Well after searching and searching I have concluded that this emitter is not made by CREE but rather made for CREE using their patents. I suspect that CREE licensed the technology and outsourced the manufacturing to an outfit in CHINA.
Bet THAT’S never happened before, right?
Here is the UPC code and statement Made in China and Manufactured for Cree, Inc.
If that is true, then is this a “fake” Cree emitter?
I don’t think so, its could just be called a Cree emitter made by someone else
This is an example of the first Cree light bulbs that I know of. This first iteration, like other brands, had heavy ribbed heat sinks at the base for long life (23.8 years) LOL
Later on Cree came out with the cheaper to make “4Flow” bulbs that were vented but had no sink
These older bulbs were actually made by Cree, the newer “4Flow” were made for Cree
As far as I can see the Cree is a little bigger and there is no this little square in the dome, also grey area around the dome on Cree is like OP reflector, and on unknown is like SMO.
The 2 bond wires on the side of the LED die is the most notable indication for most of the fake ones, the real Cree ones have the round pads like the pic above.
Update! I figured out how to post.
Real or fake cree?!
I have a picture I would like to post, but for goodness sakes I can’t figure out how to add a picture. I’m in my late 30’s, not ancient lol. Can anyone help? I don’t have a “url” to post a picture. Why can’t I simply copy and paste?! Lol
I'm 61 and have posted 100's, maybe 1000's of pics here, of course I've been programming computers for like 40+ years
I use "Advanced Post Editor", then click on the top most "Insert", choose Insert/Edit Image. Then in the Source field, you need to enter a URL directly to a picture. Here's one to use as an example:
I reduced the size from 1024x768 to 300x225 in the "Dimension" entry. The tricky part is to find a hosting service/server that you can get url links from. I use PhotoBucket in a paid for mode though. Lot of people here use imgur.com, but I find it somewhat hard to use.
I am unsure what those are, they look like a cross between a XTE Cree and the odd-ball LEDs found in some Skyray King clones i seen, as most of the cheaper random-branded lights have been using the knock-off Latticebright ( and now other random unknown LEDs, its difficult to tell when it comes to buying unknown brand lights.
Ok. Your meaning Cree XTE? It does look like the picture in that thread. I’m about to buy 60 of these and I just want to make sure they are the real deal. So it can be a Cree and not say Cree?