Wanted to buy - UV light & battery pack

[Jed]

I am after a new portable UV light & Lithium Ion battery pack suitable for night gemstone/diamond/etc spotting in dry river beds.
Also I would be grateful for any suggested suppliers/links for this kit.
FYI I am a newbie to UV light prospecting so feel free to offer any advise via this topic or PM me.
cheers
Jed

 

[grubstake]

Would the cheap but surprisingly powerful UV LED torches available via eBay, be effective for this task?

For example (there are 100's of other suppliers): http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/9-12-21-...-Torch-/261606436553?var=&hash=item3ce8f56ec9

 

[Jed]

Thx Grubstake for the link.
I will have to defer to the advice of experienced UV light detecting users on the forum on whether these are suitable - I would like to try it but zero UV light experience at the moment cheers Jed

 

[WalnLiz]

They're all basically the same Jed, but you need to look at the ones that throw a beam at least 5 metres. UV black lights in the smaller pencil type torches are OK for checking stones once found, but are next to useless out on the field at night trying to cover a large area.

The Net has quite a few good size torches available so a check of the best value for money is what's needed. The one my mate Dave used in our Kimberly trip last year was about 30cm long and lit the ground extremely well, but I can't remember the brand.....I know he got it from the States though.

Best of luck with it and hope some diamonds show up on your trip west.

Wal.

 

[GaryO]

http://www.blacklightshop.com/shop/viewitem.php?groupid=0&productid=11
Check this one out Jed.

 

[Jed]

They're all basically the same Jed, but you need to look at the ones that throw a beam at least 5 metres. UV black lights in the smaller pencil type torches are OK for checking stones once found, but are next to useless out on the field at night trying to cover a large area.

The Net has quite a few good size torches available so a check of the best value for money is what's needed. The one my mate Dave used in our Kimberly trip last year was about 30cm long and lit the ground extremely well, but I can't remember the brand.....I know he got it from the States though.

Best of luck with it and hope some diamonds show up on your trip west.

Wal.

Thx Wal - do I need to worry about long wave vs short wave or do I need both issue? (whatever that means in practical terms )
Reason I ask is because the price of investing in this UV tool will not be cheap so what I buy will need to do me for years of fossicking.

 

[Jed]

http://www.blacklightshop.com/shop/viewitem.php?groupid=0&productid=11
Check this one out Jed.

Thx GaryO - just waiting on more advice on the long wave/short wave issue.
Cheers Jed

 

[Jed]

I like the idea of spotting (but not hunting) scorpions with the UV torch - eg http://www.scorpionhunter.com

 

[WalnLiz]

They're all basically the same Jed, but you need to look at the ones that throw a beam at least 5 metres. UV black lights in the smaller pencil type torches are OK for checking stones once found, but are next to useless out on the field at night trying to cover a large area.

The Net has quite a few good size torches available so a check of the best value for money is what's needed. The one my mate Dave used in our Kimberly trip last year was about 30cm long and lit the ground extremely well, but I can't remember the brand.....I know he got it from the States though.

Best of luck with it and hope some diamonds show up on your trip west.

Wal.

Thx Wal - do I need to worry about long wave vs short wave or do I need both issue? (whatever that means in practical terms )
Reason I ask is because the price of investing in this UV tool will not be cheap so what I buy will need to do me for years of fossicking.

Most gems are florescent under short wave, and I'm not sure if Dave had both. Send me a PM and I'll pass Dave's phone number on to you and you can give him a call. He's quite knowledgeable on the subject.

Wal.