- The Fake-Cree LED Awareness Thread - The new "low" in Budget lights.

I recon it’s easier to spot a clone when it’s clearly written on the star

Thanks for the tip!
:wink:

Thanks for the excellent pictures RMM. If I had both leds in front of me in a torch I dont believe I could tell the difference on looks alone. I wonder if LatticeBright do Passports as well?

:smiley: HA!

1. Create very close counterfeit.
2. Sell it as the real thing.
3. Add counterfeiter name to product.
4. ???
5. Profit!

RMM, you ok with me re-posting your side-by-side photo of the XM-Ls in the OP? (i can add more as we acquire these comparison photos.

I have seen ultrafire lights with potmetal bodies.
So anything goes I guess.a new member here a while back got one like it but hasnt been back to tell his findings after I predicted it would melt if driven hard.joking of course.

Sounds like Cree put too much into trying to sell too many new varieties of high priced leds and realizes that people in general will not “pay for value added”, even though the statement about “it’s just a phase” and still believing in people buying value added, they intend to increase the volume of cheap leds from other sources, into their products, to lower the cost, instead of making their own. Been there, done that so many times over the years. Once that thought train takes over, they start dropping quality of everything and usually go the way of the other extinct manufacturers who tried that. Not good at all, but then again, that’s all the majority buy - cheap. I can understand that, as prices keep inflating and jobs decrease, along with average wages stagnating, people will continue to “buy cheap” and the volume of “cheap” will increase.

Value added only works when people have money and they can see that there is a value there.

As to the clones, with sales dropping, you can see why the cheap copies will boom. They will increase, instead of going away, especially if Cree starts putting them into their own packages. Imagine Cree buying those fake XM leds and slapping them in their own bulbs. Hardly anyone would be the wiser.

[quote=nickelflipper]

1.)Do you know the name of the seller that you purchased the originals from?
I want to find some XM-L RGB+Neutral or Warm white, but I don’t want to purchase fakes. Most venders that have been mentioned here are out of stock.

2.) Does anyone know where to buy a sinkpad or any direct thermal path base for the XML RGBW? If I can find the emitters from a reputable source then I would still like to reflow them to a dtp base.

[quote=PPDB22]

@ PPDB22, That’s weird, I couldn’t see my quote until I copied your quote into the reply.

1) Anyway, I got them from 2012topdeal, but all the listings seem to show the same led and star combo that I got. No distinction in the listing on whether the white is cool, or neutral. Assumed it was cool, and I believe that’s exactly what I got. I felt I could always add some PWM’d red if necessary to warm it up :slight_smile: .

2) DTP XM-L RGBW Sinkpad mcpcb’s can be had at Mtn. Electronics.

No problem. If I can find one of those XP-G2s again it would be interesting, but they looked similar to those in the link I posted earlier with the slightly different sized die.

Well thats not the way I see it if you are thinking that way, I see it as more cost efficient to buy a modded light by someone in this forum and get something better and cheaper than the “premium” light.

I agree on the “us newbies trying to mod end up spending a lot” with mistakes, etc, but if its a success you end up with a better light than the “premium” light usually. And if you buy from an experienced modder, you definitely have a better light for less. Heck I just got a real 8,500 lumen light for less than $100 with a great tint, try to find that out there in “premium” land.

[quote=PPDB22]

I bought my neutral white xml color from Mouser for about $13 and the XML color sinkpad from RMM mtnelectronics.

http://www.mouser.com/Search/m_ProductDetail.aspx?Cree-Inc%2FXMLCTW-A0-0000-00C2AAAB1%2F&qs=sGAEpiMZZMtKo6xK7%252bVI1mlUjoOTJB589gEAxWnB57g%3D

http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=63_112&product_id=435

Thanks nickelflipper and jubeldum

I checked mtnelectronics and they do have rgbw sinkpads but they only had 4 left. I need 16 :frowning: I am waiting to hear if they will restock them soon.

As for the emitters, I see mouser has them for $13.75. If I purchase there I can be sure I will get the real thing. However, I just found that topleslight has them for $5!

For $5 I think I might take the chance and just take what I get. At 16 pieces that is $80 insted of $220.

They are probably fake, but maybe they will be close? IDK?

I Taw a Putty Tat!!!

The LED Lensers I have don’t have glue, just screwed in tight. The POP Lite and the Coast did have glue.

The cool white version is cheap everywhere but I had to buy mine at Mouser so I could get it in neutral white. Cool white harshes my mellow, man. :bigsmile:

++thumbs up for that! I’m the same way.

Yes. I just bought one UFSH98 from DX.com. The LED assembly looks exactly like the one in the photo shown by ledoman. They claim it is Cree XM-L T6 in the product description anyway. I asked DX and waiting for their reply…

good idea is to report it. everyone who receives any light claiming to be a Cree of some sort, and receives the fake latticebright needs to report it, file claims, etc. to wake up these sellers to stop this false advertising and selling fakes listed as brand-name emitters. soon we may begin to see other good brands & emitters like the Nichia 219 arriving as cheap fakes with low CRI, random tints, and low quality knock-offs of those emitters.

I have one UltraFire Cree T6 and two UltraFire Cree Q5’s. So I opened them up today.
The T6 was LaticeBright- it has a poor blue tint
One Q5 has a board that says HT-PE. It is the brightest of the three but has a cold blue tint that is worse that the “T6”.
The other Q5 is another LatticeBright. It is the weakest of the three but has a great “frothy cool white tint”. The emitter is very small compared to the other two.

So who knows what is actually in these things? I would swap out the emitters, but that wouldn’t help unless I put in drivers too. I may do that though. MntE’s has some good choices.

I have some pictures but I don’t know how to post them.