Squeezing ultra-bright black light from your hood (free download)

Note: This post could go under the Easel-ly Does It forum but, since the main emphasis has to do with making invisible pictures more visible, I'm posting it here.

Over the years, I have had to wrestle with venues that were not darkened properly. There have been churches with huge skylights, floor to ceiling stained glass, and hosts that “forgot” to cover the windows, causing my fluorescent and hidden drawing effects to glow anemically (if at all). Most recently I was in a new facility which had auditorium lights that could not be shut off completely, only dimmed—a current trend in safety lighting for public buildings. For years, ambient light issues like these have plagued chalkers everywhere. But recently I discovered a fairly simple solution that solves most of these problems for a modest cost.

Click HERE for the PDF download.



Hope you find this helpful,
Kerry

I've really been enjoying this forum, and I'm not even a forum type guy. Thanks for putting it together.

I'm assembling a new light system, and I have a couple questions. Your booklet mentioned that T8 tubes were more effective than the T12's, but T5's are getting easier to find. I assume that T5's would have an even better luminosity than that the T8's? And that the lower Watts of the smaller diameter tubes do not make the black light less "bright"?

I'm also used to using 4' tubes. Since I'd have more room if I use narrower T5 tubes, would you recomend a four foot duel tube fixture, or would 2 of the 4' T5's have to much luminosity and make the invisible picture visible under my white lights? (The whole Ice Cap Ballast thing is a little over my head to be honest, and it sounds like it might be on the heavy side anyway. Weight will be a issue for my easle)

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

Mr. Eddie,
I have not used T5 tubes but Jackie Gillespie mentions in a post (where the Ice Cap ballast is discussed) that she uses T5s and says they are very effective. I know if you had an Ice Cap installed that the hidden pic would be slightly visible - even under white lights. I can't say how things would look with a regular ballast since the bulbs would not be "overdriven."

Actually, lower watts do mean less glowing of the luminous material (chalk). The higher the wattage, the brigher the chalk will glow - which is what the Ice Cap does - drives a 30 watt to 60 watt, etc.

Hope this helps,
Kerry