Polilight® PL500

Image enhancement software purpose built for the forensic environment. Improving contrast between ridge detail and the background has never been this easy, incorporating many functions, such as gamma, contrast and brightness corrections and many more.

Applications of a Forensic Light Source

Applications for portable forensic light sources have been developed now for over ten years, but even today more applications are being discovered and developed for use at the crime scene and in the laboratory. Replacing the large, expensive and inflexible lasers previously used, applications cover a wide range of forensic investigation.

Well documented Polilight usage includes the location and capture photographic of latent fingerprints, footprints, bloody fingerprints and blood patterns, fibers, powders, stains, paint chips, gunshot residues, tattoos, bruises, semen, and also include a variety of forensic document applications including obliterations, alterations and forgeries.

Other noted applications are, location of bone fragments, drugs with cutting agents, lipstick residue, saliva, fire accelerant, and an unlimited number of possible contaminates such as greases, industrial chemicals and plant samples.

Long Life 500 Watt Xenon Lamp

The Polilight PL500 with its new concept 500 Watt Xenon arc lamp and unique optical design delivers almost 3 times more optical power at the output end of the light guide compared to the 300 Watt Polilight PL10. The result is a dramatic increase in light output power, and more power means finding more evidence more easily. The 500 Watt Xenon lamp has a life of at least 1000-3000 hours.

Changing a lamp takes only a few minutes since the lamp module simply clips into a pre-aligned housing ensuring rapid and accurate lamp installation. A built in meter advises the user of the lamp life.

500 Watt Universal Power Supply

The Polilight PL500 power supply has been totally redesigned to incorporate the latest switch-mode power supply technology which provides a unique unity power supply. This means that the Polilight PL500 can accept any input AC voltage from between 85 and 265V and at any frequency between 50-60Hz, and still supply the Xenon lamp with stable 500 Watt power. The new power supply incorporates the new requirements for EMC Electro-Magnetic Compatibility regulations. Power output can be varied between 300–500 Watts using the front panel switches or the remote control.

Easy to use Front Panel Design

The Polilight PL500 is designed with the user in mind and incorporates state-of-the-art microprocessor control with stepper motor driven filter selection, filter tuning and power selection. All filters are individually selected at the touch of a single button on the front of the instrument. The selected center wavelength of the band is shown on an LED display with a second LED displaying the extent of filter tuning and output power selected.

After initial power-up, the Polilight PL500 will automatically go to the 450nm broadband blue filter which is the most commonly used filter for general crime scene examination. For safety the default power setting is set to low.

Liquid Light Guide

The light output from the Polilight PL500 is via a unique and flexible 8mm internal diameter liquid light guide designed to collect and transmit the light output with high efficiency. The new light guide is connected to the light source by a unique plug and twist mechanism which makes fitting and removing the light guide extremely rapid and easy. The output light is focused using a quartz lens producing an even light spot. The stainless steel protective sheath ensures the long life of the light guide in the field.

Ergonomic Design

The Polilight PL500 is smaller and lighter than existing Polilight models, even though the optical power output is three times higher. The Polilight PL500 is designed with crime scene applications in mind and is designed to be carried on aircraft as carry on or checked baggage.

The unit is built in an aluminum case with bumpers on all corners to provide shock protection. A reinforced carry case is provided for easy transportation of the Polilight PL500 and its accessories.

Remote Control Operation

A small hand held remote control provides the option of operating the Polilight PL500 from up to three meters away. Filter selection, filter and power tuning can all be performed through a simple four button remote control.

Tunable High Power Optical Filters

The high powers resulting from the 500 Watt Xenon lamps would damage and drastically reduce the lifetime of the filter types used in previous Polilight models. So unique new filters were specifically developed for the highly powered Polilight PL500 to ensure long life and purity of light. The new filters are specifically designed to withstand the very high optical energy output by the Polilight PL500. Purity of the light band produced was critical and high rejection of stray light essential to the success of previous Polilight models.

The new Polilight PL500 filters are interference type filters and can be tuned to achieve the precise output bands required.

Safeguards

The use of microprocessors within the new Polilight PL500 has allowed us to incorporate some new safety designs not able to be implemented on any other light source.

The Polilight PL500 monitors its internal temperatures and will turn off the lamp rather than let any potential damage occur. Should any internal electrical levels not be within acceptable limits the unit will not allow the power supply to attempt to strike the lamp. Light flashes occurring between filter changes have been eliminated. All these features are designed to provide protection to the operator, and the instrument, against any accidental or ill-advised usage.

Output Light Bands

Instead of the 10 bands supplied with the Polilight PL10 and six bands of the Polilight PL6, the new Polilight PL500 has twelve bands in the UV/Visible range. The new bands are the blue 470nm and 490nm. These bands add flexibility to investigations since they are narrower than the general investigation wide blue 450nm band. The continuous tunability of the Polilight filtering system makes it possible to select any peak wavelength in the range 385 to 665nm.

Easy Maintenance

A major design objective of the new Polilight PL500 has been to dramatically reduce any potential maintenance down time. The new 500 Watt Xenon lamp unit is designed into an easy access position and lamp change over time has been reduced by 80%.The power supply replacement time has been reduced by 95%. These savings have been achieved by adopting a modular construction design and by applying ten years of light source servicing experience. Instrument down time and possible service charges will be significantly reduced as a result.