which emitter - LD, HD, or SE for lantern mod?

Bimmerboy

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I'm fairly sure what I need for this lantern mod I'm doing is a low dome or side emitter, but just looking to make sure what will work best. The lantern will have the emitter simply sitting on top of a large piece of aluminum with no optics or light scattering plastic tubes around it. A plastic lampshade goes on the lantern that looks just like a regular lampshde, only smaller.

I'd like to get as much even distribution of light as possible... off to the sides as well as straight up.

The basic question is... what works best to throw light all around, high dome, low dome, or side emitter?
 

WildRice

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A SE would utilize the lamp shade for even lighting, a LD or HD would shoot some light up as well as NOT at 180 deg. If you can get the bin and what-not you want, I say go for the SE.
Jeff
 

vtunderground

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[ QUOTE ]
Bimmerboy said:
I'd like to get as much even distribution of light as possible... off to the sides as well as straight up.

[/ QUOTE ]

High dome.

(People will dissagree with me, but a bare high dome emitter gives a near-perfect flood beam. And honestly, I haven't found a single light that couldn't be improved by replacing the stock side emitter or low dome with a high dome emitter.)
 

IsaacHayes

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vt, I think I saw a luxeon lantern that had a HD and a cone reflector pointing at the luxeon. Like the LED below an ice cream cone... I think that would work good... It was posted on CPF once...
 

IsaacHayes

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bimmerBoy, if you want light all around then a HD is your best bet. A LD will focus the light in the center (up) more. A SE will focus light to the sides more.

HD is as close to 180 as you can get...
 

3rd_shift

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Side emitter all the way.
Photonfanatic has some SYAJ se's relatively cheap now.
I still have 4 of those on hand myself just for such a project if I ever get off my lazy rump and do it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 

Bimmerboy

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Hmmm... interesting. I might try the HD since I guess I'd be trying to imitate the dispersed light pattern of a bulb... sort of.
Then again, I might have to try both.
 
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