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UltravioletPhotography

Paint Torch Reflector Black


Cadmium

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I have been playing with this all day.

Let's say we take two Convoy S2+ Nichia 365nm torch/flashlights. Now remove the reflector out of one of those torches, and compare the beam of each.

The one with the reflector has a bright hot spot in the center, the one with no reflector has no hot spot at all. Nothing new...

The Convoy LED's are mounted deeply in the front metal housing, and therefore they have their bean diameter/width limited by the front opening of the metal housing.

However, the diameter is still very large.

The MTE is better suited for reflector removal, because you can remove the entire front of the MTE torches, revealing the MTE LED, which gives the MTE a very wide 180 degree diameter beam.

However, the MTE is much more expensive than the Convoy. It is OK though, because the Convoy have a fairly wide beam diameter.

The advantage that the Convoy has over the MTE is that the Convoy barrels are a simple cylinder, and they group together perfectly flat with each other on the sides.

Now, if you remove the reflectors from multiple Convoy's and group them all together with some rubber bands or gaffers tape, then you have a real flood light coverage with no hot spot.

I grouped 6 of them with no reflectors, and wow... :cool:

Ideally, one would need to make some kind of 20mm diameter x 12mm tall tube/separator to keep the front filter in place, basically this takes the place of the removed reflector.

Which is another difference between the MTE and the Convoy, the MTE has no way to mount a filter with the entire front removed,

and if you remove the MTE reflector only, and keep the front housing on the torch,

then the MTE has a slightly smaller diameter beam than the Convoy does with its reflector removed,

however, you can mount the filter on in or even on the front of the MTE if you remove just the reflector and keep the front housing... you will just loose some beam width.

Regardless, removing the reflectors and strapping a bunch of these torches all together gives you a very even wide beam with amazing power.

Of course, this could be done with just one torch, the exposure would take much longer, but you get very even light across a large wide area, larger than the angle of view of many usual lenses.

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How interesting!!! I really want to see photos of this splendor!

I shot with 3 convoys together, brighter but uneven light, so it wasn't very good, yes. And this method with the removal of very interesting!

 

PS.

Now I tried with one Convoy. that's great! :smile:

but I noticed something strange: with reflector and without reflector the colour of non-bright fluoresce subjects change . for example, a white glass plate usually fluoresces blue, but color became brownish without a reflector. It's I saw) i Do not have time to take pictures now, i will come back and take a pictures.

the reason for this is not clear to me

Cadmium, did you notice any change in fluorescence color?

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Col, I started with 3, and added 3 around the sides. That fits together perfectly. I had 6 not 7 to work with, I don't know hot the 7 would fit.

Give it a try and let us know. Or work it out on paper maybe? I don't know, that wasn't my focus here.

 

The whole point here is loose the reflectors. THAT is what this is all about.

Loose the reflectors and you get a very wide and evenly area of illumination.

The reflectors are creating hot spots, and we don't want hot spots, we want even and wide beams.

 

The next step is to multiply an even and wide beam to make it brighter.

It is a very simple thing.

 

The reflector should have nothing to do with color. If you are using the same filtration for the Convoy light, then the reflector should have nothing to do with the UVIVF colors.

Regardless of that, the Nichia LED with no reflector and filtered with U-340 2mm will be true 365nm/sub 400nm light, and same goes with the MTE.

I don't have your plate, but I didn't notice any difference in colors.

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I found another Convoy out in the shop. Here is Col's 7 group design. Col, I would still like a diagram of the 7 group extended to one and two more layers, if you have time.

Also, a spacer for the filter can be made from a CPVC 1/2" cap, cut the end off to make the ring 12mm long.

Or you could get some 20mm x 1mm thick aluminum tube and cut some 12mm lengths.

There may be other ideas for that.

 

post-87-0-33037200-1569115899.jpg

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Wow, you are good at that!

Wow, 19!! Now you're talking! :smile:

 

Now I get wondering about the removal of the reflector, will this remove needed heat-sink protection for the LED?

Does the spacer need to be aluminum or can I use carbon fiber? Will the aluminum tube need to be painted black inside (I think probably)...

so a few other thoughts are starting to accumulate now.

I am currently running one with and one without the reflector to compare heat. So far I don't detect any heat difference, but that doesn't mean there isn't more stress on the LED that is running with no reflector.

 

I am not seeing any UVIVF color difference between the Convoy with the reflector and the one without.

 

The reflector in the Convoy is designed somewhat like a heat-sink, where as the reflector in the MTE is not, the MTE has the outside of the body designed more like a heat-sink instead.

post-87-0-70614200-1569124050.jpg

 

post-87-0-86953700-1569124010.jpg

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Hmm, I just thought of something... I wonder what would happen if I painted the reflector black with some of that Krylon 1602 Ultra Flat Black paint?!

I wonder if that would render the reflector non-reflective and achieve the same non hot spot beam without needing to remove the reflector?

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Cadmium,

I am having a hard time visualizing the effect. Can you show a beam image of just one convoy with and without the reflector?

Then show a 7 convoy unit if you like.

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David, you know what a Convoy beam looks like, the edge beam has about an 8 foot circumference from about 10 feet away. However that edge is a little hard to see, because mostly what you see is the hot spot in the center.

With the reflector removed you see about 10% larger size, but that is not the important part, the main thing is there is no hot spot, the illuminated area is completely even.

 

Good news, amazingly, I just now compared two Convoys, one with the reflector removed, and one with a black painted reflector, and they work the same, no hot spot with either one, same beam.

Perfect! Now all I need to do is paint the reflector and strap a lot of them together and I have a huge wide even beam. I don't need to fuss with a spacer to separate the filter from the LED,

and I don't need to worry about the missing reflector being a missing heat-sink!

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This sounds like an expensive and rather unpractical exercise to get a strong even UV illumination.

A far better way would be to build something with a higher power LED-array like this:

https://www.aliexpre....5b344422e8Mng2

The light is equivalent to ca 20 Convoy S2+

 

The arrangement of the LEDs is close enough that one 52mm filter is enough.

Naturally this unit must have good cooling. A good heat sink, with a fan like a CPU heat sink will work well.

If the unit is to be used indoors there are mains-driven constant current LED-drivers.

Alternatively one can use a constant current DC-DC converter and any DC source including a pile of 18650 LiPo-cells.

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Sure, nice idea, another untested Chinese product. Or maybe you have tested it?

I like Nichia LEDs, because we have tested them, and found them to be the best 365nm LEDs. A Japanese company, by the way.

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another untested Chinese product

The Conroy is a Chinese product, where are the chips made....plenty of Japanese parts are manufactured in China....?

Col

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Ulf

Are three 12volt batteries too much for these LED's that you have linked to ?

They are 50w & need 32-34V at 1400-1700mA.

Col

 

Interesting points.

Sounds like that would require a "a pile of 18650" 3.7V batteries (8 to 10 of them?) just to get that turkey off the ground?

So it has its impractical side, and not exactly cheep ($72 for the LED).

Looks interesting

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The Conroy is a Chinese product, where are the chips made....plenty of Japanese parts are manufactured in China....?

Col

 

Yes the Convoy is Chinese, but I rather doubt that the Nicha LED is made in China, they are a Japanese manufacturing company, look it up.

As far as I know they have no products made in China, but that is not really the point either.

Regardless, the LED is Nichia, and it is why we like the Convoy, it is tested. Just the same reason we liked the MTE, because of the LED, which was tested.

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