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UV Light Search Tips


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Yesterday, I tried looking for a UV Light Required cache for the first time. Since I don't actually own a UV light (yet), I used a fairly powerful flashlight with a blue lens held over it. While I did pick up some fluorescent writing (it appeared orange under the blue lens, but was practically invisible under regular light), I don't think it was related to the cache (most of what I found was not family friendly). This was a D1.5 cache (with no DNF's until mine) and I did what I thought was a pretty thorough search of the area. From the description, I think I was looking for three pieces of information, so if my improvised light was working, I'd be a bit surprised if I didn't find at least one of them. My first step will be to pick up an actual UV light. Are there any other tips for searching for information visible only under UV light?

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I own a cache that requires help from "Uncle Victor". I don't have any tips except to say the better quality UV lights are the go over the cheap and nasty little Chinese made items. In my case I've found that, over time, the UV writing 'bleeds' into the paper making the figures (coords) blur and fade. A brighter UV torch works better in this case.  I keep checking mine every few months but , as a multi and a UV, it gets very little traffic.

 

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Thanks, colleda! I picked up a UV light at the sportsman's store (apparently fishermen use them for something) and almost immediately found the cache info I was looking for, so it was definitely the light, not my search technique. I enjoy caches like this, as long as I have the right tools. I took a look at your cache to see if it was close enough for me to find, but unfortunately, I don't have plans to travel to your part of the world anytime soon.

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6 hours ago, Windstorm+ said:

Yesterday, I tried looking for a UV Light Required cache for the first time. Since I don't actually own a UV light (yet), I used a fairly powerful flashlight with a blue lens held over it. While I did pick up some fluorescent writing (it appeared orange under the blue lens, but was practically invisible under regular light), I don't think it was related to the cache (most of what I found was not family friendly). This was a D1.5 cache (with no DNF's until mine) and I did what I thought was a pretty thorough search of the area. From the description, I think I was looking for three pieces of information, so if my improvised light was working, I'd be a bit surprised if I didn't find at least one of them. My first step will be to pick up an actual UV light. Are there any other tips for searching for information visible only under UV light?

I know which cache you were looking for, I just found the GeoTour cache yesterday.  As you discovered, blue light and UV light are very different.  A good quality, high-power UV flashlight is invaluable for caching.  I'm not sure the brand, but I have one that can focus the light from a broad area to a fairly tight beam so has some good range.

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10 minutes ago, Windstorm+ said:

Thanks, colleda! I picked up a UV light at the sportsman's store (apparently fishermen use them for something) and almost immediately found the cache info I was looking for, so it was definitely the light, not my search technique. I enjoy caches like this, as long as I have the right tools. I took a look at your cache to see if it was close enough for me to find, but unfortunately, I don't have plans to travel to your part of the world anytime soon.

Well done. Caches requiring UV are very rare in this neck of the woods, I've not yet come across one. Therefore very few cachers here would carry a UV light.

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13 minutes ago, The Jester said:

As you discovered, blue light and UV light are very different.  

True, but it's interesting that they both work on some types of writing, so whether something is visible with blue light will depend on what the CO used. My blue light had no problem picking up the graffiti further down the tunnel, although it did show up a little better with the UV light. That's a definite contrast to whatever the CO used in this case because that was completely invisible with the blue light.

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1 hour ago, colleda said:

Well done. Caches requiring UV are very rare in this neck of the woods, I've not yet come across one. Therefore very few cachers here would carry a UV light.

 

There were two down this neck of the woods, which prompted me to buy a UV torch from one of the official geocaching suppliers after relying on a mate's, but they've since been archived. The only other one I've come across is the Martinsville cemetery cache (GC7DXEY), which is currently disabled and on the reviewer's Grim Reaper watch.

Edited by barefootjeff
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