Got my shipping notification for KR1 and D4SV2, hooray! For something different I’m going to see how much productive stuff I can get done between now and NLD. Maybe I’ll read a book, build a garden, start a new routine…
Would not recommend using any performance-oriented enthusiast lights on a weapon. Performance lights are designed to minimize resistance and maximize current… but a weapon light needs to minimize shock and maximize reliability. Totally different goals.
Get something with long, sturdy springs at both ends of the battery, with a protected cell… not something like this which is sized for an unprotected cell and designed to let the spring lay flat during use.
Great to know E21A is here but Hank I wish you got the E21A 2000K instead of the 2200k because the 2000K is 9090 whereas the 2200K is 9050. The 2000K also has less positive DUV so less yellow and the closest to natural candle light which is 1800K. The E21A 2000K also has the least blue wavelength of any LED I’ve seen and has practically no impact on your sleep/melatonin, attracts almost no insects for night time hikes and very little impact on night vision, so it serves some very specialized uses. I hope you can get some 2000K for your next order.
That looks like a good overall range of color temperatures to offer.
We should be able to get other CCT’s from Clemence once shipping returns to normal. Granted, swaps aren’t for everyone. This would also likely be one of the more difficult swaps, since the the KR4 has the aux board to remove and reinstall, as well, and E21A’s are reportedly harder to reflow than typical XP-footprint emitters.
By the way, I know Clemence’s E21A’s measured better than R9080 for the 2000K, but the Nichia datasheet does not list R9080 options for either the 2000K or the 2200K. I don’t know if the 2000K consistently turn out better than specified, if Clemence got a special batch, or if it was just luck of the draw. Regardless, I would not assume 2000K are easy to get in R9080.
However both 2200K and 2000K are rated R9050, there is no R9080 that is somehow could have been an actual option.
Besides, the amount of bins Nichia offers does not make them all equal, actually quite different, like any LED there are more than one bin for a certain CCT. So one example does not mean all are the same.
Despite the E21A 2000K is rated at 9050, the batches Clemence got always measured 9080 and above. I’m thinking it is consistent. The 16 emitters mule with the 2000K would make the perfect candle light with Anduril. I bet it would look so natural, you can’t tell the difference from a real candle.
If having the highest CRI is your #1 attribute then you would want this. If you value output/efficiency/beam profile above CRI then you may be better served with a different LED, just depends on use case.
Color temp is personal preference but since he has a few to choose from you could combine them to make nearly anything between 2200K and 5000K
The E21A can’t handle as much current as other options, so the KR4 with these emitters is limited to 5Amps (no FET), which produces about 1200 lumens (for the 5000K version). Other emitters that can run with a FET to current output can produce 3000-4000 lumens in the KR4.
The first sample of the KR4 that went out for review with E21A’s in it had visible tint shift with the stock optic. A frost optic mostly fixes this, although makes the beam wider and less throwy.
The efficiency of the E21A emitters is good for such a high CRI emitter. However, a low CRI emitter is capable of something like 30% higher output.