Sheridan, MI
Have you considered using a few?
Do they give you a headache?
Are they terribly distracting?
(Topic ID: 85537)
They're dim and suck is the answer for the most part. They're not going to give you much of a glow effect, more like just using dim purple bulbs.
Depends. A buddy of mine uses them on his TRON, and they look amazing. He has one of the neon plastics kits though and I believe they are meant to be used with UV lighting. It allows the colors in this specific instance to really pop out.
put sunscreen on make sure it has both UVA and B blocker and to limit exposer take a 15 minute break after 15 minutes of play 
i like them in certain situations. they are not as bright as normal LEDs but they are a deeper purple than any other. i used them under these purple plastic rollover lane guides:
(in real life they look less blue and more deep purple)
i also used them in a few places mixed with regular purple LEDs in the GI. But it's true they're not super bright.
Quoted from Rock914:They work extremely well in certain situations.
I'd like to see how and in what situation. Everywhere I've tried them sucked....
The look great with the plastics that are designed for them. The pop bumper dress up kit for Tron uses them, much better than a stock bulb. I even ordered a double stacked one for the larger pop bumper to give it more glow. Under a normal insert they won't do the job. Check out the information on them here. http://www.cometpinball.com/category-s/1845.htm
On my STTNG, I have my Borg ship painted (by Matt at Back Alley) and I added neon green marker lines to emulate the look of a borg cube. I added in a spot with an ultraviolet-- and it gives it a really beautiful glow!
I put them under the lane guides, slings, and pop bumper caps in my Tron and the effect is sweet. I'm using them in combination with the Pinbits plastic protectors (aka playfield dress up kit), and non-stock pop bumper caps. The aforementioned plastics really glow in a cool UV way. Probably not worth doing just the bulbs by themselves. They are not as bright. It's their ability to make other things glow that I like.
I was wondering if the gray Nuclear Towers in TSPP might benefit from a few...?
I'm at the start of converting my basement into a full fledged arcade complete with UV reactive carpet and 6 3-tube blacklight fixtures from Wildfire. One thing that Wildfire offers is UV reactive paint that is clear under white light, but highly UV reactive.
You can find the paints here: http://www.wildfirefx.com/wildfire_net/ProductDesc.aspx?code=163&type=1&eq=&key=it
I think this can open up plenty of opportunities for those with a bit of imagination and some artistic skills.
Quoted from cheesewhisperer:I was wondering if the gray Nuclear Towers in TSPP might benefit from a few...?
My guess is you'll find them too dim to really pop like you're hoping. But bulbs are cheap, why not buy a couple and find out? 
I'll throw this idea out there...
Hook up some UV LED strips to the PIG thingy so they only turn on when a controlled lamp is lit. The UV light reveals an alternate image on the side panels of the game. I pick the side panels because the GI lights would wash out the UV effect on the plastics and you would have to clearcoat over anything painted on the playfield.
Check out the dual images that can be achieved with this method.
Quoted from cheesewhisperer:I was wondering if the gray Nuclear Towers in TSPP might benefit from a few...?
Try painting the inside of the towers with the Wildfire clear UV paint and add the UV LEDs. I'm thinking it might give you a nuclear green glow from the inside. It could be the effect you're looking for.
Quoted from cheesewhisperer:I was wondering if the gray Nuclear Towers in TSPP might benefit from a few...?
Those nuclear towers look killer with color changing LEDs.
Put them under Drac's coffin in BSD. Very cool effect.
Quoted from Nemesis:I'd like to see how and in what situation. Everywhere I've tried them sucked....
I put them in the slings of CV. the slings are clear for the most part, and everything else I put in there was just too bright. hard to capture the effect with a picture, but they look awesome in person...
In most all cases, the Purple you see, based on wavelength, doesnt light much. People wrongly expect a huge UV Glow from one bulb. When it is placed with UV reacting plastic, and to a degree, regular plastics in most games, it will make them "Glow".
An exception to this is when the UV has a Blue Cast in a Super-Flux. Then the Bulb glows Blue. About the brightness of a singled LED, or some what less then a frosted SMD...between the too.
I very good UV affect is produced with this Superflux, and the light is more visible.....
Plenty of Great uses, when using UV invisible Paint, and UV Dye....any toy on a playfield....Green UV on Path of the Dead,mixed with red and purple, The same on Dracs Graveyard, or UV sensitive plastic slings or protectors.
Also the paints can be UV and photo-luminescent, So after the Bulb is off, the paint will glow in the dark..
Its not hard to get very dramatic affects, but it does take patience, and the knowledge that bulbs of single SMD
that are most common, need to be close to the object.
Quoted from MadPole:I'm at the start of converting my basement into a full fledged arcade complete with UV reactive carpet and 6 3-tube blacklight fixtures from Wildfire. One thing that Wildfire offers is UV reactive paint that is clear under white light, but highly UV reactive.
You can find the paints here: http://www.wildfirefx.com/wildfire_net/ProductDesc.aspx?code=163&type=1&eq=&key=it
I think this can open up plenty of opportunities for those with a bit of imagination and some artistic skills.
Watch this reactive carpet.
Quoted from MadPole:I'm at the start of converting my basement into a full fledged arcade complete with UV reactive carpet and 6 3-tube blacklight fixtures from Wildfire. One thing that Wildfire offers is UV reactive paint that is clear under white light, but highly UV reactive.
You can find the paints here: http://www.wildfirefx.com/wildfire_net/ProductDesc.aspx?code=163&type=1&eq=&key=it
I think this can open up plenty of opportunities for those with a bit of imagination and some artistic skills.
If your still looking for bl carpet go to www.capridiscountflooring.com I bought my "Under the Sea" bl carpet from them, $19.99 per sq yard. Ask for Jessica Temple, she's a doll and will set you up. If it ships to a terminal near you you can pick it up yourself and save $100. That's what I did.
For all those that say the UV LEDs are dim. It's by design. It's ultra violet light. That's a wavelength that falls outside of the visible light spectrum. The only time you see UV light is when it hits a UV reactive substance.
Saying UV LEDs are dim is the same thing as saying ultra sonic speakers aren't very loud because you can't hear them.
Quoted from Cheddar:They may be delivering Uv light but what we were expecting was like the old blacklights we used to get at Spencers.
Right, when I say they're dim, I mean they're dim. They don't output much, so even with UV reactive materials you don't get the same pop you might be expecting from a blacklight poster at a headshop.
I have a few in VND since it was made for that sort of thing, but the best spot that I found for them is easily in the coin slots.
If you use either white or red LEDs, the coin door is like a spotlight. If you use UV lights, they still glow normally, but they don't shine out of the coin door some crazy amount.
Quoted from MadPole:This is the carpet I'm planning on using.
I like your set up. It's a cross between a fireworks show and the POW and BAM screen flashes on the 1960's Batman tv show.
inferno-fluorescent-room.jpg 20 KB
looks like Bam Bam Bigelow's head tattoo (RIP BBB)
4 years later
Quoted from Cheddar:They may be delivering Uv light but what we were expecting was like the old blacklights we used to get at Spencers.
+1.
Spencer Gifts!
The original black-light mecca!
They sold a lot toilet-humor gag gifts, too - turds and the like. Oh, and "adult" toys! For a seven-year-old, it was a thrill a minute!
The UV-light poster room was always chock full of "velvet" posters - all of which really popped when exposed to the UV light. Like one respondent here, the idea was to make your own UV-light den at home, and then line the walls with velvet posters. Velvet posters typically featured designs in neon set against ample black velvet. Many of the posters for sale in SG weren't UV-light reactive at all, but they were consistently in bad taste.
If I had to describe an example of the quintessential SG poster, it would be the image of a toilet supplemented with a contraption that wiped your ass while you pedaled. My dad was always mortified when he'd have to come into SG to gather me up. He never forbade me to go in there though. I was surprised to learn that SG is still a beacon of bad taste nationwide. Imagine! Rubber turds will always be in fashion I guess.
7 diff types from Comet literally made this TFTC build. I have a vision of doing a '78 Playboy in all uv with two Night Viper glow balls I've been saving!
Check this video out...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/p924jgpzev8kvig/045.AVI?dl=0
1bf879058229de5668658cbfe68f48e36106fb70.jpg42bb3dabed10def505d351674d0ce236cd58b681.jpgReply
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