Which color tint has XM-L T6 and U2 from LEDDNA?
not sure but the t6 and u2 I received are cool but not purplish
that's what I thought of the U2. I have only used one of them so far. The trace for the pos. wire pulled up really easy when I gave it a small tug to check the joint. Probably just a one off problem.
just checked, my bags both say 1C
Thanks dthrckt
I'm gonna order a few emitters and wondering if I should order from their website or from their ebay store. I know they have more incentive to ship faster through ebay so it got me wondering. I'm ready to get going on this project so each day matters. Any feedback about delivery times?
Mine didn't arrive at all.
I bought it through their eBay store. Four days before the 45 day limit I sent them a message through eBay, telling them it hasn't arrived yet. No response, so after two days I sent them another message, again no response. After another day I opened an eBay dispute. Three hours later (23:30 HK time) they replied to my second message asking me if I want them to resend or refund. I said refund. They said "okay, but it will take a couple of days to show in your account". It's now 3 days later and no refund yet.
So thumbs down and I'll never buy from them again.
(This is the first time I've ever given an eBay seller a negative feedback, never even gave a neutral one)
I ordered 3*XML-U2 from their ebay.
order 02 02 2012 , receive 02 10 2012 
Seems there are either really good or really bad experiences with these guys. I'm afraid with my history I'll be on the "bad" end of the spectrum. For this project it's more about time than cost but then I also don't want to pay significantly more from the competition either. The U2 emitters are proven to be good. I guess there are plenty of "never received" complaints on ebay so maybe it doesn't make a difference. Thanks for the feedback.
Packages can go missing, or just be delayed because of various reasons (I twice received packages 3 months after they were sent, from different sellers), I didn't give them a negative feedback because of that.
I gave them a negative feedback because they only answered my messages after I filed an eBay case, and they still didn't refund me.
I ordered from ebay the first time - 3 emitters. Took exactly as long as they said it would.
I hope the come through w/ the order I placed on their website, because it was for $135 
edit: ordered 2/18 (a saturday), shipped 2/21, they say to expect arrival 12-18 days from dispatch
There is another option if your unhappy post number 27 on this thread
Got my refund today, minutes after I reminded them that I still didn't get the refund they promised me 5 days ago.
Didn't like it very much, but at least they're responsive, so I withdrew the negative feedback I gave them. Don't know if it was smart.
fyi, not one off....I did it...2x...just be gentle w/ them...if you do it you can just scrape some anodizing off the copper lead and solder to that...
I looked for XM-L prices a while back but didn't find LED-DNA at the time, but their eBay (and sometimes store) prices seem to go up and down a lot anyway and they first went down after I looked.
Had a quick look again. Pricewise, LED-DNA do seem the best (for small quantities at least). But there's one seller on eBay (kenjiana) who has several auctions with U2 free shipping startingprice $7.99 which is same price as LED-DNA store (currently $8.00). No reason to fluff around with waiting auctions when the price is the same, except kenjiana claims 1A tint so if you prefer that perhaps worth a try. kenjiana also sells supposed 1A T6 on eBay with BIN and auctions for $6.95 although that's $1 more then LED-DNA store (currently $6.00).
cnqualitygoods.com also aren't too bad. (They seemed possibly the best when I looked last time too.) $7.00 for T6 (claimed 1A). And $8.00 for U2 (claimed 1B). They aren't free shipping, shipping seemed to be 0.37 for one U2 for me. If you don't want to buy from LED-DNA for whatever reason, perhaps you can try to negotiate with Ric on the forums to give the same price as LED-DNA on the U2. More interesting perhaps, they claim to have a 20mm star for the U2 as well. LED-DNA don't have this and from my searches, it it is rarer then the T6 star of the U2 16mm round.
Actually I asked LEDDNA and they say they can sell U2s on 20mm star PCBs too and for the $8 price. I decided however the 1/3 extra cost for the LED (over the T6) wasn't worth it for me considering I'm not planning to use the one I'm buying with batteries much and it's only generally on average 7% better.
Besides this is my first time to play so there's always the risk I'll screw up and have no more LED ;-)
Edit: I also asked LEDDNA about tints and they said they currently have 1A and 1C in stock. If you prefer one or the other may be worth mentioning in the special order field.
Looks for XMLs on 14mm wonders the success of grinding 16mm sinks to 14mm
I have a current project where I have taken a 16mm emitter board and filed it down to about 14. The filing is easy; you just need to be careful not to slip and hit the emitter dome. Using a grinder would be overkill if you ask me.
-Garry
If you're willing to spend more I remember I saw lck-led http://www.lck-led.com/ had 14mm XM-L. I seem to recall seeing some others too. (Didn't record since wasn't interested.)
A quick search in the price comparison websites http://ngshopping.com/ and http://www.chinaprices.us/ finds http://www.focalprice.com/LFE01W/10W_37V_750Lumen_CREE_XML_T6_LED_Emitter_16mm_Base_White.html and http://www.pandawill.com/cree-xml-t6-led-emitter-1000-lumens-white-light-14mm-base-p59418.html?source=e5b1c28cde7165339e9eb817c4bba468&pad=killger&pclid=24265 .
And on eBay http://www.ebay.com/itm/CREE-XML-U2-with-14mm-MCPCB-/260944856033?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc18683e1 and on AliExpress http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/503978002-10W-CREE-XM-L-T6-LED-Emitter-1000-Lumens-Flashlihgt-Accessory-DIY-Parts-3-7V-14mm-wholesalers.html .
You can also try Google, e.g. a quick search finds this US seller https://illuminationsupply.com/cree-xml-14mm-round-mcpcb-t5-3c-5000k-tint-p-60.html who even has 10mm although only neutral whites and this Chinese HK seller http://www.lazerpoint.com/p-10w-3-7v-750lumen-cree-xml-t6-led-emitter-14mm-base-white_7255093. And this thread https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/5586 which also mentions DinoDirect.
There's also always cutter although shipping may mean it's expensive if you aren't getting many. You may also want to try asking LED-DNA and perhaps some of the eBay and AliExpress sellers and may be also Ric Thomas from cnqualitygoods.com. While often they say they just have what they have, sometimes they can help. (AliExpress sellers in particular often only list a small percentage of what they sell although they do tend to work with larger quantity orders, a partial legacy of AliBaba I think.)
Just a quick note: I ordered a 14mm XM-L from DinoDirect which never arrived and I needed PayPal to get my money back; I then ordered from kenjinana at ebay and it appears it is in fact LED-LCK (so it says on the envelope at least), I ordered one 16mm and one 14mm and received two 16mm; kenjinana is far from responsive on ebay (took more than a week to get an answer back) but promised to send me a 14mm, so now I wait. Again.
Also, CNQG has NW 20mm XM-L for a nice price, I hope he at least sends the right item and that it arrives fast.