Postage Stamp Chat Board & Stamp Bulletin Board Forum
 

Thank you very much for finding that. Their website Search facility left a little to be desired - from memory neither Spectroline nor CM-10 gave any results at all.

I'll post later once I find out the price.

Has anyone tried either of these two Lighthouse UV lamps?



The pictures are from a screen-capture from Michael Eastick's web site, http://www.michaeleastick.com/rhome1d.asp.

They seem to be a step above the useless hand-held Lighthouse model, and are cheaper than the $200 price-tag for the DIY lamp and the Spectroline lamp.


Scott

Any body looking for the Philips UV Globe, I have about 25 left in stock.

_________________
Michael Eastick & Associates P/L
Suite 20-79 Mahoneys Road, Forest Hill, Vic 3131, Australia. 03 9894 8561
http://www.michaeleastick.com

Grateful if you would reserve one for me. I will be in touch on Monday to organise payment etc.

Regards
John G

Now we need a dealer to start stocking the Spectroline UV lamps. Any volunteers


Scott

John G,

Don't forget to ask Michael about chokes etc. I'm sure he will be able to help you obtain all that you need.

Best regards David

Thanks David

I had forgotten.

Regards
John G

I am looking at buying one of these Scott so you highly recommend them?

Cheers Erik

Monogram,

I haven't used the build-it-yourself model also mentioned in this thread, so I can't compare the two. However, I can easily see all of the UV reactions mentioned in the ACSC and the book The Redhead put out by the BSAP. Plus the reactions I get for all of my certified stamps are exactly as they should be - the colours and hues of the reactions match those reported.

A friend in Melbourne has been going through the process of ordering the lamp and viewing cabinet from the Australian suppliers mentioned above. He found their registration process a bit cumbersome, but got there in the end.

The price for the lamp & cabinet combined plus GST and postage came to $544.50 - lamp = $195 + GST, cabinet = $275 + GST, freight = $25 + GST. In their catalogue the codes are lamp = SPETEN-160L/FA, cabinet = SPETCM-10.

Hope this helps.

Scott

Thanks for the advise Scott ordered a SPETEN-160L/FA today through VWR INTERNATIONAL, 6-8 weeks delivery due to ordered overseas

Cheers Erik

For anybody still looking for the globes and parts I have found a couple of more globes, ballasts and ceramic lamp bases (as the globe gets very hot).

_________________
Michael Eastick & Associates P/L
Suite 20-79 Mahoneys Road, Forest Hill, Vic 3131, Australia. 03 9894 8561
http://www.michaeleastick.com

I have around 2000 KGV 1d reds to sort for sale, and was wondering whether or not it was worthwhile to invest in a decent UV lightbox. The last postmark I have is 1915, and from what people say here there's no interesting shades to bother with in that time period. I don't have the Redhead book yet but the ACSC does show a fair difference in (book) price for the different shades for the first two years.

Is it worthwhile or is there so little difference in real value on these that I shouldn't bother identifying the shading for buyers?

After nearly buying one of the el-cheapo UV torches (this thread saved me that misfortune, thank you!) I've managed to find what I can only describe is a Chinese knockoff of Dr. Starling's great setup:



The only catch with this is it's from one of the wholesalers I've bought from in the past, and I'll have to buy a few units and sell the others on eBay.

It depends on the country you collect. As I primarily collect Germany, I have a long wave lamp. I haven't looked at the other countries that I have some of.

_________________
With kind regards, Jim

Which wavelength is that, and how much. If it is long wave and not horrendously expensive I would buy one from you.

_________________
With kind regards, Jim

It's both wavelengths, there are two buttons to switch between on top, just visible in that photo.

Once I hear back from the wholesaler I'll reply with their price.

Thank you.

_________________
With kind regards, Jim

Okay, I've finally found my way to the real manufacturer, the first bloke was just reselling and posing as the proper wholesaler (oh how I hate importing from anywhere but the USA).

I've confirmed that it's longwave and shortwave (switchable), has optics to remove the above 400nm (visible light) and a safe viewing window for the naked eye. He's sending me a demo unit and if I'm happy with it, I can buy them in a minimum of 10 units at a time.

Once it arrives I'll give it a full test and post some photos for anybody interested.

Chris,

It would be great if you could road-test this model for us. Hopefully it is much cheaper than the $550 for the US manufactured model.

Scott

Do you have a base line for comparisons ?
Certified, accountable, serious comparisons.

This I belive is the hardest thing.

I want an old school lamp from Michael E, the same as the base line for ACSC. ( only time and money permitting )
I think the spectroline may work ( saving time on the build )
I need the lamp that Michael Drury and the ACSC uses to confirm the reaction.

Lets get a common base line.

_________________
People will like you more if you stfu.

Well it's time for an update. I've received my test unit from the manufacturer and have had time to verify it's accuracy and test out various UV reactions. It's all good news, the results are comparable with the Spectroline mentioned above and it accurately replicates the shades as described in the ACSC KGV Volume. Although it's hard to match what you see with your eyes and a camera's lens, here's an example using KGV shades:



Another example with some WA Colonial stamps, showing surprising results in the first two stamps:



As the images suggest, I've started a website to take orders and explain the lightbox features in detail, at www.uvlightbox.com. I've negotiated a bulk price with the manufacturer and can retail the units for $349 AUD, postage included for delivery anywhere in Australia, and will quote on request for international shipping.

Now the rub. I need a few pre-orders to cover part of the initial pre-order cost, so to reward those who are willing to do so I'm offering a discounted "pioneer" price, similar to how Kickstarter projects reward early adopters, with the regular price kicking in after my initial order is placed. Be sure to check the website for more information. Once the first order is made, I'd say it would take 1-2 weeks for import, and then 1-3 days for delivery to you once I get my hands on the units.

Payments are via Paypal (for which you won't need an account), and as with all Paypal purchases, are instantly refundable at any time if you change your mind. I realise that I'm relatively new here, so feel free to see my eBay profile (username ozmusicauctions), and either contact me through that to verify who I am, or call me on 040 999 8047, I'll be happy to help.

If you're not keen to commit to a full deposit for pre-order but are still interested, visit uvlightbox.com and on the right hand side of the page you'll see a few different options.

I'll be keeping them in stock on a permanent basis (provided there's enough interest), so there won't have to be any pre-orders or 1-2 week lead time for importation after this first round of pre-orders.

Purchases made on the uvlightbox.com website will always include free postage anywhere in Australia, whereas on eBay I'll be charging extra for postage due to the selling fees.

For those in Queensland, I'll be attending ANDA in Brisbane during one of the days it's on (as a visitor), so if there's any ANDA dealers attending who are interested in a demo I'll be happy to bring my unit (providing we can locate a power point!) so you can have a hands-on with it. I'm more than happy to offer dealer rates for quantity purchases, but there isn't a great deal of markup going on here so the savings won't be enormous. I have the option of importing using seamail instead of airmail, but the saving is $10 per unit for the delay of 6-12 weeks compared to 1-3 for airmail, and seamail is notoriously dodgy.

I really have to thank Dr. Starling for his help in the last few weeks and his advice and knoledge of ultraviolet reactions and shade identification. If you haven't already, his Australia 1d KGV Heads - Eosin shades discussion and Tips & Tricks for collecting Australian 1d red KGV shades posts are well worth the read.

ChrisGrey

G,day mate, I've just payed, via paypal for a "pioneer" unit.
Can't wait till it arrives! Thank's for the heads-up and your web site.





cheers

Thanks for pre-ordering, I've adjusted the quantity of the pioneers left and placed you on the top of the list. See my email for more information.

Another pre-order leaves 3 pioneer priced lightboxes left.

Hi Chris
Payment made via Paypal for pioneer order.

Thanks
Al.

I have just sent a pre-order.

_________________
Cheers,
Ian

That leaves one pioneer slot left, before the price reverts back to normal.

Thanks to you both, we're almost there to making our first order.

Hi

Did an order hours ago, just forgot to notify here.

Oops.

John G

Ive sat on this for a while, wondering.... should I submit it !

Chris, I applaud your savvy, if you make a few bux , congrats, I think if people choose between 3 models its unfortunate for the baseline.

quote: After nearly buying one of the el-cheapo UV torches (this thread saved me that misfortune, thank you!) I've managed to find what I can only describe is a Chinese knockoff of Dr. Starling's great setup:

I have the spectroline on order for $389- not using the light box, but I intend to use a cardboard box with a cut out so I can actually flip pages without having to remove stamps 4 at a time.

spectroline is available here
http://www.uvp.com.au/aspx/home.shtml here in Adelaide

Its not listed on the web site, but an email or a call to Paul or Helen will get you one.
Spectroline is high end.

_________________
People will like you more if you stfu.

I purchased a spectroline SPETEN-160L/FE through VWR INTERNATIONAL for $249.59 delivered. $389 seems a bit dear unless its a different model.

Thanks fossick, I'll send you an email later tonight with more information.

Monogram: It might be one of the higher wattage units.

Barry:

I do disagree with your common baseline argument, there shouldn't be a need for everybody to purchase x product and x product only, because it's agreed that it's reactions will be the defacto standard, much as individual monitors display different colours, and more crucially (not to mention interesting if you have the time to read into it), people don't see the same colours. Spectroline may be high end to quote you, but I don't own one and thus can't say. Dr. Starling's photos are good evidence that they are, and with his experience and KGV knowledge his opinion is qualified. But if a baseline must be established and with a high end unit, then you may be interested in purchasing a Multispec lamp and cabinet for $1225, which I'm sure would display accurate reactions, or at least you'd hope so considering the cost. There is no more argument for that unit as there are the Spectroline, the lightbox I'm importing, or the DIY homemade units, which I take my hat off to. So long as a unit accurately displays UV reactions that can be identified, I don't see the problem in a selection of units in varying prices, so people can decide what they want instead of buying x brand because it's what everybody else does.

I'll be interested in what the first people to receive the lightbox I'm importing have to say about it, as they'll be able to test it at length and will be able to speak from experience rather than inference.

I'm guessing your "4 stamps at a time" reference was to my sample image, which is a limit of the prime lens I had on my camera at the time. The inside of the box measures 215mm wide by 185mm long, so if you were so inclined you could comfortably fit 48 KGVs in the box at once. I've been sorting my KGVs into colour piles at the back inside mine. From what I can tell, this is as large as the box should be before light drop-off from the lamps, so when making your cardboard box it might be worth keeping that in mind so you don't end up with dimly-light edges.

The quote of mine that you referenced was upon my initial discovery of the item, long before I purchased one and had the chance to test it out and post the results above, but I'm sure you realise that.

barry_e & others,

With the UV reaction of the 1d reds, we're not looking at nuanced differences of colour, and the differences certainly aren't as fine as trying to distinguish the daylight shade between say a damson, a plum and a lilac-rose example.

Basically what you want to see under the lamp is:

Does it glow, or just look bright or is it dull?
Is the reaction orange, yellow, red, purple or brown or a combination of two of these?


From left to right G1, G10 & G13 illuminated at 365nm

The above example is from one of my other threads http://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=36568 basically what you want to see is that a G10 should tend towards brown under the UV and a G13 should tend towards purple.

The UV reaction is always the secondary test and the daylight appearance the primary test. Collectors should be a lot more concerned that they have a good and invariable source of daylight illumination. The above UV test should be secondary to the daylight appearance:


From left to right a scan G1, G10 & G13
Does not show the true daylight appearance because it is a scan on a computer screen!

What is needed in a UV lamp is something with a good, strong output and filters to cut out the > 400nm purple glow. Chris has found a good source of cheaper ones that fit the bill.


Scott

Hi, I am building my 1d collection slowly and most likely will never get my tweezers on one of the rare beauties, I think in the future I will ask someone here if I can send a couple down for testing and of course pay my way.

I don't know if my wife will let me spend that much money unless a holiday comes with the lamp .

I have in my lot about a dozen dated from December 1917 to 1920, the other 200 before and after those dates, and more to come .

starling, nice squared circle cancels by the way.

Cheers
Michael

Micky: You could use mine, but even though we're in the same state you're 1800km away - I really forget how big a state QLD is. If you're ever on the Gold Coast, bring a suitcase of KGVs with you.

A suitcase full , I have been collecting KGV for oh about a year now, and stamps for about a year now , where on earth will I get that many KGV from?

Cheers Chris i will take that offer up.
Michael

Okay the first batch have been ordered from the manufacturer, and as soon as I receive shipping information I'll email everybody that has made an order or deposit with more information.

That also means that the pioneer preorders are over, a special thanks to you for helping to make the first order. The website is updated to reflect that and regular pre-orders, deposits and waiting list are still open for those interested.

Excuse me if this is in the wrong thread. I bought a carton lots of albums a few weeks ago and in the description in the catalogue it included an old Ultra Violet Lamp, I forgot about it until I got home as it was the stamps I was after. Now at the bottom of the carton this is what I found:




And at the bottom of this little box was this sheet and card:


Can anyone tell me if this Lamp is any use for KGV Heads or was it specifically for these tagged Canadian stamps ? There was no other information in the box so I haven't a clue who made the lamp.

_________________
Donald.
Aus KGV Head Addict !

manfaefife: A nice find at the bottom of the box. It does look like an old unit, and you should take precautions against the UV light, especially (although not exclusively) if it emits shortwave. If you have a few aniline stamps to test it should be easy to determine the wavelength, in shortwave it will be a dull glow, whereas longwave will be a strong glow that invariably makes it hard to see details on the stamp. The amperage of the unit will help determine how safe/dangerous it is.

In other news I received a welcome parcel today, the first ultraviolet lightboxes:



I've opened them to test the lamps, and will be sending them out tomorrow. No doubt due to airmail, they're being sent to me in lots of 2, and hopefully the others aren't far away. The first two pioneer preorders should receive their units by the end of the week, so expect tracking numbers via email tomorrow night.

Once I've received the whole shipment, I can start selling them as "in stock" for those on the waiting list, so people can order and receive them without the extended wait that the pioneers have suffered.

Just a curious question? Did someone try to use UV LED with a 400 nm cut-off filter?

If anybody in Melbourne gets one of these lights I would love to get a chance to see it to see how it compares to the original globes that have been used by the specialist collectors up until now.

_________________
Michael Eastick & Associates P/L
Suite 20-79 Mahoneys Road, Forest Hill, Vic 3131, Australia. 03 9894 8561
http://www.michaeleastick.com

I received my box today and have checked it out with a few stamps.

The construction of the box is solid and it excludes ambient light nicely.

Although I didn't buy the unit just to check KGV 1d reds, I had a look at selection of my duplicates and saw quite a variety of reactions. It's nice to be able to set up a fair number of stamps for comparison. I have also tried looking at groups of early Australian decimals on helecon papers and GB Machins with phosphor bands.

All were easy to look at - the unit is much more convenient than those hand-held battery- operated jobs.

Very happy with my purchase. I shall use it a lot.

Cheers,
Ian

Just a quick update; all pioneer preorders have been filled as of this morning (check your inboxes for tracking numbers) and there's currently 3 in stock, with more on the way.

As they're in stock, from order to delivery to your door now only takes 2-5 days, a big improvement on the time the preorders took from China.

Are any of the lamps in Melbourne so I could get to see one, I have clients looking for UV lights suitable for 1d Red KGV shade work and hope this will fill their needs.

_________________
Michael Eastick & Associates P/L
Suite 20-79 Mahoneys Road, Forest Hill, Vic 3131, Australia. 03 9894 8561
http://www.michaeleastick.com

Hi Michael, I'll send you an email this afternoon.

Hi Chris, I got your UV Lamp box yesterday and have been trying it out on everything and anything! The results have been amazing...lots of fun too.

I have had a look at my camera as you suggested. It has an ISO button but have no idea how to work it. My 8 year old grandson probally would but I'm so un technical, I don't even know what ISO means.

All the pictures I have taken of the KGV stamps turn out blue...pretty amazing shades I must admit....but blue!

The camera is a hand-me down from one of our daughters and has no instructions at all with it. It's a Sony Cyber-shot, 7.2 pixels. I think you said to change it to 9000k, and then alter it up or down according to the color the stamps come out....OK, how do you do that?

Here's a couple of stamps I've scanned. This is their natural color



This one above comes out pretty red under the UV light.



this one above comes out quite brown.

Do I really need to buy the book on KGV shades? Does it have color pictures? I really don't know if I can identify all the different shades by myself!

I've got them sorted by watermark but will now try sorting those by UV shades...darker brown through to the red and pale reds. Am I going the right way? And, for all these stamps, I only use Long Wave...right?

Any help appreciated, Anne

_________________
I am having fun collecting WW and Indian States.

Glad you're enjoying it. Hopefully it'll break even and start making you money soon!

The KGVs can be a daunting start to UV identification, and the best guide for those is Dr. Starling's excellent primer on identifying 1d shades.

As far as the camera is concerned, if you're not comfortable mucking around with camera settings, you can change the colour temperature in Picasa which will give you much the same results. If they are blue, then they need to be warmer. The white balance is what you'll need to wrangle on the camera, and should be available to change even in Auto mode on most cameras - typically with a WB button. There's usually a few different settings (Auto, Daylight, Incandescent), but what you're after is manual, which lets you shift the kelvin scale up and down.

The ACSC book that covers KGV only has descriptions of the shades, and I don't own The Redhead which is one of the other bibles, but Starling's guide should be a good starter.

And yes, longwave for all KGV.

Team

This topic might help. Cheers Robbo

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=38728

_________________
I am a Collector of all British New Guinea, Papua and TP&NG. Would love to talk to fellow collectors of same. Robbo

There's an earlier post about the SAFE philalux. I'm completely biased but I prefer my UV safely behind a filter and enclosed, rather than being bathed in it.

Thanks Chris..I think!? What's a WB button?

I know I can change the color temperatures in the photo program I have (not Picasa). If I take a picture of the stamps and then then check the color on the computer with the actual stamps under UV light, I might be able to get close...is that right?

This might be the kind of challenge I like!

Aussie_robbo60, just noticed your post as well. Will check that out as well as Dr. Starling's link.

Thanks everyone

hutch

_________________
I am having fun collecting WW and Indian States.

Aussie_robbo60, just checked out that link.

Nice looking item but would you not be concerned about the UV rays seeing it's not contained? If you are using it for longer periods, I'm thinking it might not be as safe as a fully contained item.

hutch

_________________
I am having fun collecting WW and Indian States.

The WB button is the White Balance button, which will scroll through the various white balance options (typically for when you're taking photos on overcast days, or indoors with varied lighting), and should give you the option to set it manually. Not all cameras have it though, some have it buried in the menus which makes it hard to change on the fly.

But if you've got software that'll do much the same thing (not as nicely, but I'm a camera snob). You basically want to get to the stage where everything isn't blue, but you'll get a feel for it once you do a few. There will be a middle ground in between blue and pink, which is the sweet spot you're after.