Flashlight ultraviolet: how to do it yourself

A simple flashlight today is unlikely to surprise anyone. This is a very ordinary thing. And from a simple one, however, it is not difficult to make an ultraviolet flashlight. How? We will tell and show you based on simple instructions.

Why do I need a UV lamp?

Of course, you can first of all surprise your friends and acquaintances with such a homemade product. Use at a party, in quests and games in the dark outdoors. But the invention also has a number of useful practical applications:

• Easily detects blood, grease stains.
• An ultraviolet flashlight is used to check money - the UV glow illuminates special symbols of authenticity that are not visible to the naked eye.
• Diagnosis of leakage of freon from refrigeration equipment, air conditioners.
• UV light is also applicable in the field of beauty - for quick drying of gel varnishes during manicure procedures.

Flashlight Base

To assemble an ultraviolet flashlight with your own hands, you first need to stock up on the necessary components for crafts. Let's start with the main thing. This is a manual LED flashlight. It can be equipped with one powerful LED or several low-current ones. Such a product consists of the following elements:

• Case (most often aluminum).
• Reflector with protective glass.
• LED module.
• End module with push button switch.
• Compartment for batteries - batteries.

Ultraviolet diodes

The next important component is UV diodes. For an ultraviolet flashlight, Chinese-made samples are suitable, whose cost ranges from 150-300 rubles apiece. Their characteristic: wavelength - 370-395 nm, current - 500-700 mA. If you need a brand name, then it will be several times more expensive. So, for example, LITEON samples cost about 700-800 rubles per piece.

The UV diode is purchased strictly according to the parameters of the LED pre-installed in the flashlight. But dimensions are not the only selection criteria. If it is important for you to get UV radiation, and not violet light, then you need to purchase elements that work in the UV-A range (300-400 nm).

Method 1: UV LED Flashlight

First of all, you need to buy a regular flashlight, for example, with standard 8 LEDs. The same amount must be purchased and ultraviolet diodes. You will find them in the radio store of your city. Before buying UV diodes, be sure to disassemble the purchased flashlight. You need such ultraviolet elements that were similar in size to the pre-installed LEDs.

An important aspect is to purchase a flashlight that can be disassembled and reassembled without any problems. It is especially important that the protective glass is inserted into place.

A flashlight with ultraviolet light is done according to the following instructions:

1. Take out the protective glass.
2. Then you need to carefully remove the usual LEDs from the network. To do this, their interconnected contacts are soldered in a standard sequence.
3. If there is one powerful LED in the lantern, then the operation on evaporation is carried out individually with it.
4. Insert the purchased UV diodes into the circuit in place of the removed one. They, on the contrary, need to be soldered.
5. If you want to go beyond the ultraviolet flashlight, then you can make a dual-mode. To do this, UV elements are inserted between ordinary LEDs. The circuit retunes to two operating modes.
6. Do not forget to insert the protective glass into place, assemble the entire structure. And then test your ultraviolet flashlight in action!
   

Method 2: the similarity of ultraviolet radiation

To make a real flashlight with UV diodes, you need to have a number of relevant skills. For example, be able to handle a soldering iron. But how to make an ultraviolet flashlight in a simpler way? You can create a semblance of UV light.

To do this, you will need the following:

• Normal LED flashlight.
• Violet marker or felt-tip pen.
• Blue marker or felt-tip pen.
• Scissors.
• Transparent wide adhesive tape.

The whole procedure will take no more than a few minutes. Proceed:

1. According to the diameter of the protective glass of the flashlight, you need to cut out a piece of adhesive tape.
2. Gently stick it to the surface of the glass.
3. Carefully paint over that part of the adhesive tape through which light from the flashlight will pass through with a blue marker.
4. Are you done? Now we cut out another piece of adhesive tape along the diameter of the protective glass.
5. We gently stick it on top of the blue area.
6. We paint this layer with purple.
7. Then we need to stick two more layers of duct tape. The first is painted over with a blue marker, and the second is again purple. Do not confuse this alternation of colors.
8. The final layer of tape is transparent. It is needed so that during operation the upper violet is not erased.

By the way, instead of scotch tape, which will then be difficult to peel off from the glass of the flashlight without a trace, you can use cling film. It is also worth it to paint over the layers with blue and purple felt-tip pen. And you can fix the film pieces on the flashlight with the usual narrow elastic band for hair.

Thus, we recreated a light filter that will help to obtain a glow similar to ultraviolet. And even a child can cope with such a procedure! It remains to test the invention in a dark place.

Method 3: flashlight smartphone or tablet

From the LED flashlight that is on your smartphone or tablet, it’s really possible to make ultraviolet! More precisely, its likeness. As in the method above. Moreover, in this case, you can not only shine with a magical purple light. If you install a similar home-made filter on the camera’s lens, it’s really possible to capture truly fantastic shots!

How to make an ultraviolet filter? The above way. Sticking on the lens pieces of scotch tape, which are alternately stained with a blue and purple marker. Only 4 layers. Blue, violet, blue, violet. The final fifth is transparent. It is glued so that the top one drawn with a marker is not erased.

Thus, you can make your own ultraviolet flashlight from the ordinary. The similarity of UV radiation can actually be obtained using a light filter, which is created from ordinary adhesive tape or cling film. You can also experiment with the lens or flash of the gadget. Do not forget about safety, yours and those around you - do not shine a UV flashlight in your eyes!