I first encountered its predecessor back when we were working with Luxeon low domes and installed an engineering sample in a McLux which was the contemporary light I was working with at the time:
Nichia has been at this LED for quite some time now! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif
It first showed up in a production light, to my knowledge, in a rather sophisticated headlamp that never got out of Japan. It was (is) a National (Panasonic) that has variable output as well as an adjustable beam pattern:
The LED's are now finally available but are shipped from Japan. As I understand it, the flux bin, P12, (36.0 -42.8 lumens at 350 mA) is what one can expect to receive. The bin P13 ( 42.8 to 51.0 lumens at 350 mA) is the unobtanium "U" or "X" equivilant and I suspect the bin that LRI was planning on use in the Proton which has now been rumored to be shelved. Since the Jupiter can be driven at 500 mA, it is conceivable that one of the P13's could yield 60 lumens. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif Cree has a 60 lumen 7090 by their claims which is available and of course there is a K2 that is at least identified in a bin class at 60 lumens in the same drive current range. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif For
white wall hunters, the Luxeon stands the greatest shot at acceptance due to the EOS phosphor system I would suspect but in terms of useable output at non coffee warmer levels of thermal dissipation, the Cree and Jupiter may well give Luxeon some competition.
Just passing through.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nana.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/str.gif