Ultraviolet Night Diving

[LarsB]

Even more great info about underwater fluorescence and fluorescence diving can be found here:

http://www.fluomedia.org/science/
http://www.fluopedia.org/publications/

[DFessler]

I have used them here with not much to see due to our specific life but I had employee who did a study abroad in Bonaire who found this to be her favorite dives up there. They did them regularly at night so I would try it if I was you.

[LarsB]

BTW, everything you ever wanted to know about underwater fluorescence explained:

On The Rise: Fluorescence Night Dives - Background, Basics and Techniques

[jerryehrlich]

Thinking of doing this in Bonaire.

Anyone have a chance to try this? Could you share your experience? Sounds amazing with the flourescence being quite different from bioluminescence.

Yes, we have one at Hoodsport n Dive, with the mask filter. It did not light things up in cold water like we thought it would, and the mask filter is a hassle.
Maybe there is something, somewhere in our waters where it is impressive, we have yet to find it.

Good Diving,
Jerry

[Jeff Kruse]

Since many of us still use supper bright 21W HID’s can we just put a filter on the HID? Would we then still need filter on our masks? Or is the output of the 21W HID and filter not going to be very good? Do you have filters for the Halcyon style HID lights?

[CaptnJack]

Richard there are 1-2W 445nm diodes now available -- check this forum for more details:

http://laserpointerforums.com/f64/

This isn't quite 450-500nm, but there *should* be enough spectral overlap for most things you'd be considering (like visualizing fluorescein perhaps? )

Alas they are rediculously expensive. The 473nm laser is $330 for instance.

[sitkadiver]

I have never built a black light myself, but a buddy of mine built himself a black light in the early 90's to shoot macro with. They don't put out a ton of visible light and I think the shorter wavelengths get absorbed in the water column fairly quickly.

Not sure if this helps, but I am guessing macro is what you'll want to start with. Also, I don't recall his camera settings at the time, but he was shooting 1600 ektachrome and close range. Obviously the low light level required the faster film. Not sure how a digital camera will respond, but I'm looking forward to hearing your results.

Good Luck.

[lundysd]

Richard there are 1-2W 445nm diodes now available -- check this forum for more details:

http://laserpointerforums.com/f64/

This isn't quite 450-500nm, but there *should* be enough spectral overlap for most things you'd be considering (like visualizing fluorescein perhaps? )

[BASSMAN]

Very Cool!!! This begs the question though... Where does one come up with a waterproof blacklight???? and How much to aquire one???

Most LED Dive lights could be moded easily. Especially something like an SL4 or 6. UV drop ins can be had from DealExtreme or ebay for a couple of $.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/CREE-Purple-Lig ... 25682c28de

H20doc,
Have you played with this yet?
I'm thinking about modifying my SL3 with this

[CaptnJack]

Does anyone know where I can get a module or adapt a module so I can get 450-500 nm light? (obviously underwater) Slightly longer wavelength than mentioned here.

[Fordman]

We did this in Wakatobi Indonesia earlier this year. Yellow lense over your mask, 4000 lumen light with lense cover...crap I can't remember if it was black or blue. Incredible scenery and the best part was that the sea life wasn't scared and swam away. I was petting a porcupine fish. You can get right up on anything.

[LarsB]

I would love to have some of our DIY nerds figure out the best way to do it on our own, make a cover for the Dusty light and our masks, and spend the 80 on two dinners at the Rib factory!!

See e.g. here: http://www.firedivegear.com/science/spectrographs/ :

"As mentioned earlier, the best combination is a torch with high performance blue LEDs and a dichroic filter. However, some have found the results of just using a dichroic filter over a white light source "gets the job done" to their satisfaction. This is why we offer custom filters and mounts for many white light torches."

[Tom Nic]

IIRC most outfits in Bonaire use a light cannon with some sort of lens that you bungie over the end, combined with lenses that you kit over your mask - both are necessary to get the effect.

We checked into it while in Bonaire (last June) $80.00 and a local dives op will provide the gear light and mask options. When I asked if it was worth the $80.00, We were told, "everyone should try it, at let once."
I might add it to the Bonaire budget, for the next trip, but $80.00 is a couple of Rib Factory dinners and a few Gillatto's sp?) So I'm still undecided.

I would love to have some of our DIY nerds figure out the best way to do it on our own, make a cover for the Dusty light and our masks, and spend the 80 on two dinners at the Rib factory!!

[BASSMAN]

IIRC most outfits in Bonaire use a light cannon with some sort of lens that you bungie over the end, combined with lenses that you kit over your mask - both are necessary to get the effect.

We checked into it while in Bonaire (last June) $80.00 and a local dives op will provide the gear light and mask options. When I asked if it was worth the $80.00, We were told, "everyone should try it, at let once."
I might add it to the Bonaire budget, for the next trip, but $80.00 is a couple of Rib Factory dinners and a few Gillatto's sp?) So I'm still undecided.

[LarsB]

P.S.: If you are interested in bio-luminescence, then have a look at this video: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/q6nhp5girta4vnq/tdHZj99n6I

They used starlight cameras (normally used by astronomers for their observations) which are extremely sensitive to light, in order to discover the giant squid in the deep sea. They did not quite succeed, even though there is a faint something which very likely was a giant squid, but the footage is amazingly beautiful, and the whole endeavour is fascinating!

Have fun!

[LarsB]

Scuba board has this incredible guy named Lars B (or just plain ole Lars?) who can go all technical and awesome at teh drop of a penny. So if you ask HIM questions...be prepared for an answer.

Dear oregondiver,

thanks a lot for the high esteem and compliments! :-)

Actually UV light (< 400 nm) has a slight advantage but also quite a disadvantage:
The advantage is that you don't need any filters, neither for your mask nor for your camera.
The big disadvantage is that UV light does not stimulate fluorescence as much as does blue light.
There are even corals that do not fluoresce in UV light at all, but they do with blue light.
On top of that, high-power UV LEDs are much more expensive and less powerful than comparable blue LEDs.
(And I am not talking about 5 mm LEDs here, obviously!)

Results with UV light around 400 nm aren't much better. See here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jop8jQYRBQ8 for a comparison with a small torch with blue light (the brighter one) and a torch with a UV LED (the much darker one).

So unless you want to experiment or take fluorescence photos or videos different from most other people, blue light is much better! Probably because marine life has adapted to water, which is more transparent to blue light than it is to UV. The downside is however that you will also need the right filters.

This is all described in detail here http://www.firedivegear.com/products/#technology and here: http://www.firedivegear.com/science/barrierfilters/

You might also want to read http://www.firedivegear.com/science/excitationfilters/ in order to find out why blue excitation filters are necessary in addition to the blue light source (LEDs).

Hope this helps not to waste your money.

In order to see fluorescence with UV, you need a really powerful torch, which will cost about 400 Euros for the LEDs (4x Nichia NC4U133A) alone.

See here http://picasaweb.google.com/ostbey/HowT ... ivingLamp3 for such a torch and here for a video made with that torch: https://picasaweb.google.com/1108157129 ... 8634462546

And see here for a smaller UV torch http://picasaweb.google.com/ostbey/HowT ... ivingLamp2 (2x Nichia NCSU033B) and here for the pitiful results obtained with it: https://picasaweb.google.com/1108157129 ... 8695653586

Now compare that to a video taken with blue light: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V9TCdCbX6U

Good luck!

[dwashbur]

And I cant ? I've been building Dive lights since 1990.. I don't doubt dusty can.. it's a matter of does he want to?.. not every diver wants a UV set up.. and it's a matter of just throwing the module into SLK.. anyone here on the board can do that

I don't know if you can or not, I don't know you. I do know Dusty and have one of his lights and love it. Take a chill pill, bro.

[H20doctor]

And I cant ? I've been building Dive lights since 1990.. I don't doubt dusty can.. it's a matter of does he want to?.. not every diver wants a UV set up.. and it's a matter of just throwing the module into SLK.. anyone here on the board can do that

[dwashbur]

Hey, Dusty! Interchangeable heads for your Dusty's Lights?????

um did you read? wrong voltage..3.7 volts.. the Chip is 3 watts max voltage

If anybody can figure it out, he can.

[H20doctor]

Hey, Dusty! Interchangeable heads for your Dusty's Lights?????

um did you read? wrong voltage..3.7 volts.. the Chip is 3 watts max voltage

[dwashbur]

Hey, Dusty! Interchangeable heads for your Dusty's Lights?????

[KneeDeep]

Wow.. I missed this post. I have a topical tank at home with lots of hard corals, and when I only turn on my Actinic lights (12,000 Kelvin range) I get this. It's amazing... almost looks like a 70's black velvet poster

[oregondiver]

I have a UV dive light on my xmas list. Scuba board has this incredible guy named Lars B (or just plain ole Lars?) who can go all technical and awesome at teh drop of a penny. So if you ask HIM questions...be prepared for an answer.

Anyway, there are serveral options (sounds like H20Doc is the man to make one!). NightSea offers them

http://guest.engelschall.com/~sb/fluo-diving/
Excellent discourse/links/information

http://www.firedivegear.com/products/torches/
As of today, 1/2 the owners of this company are diving in asia but they said they can get me one for under $200 for what i want it to do.

http://www.tek-tite.com/src/products.php?c=3025
This company (again today...) sent me this link for their Flouro diving lights

And last of all...You can order woods glass to go OVER your HID light (look on scuba board and a guy I have been talking to did this, along with pictures) http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Nt ... yes&sts=ma

[Jeremy]

the drop in would be the easy way .... as it has the driver all ready in it and i can Frankenstein the bad boy ..

How many do you want to make?

[Jeremy]