golf or fishing. If you ask enough collectors, sooner or later you'll find one who will sell you a used short-wave lamp. The bulbs and filters do have a limited lifespan, though, so your best bet is to buy a brand new lamp. 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. That may change if I am able to get one of the newer Superbrights. If that happens, I will be glad to review it here. 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.
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 heavy field use among the boulders. 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 cussing. 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.
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. That's important. Also, I don't think it would be good to have the terminals of a storage battery shorted inside your pack. No, make sure you tape those connectors in place. As I said before, the newer Superbright is improved. It was a good product to begin with (for indoor use), but I really put mine through its paces in the field. -Chris |
||||
|
|
