XP-G is this normal??

Was messing around with my nearly new Nitecore and shining the beam through a lens onto a white wall to look at the LED. There is a thin dark line running across the middle of the led - it runs across the 4 phosphor strips. It's not visible when the light is off.

Any ideas? I took a picture of the LED but apparently I cannot post attachments - probably because I am new to the forum.

Thanks.

Get a photobucket account, a photo sizing program if necessary, then upload a pic - use the

Thanks for the advice! Hope this works. I have also added a link to Photobucket just in case. Sorry about picture quality but it was hard to take using the magnifier from a Swiss Army knife and a little point-and-shoot camera! Anyway you should be able to make out the current spreader lines and the thicker dark line running right across them. What is it??

http://s1115.photobucket.com/albums/k552/davecroft1/?action=view&current=IMG_3715.jpg

I agree, a picture is a thousand words. Check the faq on this forum. There is lots of info there on everything including how to post pics.

I am not sure as to what you're seeing but it does sound a little strange to me. I do have one xp-g that has some glue on it so it might be possible that there is something on the led.

Try to clean the LED and reflector
Off-topic: i suggest www.postimage.org
no register needed, simple UI and direct link to image, only draw back is you cant delete or manage the pics

Here you go.



I'm not really sure what that is, but I think the pic is awesome! Looks like some strange alien spacecraft sitting in front of a black hole in space.

Actually, it looks like a strip of dead phosphor. Has it always been like this? If so, then maybe it's a manufacturing defect?

I can't say what it is but I do know that none of mine look like that and that includes reflectored, aspheric, and optics.

If you have access to a shaded welding glass look at the emitted through it and see what it looks like.
Here is a damaged XM-L through a #10 shaded glass lens.

Dave:

No, it shouldn't look like that. The four strips of phosphor run vertically in your photo, so the dark strip looks like something in front of the LED.

Thanks for all the suggestions. It is definately not in front of the LED, it looks perfectly normal when switched off. It looks like it is in the phosphor itself or even behind it - I can get a sharp focus on the wires using my 'through a magnifying glass onto a white wall' method, but the dark line is always out of focus, that's another reason why I think it is behind the LED.
The Nitecore is only a few weeks old, not sure if this has been there all the time. Apart from this, the beam looks normal (apart from a slightly dark area in the hotspot - hardly noticeable) and the flashlight works fine.
I have another light with XP-G on order so it will be interesting to compare...

Just uploaded a couple more pics for anyone who is interested!

This one is a wider shot of the LED as previously, taken by shining flashlight through a lens onto a white wall:
http://s1115.photobucket.com/albums/k552/davecroft1/?action=view&current=ZDSC00305.jpg

And a beamshot on lowest setting:
http://s1115.photobucket.com/albums/k552/davecroft1/?action=view&current=ZSC00308.jpg

There must be something in the phosphor, cant be a void in the phospor or there would be blue light there.

jh333233 said:

Try to clean the LED and reflector
Off-topic: i suggest www.postimage.org
no register needed, simple UI and direct link to image, only draw back is you cant delete or manage the pics

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If reading this, I highly recommend that nobody take this advice here, trying the clean the reflector and LED that is.

You can clean the led if you're really careful using alcohol and gently, I repeat gently wiping with a q-tip. The reflector, well never touch the reflector. In fact, if possible, remove the reflector before attempting to clean the led.

The advice about not cleaning the reflector is good but the problem has nothing to do with the reflector. The defect is in or on the die itself or maybe the dome but I doubt that from the pics.

qwertyydude said:

You can clean the led if you're really careful using alcohol and gently, I repeat gently wiping with a q-tip. The reflector, well never touch the reflector. In fact, if possible, remove the reflector before attempting to clean the led.

Click to expand...

hrm yeah, i touched my reflector (different light) and got finger prints on it, then wiped them off gently. Did I ruin the reflector?

digitalerik said:

hrm yeah, i touched my reflector (different light) and got finger prints on it, then wiped them off gently. Did I ruin the reflector?

Click to expand...

Sometimes you can do it without ill effects but most times you do more harm than good. If the prints are gone and it looks normal then you did good and the reflector is still OK. Smooth reflectors are less forgiving than OP or textured ones.

LED manufacturers have a list of chemicals safe to use around their LEDs and a list that is not safe around their LEDS. Reflectors and the insides of lenses are almost impossible to clean, unless you are working with crappy reflectors/lenses (in which case it doesn't really matter because they probably do not have special coatings). I recommend leaving lenses and reflectors alone, if you must try only use bursts of air. It might be possible to cean LEDs with rubbing alcohol and q tips. Obviously, this does not apply if you are a professional and know how to clean such delicate surfaces. Fortunately with flashlights a smudge on the reflector or lens doesn't really affect the output significantly, it just looks bad when you look at the business end meticulously.
EDIT: My knowledge is limited but I agree with the following...

Morelite said:

The advice about not cleaning the reflector is good but the problem has nothing to do with the reflector. The defect is in or on the die itself or maybe the dome but I doubt that from the pics.

Click to expand...

aw man ocd is kicking in. When I replaced my reflector on my light, I did touch/hit the led by accident and had smudges on the backside of the lense from pulling everything out. HEH, and you know about the reflector.

Not to jack your thread, but thanks for the insight. Maybe my light isn't performing 100% now. The lense is coated as I can see purple and the company advertised as such. I RUINED IT! :duh2:

The coatings on lenses are like camera lens coatings, touching it probably didn't ruin it but they're harder to clean. A lens pen will clean it. But if you don't have one of those, I did recently discover the active ingredient is carbon black. I have a bunch of lamp black I bought from an art supply store and it cleans my multicoated filters quicker and better than anything else I've found.