Lumens Factory A2 LED dropin
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Lumen83
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I like the idea of any dual-spectrum gas pedal light with the reliability of an LED that can be powered by a 16650. So, it does have something that piques my curiosity. But, it seems a bit underwhelming at 300 lumens. I'd have to see the beam. I'm not a lumen chaser by any means, but I'd be more interested at 500. Something to give it a clear and overwhelming advantage in some aspect vs. the incan beam. The other thing is, it has a low level. Which seems odd because the A2s already have an LED ring for low mode. With this drop in, do we scrap the ring? Is the A2 just a host for this drop in and we lose the low mode of red, green, yellow-green, etc.?
From what I have read. When low is in use the factory 5mm leds still light along with the main led. When in low mode there is current still running to the bulb but beings its an incan its not enough voltage to light up the wire. It is however enough to light and LED so the 5mm come on along with the main LED. Specs read 40 lumens with all leds lit up. 350 on high as you let the voltage flow through.
I'd be much more interested if it still only used the 5 mm leds on low mode. However I guess its not possible giving how the driver works in the A2
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thermal guy
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350 on high?! I didn't know that!
Lumen83
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My thoughts too. It sounds like they are rendered useless with this drop in. Having the low red or green on the A2 is so nice for me at night to preserve my night adapted vision. And then only use the main beam when needed. On the other hand, I have a white A2 with horrible blue tint LEDs that I can't stand. Maybe this LED drop in will give me a more enjoyable light than that.
thermal guy
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Putting a led in a A2's main beam is something I would never do so I didn't dig to much into the details. That is pretty impressive.
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@teak
Yes I have one of these. It's my de-facto bulb setup on my only A2. If you'd still want to retain the 5mm low mode and brighter hotspot then this module may not be for you.
So yes the low mode is pretty much defeated with this module. But with white 5mm LEDs then the low mode complements those very well. If however you need low mode in other colored LEDs (red, green etc.) then you're out of luck.
Meanwhile 350lm gross output is not very impressive. I'd say, barely OK for this A2 setup. But the challenge with producing this module is to have its driver work in conjunction with the A2 body's other driver, which steps down everything. So even if LF module is configured to drive harder the in-body driver will offset the extra output.
Forgot the exact specs of the module's driver. Think the drive current is around 1.3-1.4A.
Yes I have one of these. It's my de-facto bulb setup on my only A2. If you'd still want to retain the 5mm low mode and brighter hotspot then this module may not be for you.
So yes the low mode is pretty much defeated with this module. But with white 5mm LEDs then the low mode complements those very well. If however you need low mode in other colored LEDs (red, green etc.) then you're out of luck.
Meanwhile 350lm gross output is not very impressive. I'd say, barely OK for this A2 setup. But the challenge with producing this module is to have its driver work in conjunction with the A2 body's other driver, which steps down everything. So even if LF module is configured to drive harder the in-body driver will offset the extra output.
Forgot the exact specs of the module's driver. Think the drive current is around 1.3-1.4A.
Well....to start, thanks for the reply. Yes, if one was using colored leds like red. This dropin would make useless. For those that have the crappy factory white leds then its more useful. Sounds like this dropin takes away the great Hotspot that the incan provides due to the shallow reflector, same as leds in the incan e2s etc. Output differences on high may only be 100 lumens or around. Sounds to me the only improvement is runtime, and not by much. I'm not going to waste the 60 bucks on it for sure.
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I read about how Mark had built a really good attempt at an update to the A2 but figured it would probably be about as popular as new Coke was.
The A2 in it's original platform was an either love it or hate it light with both camps deeply entrenched in their reason(s) why. If anything could unite some it was the Lumens Factory LED drop in. lol.
The A2 in it's original platform was an either love it or hate it light with both camps deeply entrenched in their reason(s) why. If anything could unite some it was the Lumens Factory LED drop in. lol.
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Yes, I'm really surprised more people didn't pick them up. I may still at some point just to try out but I'm in no rush.
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Lumen83
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I'm a big fan of Mark and what he does for our hobby. I've bought a lot of LF stuff. You are right that there are A2 lovers and A2 haters. Here is the problem with this LED and why it isn't uniting anyone. First, the A2 lovers for the most part love the beautiful incan beam and low level colored LEDs. This drop in ruins all of that. So that camp is not interested. Second, the A2 haters have long since moved on and found LED lights that suit their needs. The majority of A2 haters don't own an A2 and have no intention of buying an A2 to drop this LED into, when they can find other lights on the market ready to buy in one single package with similar features. So, both camps are not interested for the most part. Some, like myself, are still considering it. But by and large this is a marketing issue and not an issue with the drop in. I'm sure it is high quality and very useful for those who find a use for it.
Yes Mark has done great things for us and I too own numerous Lumens Factory offerings. I applaud his attempt to update the A2 as well but frankly I don't want mine to be 350 lumens. 100 with a bunch more runtime would be plenty for me.
The only people I've ever seen pour beer over ice is old people. I think it's an old people thing. I decided I like the idea though, especially with a cheap lager in the summer.
LED drop-in with an A2 seems pretty off though. Good analogy at any rate..
That being said I might get one anyways. But it would have to be a warm high CRI version.
And I would like to see an unfrosted version of the A2 lamp again.
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