TubeVN - Best Keychain Light (Must Have)

[mellowhead]

I'm going to change the topic, I think I just discovered something that wasn't reported about the Tube lights.
How about using your tube as emergency lighting.
How you as, ok I'll tell you.
First turn the tube on either high or low. You can not use any adjustable level in between, it will need to be either high or low.
Then plug your tube and and watch it turn off. Now you should have that nice blue light telling you it's charging.
Now unplug either the cable from the USB port, or the USB power adapter from the wall and watch the tube turn back on to that high or low level you originally had it at before starting the charge.

Even after the blue charge light turns off the tube will stay off as long as it senses power in the cable.
So as a emergency lighting this means when the power goes out, the tube will light up for you to find it in the dark.

Note: Some USB power adapters will hold a charge so you might have to wait a minute before the tube comes on. All the power needs to drain from the charger first.

Cool find! Probably best to use the low setting if you're going to do this.

 

[ScottJD]

I posted this thread earlier today before I realized I have a problem with the warm LED on my TubeVN. All the warm LED shots have been redone now that the issue is resolved. Also to show the best natural look to the warm led option I have adjusted the white balance to 4000K using my ZB SC52W for the calibration shots. Previous pictures I had taken had the white balance set at incandescent. So to be thorough I've re-done the stock LED shots as well with the white balance at 4000K. So all these pictures are new. I also added some random shots.

Each shot explains what LED is in the tube, and if the tube is running stock power or if it's the TubeVN with boosted power. To keep in line with SelfBuilts review I did the shots using the same distance from the wall at 0.75m and with the same shutter speed he uses for his shots.

The only difference is I manually set the white balance to 4000K to show the difference in LED tints between the Stock LED and Vinh Warm LED option.

All beam shot were taken with the highest setting on the light.
0: Calibrating WB was with my SC52W L2 using low, medium 1, medium 2, high 1 and high 2 Li-ion @ 500lm
1: Stock Tube with the stock LED
2: TubeVN Boosted
3: Stock Tube with warmer LED
4: TubeVN Boosted with warmer LED
5: Side by Side with stock Tube and TubeVN both with warmer LED
6: Other Random Shots

The remaining shots are collages with direct comparison of LED combinations, boosted and non-boosted noted in the pictures.
Details:
Camera: Nikon D-90
Lens: Tokina wide angle 11-16 f/2.8
Text added with IOS app Phonto
Some editing was done with IOS app PS (Photo Shop) Touch for collages.
Pictures were resized with IOS app BatchResizer for faster upload and downloading.
Pictures were uploaded with IOS app PhotoBucket
All work done on an IPad Mini Retina

Enjoy..... Thank you,
Scott

Note about the reference shot:
I know the basement wall looks a little yellow, but believe it or not it's a pure white. It's nothing but the cylinder white moisture prevention sealing paint. All the other walls in my house are and off white. The reason it looks yellowish is because of the flood lights I have installed in the ceiling light receptacles. All the lights in my house are LED and most appear yellowish on the warmer side.

 

[more_vampires]

ScottJD, thanks for taking the time to post that. Extremely informative!

 

[MaxBeam]

Great pictures and documentation Scott. Thank you very much!

 

[ScottJD]

You welcome, thanks for the complements. It can be time consuming, I got a new found respect for SelfBuilt reviews now knowing how much time can go into labeling and taking pictures, staging, cropping, and posting.

 

[scout24]

My warm white boosted TubeVN arrived today. Nice work, Vinh. Thank you!!!

 

[ven]

Fantastic beam pics Scott,thanks for sharing

 

[Robocop]

Vinh this is a nice little mod and I am curious if you can say how much power the factory circuit supplies to this 5mm LED on high setting. 45 lumens is amazing from a single 5mm and after your mod it is even more impressive.

Is this some type of new 5mm LED that can make this much power? I have been away for a while however it seems like I remember maybe 20 lumens top from a good 5mm LED was the max a year past. If you have any idea of who supplies this 5mm LED it would be a good choice for a few other hosts if we could find them.

I skimmed this thread and sorry if this has been answered but if so I missed it. I did see where you say you are boosting the output to the factory LED and have you any idea what is supplied to the LED after you tweak the circuit? None the less this little tube is impressive as is and with your modded output it is simply amazing for a single 5mm.

 

[lumentia]

I received my warm tube vn a few days ago..it's a non boosted one- which i specifically requested and the output turned out just like I imagined. It has a real nice low, perfect for its intended purpose- as a tent light and occasional night light.

The tint is a little warmer than I usually prefer but it's much better than the harsh, super cool tint of the stocker and is real easy on the eyes when they're dark adapted.

Thanks Vinh!

 

[ven]

Vinh this is a nice little mod and I am curious if you can say how much power the factory circuit supplies to this 5mm LED on high setting. 45 lumens is amazing from a single 5mm and after your mod it is even more impressive.

Is this some type of new 5mm LED that can make this much power? I have been away for a while however it seems like I remember maybe 20 lumens top from a good 5mm LED was the max a year past. If you have any idea of who supplies this 5mm LED it would be a good choice for a few other hosts if we could find them.

I skimmed this thread and sorry if this has been answered but if so I missed it. I did see where you say you are boosting the output to the factory LED and have you any idea what is supplied to the LED after you tweak the circuit? None the less this little tube is impressive as is and with your modded output it is simply amazing for a single 5mm.

Hi there Robocop,some info here in mr selfbuilts excellent review
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...rechargeable)-review-RUNTIMES-BEAMSHOTS-VIDEO

ven

 

[Robocop]

Ven thank you much for that link and I never saw that thread when searching. Selfbuilt knows his work and if this can be figured out he most likely can. Thank you again

 

[wolfstyle]

Very impressive.

Any chance Clear will be coming back in stock?

 

[Skylumen]

Blue Green/Olive Pink Black Clear are all in stock

 

[Skylumen]

What is the most popular UV wavelength?

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

380-390nm but that's my own opinion.

 

[Jcrider48]

Hi Vin,

I need two more.

(1ea) Blue cool white
(1ea) Clear cool white

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[ScottJD]

380-390nm but that's my own opinion.

I would have said 385 or the same range 380-390.
That's the most useful wavelength for most things but no the easiest/cheapest to find.
I have one that's 390-405 and hope it stays under 400 since most polycarbonate glasses will block up to 400. But I have no way of testing.

 

[wolfstyle]

Payment sent for one clear TubeVN.

Forgot to put username in notes. Unique Transaction ID # 8AR97874YR3398130

wolfstyle

 

[wolfstyle]

Received my TubeVN today. What a great keychain light this will make, very bright. Thanks for a great product.

wolfstyle

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Vinh, question for you... what about swapping in color LEDs into the TubeVN? Red, Green, Blue, UV maybe?