IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
Ice Fishing Tips -Check your local regulations! => Jigging => Topic started by: NorthwoodsIce on Nov 23, 2005, 11:08 AM
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SO I was wondering if a camera flash can be used for getting a glow jig to glow? I always have my digital camera in the shack and if you had like a PVC pipe that would concentrate the light from the flash to the jig I think that would work like those jig flashlights for charging. What do people think?
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camera flashes work just fine. Instead of PVC, take a toilet paper tube and line the inside with aluminum foil
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I think one company actually makes and sells a camera flash design for glow jigs...I cant remember where I saw that
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Well I tried the flash in the closet and man did that ever work nice, i didn't try the tube yet but without it sure did charge the jigs nice. I just have to make sure i don't drop the camera down the hole when using it for a jig charger.
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Another idea would be to just pick up an add-on flash for cameras. I have one that runs on 2 AA batteries, and I would have to guess that it could be picked up for around 10-15 bucks. Sure beats killing batteries in your camera, or worse yet dropping it down the hole.
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It depends on the color of the jigs you are trying to "recharge" The white light of a camera flash is a good option because it will contain many colors in the visible, UV, and IR spectrum (most likely) The luminescence of the jig is dependent on a few things but the one critical aspect is that you must use light of shorter wavelength than the color which is being emitted from the glowing jig itself in order to "recharge" it. It is the higher energy light (shorter wavelength) which photo-excites the electrons in the paint into a higher energy state and creates the luminescence. As the electrons try and relax back to their initial state after being excited they must emit a photon of light in order to shed the excess energy they gained. Exciting VERY high up (in the UV end of the spectrum) will provide longer luminesence on average because more than one transition may be invoked, thus lengthening the time of the "glow" because many relaxations must take place. In short I would suggest a UV source if at all possible. This would be anything in the blue and higher. (for example red light will only luminesce in the red and IR, green will cause luminescence for red, orange, yellows and greens less than the exciting wavelength and so on.) Many of the new LEDs that are "white" actually have a strong UV component and would thus be suitable. Most of them operate by means of a UV LED (single wavelength) which is coated with a substance which contains millions of quantum dots that converts the light to many wavelengths (thus giving you white light) You may beed to hold the LED near the jig for a few more seconds than with the flash, but if you already use an LED flashlight or headlamp you shouldn't need to bring the additional item with you. This is all in theory of course...
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I use a flash that mounts on a camera also. I formed a box out of aluminum foil that slides over the end of the flash. Just drop the jig in the foil box and slide it over the end of the flash. It keeps you from seeing stars for five minutes after you flash the jig. When I put the flash aside between times for lighting the jigs I just slide it over the end of the flash so it doesn't get lost or deformed.
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the sparker off a bic lighter in a cupped set of hands works pretty good as well, some of us don't always carry a camera and a tube fo produce bright lights...