Glow jig charging station ideas

[pjstevko]

How are you guys charging your glow jigs and flat falls??? I usually use a uv flashlight but the glow never lasts long so I'm trying to think of a better solution to produce a longer lasting glow.

I've researched this a little and found out that ice fisherman use "glow cups" for their tiny jig heads and lures. A glow cup is basically a piece of 3" pvc with end cap that is lined with UV led strip lights and powered off their fish finder/sonar. I like the concept but would need to alter it to accommodate the long/larger sized flat falls jigs and figure out a different power source. You can buy plug-in, battery or usb powered UV strip lights fairly cheap so I think I'll start out trying to make an XL glow tube. Just gotta figure out how to keep most of the light concentrated in the tube. I'm thinking a flat bottom and a flip top of some sort.....But until I start with this I cheated and thought I'd try this out....

I just bought a uv light phone sanitizer box to see how well it'll charge up my flat falls and after a 5 minute charge my jigs glowed for over 15 minutes!!!!! There's UV light tubes on the side and 2 leds on either end but nothing on the bottom so I need to figure out a way to stand the jigs on their sides so it gets 360 degree exposure....It's not perfect but a good start.

I know this group has some very creative fabricators so how would you tackle the charging station idea??

PJ

[Maxed Out]

 I use the halogen flood light on my boat to glow any lures. I've heard of people using a camera flash and glow lasts longer

[pjstevko]

I use the halogen flood light on my boat to glow any lures. I've heard of people using a camera flash and glow lasts longer

Yeah i've heard of people doing the halogen light thing before but the lights on the boat get crowded. Plus if i can devise something like i mentioned above I can leave a jig in there while i fish one and just swap it out after a couple drops so i always have a fully charged jig ready to go....

Plus I gotta do something to kill time between trips 

[jurelometer]

You might want to start with a little research and also ask yourself a few questions.  I have only recently been playing with powder coating jigs with glow pigments, so I am learning myself.  You don't needs to go too deep into calculating everything, but getting some rudimentary familiarity with the concepts will improve your chance of success.

For the folks that get a rash from the boring sciency stuff, I will put my best guess of a design that I would try in a followup post.


1.  How does light wavelegth affect the charging of the pigment?  Are there light sources that are much more efficient?

I seem to remember (could be wrong)  that for your typical lure pigment you want stuff at the middle end of the UV-A range 350-380 NM?   Thee is a big difference in how well and how fast the surface is charged.

2.  How strong a light is needed to get a fast charge  (lumens per square inch of surface area)?

3.  What materials best reflect the light frequencies best?

You want to use this to line your chamber so that no light is wasted.   

From what I have read, Aluminum foil ain't too bad, reflecting about 75% of UV-A.  If you could get your hands on ePTFE film (the stuff Goretex is made from) it goes up to 95%.

4. Distance from the light source- every time you double the distance from the light source, the intensity is decreased by four times.  Getting the lure up close to the light source will do a better/faster charge, but depending on the light shape, you might not be charging evenly.

5.  Charging time.   From what I remember,  charging slows down as  the charge approaches full.  Getting that last little bit may take loner than getting that first 80%.   A timer might be nice so that you don't kill the battery after getting a decent charge.   You need to figure out how fast is fast enough, but I suspect really fast is valuable for that time when the guy next to you hooks up on a glow flatfall, and you have nothing charged.

5.  Power sources-  does this thing need to be battery run  and/or or can you plug it into a a 12Vv DC or 110V AC charging port on the boat or car?  More power gives you the ability to use more and more powerful bulbs for a faster charge.  How much is enough?  I dunno.

A timer is really cool.  One that shuts off the light is best, but a bit more work/cost. Just some cheapo battery powered timer that beeps is probably sufficient.


-J

[jurelometer]

If I just wantd  to go for it and see what happens-  I would try this: 

Line the inside of a chunk of a two to four inch diameter PVC or ABS  pipe with aluminum HVAC tape.

Get a roll of of blacklight (AKA-UV-A)  LED strip in the 365-ish wavelength.  There are rolls and kits in the evil web marketplace  for around 15 bucks with either a USB attachment a 110V AC to DC adapter, or both.  The USB version won't carry as much power.   If you compare the lumens per light and the max number of lights, you can decide.   Plus it depends on what your power choices are for charging- 12V lighting will be able to run off  a 12V boat system/ cigarette lighter, etc, in addition to  110 AC via the adapter- but battery choices are more limited in 12V.  Best to figure out your power source options before going too far. 

You can run DC lighting at voltages below the stated voltage, but you will be making the lights dimmer (that is how a DC dimmer works ).  Waterproofing the connectors and power source would be highly valuable.  On these type of projects, I always regret it if I don't first  figure out how much power I need, and how I am going o supply it.

The LED strips are on self adhesive rolls, and they sell these little jumpers, so you can attach one strip to the next.   Now you want to fill the chamber with lights.  A  spiral will be hard to pull off, but if you can do it, it you wont have to mess with jumpers.

Finally some sort of end cap setup where you can suspend the jig supported at both ends, and secure the hooks.  You cant have anything bouncing around inside the light chamber  on a rocking boat and damaging the lights.  The closer you can get the light to the surface, the faster the charge, but a little extra distance will make the design more robust.

Or you can get some 1/2 inch thin nylon mesh, and make an inner liner so that the lure and hooks can't hit the lights.  But the mesh will block some light, so you might end up with a glow shadow grids on the jig, but I expect that that grid will go away with a long enough charge. 

Set up your charging system, attach  a cheapo timer, put a few fishing stickers on the outside , and go impress your friends

I am tempted to try this myself now, but have wayyy to many projects started.


Keep us updated!

-J

[MarkT]

Don't sweat it. They have no problem finding something to eat whether it's glowing or not. You don't think they just started eating at night the past few seasons after they came out with glow jigs, do you?

[jurelometer]

Don't sweat it. They have no problem finding something to eat whether it's glowing or not. You don't think they just started eating at night the past few seasons after they came out with glow jigs, do you?

Buzzkill.

[pjstevko]

If I just wantd  to go for it and see what happens-  I would try this: 

Line the inside of a chunk of a two to four inch diameter PVC or ABS  pipe with aluminum HVAC tape.

Get a roll of of blacklight (AKA-UV-A)  LED strip in the 365-ish wavelength.  There are rolls and kits in the evil web marketplace  for around 15 bucks with either a USB attachment a 110V AC to DC adapter, or both.  The USB version won't carry as much power.   If you compare the lumens per light and the max number of lights, you can decide.   Plus it depends on what your power choices are for charging- 12V lighting will be able to run off  a 12V boat system/ cigarette lighter, etc, in addition to  110 AC via the adapter- but battery choices are more limited in 12V.  Best to figure out your power source options before going too far. 

You can run DC lighting at voltages below the stated voltage, but you will be making the lights dimmer (that is how a DC dimmer works ).  Waterproofing the connectors and power source would be highly valuable.  On these type of projects, I always regret it if I don't first  figure out how much power I need, and how I am going o supply it.

The LED strips are on self adhesive rolls, and they sell these little jumpers, so you can attach one strip to the next.   Now you want to fill the chamber with lights.  A  spiral will be hard to pull off, but if you can do it, it you wont have to mess with jumpers.

Finally some sort of end cap setup where you can suspend the jig supported at both ends, and secure the hooks.  You cant have anything bouncing around inside the light chamber  on a rocking boat and damaging the lights.  The closer you can get the light to the surface, the faster the charge, but a little extra distance will make the design more robust.

Or you can get some 1/2 inch thin nylon mesh, and make an inner liner so that the lure and hooks can't hit the lights.  But the mesh will block some light, so you might end up with a glow shadow grids on the jig, but I expect that that grid will go away with a long enough charge. 

Set up your charging system, attach  a cheapo timer, put a few fishing stickers on the outside , and go impress your friends

I am tempted to try this myself now, but have wayyy to many projects started.


Keep us updated!

-J

You nailed it on the head!
The light strip I plan on using is linked below
https://www.ledsupply.com/led-strips/battery-operated-uv-led-strip
The hard part is gonna be finding a flat pvc end cap and fabricating a flip top.....

[jurelometer]

You nailed it on the head!
The light strip I plan on using is linked below
https://www.ledsupply.com/led-strips/battery-operated-uv-led-strip
The hard part is gonna be finding a flat pvc end cap and fabricating a flip top.....

20 inch strip and 1.5 volts  from 3 AAA is not much light.  This is about what my fly tying UV flaslight has, and it is not too fast for charging  glow paint.  But nine bucks is not much of a risk, and better to start on the low end.    If folks use those cheap UV flashlights to charge glow jigs, and are happy, then you are in the same ballpark.   No reason to carry a 12V rechargeable battery if you don't end needing up  one.


End caps are a piece of cake.  Lots of choices at the big box store, our Just cut a disk out of plywood or some old cutting board.

[pjstevko]

I'm gonna buy a 3ft strip and try to spiral line the whole 8" long piece of 3' pvc to increase the amount of lights. This sstring runs off 3 AA batteries not 3 aaa not that will make much of a difference....

It'll be a fun project and something to tinker with.....

[gstours]

👌 ok,  this is proof positive that I,m not the only one out there that gets these "crazy " ideas.
   I made a long narrow box with a hinged lid.  It is lined all 6 ends,sides with thin glass mirror .
        The mirror was difficult for me to cut.  Clear silicone was the adhesive.  Power was a UV led flashlight 🔦 held in place, pointing down the box.
         It did increase the glow time of my luminous skirts and glow painted things butt I caught no more fish than with out the box.
  Maybe I expected too much out of it?   The jury is hung.🤔
  The mirror idea may be more efficient in reflecting the light waves?   You can decide.

[pjstevko]

👌 ok,  this is proof positive that I,m not the only one out there that gets these "crazy " ideas.
   I made a long narrow box with a hinged lid.  It is lined all 6 ends,sides with thin glass mirror .
        The mirror was difficult for me to cut.  Clear silicone was the adhesive.  Power was a UV led flashlight 🔦 held in place, pointing down the box.
         It did increase the glow time of my luminous skirts and glow painted things butt I caught no more fish than with out the box.
  Maybe I expected too much out of it?   The jury is hung.🤔
  The mirror idea may be more efficient in reflecting the light waves?   You can decide.

I thought about using a hinged box but I'm not sure if the light strips can bend to near 90 degrees to line the box with the lights. The light strips can be cut to length but then you need to buy connectors to reattach them after you make your turn which is why i'm going tube so i can spiral the whole length and not need connectors....But i do like the mirror idea

[jurelometer]

👌 ok,  this is proof positive that I,m not the only one out there that gets these "crazy " ideas.
   I made a long narrow box with a hinged lid.  It is lined all 6 ends,sides with thin glass mirror .
        The mirror was difficult for me to cut.  Clear silicone was the adhesive.  Power was a UV led flashlight 🔦 held in place, pointing down the box.
         It did increase the glow time of my luminous skirts and glow painted things butt I caught no more fish than with out the box.
  Maybe I expected too much out of it?   The jury is hung.🤔
  The mirror idea may be more efficient in reflecting the light waves?   You can decide.

I thought about using a hinged box but I'm not sure if the light strips can bend to near 90 degrees to line the box with the lights. The light strips can be cut to length but then you need to buy connectors to reattach them after you make your turn which is why i'm going tube so i can spiral the whole length and not need connectors....But i do like the mirror idea

Glass  mirrors do not reflect UV-A light well.  The problem is that the reflective surface is behind the glass - which absorbs too much of th UV waves, converting it to heat.  I mentioned in my previous post that the most readily available material that works reasonably well (75%) is aluminum foil.   Like the stuff in the kitchen.  I would use the shiny aluminum HVAC tape.

The strips cannot be bent or curved horizontally.  If you are decent at soldering, you don't have  to use those little jumpers.

In terms of whether glow will catch more fish - that is a different story.  But I wouldn't be surprised if for certain situations that a little bit of glow could help, but lots of glow could be offputting. In most places there are  not too many sources of bioluminescence that large, and when ther is some thing that big, it usually flashes on and off. 

-J

[pjstevko]

I was cleaning out my work locker and stumbled upon a possible new container to use.....plastic ammo can!

I can line the entire interior of the box with HVAC tape and run the light strip along the sides from the bottom to the top. Then put small hooks into the lid to hang the lures from....


Plus when not being used for lure charging i can store other fishing items in there....

[Dominick]

I was cleaning out my work locker and stumbled upon a possible new container to use.....plastic ammo can!

I can line the entire interior of the box with HVAC tape and run the light strip along the sides from the bottom to the top. Then put small hooks into the lid to hang the lures from....


Plus when not being used for lure charging i can store other fishing items in there....

Sounds like a winner.  Do the lures charge by sunlight?  If so, place them in the sun and when you are satisfied the have absorbed enough light wrap in aluminum foil and see if the will stay glowing until used at night.  Just a thought.  Dominick