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Collecting fluorescent minerals requires a little more expenditure than normal rock collecting. In addition to the customary hammer, chisel, carrying bucket, (and - if you’re really serious - loupe, hardness test kit, XRD system, electron microscope, etc) you’ll need some UV equipment.
Battery Powered Field Light
The very basic item is a field lamp. To find our glow rocks, you need a light to venture out into the field at night. Careful selection will result in a light that lasts a long time, and is easy to use. Pay particular attention to the battery; weight is important and some manufacturers don’t offer a lot of choices. Included is a review of two of the most popular field lamps.
Battery Packs
Lead-acid batteries are the common method used for portable lights. But there are newer, more efficient, dramatically lighter batteries which make collecting a lot easier and more fun. NiMH is half the weight of SLA (sealed lead-acid), and LiFE is even lighter and more powerful. Adapt your Superbright to an NiMH battery pack using these instructions.
Battery Monitor - Have you ever been out in the field and noticed that you are finding fewer rocks as the night wears on? Then your lamp finally dies and you realize that you’ve been hunting for the last hour with a dead battery! Try this and always know the current state of your battery pack.
Display Lighting
If you’re on a tight budget, the field lamp can double as a display lamp at home. But eventually your collection will outgrow the range of a small field lamp (it just won’t light up a large cabinet) so you’ll probably be looking for an AC powered light to install in your cabinet. There are several paths you can take. Four or five different manufacturers supply excellent display lamps ready to be plugged in. Another great option is used transilluminators.
Transilluminator
A transilluminator is a device used by medical labs for viewing DNA stained with some fluorescent dyes. Manufacturers such as Fotodyne, Spectroline, and others sell them for $4k to $5k a pop. Labs use them and when it’s time to move on to a new piece of gear (LEDs?) they sell them as surplus. These can then often be found on Ebay for $100 to $300.
Geeky Stuff
I am an engineer by trade - so I’m always playing around with stuff. For the lack of a better place I’ll stick some of my experiments here just for fun - this is not saying that you need this stuff, but it’s fun for me to use my geek-abilities in my hobby.
UV Laser - I built a LW Laser Diode (acutally 405nm) with surprising results
UV Flashlights - Ive tested a bunch of longwave LED flashlights and LEDs, and built several of my own.
Other items which you may find useful include:
- Tarp for daytime collecting. I prefer a large BBQ grill cover to hide under in the midday sun - standard equipment in Greenland.
- Longwave LED flashlight
The following pages include some hints on buying a field light, building your own display lamp and probably a few more as time allows.
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