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Isotopes

Ben Cullen

Ben Cullen

Active Member
What isotope colours are people using

At moment ive a yellow solar 1 on 1 rod and a red solar on other but rally struggle to see the red is there a colour thats easiest to pick out tried a blue 1 i found in a old bobbin but thats worse than the red

Ta
 
Mine are built- in and whitish colour
I did get some cheap glowsticks off Amazon ( sorry the link has gone for them)for other rods and use then with a Drennan after market isotope holder
You can't miss them albeit you need to keep changing each session but you get a lot for the money.( 50 for £6 but no doubt they will have gone up)
 
I recently bought a red korda one as I don't like them too bright, but it's a struggle to see it at the end of the rod! I might change it for a white.
 
The brightest is green its the natural colour of the gas brightness depends on a few things SIZE bigger is brighter it contains more gas and a higher pressure
age they do dull with age
makes NO MAKE is brighter than any other size for size the reason is there are very very strict laws concerning the pressure of isotopes and only 2 or possibly 3 manufacturer`s and by law they all have to have the same pressure so one make cannot be brighter than any other unless of course its been sitting in a shop/warehouse for a year or so
IMO
the very best place to buy any isotopes is off someone that sells lots then you know the stock is factory fresh EBAY >> darrencarp is a great person to buy possibly the best he also has a webpage sometimes there is a price difference between them https://www.iceatope.co.uk/product/icotopes/

brightest colours in order to the human eye
Green
Blue
Yellow
White
Orange
UV Blue
Red
Purple
 
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Blue for me. Rod tip, Alarms, bobbins when I use them. The ATTs alarms have tiny slots in them and I've got them in there as well, can't hardly see them they're that small, but I'm a tart too, so they're in there. LOL.
 
I have bought from betamaster on eBay and directly and ca recommend Qualität and pries.

Thanks much for the other options mentioned! You can never have enough it seems!

I have green ones which are brightest as mentioned and orange which looks great and is bright enough for most conditions.

If only the darn things would stay straight in the isotope holders on the rods!
 
Isotopes contain tritium which is a colourless gas. It emits low level radiation by beta emission which excites a phosphor and it is the colour of the phosphor that determines the colour we see. Agree with the scale of visibility given above.
 
Green for me too. Definitely the most visible by a long way.
For rod tips the 25x3 korda isotopes are absolutely perfect. I have them fitted to 5 of my rods and you see them very clearly from all positions and angles.
 
Rod tip - green 22.5 x 3mm Enterprise
Front rod rest, glued (silicone) into slot in face - green 10mm
Rear rod rest, glued (silicone) into slot in top - green 6mm

Preferably using old isotopes so they are not so bright

My reasoning for all of these :

the ones on the rod tip, obvious
the ones in the front rod rests allow me to place the rod without using a head torch
the ones in the rear rod rests allow me to place the butt of the rod without using a head torch, and when the rod is in position you cannot see the isotope!

With a single rod tip isotope I remember the apparent dancing when your eyes play those tricks. Now with rods (two) in position I see four dim lights in a pattern, any deviation in the pattern must mean a bite! and no dancing falsies :D. Coupled with centrepin ratchet for audible indication, what can go wrong? :)
 
I've heatshrunk 22.5mmx3mm green ones to my rod tips and they show up well, not as bright as chemical lights but visible enough.

Gardner I think they were.
 
Hmm, I have been mulling over getting some nice bright isotopes for about 20 years…. but, the number of times I use rod tip lights, means that to buy £5.00 worth of glowsticks will give me over three possibly four years worth of use.

So , I use glowsticks…. I bung them in the freezer and get at least two sessionsworth out of one glowstick.

Then again, quite often I dont bother with tip lights at all, relying on either the scream of the centrepin check, or more often, touch ledgering.

David.
 
Gerry Giles said:
The brightest is green its the natural colour of the gas brightness depends on a few things SIZE bigger is brighter it contains more gas and a higher pressure
age they do dull with age
makes NO MAKE is brighter than any other size for size the reason is there are very very strict laws concerning the pressure of isotopes and only 2 or possibly 3 manufacturer`s and by law they all have to have the same pressure so one make cannot be brighter than any other unless of course its been sitting in a shop/warehouse for a year or so
IMO
the very best place to buy any isotopes is off someone that sells lots then you know the stock is factory fresh EBAY >> darrencarp is a great person to buy possibly the best he also has a webpage sometimes there is a price difference between them https://www.iceatope.co.uk/product/icotopes/

brightest colours in order to the human eye
Green
Blue
Yellow
White
Orange
UV Blue
Red
Purple
Click to expand...
Il second that Gerry, Darren carp is brilliant had mine off him!
I'd definitely go for the natural green ones.
 
David Craine said:
Hmm, I have been mulling over getting some nice bright isotopes for about 20 years…. but, the number of times I use rod tip lights, means that to buy £5.00 worth of glowsticks will give me over three possibly four years worth of use.

So , I use glowsticks…. I bung them in the freezer and get at least two sessionsworth out of one glowstick.

Then again, quite often I dont bother with tip lights at all, relying on either the scream of the centrepin check, or more often, touch ledgering.

David.
Click to expand...
to be honest I have isotopes shrink wrapped on my Fox Duo-lite rods

but on my Daiwa Powermesh rods that I prefer and use 90% of the time I use MK 4 Fishing Tip Lights the batterys easily last a season on the green or blue but ??? I have had to paint the bodys black to tone the very bright led down a bit
for some reason Red seems to eat the batterys ? weird !
 
I’m a huge fan of isotopes because they are a very personal illumination device. Unlike the snap chemical lights they don’t have the lummens to land planes.
I have them on front and rear rests, I have one shrunk to a baiting needle and I even have a couple of short ones shrunk to a pike float so I can fish a little further into darkness when the big girls sometimes come out to play.
I don’t buy them to try save money over the much cheaper brighter disposables, I buy them because they offer the perfect amount of visibility to me and practically no visibility to anyone else on the bankside.
B4BD5841-264D-4989-A637-3BCFF23E3F38.jpeg
 
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