where do you get your LEDs?...

i've been out of it for awhile, but with christmas coming up i decided to do a few conversions for folks...

used to buy my white LEDs from this guy...
http://www.whitelightled.com/
...but apparently he's having some domestic problems and isn't selling any longer (at least not that i want to wait around for)...so i was wondering where you guys go?...

specifically i'm looking for ~50 degree white LEDs...are nichias still king?...price is a factor but follows quality...

thanks for the input...

I would try The LED-Light, they stock Nichia 5mm white in both beam angles, and other Nichia colors too- blue, blue/green and green, plus Toshiba red/orange/yellow too. Prices are reasonable except you have to buy in multiples of 6. Volume discounts apply if you buy lots. No idea about shipping, except they`re not the cheapest for overseas buyers like me, so I havn`t got any from them yet.

2.90 vs 1.50

what's the quality like on theledlight.com's (2.90/piece)LEDs compared to whitelightled.com's (1.50/piece) LEDs?...

whitelightled.com's (1.50/piece) were of almost random quality, most were very good but some were off-color and dim...considering the price it was still a great deal (most were of fine quality)...if theledlight.com's (2.90/piece)LEDs have the same characteristics then i couldn't really justify spending $22.40 (with shipping, this is almost 3.75/piece) for 6 pieces unless it really was the next best place to buy small quantity loose LEDs...

Sorry, I can`t answer that one- I`ve not bought from either of them.

I`d expect they`d be good quality- at least on par with mr "funky web sight"`s LEDs. Other than there, well I don`t know. I think Hosfelt sells Nichia LEDs, prices may be about the same?

Be thankful you don`t live here! The cheapest place I know to get Nichia LEDs is Maplin Electronics, who sell 15 and 30 degree blue, green and 50 degree white (no 20deg ones) for £3/one off- that`s US$4.50!!!

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Chris M.:
Be thankful you don`t live here! The cheapest place I know to get Nichia LEDs <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You could buy them directly at Nichia inside the EC. Last time we got €1.90 + tax IIRC.

I am running out of LED's so I dropped him a line. Here is the reply I got. I guess he has disbanded with the credit and has gone to "send the bucks and you gets the lights". Fine with me. I used to send the money before I got the lights anyway.....never a problem.

FYI..

Dear Ken:

Yes I plan on doing more business in December.
But at this time I will take only mail in orders.
Sorry your had to suffer this fate too : - ( But I am hoping for a better love next time.
To answer your question I am fine I guess but it feels like only half my mind
is able to work on business and the other half is somewhere else.


May the Lord be with you : - )
Paul R. Wilcoxson
www.whiteLEDs.net
7604 red arrow hwy
lot 171
Watervliet MI 49098 USA

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by papasan:

specifically i'm looking for ~50 degree white LEDs...are nichias still king?...price is a factor but follows quality...
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
papasan-Why don't you try the LEDlight for those 50 degree ones? -Besides, I'd very much like to hear from somebody about how those new "warm white" LEDs look.:>)

You could buy them directly at Nichia inside the EC. Last time we got €1.90 + tax

What sort of quantity did you buy? If someone were looking only for a small amount, say, under 20, would it be cheaper to buy from a dealer? I thought Nichia charged loads for shipping too, via Fedex- I could never afford what those guys charge, for just a little tiny pack of 5mm diodes.


BTW what`s a "Euro" worth in real money these days ?

ChrisM..
What is a Euro worth?
Live Rates as of 2001.11.11 02:41:03 GMT.
1.00 USD
United States Dollars = 1.12045 EUR
Euros
1 USD = 1.12045 EUR 1 EUR = 0.892500 USD



Euro converter to US$

€1.90 = US$1.70.

Sounds kind of hard to believe, directly from Nichia, unless you're talking 1000 pieces or more. For 1-10 pieces, they are $8/each at www.nichia.com.

BTW, www.theledlight.com now has them on sale for $2.50 each, plus $5 shipping.

And some guy on Ebay is selling them for $2.40 each, plus $1 shipping, but caveat emptor as far as quality goes.

hmm...sounds like Paul maybe into helping me out after all =)...the e-mail sounded promising at least...no problems with money first, i always found his 'i sent out your LEDs, send the money when you can' reply to my e-mails to be a bit disconcerting =)...

if he's not up to it all (completely understandable) the looks like theLEDlight.com may be the place, but for as much as they are asking i could get a brinkman and a photon3 and still have lunch at macdonald's =P...

as for the nichi direct thing...there was another thread that sort of petered out about making a nichia direct order...the price was, i think, $2.90 a piece but only if they ordered 500+...don't think it ever happened...

papasan:

Try www.bgmicro.com. Down load their catalog and look on page 8. It does not say NICHIA but the specs are the same: 3.6VDC@20ma- 5600 mcd. P/N 1044 for 2.49 USD.

~yahoosier

How many do you require ??

I only need 3 of them. theledlight.com has a minimum order of 6. Shipping & handling is $5. If you only need a few, I'd be game with splitting an order. I'd send them to you after I recieved them- you could send me a check for $7.50 after you got them from me.

~yahoosier

i need a minimum of 6 for the project i have in mind, but i like to order an extra or 2 just in case...i tend to blow stuff up =)...put a nicia white on a 9v battery straight once...the explosion was interesting and all i was left with was one lead...

think i'll order a dozen or so tho, for other projects...thanks for the offer anyways...