T&L Publications

Hello my nuts and volts friends! I need some help...I'm willing to pay of course, but really need some help quickly. Here's the deal...I'm launching a new brand of UVC-LED sanitizing products, and I'm discovering that just about everything on the market being sold currently is FAKE! They're just selling DISCO lights and trying to pass them off as UVC-LED. This is awful, because it's playing with people's lives. They buy this product to think they are eliminating a virus and then think the surface is clean, but it's not. This may sound minor at first glance, but it's actually playing with people's lives and I don't like that one bit.

So I'm on a mission to become the leader in UVC-LED sanitizing products (The 'APPLE' if you will of the UVC industry) and I need the help of a scientist microbiologist or engineer, or ANYBODY who knows what they're doing when it comes to testing nanometers and UVC wavelength etc...to make sure our products meet the standards we believe they are before offering them to the public.

I have 3 sample products in my hands right now that need to be tested. The only ways I know of to test are by using a UVC light meter, but those are sold out and on back order EVERYWHERE for weeks/months. The other way is to collect a sample/control and test the actual bacteria on the surface that was cleaned.

If you are able to help me conduct these tests, please reach out. I'm in the San Francisco bay area, so somebody within a couple hours drive would be ideal. Thanks!

Had to go looking for what the "C" in "UVC" was for. It is shorter wavelength band than UVA and UVB.

I agree that anyone selling UVA or UVB for sanitizing is cheating people and giving a false sense of safety.

You, and anyone helping, be careful during your experiments. Living people should not in same room with UVC.

Good Luck,

I would use a CaF2 ? prism, make the UV beam pass trough it and see where is the refraction angle on a fluorescent painted target. It may show more than one A,B,C emissions at different levels.

I work every day with security screening X-Ray equipment. I would not touch this with a ten foot pole without a very thorough understanding of the effects on people of even a small leak. Be cautious, my friend.
www.microrem.net

What do you mean by a small leak? Mercury? If so, that’s a non-issue because we’re using LED’s. Please let me know if you’re speaking of something else. Thanks!

How about getting one of these "UVI" detectors-

https://www.ebay.com/i/224004559118?rt= ... %3DDefault

And add an appropriate UVC filter so it only read the "C" band of the UV spectrum? (100-280 nm)

LEDs? Please take a few minutes and watch some of Big Clive's videos on the subject.

https://www.youtube.com/user/bigclivedotcom

Search for UVC or just scroll down his videos. He's done a number of them showing how just about every LED light touted as germicidal is about as effective as wishing it away.

I don't want to discourage you from your quest, but I want you to understand that there are many unscrupulous vendors out there that will prey on people's fears and hopes. And I do commend you on wanting to test the products you are considering.

Yes, I’m familiar with Big Clive and have watched all his stuff. That’s one of the big reasons I’m needing to test because I know they DO exist, and I have plenty of experience with vendors/manufacturing products so I’m confident I can make a quality product but just need the proper testing equipment. And the LED’s I have are definitely not the disco style lights like Big Clive demos. These are definitely emitting UV but I’m just not sure what wavelength. Thanks for the advice though!

Optical bandpass filters are available which only allow the UVC to pass through- similar to what Big Clive uses as a piece of glass, but bandwidth-accurate. Only guessing what wavelengths are getting through his glass plate.

Are you attempting to test a finished product, or just UVC LED's? You need a lab with a spectrometer. We used them to plot wavelength vs. output from solar cells.

Not sure I fully embrace your ambition, nor know about your electronic background, but here's a deal.

My wife was a dermatology RN for years and she was involved in UV light treatments for skin disorders. When there was a problem with a light box, I repaired them. Usually it was a proprietary electronic ballast problem and I shop serviced them

More to the point...
The hospital junked one unit during an upgrade and I salvaged the electronic parts, including the control computer and UV sensors. I have no use for them now and if you pay the shipping cost, they're yours.
Post or PM me if you are interested and I' ll get the shipping cost for you.

And by the way. what's the FDA doing about all this 'medical' junk on the market.
It looks like they only know about hand warmers!

Just saw this:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4702654/

Might want to contact local colleges/universities for collaboration in developing your devices. Grad students are always on the lookout for projects, and these days, what you're doing is a hot topic. Good luck!

This reminds me of the "Foot X-Ray" Machines that shoe stores had back in the 1950's to the early 1960's.
These "Floroscopes" put out high doses of radiation, and caused all kinds of cancers to the people who used them.

These UVC sanitizers are dangerous.
Long term exposure will cause certain skin cancers.

Think of how we have been warned about going out on sunning days without "Sun Screen" protection.
Since the ozone layer has been diminished by CFC's, exposing the world to higher levels of Ultraviolet rays.

This viral pandemic is going to be with us for quite a while, even if we come up with a vaccine.
There will be mutations of it, that will have to have another variation of the vaccine needed to be made.
Much like the Flu vaccines that we have now.


Signed: Janitor Tzap

These folks know of what they speak:
https://ldpllc.fr.mp-link.ch/view/?s=DF ... LnUNyZI%3d

Speaking of Ozone, it is just as effective if not more than UVC in killing bacteria but unfortunately it is banned in CA and other states as a source of air pollution. And rightfully so, it can cause the same symptoms as covid by damaging the lungs if used in an occupied room.

Out of stock everywhere? I see ads for UV meters that appear to be in stock, you need to cast your net wider, even Amazon has multiple choices.

I looked online for "DIY UV Spectrometer" and found this very cleaver solution
https://publiclab.org/system/images/pho ... ometer.pdf

Hypothetically you can make a spectrometer with a prism and some UV phosphor coated paper for a home made scintillator, maybe the powder from inside a fluorescent lamp or a specialty product. In any case, if you want precision measurement of the spectrum then this is the proper tool

Here is a card type detector, I had one for IR I used to use to test remote controls. Now there are more phosphor choices.
https://www.newport.com/p/F-UVC1-S?xcid ... gKZ4PD_BwE
They tend to be wide band and I sense this is your frustration in measuring actual output. the card in conjunction with a prism might work for a crude solution without data capture.

As to the effectiveness of UVC vs other wavelengths on a virus vs bacteria or fungus, I leave that research up to you.

Interesting TED talk on using UVC for sterilization:
https://www.ted.com/talks/david_brenner ... st-talks-6