5mm LEDs Rock!!!

[Ratso]

With Luxeon LEDs dominating the LED forum as of late, I still love the 'traditional' 5mm LED. I have a Streamlight Septor 7 LED headlight which I use for backpacking and power outages. I've used it intermittently over the last 3 years, mostly used while camping, and once it was left on all night accidentally in the tent. A recent power outage got me thinking about how the 1 LED setting can be much more pleasing to the eye that a bright glaring hotspot of the Luxeon. 1 LED was enough to do everything I needed in the dark. After the outage, the output of the Septor was maybe about 50-60%, so I decided to change the batteries. Then I realized that it was the first time I had ever changed the batteries in the thing! The original batteries (OE Duracells) have lasted me 3 years of use! While Luxeons are beginning to rival the output of incandescants, the new high power LEDs seem to 'forget' the original selling point of the LED: super long runtime! Luxeons will always be impressive because of their intensity, but I still turn to 'traditional' LEDs for their incredible usefulness when long runtime with a gentle flood of light is needed.

 

[357]

The luxeons in the Elektrolumens also have incredible runtime. I've been testing my FT3C for (over) the past week, and I'm now well over 50 hours runtime and its still useful light. The more dead the batteries become, the slower it dims. Even with 3 dead batteries, its still enough light to easily navigate in a room in pitch dark conditions.

But I agree, overall a 5mm led is likely to have better runtime, since it consumes less power than a luxeon.

 

[BBL]

I hope lights with selectable output - like Arc4 or SF-L1 - become more common. A luxeon running for a few days on a low-setting would be nice.

 

[Kiessling]

IMHO 5mm or 3mm LEDs are only fine in clusters that mask the poor output characteristics (compared to Luxeons). Then they give you a cool flood.
Of course a Lucxeon can do this, too, depending on the optical system.
The ideal solution would be (for me) a Luxeon with refelctor for some throw and a pack of 5mm for close-up ... this would be even better than the common multi-level lights because you get a change in beam characteristic as well.
bernhard

 

[steve_vance]

Hi everyone. One product I'm hoping to see soon is a light with a Luxeon surrounded by a ring of 5-8 5mm LEDs....with a switchable setting for 1-LEd, 3-LEd, 5/7-LED and Luxeon on, sort of like the Twin-Task but without the Xenon bub.
Anyone seen anything like this?

 

[leukos]

Here's a couple of Don's mods that might be what you are looking for: /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

http://dmcleish.com/CPF/xenergy/index.html

http://dmcleish.com/CPF/McT-plus/index.html

 

[357]

[ QUOTE ]
steve_vance said:
Hi everyone. One product I'm hoping to see soon is a light with a Luxeon surrounded by a ring of 5-8 5mm LEDs....with a switchable setting for 1-LEd, 3-LEd, 5/7-LED and Luxeon on, sort of like the Twin-Task but without the Xenon bub.
Anyone seen anything like this?

[/ QUOTE ]

There is a headlamp that uses IIRC three 5 mms in a ring, and a luxeon in the center.


I agree, this would be a useful setup on a flashlight.


Perhaps something like a Surefire A2, but with a Luxeon instead of Xenon...maybe Surefire will make something along these lines one day.


However, even if know one makes such a device for a while, a luxeon light with dimming settings should be just as handy, especially since (HD) luxeons generally don't have blue in the middle of the beam like Nichias do.

 

[Kirk]

Steve Vance,
I was going to mention the Foresight 3-D flashlight I bought at Target. It has 12 5-mm LEDs and a PR-based Xenon bulb. You could get an EverLed replacement bulb and have the best of both worlds--the 5-mm LEDs for runtime and the Luxeon for throw. But it only has 2 "ON" positions: all 12 LEDs or the Xenon bulb; no "single LED" or "6 LED". So....never mind! I, too, am still looking for something like you want.
Kirk

 

[asdalton]

You can always underdrive a Luxeon to get longer runtime--while keeping the advantages of tint, beam projection, and emitter lifetime that Luxeons have over the 5-mm LEDs. This last point is particularly important, since most 5-mm LEDs in flashlights are overdriven, and we now know that overdriving shortens their lifetime much more drastically than had been originally thought.

The 5-mm LEDs still have their place in keychain sized flashlights. I also like them in the Trek/Expedition lights for closeup or indoor use, since the LEDs in these flashlights appear to be handpicked for consistently good color (not bluish).

 

[Wim Hertog]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Als antwoord op:</font><hr />
steve_vance said:
Hi everyone. One product I'm hoping to see soon is a light with a Luxeon surrounded by a ring of 5-8 5mm LEDs....with a switchable setting for 1-LEd, 3-LEd, 5/7-LED and Luxeon on, sort of like the Twin-Task but without the Xenon bub.
Anyone seen anything like this?

[/ QUOTE ]

We are designing one in school (EE)as a small business project /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
It will have a 3W lux and 4 5mm LEDs surrounding the fraen optic. The light will be powered by a 3.6V 2200mAh Li-Ion accu, will be regulated and will have selectable modi with the tailcap switch (brightness etc).

 

[Gandalf]

I still use my old Eternalight Ergo Marine, and I picked up a couple of spare Eternalights from eBay, so I'll have them when I need them.

Nothing beats an Eternalight for a camping and/or power outage light! Not a lot of throw, but plenty of useful light. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif