uvBeast V1 Black Light UV Flashlight Flood Effect - 385-395nm

Some of our models emit at 385-395nm UV wavelength range, and others emit at 365nm. "nm" stands or nanometer as a measure of wavelength on the electromagnetic spectrum. 395nm+ (greater than 395nm is the visible light region, then moving into infrared).

It's not necessarily the case of which is better, but more about which one suits your needs and requirements the best. If you're new to UV a 365nm model will have you surprised as the emitted light will appear DIM to the eyes, but excitation of objects is high and so fluorescence is correspondingly high.  The 385-395nm models will emit more visible light relative to the 365nm model which can sometimes be useful for navigational purposes.

Different items will show up under the different wavelengths. As a rough guide, the 385-395nm devices are more than adequate for scorpions, finding fluid leaks, fossil hunting (including bones), urine identification, various minerals, charging of photo phosphorescent substances (i.e. glow-in-the-dark items), vaseline glass, flora and fauna, and similar.  Under 365nm UV you get to see all of the above (with much better contrast as there's minimal visible light interference), plus more items will show up. 365nm will fluoresce a wider variety of minerals and also in different visible colors, stains will pop out, UV security features will stand out (as they're designed for 365nm UV), curing will be better, and for those who prefer uncontaminated UV at a wavelength where the widest variety of objects will fluoresce, then 365nm is the best choice. But again, pay attention to your requirements as in many cases 385-395nm from our V1 device is perfectly adequate for many applications.

In a nutshell. The 385-395nm have relatively more visible light and are suitable for many applications including the common ones, plus more. The 365nm devices are a great at all tasks requiring UV and will go beyond into giving you more precise and great contrasting results. Many folks often prefer to have both types to hand as we've found from purchasing habits on our store.

(1) Possibly unlike other vendors, we are continuously upgrading all of our models as and when we identify opportunities to do so. So with the V1, we have upgraded the UV LEDs with 2021 better output through-hole LEDs. These LEDs have a revised and upgraded post, anvil, and semi-conductor chip - which are the tiny components in the LED capsule. These revisions ensure that we're giving you the maximum flux density of ultra violet for your buck. In plain English, that's more useable UV at the right wavelength, straight out of the business end. We don't want you using older year 2014 LEDs when newer updated LED chips are available. 

(2) You're getting broader band UV. Typically the bands commonly seen are the less expensive 390-395nm or 395-400nm UV wavelength band - 5nm band. The problem with a narrow band is that not everything you might want to see shows up under the UV. This explains why some UV flashlights are great for easy-to-spot things like scorpions, but when it comes to the more elusive things like stains, urine, or imperfections you want to see, they don't show up. You have to switch to a different UV flashlight for those tasks. But with a broad band of 385-395nm - 10nm band - a whole lot more shows up because some items will only fluoresce with UV under 390nm. You have likely heard of people excited with their new UV flashlight they just got from the store, which works great for their glow paints and sneakers, but doesn't show up the finer things like stains.

(3) We think you'll be hard pushed to find a more intense UV flashlight at these prices. Along with the necessary top-notch quality of the UV beam, both of which need to be present to result in a great performing UV flashlight. Producing a high intensity UV beam isn't trivial. Yes, you'll come across many examples. But trust us, there is more to it than meets the eye. You'll not only need to confident with the intensity of the UV beam, but also the quality of the UV emitted by the LEDs.

The purpose of the UV glasses provided with some models is primarily for enhanced and amplified viewing of fluorescence (i.e. the items of interest that you want to see). This is particularly effective when (1) traces of fluorescence and/or excitation effects are weak and hard to otherwise spot, and (2) when conditions in the environment present high color “noise”. In addition, our glasses will sharpen and clarify the viewed surroundings and will show any reaction to the UV light i.e. fluorescence, with sharper contrast.

The secondary purpose is to reduce glare and discomfort (by the 385-395nm wavelength range) the user may experience when using the uvBeast especially during prolonged periods. The purple visible wavelength from the uvBeast 385-395nm models can sometimes be slightly overwhelming when against certain backgrounds and substrates.

These glasses were primarily designed to filter out interfering visible wavelengths from the beam of some models of the uvBeast which are in the longer wavelengths (above 365nm). This spectral distribution is a normal characteristic of LED technology as opposed to laser diode technology, and visible light from the uvBeast only comprises a small amount of flux relative to the entire spectral output.

The color tint of the glasses are of a special formula adjusted to the uvBeast’s spectral emission and distribution flux, where transmission of the appropriate and wanted wavelengths are either granted or denied transmission.

(For further information please “Is UV harmful to my eyes” in this FAQ section).

UV from the uvBeast is not dangerous to the eye. Please refer to the FDA's 21 CFR 1040 - PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR LIGHT-EMITTING PRODUCTS paper.

The FDA classifies "harmful" light emitters being laser emitters, sunlamps (for tanning), UV mercury vapor lamps, and medical UV devices.

And this is scientifically correct since the dangerous types of UV are:

1. UV-B and UV-C which are below 315nm which is also known as shortwave UV in the actinic region. Sunlight does contain UV-B which is why you'll see "dangers of sun exposure articles", whilst the Earth's atmosphere filters out UV-C from the Sun - good thing as it has DNA altering characteristics which is why it is used as a germicide

2. Sunlamps that are VERY high intensity which are designed for darkening the skin via exposure for several hours.

All current uvBeast models emit UV-A (above 315nm wavelength) which is not harmful to the eyes nor skin, and moreover the intensity is not that of sunlamps. Moreover the UV emission is at a wavelength of 365nm, or 385-395nm which is well above the dangerous "315nm and below" UVC region.

However, it is not advisable to look directly at the uvBeast since it will cause discomfort similar to looking at any intense light. The UV glasses which are provided with some of our models will assist in reducing the glare effects and any discomfort that some users may experience.

This is a good question because it's often asked. But there are differences which apply to LEDs and UV lights in particular. And this is important to note for UV users.

In summary, watts is not a meaningful measure for the intensity of LEDs (you can read below as to why). Lumens and LUX are not measures we use in the UV LED industry because these only apply to visible light LEDs. Instead in the UV industry we use radiant intensity and irradiance to measure how intense and how powerful a UV light source is. The below is a more detailed explanation for those interested. Otherwise jump to the end of this FAQ to read off the specifications.

"Watts" as a measure of brightness for LEDs is not a meaningful measure of brightness in the LED industry because wattage is talking about the energy it takes to produce a certain amount of light. This worked well with filament and incandescent lamps where the higher the wattage the brighter the light. The trouble is that the lighting industry has advanced such that wattage values are not directly translated into brightness - it's possible to have a lower wattage LED and yet it is a brighter light relative to another light source or LED with a higher wattage. Moreover, depending on the electronics and the efficiency of the LEDs, the energy (watts) supplied is NOT directly translated into light at 100% efficiency. Much if not most of that energy (wattage) is lost through heat whereby very little is actually translated into light. You could have a very high wattage LED, but most of that energy will not be directly translated into the useable light that you're after. So the LED industry has moved away from using wattage as a standard for brightness. So wattage doesn't really speak to how bright an LED light is.

So the LED industry mainly use terms such as Lumens, LUX, and Candela. Lumens is the measure of how intense the resultant or actual emitted light is and is measured in lumens. The higher the lumens the more intense the light emitted. LUX or luminous flux is the measure of light falling within a given unit of area. This is a measure of the density of the light emitted and how it's dispersed or spread. For instance you can have a very high Lumens rating  but a low LUX rating depending on how the beam is emitted. It's the difference between a 500 watt light bulb and a small 50 lumen flashlight. Which one is brighter? The 500w light bulb because it can light an entire room. Which one is more powerful over a given area? The 50lm flashlight because it channels it's light into a particular viewing area. See the relevance of terminology here to give a more meaningful understanding? (We won't go into candela, steradians, and the solid angle measure, nor the inverse square law of light, as it's a bit of an overkill for this).

Now here comes the twist with ultraviolet light (or radiation to be more exact). Note: Don't freak out with that word radiation, because it is just describing the energy along the electromagnetic spectrum where visible light is also a type of radiation along with radio waves.  

Lumens and LUX measurements only pertain to visible light. So this suits the regular flashlight industry and their users can happily converse with one another all day long. But UV is light which does not fall into the visible spectrum. So the UV industry to describe the attributes of their light sources cannot use terms such as lumens or LUX. This is only used as a measure of the light observed.

In the UV industry we use radiant intensity and irradiance to measure the same thing (Lumens and LUX respectively).

Radiant intensity is the measure of ultraviolet radiation actually emitted or output. Which is what you want or should know. It's the useable UV light you're going to use - remember wattage in a UV light is NOT meaningful as it attempts to describe the watts going in to power an LED semi-conductor. But that energy is mostly lost to heat, internal resistance, etc. And this can vary widely with systems being 80% efficient to 20% efficient. The input watts will mask this rather badly.

What's important to look out for is the energy that comes out of the business end - the actual radiation emitted. That's what actually and really counts. So radiant intensity of a UV flashlight is the actual UV energy emitted and is measured in watts or more typically milli and micro watts. This tells you the true intensity of UV being emitted.

Irradiance is like LUX but for ultraviolet light. Irradiance is the amount of ultraviolet falling on a given unit area and is measured in watts per square meter, or more typically milli or micro watts per square centimeter.

So, in a nutshell lumens and watts are not used by the UV industry to measure performance of UV LEDs. Instead radiant intensity and irradiance are.

Technical information we know, but we thought it deserves an explanation. 

Now you can make sense of the following.

Here are the specs for the V1:

UV wavelength: 385-395nm

UV Radiant Intensity: 1000mw

UV Irradiance: 4000uW/cm² from approx. 24 inch distance

Yes. For any type of assistance this is what we have put in place to ensure you get yourself up and running, as well as for any troubleshooting during or after:

1. On the back of the product packaging for critical operating instructions

2. Instructional labels on the device itself

3. Emailed instructions - if you gave permission upon purchase

4. Complete User Manual - downloadable from our website. This covers most if not all issues and procedures, including any further questions you may have

5. A Help Center on our website with questions and answers of the most common issues or queries

The most common "false alarms" are: incorrect battery orientation; bad battery in the batch (even new sets can contain duds), fitting the modules incorrectly, and so on. Easy fixes. We won't mention the oft-used phrase RTFM, but unfortunately sometimes it can be true.

Consulting the above will resolve the vast majority of queries and will be the easiest. quickest, and most simplest way to address and fix any issues. Not to mention the best use of your time!

We also have support contact if all else fails at support@uvbeast.com