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Thread: Beta Light?

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by hunter63 View Post
    Well, nice that you solved this 2-1/2 year old 'cold case".........Lots of fokes not around anymore.
    LOL, yeah I know,, maybe they will get an email and come back ?

    (i still think its cool little item )


  2. #22
    Senior Member randyt's Avatar
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    tritium is used in gun sights, it should be good for low light shooting.

  3. #23
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    Justin just likes to "light" up old threads.
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  4. #24
    Junior Members Survival Guy 10's Avatar
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    PUN intended i guess lol
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  5. #25

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    This forum won't let me post a URL link. However,go to AliExpress and search for this : Automatic-light-15-years-3mm-12mm-tritium-tube-beta-tritium-gas-lamps-Survival-emergency-light-Free.
    Apparently there is a beta light that requires on energy source. You may not have imagined as much as you think. Good luck.

  6. #26

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    I took this off of another forum and I hope you find it helpful.
    I've seen a lot of interest in Tritium lights here on the CPF and have held my breath for sometime, but feel compelled to post a few things.

    While I won't debate the safety issue directly (I'll leave that to someone else), I will relate a couple facts about Tritium lights just to ensure everyone is aware of them.

    Fact # 1 - They leak; all Tritium lights outgas measurable levels of contamination. Even when enveloped in the finest glass or resin polymers money can buy, they still leak. Whether the resulting low level radiation is a hazard to you, or your family, is something you will have to decide for yourself. I do think it is important that you know and understand this fact, so that you can make an informed decision about ownership and usage. They leak.

    Fact # 2 - In the US, Tritium is regulated by the NRC. Other than the very small Trijicon gun sights, all other Tritium lights require a license or permit to own or use. Violation of the NRC regulations can result in fines, but more importantly, may expose you to other legal liabilities. For instance, you could be held financially, or even criminally liable for any person or item contaminated by exposure to your light. Wipe tests on surfaces have detected the presence of Tritium even years after exposure.

    How safe or dangerous is Tritium? I don't know. I have pursued this issue in depth in conjunction with past endeavors, and the only conclusion I've made from that research is that nobody really knows the answer to that question. Little dedicated medical research has been done on Tritium, and out of what has been done, the results are inconclusive.

    Most people dismiss Tritium radiation as benign, based on it's low energy level. Statements like "it won't even penetrate a piece of paper" are often seen in reference to Tritium radiation. While very accurate and true, it does not take in to account what happens when Tritium enters the human body. Unlike other radioactive isotopes, Tritium does not concentrate in, or affect any single part of the body. Where other isotopes are bone seekers, or collect in other organs of the body that make it easy to determine the effects of exposure to a particular isotope, Tritium generally evenly distributes itself throughout the human body. This is one reason for a less than definitive answer to what the long term effects of Tritium expose can be.

    Tritium is radioactive hydrogen. You cannot use a Geiger counter to detect Tritium radiation.

    It also has a nasty habit of replacing the H in H2O resulting in essentially radioactive water (tritium oxide), which is a generally recognized contamination hazard. One piece of equipment I worked with in the past was an optical device with a 10 curie Tritium lamp. Typical sphere lamp, glass with phosphor coating inside, about 5/8" diameter; like a glowing marble. This device was used outside, so it also had a desiccant in it to collect moisture to keep the lenses from fogging up. Small desiccant cartridge was replaced every six months. Desiccant liquid scintillation test readings were typically in excess of 1,000,000 dpm (disintigrations per minute) after 6 months in the device with the tritium lamp. For reference, 100 dpm and below is what is still allowable for a device and be considered "clean" for the general public. Military items usually are considered "clean" for hand held use at 1000 dpm and below, and 10,000 dpm and below for other equipment.
    The desiccant contamination levels were 1000 times the allowable levels. The maintenance people who changed the desiccant did it bare handed, without any knowledge of any potential contamination. Tritium is like invisible sticky glue; if you handle a contaminated item then shake hands with someone, their hand will also be contaminated. Get the idea?

    Whether it's harmless or not, I won't debate, but it can be spread in measurable levels by simple physical contact.

    (They do not change the desiccant that way anymore, and the devices are being upgraded to use an LED and battery in place of the Tritium lamp) (duh)

    Is Tritium safe? Again, I don't have the answer, but if you own a Tritium lamp, chances are a wipe test will detect "some" level of contamination. If you want to check your glow ring or other Tritium lamp source, look for testing labs on the web that can do liquid scintillation testing. It's simple and easy to do, and should not be very expensive. You will get a bottle with some distilled water in it, and some dry filter paper. Wipe the dry filter paper all over the outside surface of the lamp and then drop into the water, seal the bottle and send back to lab. You should have results in a couple weeks.

    I know I've opened the proverbial can of worms here, but my experience has shown that Tritium devices are self-contaminating, and thought I had to say something. Again, is it safe? I don't know............

  7. #27
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    This thread seems to be one of the more interesting on the forum.
    Started in 2007, and many different versions and sources listed as well as a large list of one of just a few posts and moved on......

    I would be interested in hearing from some of you folks that breezed thru.
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  8. #28
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    You cannot post a link until you have 10 posts. It's to deter spam.

    It's customary when posting someone else's work that you give them credit. Not everyone will know that CPF is Candle Power Forum. Fact #2 is not a fact. In fact, it's wrong. There are plenty of examples of tritium devices in use every day and it does not require any special permits to own them. Compasses, exit signs and watches are just a few. Tritium cannot harm you unless you ingest it in some way. In fact, it cannot penetrate skin.

  9. #29

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    The local NAPA store here did have them for $0.99 each. They use two 3 volt coin cells to power a super bright LED. Got one in each of my kits as backups. They are also called photon lights: http://www.photonlight.com/led-flash...rt=bestselling
    Last edited by Lamewolf; 09-20-2014 at 01:36 PM.
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    Resident Wildman Wildthang's Avatar
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    And here I thought they were a gift to mankind from ancient aliens, what a let down!

  11. #31
    Junior Member Tokwan's Avatar
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    Beta Lites and Nitestiks are used to mark things. Campers use them to mark the tent pegs or the guylines so that one does not trip over..or at least that is what I use them for.
    Beta Lites are qyuite expensive and costs about 10 times of the McNett Nitestiks.
    Beta lites does not need charging as they are are self emitting and their glow in the dark lasts longer.
    Nitestiks on the hand needs at least 5 to 10 minutes charging in any kinda light...and its okay to leave in the sun during the day time. The glow is not as lasting as Beta , but they seems to be doing fine for at least 8 to 10 hrs.
    Costs cheap and worth it.
    I have a few of them...mainly use ofr tent pegs, guy lines, trail marking to go the stream and personal toilet in the jungle at nite...and asa marker where I placed my 45 and my parang.
    I'm a Gramp who is not computer savvy, give me a slab and the rock ages tablet..I will do fine!

  12. #32

    Default Beta light

    Try typing in www.Beta-light.com
    There is also a thing called a betalight magnifier map reader
    or maybe type in Betalight b.v.
    or www.betalight.nl

    Hope this helps. Im trying to get one too. Ive seen them when i was in the Marine Corps and see em in movies too. They are really cool.

  13. #33
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    Those things are pretty expensive. I have glow stick holders. You can pick them for for $5 or less, you can control the amount of light output and you can purchase a lot of glow sticks for what the Beta Torch costs.

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  14. #34

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    Hi I'm ex sas & the light that was in lofty's book is a betalight torch you can buy them
    for around £80 they don't take battery's & you don't charge them up they are filled with a gas & last from 10-20 years there a really good bit of kit.

    I hope this helps

    Steve

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  16. #36
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    I have several of the Tritium "GloRings" that I managed to get sent from England and a terrific Isobrite T100 tritium watch. The Betalight is indeed a tritium based light-source that can be found by typing in betalight dot nl /en and search under outdoor tactical torch. The tritium tubes are NOT dangerous as Tritium is an alpha particle source and has practically zero radioactivity. I had my watch checked by two different radioactive readers and had the same reading as background readings.
    The Glo rings are interesting as they glow for years but are quite dim, green is the best color. The T100 watch is a lot brighter and glows enough to easily read the time under dim to dark conditions and can light things up a bit once my eyes are dark adapted. Love the watch.
    A great substitution for the beta light is a battery based LED "glow light" that works for year or so and then is renewed by replacing a cheap coin cell. It is called Xodus Innovations BL300 Glowing LED Key Chain FOB on Amazon. I have used 7 of them for two years now and they glow a lot more brightly than Tritium and have a bright light function. Recommended for attaching to flashlight and backpack zipper tab along with the usual key rings and car keys. They wear well and so far have stood up to getting soaking wet on numerous occasions. 2032 coin cell battery needs to be replaced every year or so.
    I love little glow in the dark things.

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