My head is spinning, where do I get started

[Tucson Tom]

OK, I am reading threads and trying to sort things out. There are Cree and Luxeon and Rigels and these are various manufacturers with various models. Then there are R2 and R4 and I am not at all clear what that is all about. And on it goes. I know if I just keep reading I will eventually catch on, but I am wondering if I am missing some central source of information on the site.

Apart from enjoying nice flashlights (I just ordered a Quark AA after a little bit of reading on the site). I have some ideas about do it yourself projects as well, so this site seems like just the place. Anyhow, this is my first post, so feel free to point me to information that will help me sort out lingo and nomenclature regarding LED technology. Then it will be on from there to flashlights and do it yourself projects (I see that some flashlight makers will sell just the head of their lights, this might be just the thing!!!

 

[gcbryan]

I think the info is scattered all over the site.

In general you have Cree with their XP-E emitters and their XP-G emitters and their quad MC-E emitters.
Luminus has SST-50 and SST-90 emitters.
SSC has P7 quad emitters.

When each of those companies manufactures their emitters there is a lot of variability. So they sort their emitters into "bins" by various characteristics.

When you see P4,Q5,R2 those are the flux bins for Cree emitters. So you have a XR-E R2 emitter which is more efficient (puts out more lumens) than a XR-E P4.

XP-G emitters come in R4 and R5 for the flux bins.

MC-E emitters are quad emitters. There is one die with 4 emitters on it.
P7 is SSC's version of the quad emitter.

You can also specify emitters by the color temperature...warm white, neutral whitel, or cold white.

This will get your started. You'll also need to learn about drivers to control the current that reaches the emitter. When the input voltage varies a little with emitters the current varies by a lot. It's easy to burn one out. There are "buck" drivers that bring the battery voltage down and "boost" drivers that bring the battery voltage up. There are "constant current" drivers that provide constant current and therefore constant brightness although for a shorter period of time than if you just let the emitter output gradually decline with reduced battery voltage over time as the battery is depleted.

 

[CarlR]

OK, since I just asked this question, and got some good information (including from gcbryan, who beat me to the punch) I felt it was my duty to post a link to that previous thread...

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=264995

There is some really good info in there if you follow the links. Take a look at the data sheets for the raw LED components - that's the heart of most lights.

Someday I will make a chart to make all this clear but it's hard because there are about six dimensions...

Good luck.

CarlR

 

[Tucson Tom]

OK, thanks a lot guys.

This is just the kind of orientation I was hoping I would get. I take it that Cree is now "top dog" in the high output LED game. And I take it also that Luxeon is pretty much behind the curve.

I have a 4sevens "quark" flashlight on order. It claims to have a Cree XP-G R5 emitter in it. I take it now that the R5 indicates a higher level binning of this particular part, eh? I hope this is a decent choice of light.

I'll study the links and resources you have recommended and work up my own set of notes. That is the only way I can get this kind of thing straight, thanks again.