Idea- Uv Leds And Florescent Paint

Discussion in 'Night Flying Setup's / Info' started by Beaver, Jan 28, 2016.

By Beaver on Jan 28, 2016 at 11:17 AM
  1. Beaver

    Beaver Well-Known Member

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    Idea....An interesting alternative to expensive night-blades.
    Florescent paint, either stripes or the entire blade, and a few strategically placed UV-LEDs..... in other words- Blacklight Blades.
    There are a few variables involved of course:
    1. Specific wavelength of UV LED has to be in the proper frequency range to react with the florescent paint.
    2. The florescent paint has to have an optimal chemical composition to react to the UV (color, phosphorus content, etc)
    3. The Safety factor- most UV LEDs operate in the UV-A range. Caution has to be used to avoid too much UV exposure to the eyes, particularly since most of the UV is "unseen". From what I understand, reflected UV isn't so much of a problem since it is usually widely dispersed or diffused, and the main hazard lies in direct exposure to the output of the LED. Obviously, one wouldn't want to look directly into an active UV LED. :rolleyes:
    I haven't made up my mind whether or not I want to actively pursue this idea, but it might be worth a bit more investigation.

    So do any of you night-flyers have any thoughts on this concept?
     
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2016
    Beaver, Jan 28, 2016
    #1

Comments

Discussion in 'Night Flying Setup's / Info' started by Beaver, Jan 28, 2016.

    1. simon

      simon Well-Known Member

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      How do you light the top of the blades?
      Simon
       
      simon, Jan 28, 2016
      #2
    2. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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      That being an unfortunate drawback to the concept...
      You don't.
       
      Beaver, Jan 29, 2016
      #3
    3. HungryHungryHippos

      HungryHungryHippos Well-Known Member

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      For doing upright circuits it would be a not bad idea.

      I used to do night flying with a hirobo lepton. It had no night blades of any sort. It just had strips of super bright white LED's that where so bright, a good area of the ground below the helicopter was lit up.

      And yes UV LED's require safety, however, I think you can get ones with a wave length right on the lower edge of the UV spectrum.

      Whats funny / face palm material, I once bought some LED's from an electrical shop, and before I realised what the shop keeper was doing and had to stop him, the shop keeper pulled out an LED tester, connected it to the UV LED and tried to see if it was lit up.
       
      HungryHungryHippos, Jan 29, 2016
      #4
    4. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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      The general idea was to get a minimal amount of a few LEDs in place to keep orientation , and the UV LEDs to light the disk..... not to replace real night blades entirely, but to be a cheap substitute for the time being until I get to where I don't have to worry about destroying a $100 set of night blades while I'm still low on the learning-curve. Around here, the wind generally lets up in the evening at dusk or later, which is usually when most of my free time is available. That's the underlying reason for considering g this project.
       
      Beaver, Jan 29, 2016
      #5

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