Badboy + Q3 vs. e2e w/ kl1

Mateo

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i just received my badboy 400 w/q3l and a few mineral glass lenses yesterday. install was a breeze. my question is as follows: how does the bb400 stack up against an e2e w/kl1? should they be equal in brightness? is the kl1 superior? and by how much? i could troll throught he boards for this answer but, come on!!! any and all replies would be greatly appreciated. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif
 

FalconFX

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Welcome to CPF!

The BB400Q3L is a bit brighter than the KL1, and noticeably whiter...
 

Mateo

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i thought so, cause i have both and mine (bb400) is not as bright as my kl1 (w/ e2e). i will use another set of batteries to eliminate that as a reason for the disparity. if that doesn't help what should i do? contact wayne? thanks falconfx for your quick reply.
 

obeck

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Two things:

1) you might have gotten a particularly good kl1.

2) you might ask an uninterested and objective third party (kid, neighbor, wife) which THEY think is whiter and brighter.

Things like color and beam pattern and the surface viewed can produce conflicting opinions on the white/bright of a Luxeon. The only truly objective measure is some kind of light meter. The eye will play tricks on you.
 

Mateo

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maybe but the difference is noticable and obvious, the disparity can be seen with the naked eye. i am not even looking at whiteness, the kl1 is brighter side by side from the same distance the kl1's light overpowers my bb, i did not think that would be the case.
 

PieThatCorner

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Hmmmmm.... my BB400 Q3L produced a much brighter and whiter output than my KL1/E2e combo. If your BB400 Q3L is putting out a noticeably lower brightness, then I'm wondering if something is burned out... didn't I read something like this in another thread? Help me out here, Choua...

Although... I also recall reading about some exceptionally bright KL1's... * see "Luxeon lottery"

-Jim
 

Bullzeyebill

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My MM is brighter than my KL1, to my eyes. Is it possible that SF is using improved bin #'s? Steve, when did you get your KL1? Bill
 

FalconFX

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The most recent KL1s are at least whiter than their earlier models... The early models of the KL1s were notoriously violet or blue in shade... The latest model KL1 I have is A01771, so I can't comment on the newer KL1s. But all 3 of my KL1s are not as bright and not as white as the BB400 with Q3L upgrade...

Now, if I compare my BB400 (REGULAR BB400, NOT the Q3 upgrade), then both lights are about the same in brightness, although the BB400 is still whiter...

Lemme get another quick Meterman measurement... (10 more min...)
 

FalconFX

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Okie... one of my BB400Q3Ls measure 418 Lux with a set of IPowerus 2.1Ah batts...

With those exact same IPowerus cells in a UBHII housing a KL1 (A01663), I measured 342 Lux on my LM631 Meterman...
 

paulr

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Comparing my BB400/Q3L to an Arc LSL-P, the Arc is a bit brighter but the BB400 is whiter. The Arc has a blue/violet cast that's fairly noticable.
 

FalconFX

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I think I did it on another thread, Bill...
Hold on.. 5 more mins, and I'll get it posted...

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 

FalconFX

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Okay... On a pair of nearly topped off Maha 1800mah NiMHs (nearly on the CCrane charger; it went into trickle mode), I got 589 Lux...

I got one of the 2 early-first models of MM+ Dat2zip sent out, and this one's quite up there...
 

PieThatCorner

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I knew Choua could add to this thread... thanks for the metering. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

I really like the BB400/BB500 setup... plus, it's really hard to beat the dollar cost of the sandwich when you're looking for a nice cost-effective setup, such as with rechargeable batteries.

-Jim
 

FalconFX

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No prob guys...
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

PS: You'll have to remember that not all Luxeons are created equal, and these measurements are of what I have... So YMWV...
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 

treek13

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Luxeons vary greatly even within the same bin.

Two Q3's driven at the same current can vary from 30.6 to 39.8 LM according to Lumileds.

If you read the comments of Peter Gransee and Mr Bulk, both of whom have seen a lot of luxeons, they both say that luxeons from the same reel/same bin can vary even more than this. Both of them say that in a reel of the appropriate bin for their uses, they have to discard many luxeons for not being as bright or white as they are supposed to be.

Also, Surefire has never revealed their standards for which luxeons they will use in the KLx. We know they will not use the greenies and that they tend to the blue/violet but we have no idea how much variation in brightness they allow.

Thus, comparisons like this are pointless. Luxeons just vary way too much at this time to predict which will be brighter even if we did know what Surefire is using.

End of rant,
Pat
Sorry /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif
 
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