Texas_Ace perhaps? 
lol, wasn’t me, I was not even aware they had any in stock. Although I was not real impressed with the 5000k tint to be honest, it seemed a lot cooler then that so I want to go for 4000k when I order them. I have not been able to find any for sale other then mouser and digikey though and I don’t plan on making an order from them for a little bit.
I have my eyes on the 4000k 80cri 3 step binned versions I see floating around. They are V3 instead of V5 but usually the better CRI is well worth the drop in output for me.
Dang! Just noticed that last night. V6 bin no less.... If it's real - no pic of the CREE labeling for those. Hhmm....
Got in a dozen 4000K's (V5 E5) from Arrow. Installed one in a modded ThorFire JM07, OP reflector, 40 mm head diam. It's got a FET+1, SIR800DP, 20 AWG LED wires, UCLp lens, and updated the firmware to latest Narsil v1.2. It's pretty nice - yes, has a yellowish halo around the hot spot, but the hotspot and spill area look pretty nice. Just tried it outdoors a bit, and the yellowish area really isn't much of an issue, in fact not really bad.
It pulled 7.8A on a LK 26650 @4.17V, 1,910 lumens on turn-on, 1,820 @30 secs. The output is about the same as the U4 1C it replaced when it was new, lower just before the mod on the same cell, but of course the tint is way better.
The JM07 is like a UltraFire F-13 as it should have been - tailswitch, side switch, real SS bezel, uni-body, good tailstander, nice anodizing. Exactly the same as the Shadow here: http://www.cnqualitygoods.com/goods.php?id=1690, but got the Amazon deal on it - real cheap, think about $12.
Interesting - got an email from Arrow, say'n they'll send me a free Arrow hoodie - filled out the form, looks good, we'll see.
Great thread! This could be amazing in a 2-cell host like the ZY-T08 with an LD-2/3 that can crank out stable high current.
Very nice results!
The tint shift is something that doesn’t really bother me as well, unless inside white wall hunting. Outside it is a non-issue for most things.
Also good to see your numbers lining up with mine, minus the ~10% reflector/glass losses it is pretty darn close.
I wish there was a true standard we could all use to calibrate our spheres to to make the numbers truly comparable. I fully admit that mine is simply the best guess I could come up with based on the lights I had access to. I am really curious what the light from Djozz compares on my sphere.
It is possible it could regulate the entire range but it would be very close due to the low Vf pushing the heat dissipation right to the limit.
Although since we do not have a viable buck or boost driver it is the best option.
Thanx! In the JM07, the LED centering piece is the stock XM size, but the XPL2 is sitting nice in the middle. Should file down the top - might pick up a few lumens. It usually works, not always. Could also try filing down the backside to get it more into the reflector. The reflector is nice for wiring - no flat bottom, like an EE X6.
I do have qty 4 of the XPL2 V6 3B's on order from KD since Dec 24th. They show stock but my order still hasn't shipped, so suspect they really don't have them on hand. They are displaying the V6 3B CREE label now.
In output, figure the V5's are about equal to XM-L2 U2's, and the V6's are equal to U3's, while W2's are same as U4's, but of course you get a whole lot more amps out of the XPL2's and they won't fry, plus they seem to run cooler and lower overall watts because of the lower Vf.
I just ordered a few different XP-L2’s from arrow, gonna give them a go to see how they look and see which version looks the best.
I am also going to try a taller centering ring that might block/diffuse the tint shift around the edges, no idea if it will work but even if it looses a few lumens if it can reduce or eliminate the tint shift it would be worth it.
It is a good thing these latest gen LED’s can handle more power, otherwise FET drivers would not longer be an option.
This does leave us in an interesting place for future options though as the Vf will keep dropping as time goes on and sooner or later the LED will not be able to handle the current it can draw. The 219C already is past that point but luckily it survives the abuse.
It does mean that we should be able to maintain regulation much longer though.
We would have to be looking for efficient buck drivers too.
Otherwise you just burn off up to 25% of the voltage.
On 2 Amperes this would be around 2 Watts turned into useless heat.
Maybe LiFePo will be interesting in the future, or even 3x NiMH.
(Would be nice to have 18200 NiMH cells)
I had someone request that I build them some XP-L2 Convoy S2’s recently and thus ordered some more of the V5 E3 LED’s from Arrow.
These seem a lot nicer then the first one I had, maybe the stress test caused a tint shift? This one while still cooler then the claimed 5000k IMO was not nearly as bad, just a hint of blue in the beam.
I also tried printing off some super tall centering rings that went to the top of the dome and the tint shift was not improved, although it did make the beam even colder. It makes sense as the tint shift comes at the edge of the spill which is the light that doesn’t hit the reflector. This can be seen visually when I was playing with the centering ring. I honestly thing the tint shift comes from the yellow tinted dome they are using now.
It is hard to explain but the angles I was seeing the tint shift were where the die itself could not be directly seen and only the dome. Has anyone sliced the dome on one of these to see what difference in makes?
I also noticed that a deeper reflector makes a BIG difference int he tint shift. The S2+ reflector has a very noticeable “ring” of tint shift but the S2 reflector is just a hint of tint shift around the edge for the most part. The hotspot itself also looks better and closer to the claimed 5000k as well.
My guess is the rated tint is the average of all light produced, so the larger the reflector and the more light mixed into the beam, the better it looks.
Overall the S2 OP reflector produces an acceptable beam with minimal tint shift although still a lot more then older Cree’s. I am curious what a larger reflector would do, I might toss one in a C8 I have laying around.
I also ordered a 4000k XP-L2 80 CRI, I just have not decided what to put it in yet.
Oh, the S2’s both made a bit over 2000 lumens with 20AWG, NXP FET’s and a 30Q. They also get hot.
In other news, thanks to the donation of CRX I have a few more tests in the works, including an XP-L V5 for comparison to the XP-L2 V5.
Amazing work!! Watching this thread closely. I am finding the tint shift aspects of the XP-G3 (5000k) work very well outdoors. The colder hot spot in the middle seems to aid throw distance. The warm-yellow side flood beam helps with near field. So I can light the trail down range and see whats out there, yet still pleasantly illuminate the ground I walk on.
If the XP-L2 V5 is like a beefed up XP-G3… I could definitely make that work for my intended use. Even if what I am seeing is an optical illusion resulting from color tint perception that’s alright by me!!!
Yeah, the tint shifts is very close to the XP-G3, I don’t mind it much myself. Although I do prefer the 219C over the G3 due to the better CRI and overall tint.
The XP-L2 could make a good output monster though, I am out of drivers at the moment so waiting till I build some more to build a C8 with one.
Hhm, waiting for XP-L2 triples for a proper Convoy S2(+) build!! :smiling_imp: …
After trying them as a single in a S2+ I can say that you will have only mere seconds to use such a light. Even a single XP-L2 gets silly hot.
Although I do plan to try a triple in an X6, still won’t have amazing runtime but should at least last a minute or 2.
All of that said, you should be able to crack 4000 lumens in a triple if you tried I figure.
You can run it without overheating until the battery depleted……underwater…. :cowboy_hat_face:
I actually did exactly that with testing the waterproofing on my S2+ EDC with TIR lens. I managed to noticeably raise the temperature of 1 gallon of water while doing it. It also lasted a surprising ~1.5 hours before shutting down (output dropping the whole time naturally).
Try high speed diving in an ice cold lake :laughing:
That should reduce the output drops considerably
The angle-specific tint changes are one of the traits I like least about Cree emitters. It pretty much goes away if you use a frosted lens or similar, but I’d rather not have to do that to get a reasonably consistent color throughout the beam.
Nichia 219 emitters still change tint a little per angle, but not nearly as much. And Cree’s HI emitters are quite a bit better about it too. But with a Cree dome, it’s pretty noticeable.
Broke 2,000 lumens with a XPL2 V6 2B from KD, in a Warsun X60 FET DD: lumens: 2,090 @start, 2,000 @ 30 secs.
Throw was measured at 5m for 66 kcd. Definitely lose some throw with the XPL2's. Previously I had a XML2 T6 4D in this light and got 1,610 lumens @30 secs, and 67 kcd. Tail amps measured with a clamp meter was 7.18A before the mod, and after 8.45A. The old T6's really could crank amps.