Pandora in a blacklight? Test if you have both

[Link]

Saw people suggesting the implentation of the extra LED slots and got thinking about using UV LEDs, my question is this:


Is the current Pandora keyboard blacklight readable/sensitive?


I don't have a blacklight at this point in time, but people wanted a backlit keyboard, this would be interesting to see if turning the extra LED slots into frontal blacklights for the keyboard.

 

[FaeMinx]

What an interesting idea!


Turns out I installed a couple of uv lights for our restaurant 2 days ago.


I can't get an fully accurate impression untill daylight is completely gone (in about an hour), but it's looking promising!


The keys do light up... And curiously so did the new right nub that ED replaced for me!?


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[Fzero]

If I got this right I too like the sound of this mod.


The Pandora keyboard lettering glows under uv light yeah?


if you mod one of the led or this spare led slot with a uv led to illuminate the keys would that blacklight be shining from under the keys or from above onto them? I guess the latter from the visible led's but don't know what goes on under... might be more light there all I know.


This could double up nicely as a counterfeit money tester too then if it does, don't know about all countries notes but our pound notes have uv watermark to show it's real - among other things like foil strip and classic watermark

 

[Binky]

Maybe use the spare connection in the lid?

 

[FaeMinx]

I'll do more extensive testing when i get a chance, but really busy busy atm... When the supper rush is over i'll dim the lights and try to get some pics.


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[FaeMinx]

Ok, I'm going to need a second opinion... I'm not sure UV is going to work and I'll tell you why in a moment.


Unfortunately I was unable to get picks - My camera just wouldn't pick up the glow on the keys... all I got was a completely black image. I tried fiddling with white balance, low light settings... couldn't get it to work. So you will have to find a UV light and test this out for yourself to confirm what I'm about to say:


The letter themselves don't actually glow. It's the coating that covers the whole key that glows... Just like my right nub obviously is composed of / or coated with / a different material to my left nub... I would hazard that all the new nubs glow and the old ones don't.


Now this effect is only noticeable with the lid fully open... Angle the lid and the glare from the screen cancels it out (you still can see a faint bluish tinge that is more ghostly than anything else).


The reason I don't think this is going to work is the UV light I'm testing is over two meters long... and even though it's a blacklight, it gives off a decent glow... I'm perfectly capable of reading a book by it.


So this isn't a true test. I have no idea how effective a UV led would be... Someone would have to get hold of one of those and try it out.


For some encouragement: My dpad, left nub and abxy are completely invisible. Everything else is quite visible, even the symbols (but not as much as the letters).


@FZERO: The leds most definitely would need to be shining onto the keys, and I think you would need at least two of them on either side above the keyboard. But this is just a guestimate.

 

[WizardStan]

Be careful with UV LEDs. Your eyes have no natural protection to UV and it's very easy to get a light that is very bright and damage your eyes without realizing it.

 

[Fzero]

Nice one for testing FaeMinx, seems it does work then, with a sizeable uv shone on it at least.. though I don't like the idea of burning my eyes of led bulbs, would be good if the new [suspected] mystery coating that OP use on keys and new nubs glows under the low-brightness uv led. I'd probably play my Pandora with the lid flat out so in darkness the screens light wouldn't hit the keys half.


That nice uv glow would be sweet looking I bet

 

[FaeMinx]

I'm sure this experiment could be taken further... but the case would have to be modded to ensure the glow hits the keys and doesn't shine directly into one's eyes. Thanks for the heads up WizardStan - I didn't realize blacklights could be damaging. I must research this further. Don't want to end up with poor eyesight in my old (or not so old) age.


P.s. It does look rather cool... even though my Pandora looks a bit weird with only one glowing nub.


I'm sure all ReBirth Pandoras will simply look awesome under UV.


This could also be used as a test to confirm if you have old or new nubs, or if either have been replaced (if you're buying a refurbished Pandora).

 

[FaeMinx]

After doing quite a bit of reading - turns out when the UV light drops below 320nm is where you hit the real danger zone. The higher the value the less danger there is. So a 400nm UV led should be completely safe... But I'm also virtually positive it'll also be completely useless for our purposes.


365nm appears to be reported as the optimal value for effectiveness and relative safety. UV leds are also available in 375nm and these are the ones I think we should be investigating...


So anyone who lives closer to civilization than i do and is interested in this potential mod... We would be most gratefull if you could track down and get one or more 375nm leds to test...


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[spiralofhope]

365nm appears to be reported as the optimal value for effectiveness and relative safety.

Perhaps not, or maybe it's a distance, duration or other usage issue.


https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Light-emitting_diode&oldid=489172897#Ultraviolet_and_blue_LEDs

Recent research has shown that commercially available UVA LEDs (365 nm) are already effective disinfection and sterilization devices.[67]


Mori, Mirei; Hamamoto, Akiko; Takahashi, Akira; Nakano, Masayuki; Wakikawa, Noriko; Tachibana, Satoko; Ikehara, Toshitaka; Nakaya, Yutaka et al (2007). "Development of a new water sterilization device with a 365 nm UV-LED". Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing 45 (12): 1237–41. doi:10.1007/s11517-007-0263-1. PMID 17978842.