Infra-red LED's

[ateallthepies]

Do any of you guys know if there are high output infra-red versions of the LED's fitted in the torches we use?

I know you can get drop-in infra-red heads but these are pretty rubbish as the range is pitiful. I have a 3 watt version bought from e-bay and while it is O.K for close ranges I want to build a torch with a high output infra-red emitter for longer ranges.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Steve.

 

[pOkiE]

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=229637

check out the link. i havent purchased anything from him, but am definitely thinking about getting a IR LED dropin. i still think your best bet will be a incan with IR filter.

 

[lolzertank]

IIRC, Osram makes a high power IR Golden Dragon that has a drive current of 1A. I think Mouser has them for around $10.

 

[ateallthepies]

Thanks all,

I have several incans and filters for them and yes they are good. I was wondering if pure IR light straight out a diode would be better, rather than an incan's output going through a filter?

The 3 watt drop-in IR heads I have are O.K but very floody and I am after more throw.

Would an IR cree style diode be capable of throwing IR light out to the ranges of the normal white light cree torches like the A9 or TK11?


Steve.

 

[socom1970]

Thanks all,

I have several incans and filters for them and yes they are good. I was wondering if pure IR light straight out a diode would be better, rather than an incan's output going through a filter?

The 3 watt drop-in IR heads I have are O.K but very floody and I am after more throw.

Would an IR cree style diode be capable of throwing IR light out to the ranges of the normal white light cree torches like the A9 or TK11?


Steve.

AFAIK, it is always better to use direct output sources rather than a filtered source. The filter will always cause output loss. I was impressed by this when I had my 9P+P91+Red filter pitted against my L1-Red Lumamax. Theoretically (lumens-wise), the 9P combo should have blown away the L1-Red.

The opposite happened. The L1 was the first SF I ever had with a red LED for a main beam. The L1-R on high was very impressive and brighter on high than the combo! It appears as if I would have to put a red filter on my M4+MN61 to equal the L1-R's output on high. THAT is saying something.

That leads me to believe the same would be true for IR light as IR filters reduce output so much more. Also, filters on incans produce A LOT of heat when used for extended runtimes, especially IR filters.

As far as your question about IR Crees throwing as far as visible-light Crees, I am not sure about throw properties. However, because visible-light Crees do have so much output and throw, I would surmise that their IR counterparts would produce similar IR results.

You may just have to buy some "test samples" to see for yourself!

You can always return what you don't want to keep or sell it later if you get tired of it.:thumbsup: