Texas_Ace BLF Calibrated Lumen tube / Sphere No math skills needed - Several spheres still available

If PayPal did not send a Tracking Number, can it just be assumed it is a glitch in the system or the system is running behind/not updated??

Just curious… Nothing more. :wink:

I agree… it’s good practice to clean the contact surfaces. I even clean the threads with alcohol and grease it…

It depends on a few factors. The ones I shipped using the built in paypal shipping system should automatically get a tracking number.

The ones I did manually (those sent as gifts or the ones that went UPS) I am not so sure about. I assumed they would send an email to the address I put into the information but I am not sure if they actually do.

It is kind of hard to look up the manual shipments.

If anyone does not have their sphere by Tuesday, please let me know and I will track it down.

I still have about 8 available here so if I missed one I can still ship it.

No paypal tracking number, but usps says mine will be delivered tomorrow. :laughing:

I haven’t received any tracking number, but I’m not worried about it.

Thanks TA, sounds good. I was just curious. I don’t need one, like I said.

I’ll probably have mine tomorrow or Saturday either way. :wink:

The Texas Ace U-tube has arrived! :slight_smile:

Great! I figured they would start showing up today.

Congratulations… mine will arrive on the tuesday… can you post some photos?

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So to use the Tube Sphere we just set the meter to Lux / 2000 / Auto?

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Is accuracy affected since the bezel of the light sets on top of a cutout (that could be smaller than the reflector), as opposed to setting directly on glass?

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And what about a light like this: (kind of a square-ish shape)
(77mm at its widest point)

Yes, just set the meter to auto, it should have the correct settings every time you turn it off and back on. Also note that these meters do not have an auto-shut off timer, so make sure you turn them off after using them.

The lights should be held flush with the centering rings, you will see after a little use how the numbers change if you insert them too far or not far enough.

The better the seal on the light the better the readings. If you are testing a lot of lights that need a specific size ring, I recommend making one out of cardboard and coating it in aluminum tape like the ones I have.

A light like that is an edge case and will indeed read low but this effects any sphere. Even an ANSI sphere would have issues with that.

Sorry I guess I don’t understand these terms in reference to how to set the light:

“held flush / insert too far or not far enough / better seal”

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In this photo it looks like the light is setting on top of the centering ring:

It that correct or is the head of the light suppose to drop down through the hole in the ring?

By “held flush” do you mean we need to hold it just through the hole and even with the plate?

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In the old thread about making these tubes they were setting the light directly on a glass and using foam with a cutout around the head of the light.
But on this tube we need to be holding the light down through / even with the cutout? Sorry I’m so confused!

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Also you mentioned making our own cardboard rings with foil tape if needed…
That made me wonder if the included centering rings already have reflective tape on the inside like this, or isn’t that needed?

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For the “edge case” light I asked about would it be best to make a special “square-ish” or custom fit ring out of cardboard and foil tape?

From Texas to the burbs of Portland Oregon, received today. I didn't get a shipping notice, but discovered that if I looked at the details of recent PayPal payments, there was in fact a tracking number.

A monetary tip sent to Texas Ace via PayPal.

Will try measuring some Zebralights later and play over the weekend.

Wow. USPS is fast…

You are correct, the other tubes you are thinking of use a different design and do not apply to this design. If you stick the light back the centering ring too far you will see the lumens drop as the body of the light will absorb light.

You you will simply hold it roughly flush with the centering ring, move it up and down until you get the best reading.

It is really pretty simple once you try it, move the light up and down until the numbers are best. It is pretty intuitive once you try it.

Yes, (as you can see above) the rings it comes with have reflective foil already installed. That took for stinking ever even though it looks simple!

For that edge case light, a custom ring with 4 cutouts would be the only real way to get good numbers.

Very nice! It is kind of strange seeing pictures like that of someone I was making a few days ago lol.

You can twist the “input” end up 90 degrees so that it will free-stand and make it easier to take readings.

I hope those poor photons are not claustrophobic… :smiley:

Made a correction in my original post about tracking.

If any of you didn't get a tracking number from PayPal (automatically), check the transaction details in your PayPal account. That's where I found the tracking number today. Had I known it was there, I could have tracked it all the way.

I received mine today. However, I doubt about accuracy :confounded:
Zebralight SC63w measure 1620lm? factory spec: H1 1126 Lm
Zebralight SC600w Mk III HI measure 1882lm? factory spec: H1 1126 Lm
Nitecore tip CRI measure 320 lm?? factory spec: 240 LM

Very interesting numbers. As I said from the start I have never had any direct comparisons to other readings or even owned any lights that I trust the lumen readings on to get readings from. Every light I tried just made things more complicated since none of them seemed to produce the numbers they said they did.

I know it reads inline with most other spheres readings on BLF that I see.

For example the readings VOB got earlier today with the GT XHP70.2 were around 8800 lumens with a sliced dome. My own XHP70.2 readings on the GT were just under 10k lumens with the dome on. Within ~5% or so all things considered. That is what I normally see when compared to others readings.

25-30% is much further off then I expected.

After we see what others get we can come up with an adjustment factor if needed since they are all calibrated the same. I can even recalibrate them free of charge (minus shipping) if people want if we figure out a good number.

What stands out to me are the zebralights being rated the same but getting such different readings. A slight variation is one thing but that much difference for lights so close would say that they are outputting different numbers, which would say that at least one of them is not putting out the 1126 lumens it is supposed to.

Can you try a ceiling bounce with those lights to compare?