Our UV lights generate a lot of visible light in addition to the UV. Even worse, some have photoshopped pics of our rocks with their lights, as if the light was causing the fluorescence.īottom line - if you don't see a filter on the light (a dark glass allowing only a purple/violet light to escape), don't waste your time. That's about the only rock you'll be able to see any fluorescence in, and even those wonderfully bright fluorescent specimens will appear washed out.

They will often be shown with a specimen of willemite/calcite from Franklin NJ and you will see a washed out glow from the rocks.

These lights are UNFILTERED and completely useless for the fluorescent mineral hobby. If you get bitten by the 'glowbug' you will soon be looking for a high-end mineral light.Ĭheap, unfiltered shortwave lamps - Garbage!Įbay is filled with SW lamps for $15 to $25 that offer up the world of fluorescence for pennies on the dollar. These lights are economical but really only 'toys'. Some have ridiculously low-power LW/SW bulbs, and filter windows so small you'll be lucky to light up a stamp. The small 4W/6W/11W shortwave lights are very low power and will only light up a small area, in spite of outlandish claims of UV power. Fluorescent tube blackights are longwave and really replaced by LED flashlights - fewer fluorescent minerals are found using a blacklight. Some low-power shortwave lights might be a way to see if you're really interested in the hobby before dropping several hundred dollars on a real light (but anything over $75 merits serious thought about a real light).īe aware that the really cheap ones are. Prices range from a few $ to a ridiculous price of $150. There are many entry level lights on the market. The ones who I consider really serious about our hobby (as of Dec 2016) are reviewed in the shortwave Mineral Light Review. Below is a list of current manufacturers and a short summary of each. But expect to invest some money in serious lights if you catch the glowbug. There are lower cost entry level lights which will allow you to play around and learn - see if this hobby is for you. You can expect to pay >$240 for a reasonable portable shortwave field mineral light, and powerful home display lights can be a thousand dollars or more. If you are new to the hobby you might want to learn more about UV and the various light sources (shortwave, midwave, longwave, blacklight) before diving into the review. This is a huge development and we'll soon add a blog post about them showing the advantages and disadvantages. For reference, an example of these types of lights is listed at the end of this page.Ī very recent development for our hobby is SW (and MW) flashlights. They are usually the cheap alternative and the buyer will be greatly disappointed. There are many different kinds of lights out there some are simply not suitable for fluorescent mineral collecting. The mineral lights needed to prospect for our magnificent glow rocks are expensive, and serious lights are only available from a few manufacturers. Fluorescent rock collecting is an expensive hobby. UV Mineral Lights Rock collecting is a cheap hobby.

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