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Originally Posted by Off in the Bushes
So how do you find out which light you have?
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Without having a spectrometer, it is hard to tell actual output.
There are 2 ways to figure it out. First, what kind of batteries/power source do you have? If the light source runs on watch batteries, it is unlikely to generate enough current to convert to photon energy.
Secondly, what is the dispersion of your light source. Diagnostic sources are intended to cover a large surface area. The Loon rechargeable light source uses a single LED with diameter of about 6cm at about a 10cm distance. The LED flashlight is about 3cm in diameter. It is a very tight cone.
Take a look at this flashlight If you look at the pictures, you will see how the light source disperse very quickly---almost 180 degrees from the source.
High powered LED (especially UV capable) are still quite expensive. The LED in the Loon light sources are probably $5 compared to pennies per LED in the diagnostic sources. LED themselves are not all the same---the LED with a tighter dispersion pattern will be more expensive.
You can still use a diagnostic light source to cure UV resin, it just takes a lot more time---probably around 45-60 seconds for 1mm of resin instead of 15 seconds with purpose-built light source.