Where is the BEST place to buy LEDs?

INRETECH

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 22, 2002
Messages
1,318
Location
HILLSBORO, OR
mcd is "Milli-Candella"; or 1/1000th of a Candella

So, 2112mcd is actually 2.112 Candella

There are two common measurements of brightness, the Candella; and the Lumen - they are measured differently - and I will not get into the discussion about conversions between them

Its not a fair way to measure brightness since you can take a average LED put a HUGE Lens on it (I have a 15mm LED from Japan) make the beam INCREDIBLY narrow and boast a very very high brightness - when its practically useless

NiChia makes some very nice LEDs, unfort - they have a simple rule *NO SAMPLES*; which I find very hard to deal with

KingBright is another company that makes some very nice LEDs, and they LOVE to sample parts

You need to choose the LED depending on your application:

) Size
) Power Consumption
) Brightness
) Cost

There is no one "perfect LED"

You can get Lumileds from Future Electronics

Please see our website for our products

Mike
 

ReconTech

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Aug 27, 2002
Messages
192
Location
Atlanta, GA
Thanks Mike,

What I now want to know is what LED is used in the Photon II or other popular LED products, like the Arc AAA or the CMG Infinity Ultra? How many MCD is put out by the Arc AAA for example?
 

INRETECH

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 22, 2002
Messages
1,318
Location
HILLSBORO, OR
I believe the Photon II uses the NiChia LED, which can go up to approx 7c

Due to the die size of the T1-3/4 (5mm) that is pretty much the limit on brightness

Some companies make the lens a little longer which they can claim a higher mcd by making the beam narrower

Every electronic device always has a percentage of loss; and that loss is converted to heat; the problem with the T1-3/4 package is that the small leads and package just do not allow for enough of the wasted heat to be dissipated out of the package

Some companies "push" the T1-3/4 package by running it above its design limit, and yes they are brighter - but by doing this, you are causing damage to the device - which shortens its operating lifetime

The LS has a "slug" which allows a much better conduction of heat from the die (which is also bigger) to a real heatsink, so you can run the device "harder" and brighter
 
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