Very inexpensive spiral compact fluorescent blacklights

[Jordan Wosnick <jwosnick@fastmail.fm>]

Hi everyone,

I thought the list would be interested in hearing about a recent find I 
made. At my local Canadian Tire I happened to chance upon spiral compact 
fluorescent BLBs for C$6 each (about US$5). (Canadian Tire is a large 
chain store, kind of like the US chain Ace Hardware.) The brand name of 
these bulbs is Noma, and the bulbs are called "Ultra Mini Spiral Black 
Light Bulb". They are rated at 13 W, and come in blister packs.

Noma is a manufacturer of cheap "specialty lighting" -- they're known 
for porch and garden lights, etc. They used to advertise on TV here. I 
don't remember seeing Noma products when I lived in the States, but I 
didn't look for them.

I tested a bulb to make sure it was a "true" black-light, and it is. It 
causes fluorescence in the usual materials (white clothes, paper with 
OBAs in it, etc.) and exposes Van Dykes just as well as the much more 
expensive Feit Electric 13W BLB I've been using so far (which I had to 
order from the USA at great expense!) I'll be using six of the Noma 
bulbs to build my UV light source.

For anyone who's contemplating building a UV light source, this is 
something to keep an eye out for.

Cheers

Jordan