There are very few options for CRI95+ SMD MP LEDs with reasonably priced worldwide shipping.
Actually I have found literally just one offering on Aliexpres, for 2835 LEDs. Everything else seems to have expensive shipping.
I suspect I’m missing something and I spend merely an hour or so on the search. But anyway – this is not something widely and easily available for a reasonable price.
Are midpower leds often used on BLF? Before investing in them I would want to do an inquiry!
I’m planning on a midpower led solution for the BLF lantern, and a few people use them in flashlights with VirEnce boards, but that is probably not a high volume.
No I didn’t take a picture but the color it’s between the original Ikea tealight on the left and the 3400K on the right.
Do those Ikea tealights have their own flicker circuits, or is it integrated in the stock LED, in which case you lose the flicker effect when swapping the emitter?
The LED tea lights I have are the latter type, so I’m keeping an eye out for something else.
I finally got the 2300K LEDs and tried them in my rechargeable tealight candles. I absolutely love it, it’s the closest I’ve been to a real candle light, and in a light holder of any kind it looks convincing.
From left: Original monochrome orange 3mm LED, 2300K LED and 3400K LED. Camera @5000K
Here they are with their included diffusers, looks pretty good. Can’t wait to solder all 12 of them and place them around the house.
I still use real candles on my living room table due to the cozyness and smell, but these are a lot safer to use unattended around the house, especially with cats around.
Do those Ikea tealights have their own flicker circuits, or is it integrated in the stock LED, in which case you lose the flicker effect when swapping the emitter?
The LED tea lights I have are the latter type, so I’m keeping an eye out for something else.
These Ikea lights have an integrated curcuit. I believe it’s these :
10 of those in series to an AMC7135, done for each tint, controlled by three Arduino PWM pins. A good idea?
I.e., a panel of 30 LEDs with some degree of tint control. That's my plan. Housing done with my 3D-printer. My desktop is to be illuminated.
I hope you meant to say “10 in parallel to an AMC7135”. But why do you choose AMC7135 and PWM? The Arduino could be used to sense current over 3x sense resistor paths, precisely tuning a driving MOSFET VGS in each of them for accurate, PWM free linear current control.
—
Deleting a just published post causes the forum thread answer notification to fail. Thus, if you need to change your just published post, edit it. Thanks.
Please avoid fully quoting lenghty posts, namely with nested quotes. Trim quotes down to the essential. Helps with neatness and legibility. Thanks.
I hope you meant to say “10 in parallel to an AMC7135”.
I’ve read that’s not a good idea, but then I have not much clue about those things. I guess parallel is easier for the lower voltage needed?
Need to read about MOSFET circuits .
No, that’s fine.
For 10 in series you need 32 29 Volts.
For 10 in parallel you only need 3.2 2.9 Volts, like from a single Li-Ion cell.
The AMC7135 will eat up a minimum of 150 mV.
In any case, driving leds in parallel could have some current sharing problems due to Vf differences between emitters. This can be minimized by binning leds with a multimeter, i.e. set them all extended over a table in a room with stable temperature for a little while first (acclimating emitters, they're sensitive to temperature) while laying a multimeter close, then use the multimeter to read and note down every emitter's Vf systematically at least once. Use the results to sort the emitters in Vf packs: 10 lowest, next 10, …, last and highest Vf 10-pack. This would minimize the above problem.
—
Deleting a just published post causes the forum thread answer notification to fail. Thus, if you need to change your just published post, edit it. Thanks.
Please avoid fully quoting lenghty posts, namely with nested quotes. Trim quotes down to the essential. Helps with neatness and legibility. Thanks.
There are many ways to drive emitters. Arrays of series emitters will display closer average Vf sum, this for example means it would be far better to drive a 10-pack in 10S or 2P5S arrangement. Watch out I said 2P5S, this means 2 parallel 5S arrays, which is a lot different than 5S2P. There are cheap boost DC/DC converters which can output that voltage from li-ion cells easily:
The MT3608 boost module is going to be reviewed by Henrik soon I think, sent him a 5 piece pack long ago. Now that I recall this, it was the 5th of August, he should have received the package sometime in September and we're almost in December already.
—
Deleting a just published post causes the forum thread answer notification to fail. Thus, if you need to change your just published post, edit it. Thanks.
Please avoid fully quoting lenghty posts, namely with nested quotes. Trim quotes down to the essential. Helps with neatness and legibility. Thanks.
There are very few options for CRI95+ SMD MP LEDs with reasonably priced worldwide shipping.
Actually I have found literally just one offering on Aliexpres, for 2835 LEDs. Everything else seems to have expensive shipping.
I suspect I’m missing something and I spend merely an hour or so on the search. But anyway – this is not something widely and easily available for a reasonable price.
If you had one LED in the group with a Vf that was lower and therefore hogging the current, then from the same data, I’d estimate the resulting current in the worst-driven LED as follows:
0.1V lower = 55mA
0.2V lower = 70mA
Since one of his survived an isolated test for 12 hours at 100mA, the over-current does not seem to be a problem. However, rngwn observed that if packed together, they heat up and may eventually run away: http://budgetlightforum.com/comment/1570465#comment-1570465
So for the idea of running 10 on a 7135, I think heat is the main concern.
Yes, heat can be a problem in those 3xAAA 20 or more LED lights.
Especially those in the middle of the PCB can get hot on the crappy stock PCB they’re soldered on.
Good idea to epoxy a heat spreading disc on the back.
Just found this 5mm led powered Mateminco BL-01 thingy @ FastTech:
Very nice little bullets. Are the LEDs up to the specs of this lights? I imagine current might be somewhat higher than 25mA. No?
They’re powered by three LR41 alkaline button cells. The 45 lumen stock rating strikes me as extremely unlikely.
Those cells can’t push much current. I don’t expect it would be any problem.
The LED that’s in those bullets is a 0.5 Watt 5mm LED similar to this:
I bought a copper bullet branded Astrolux (i think TB-01 ?) with pretty powerful 3x LR41 inside plus 3x LR41 spare batteries a few years ago from Banggood.
I estimate it’s around 15 Lumen with fresh batteries, maybe even 20 Lumen.
Pretty impressive for the size.
Those Mateminco branded ones are crazy expensive.
Here’s a stainless steel one: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32844630381.html
You can see the brand name is photoshopped away, but i bet it says Astrolux.
Here’s an aluminium one: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32839012681.html
Either way, yes it would be nice in high CRI warm white, but Djozz tried it with a Yuji 5mm LED iirc, and it was much much less bright.
These LEDs here will do a better job, but still a lot less than the stock LED.
..and also an arrival in Amsterdam.
I did some measurements: 5.8 lumen at 25mA, peak of 22 lumen at about 150mA (but the curve is very flat there, if I had made one
)
The beam is very smooth, the spot has a soft border with no tint changes.
The led is a bit shorter than the typical 5mm led.
I measured tint at 30mA:
Tint (I checked 2 leds and several currents) is around 2400K and not 2300K. It is right on the BBL and CRI is great. Rf=92.7 , Rg=99.8.
So another really nice led from rngwn, love it!
link to djozz tests
rngwn, does your manufacturer make SMD LEDs also? I think they might have some uses.
Do you have a “before” pic of those to compare?
The Cycle of Goodness: “No one prospers without rendering benefit to others”
- The YKK Philosophy
They do make SMD’s although I will need to do more research whether it make economical sense compared to the existing ones
Searching for High CRI leds since 2010...
Has finally gotten to the bottom after 10 years of delving deep into that rabbit hole of them high CRI lights...
High CRI, high quality lights doesn't need to be expensive, or is it?
There are very few options for CRI95+ SMD MP LEDs with reasonably priced worldwide shipping.
Actually I have found literally just one offering on Aliexpres, for 2835 LEDs. Everything else seems to have expensive shipping.
I suspect I’m missing something and I spend merely an hour or so on the search. But anyway – this is not something widely and easily available for a reasonable price.
Are midpower leds often used on BLF? Before investing in them I would want to do an inquiry!
I’m planning on a midpower led solution for the BLF lantern, and a few people use them in flashlights with VirEnce boards, but that is probably not a high volume.
link to djozz tests
No I didn’t take a picture but the color it’s between the original Ikea tealight on the left and the 3400K on the right.
new batch of T/N:
flightless22 – LX104000114TH (2× 2300k)
staticx57 – UA121600087TH (1× 2300k)
*T/N number beginning with ‘U’ is non-trackable online. Contact local post office for status after 1-3 weeks.
Searching for High CRI leds since 2010...
Has finally gotten to the bottom after 10 years of delving deep into that rabbit hole of them high CRI lights...
High CRI, high quality lights doesn't need to be expensive, or is it?
Do those Ikea tealights have their own flicker circuits, or is it integrated in the stock LED, in which case you lose the flicker effect when swapping the emitter?
The LED tea lights I have are the latter type, so I’m keeping an eye out for something else.
What are those lights? Where to get them?
Want one.
Smile, you cannot kill them all.
I finally got the 2300K LEDs and tried them in my rechargeable tealight candles. I absolutely love it, it’s the closest I’ve been to a real candle light, and in a light holder of any kind it looks convincing.
From left: Original monochrome orange 3mm LED, 2300K LED and 3400K LED. Camera @5000K
Here they are with their included diffusers, looks pretty good. Can’t wait to solder all 12 of them and place them around the house.
I still use real candles on my living room table due to the cozyness and smell, but these are a lot safer to use unattended around the house, especially with cats around.
Current lights:
Emisar D4V2 SST-20 4000K, D4V2 Ti SST-20 2700K, D4V2 Ti SST-20 4000K, D4V2 Ti XPL-Hi V3 1A, D4SV2 SST-20 3000K | Noctigon KR1 OSRAM W2, K9.3 XPL-Hi V3 3A + SST-20 2700K | Fireflies PL47G2 XPL HI V3 3A, PL47G2 SST-20 4000K, E07 219B 4500K | Lumintop FW1A SST-20 4000K, Tool AA 2.0 | Nitecore LR12 XP-L HD V6 6500K, TUP XP-L HD V6 6500K | Sofirn C01S SST-20 4000K, SP10S LH351D 5000K, IF25/LT1-M SST-20 2700K + 6500K w/3D printed diffuser, BLF SP36 LH351D 5000K, BLF LT1 | ZebraLight SC700d XHP 70.2 5000K Hi-CRI, SC53Fc XP-L2 4000K | Convoy C8+ SST-40 6500K | Acebeam H30 XHP 70.2 5000K | Manker E14 III LH351D 6500K
These Ikea lights have an integrated curcuit. I believe it’s these :
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/godafton-led-tealight-in-outdoor-battery-op...
It’s just a tealight holder we’ve had for ages with Ikea tea lights inside :
Hey all, long time no see.
I would like to buy 100 pcs of 2300K 5mm LEDs.
I didn’t read the whole thread, so i’m not sure what you have in stock or if i should DM you, rngwm ?
You can PM me and choose the shipping option you desire (Pricing & fees in the OP).
If you want to make things easier for me, you can summarize the pricing in the PM for me.
(Tracked shipping is kinda pointless for Netherlands though, since it can’t really be tracked)
Searching for High CRI leds since 2010...
Has finally gotten to the bottom after 10 years of delving deep into that rabbit hole of them high CRI lights...
High CRI, high quality lights doesn't need to be expensive, or is it?
I hope you meant to say “10 in parallel to an AMC7135”. But why do you choose AMC7135 and PWM?
The Arduino could be used to sense current over 3x sense resistor paths, precisely tuning a driving MOSFET VGS in each of them for accurate, PWM free linear current control.
Deleting a just published post causes the forum thread answer notification to fail. Thus, if you need to change your just published post, edit it. Thanks.
Please avoid fully quoting lenghty posts, namely with nested quotes. Trim quotes down to the essential. Helps with neatness and legibility. Thanks.
- Yeah, but is it ultra high CRI?

I’ve read that’s not a good idea, but then I have not much clue about those things. I guess parallel is easier for the lower voltage needed?
Need to read about MOSFET circuits
.
Smile, you cannot kill them all.
Ordered and paid.
For 10 in series you need
3229 Volts.For 10 in parallel you only need
3.22.9 Volts, like from a single Li-Ion cell.The AMC7135 will eat up a minimum of 150 mV.
In any case, driving leds in parallel could have some current sharing problems due to Vf differences between emitters. This can be minimized by binning leds with a multimeter, i.e. set them all extended over a table in a room with stable temperature for a little while first (acclimating emitters, they're sensitive to temperature) while laying a multimeter close, then use the multimeter to read and note down every emitter's Vf systematically at least once. Use the results to sort the emitters in Vf packs: 10 lowest, next 10, …, last and highest Vf 10-pack. This would minimize the above problem.
Deleting a just published post causes the forum thread answer notification to fail. Thus, if you need to change your just published post, edit it. Thanks.
Please avoid fully quoting lenghty posts, namely with nested quotes. Trim quotes down to the essential. Helps with neatness and legibility. Thanks.
- Yeah, but is it ultra high CRI?

Well, as a word for caution, Vf disparity will be an issue.
The 3400k/5800k does have 0.1v higher Vf than 2300k.
Searching for High CRI leds since 2010...
Has finally gotten to the bottom after 10 years of delving deep into that rabbit hole of them high CRI lights...
High CRI, high quality lights doesn't need to be expensive, or is it?
I will, Barkuti. Thank you guys
.
Will come back with questions when the project advances, I fear
Smile, you cannot kill them all.
No problem. The colors will be driven seperately.
Smile, you cannot kill them all.
Just an update:
only
52 packs left for 2300k.I will check up with my supplier on Monday and see if I can restock this 2300k tint.
Searching for High CRI leds since 2010...
Has finally gotten to the bottom after 10 years of delving deep into that rabbit hole of them high CRI lights...
High CRI, high quality lights doesn't need to be expensive, or is it?
There are many ways to drive emitters. Arrays of series emitters will display closer average Vf sum, this for example means it would be far better to drive a 10-pack in 10S or 2P5S arrangement. Watch out I said 2P5S, this means 2 parallel 5S arrays, which is a lot different than 5S2P. There are cheap boost DC/DC converters which can output that voltage from li-ion cells easily:
The MT3608 boost module is going to be reviewed by Henrik soon I think, sent him a 5 piece pack long ago. Now that I recall this, it was the 5th of August, he should have received the package sometime in September and we're almost in December already.
Deleting a just published post causes the forum thread answer notification to fail. Thus, if you need to change your just published post, edit it. Thanks.
Please avoid fully quoting lenghty posts, namely with nested quotes. Trim quotes down to the essential. Helps with neatness and legibility. Thanks.
- Yeah, but is it ultra high CRI?

About that CRI 95 SMD, you mean this one?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000389792048.html?spm=2114.12010612.814...
Searching for High CRI leds since 2010...
Has finally gotten to the bottom after 10 years of delving deep into that rabbit hole of them high CRI lights...
High CRI, high quality lights doesn't need to be expensive, or is it?
Yes
Regarding driving LED’s in parallel, I think we can make some basic deductions from djozz’s data:
http://budgetlightforum.com/comment/1565398#comment-1565398
If you’re driving 10 at 350mA, that’s 35mA each.
From djozz’s graph, that’s about 2.95V.
If you had one LED in the group with a Vf that was lower and therefore hogging the current, then from the same data, I’d estimate the resulting current in the worst-driven LED as follows:
0.1V lower = 55mA
0.2V lower = 70mA
Since one of his survived an isolated test for 12 hours at 100mA, the over-current does not seem to be a problem. However, rngwn observed that if packed together, they heat up and may eventually run away:
http://budgetlightforum.com/comment/1570465#comment-1570465
So for the idea of running 10 on a 7135, I think heat is the main concern.
Yes, heat can be a problem in those 3xAAA 20 or more LED lights.
Especially those in the middle of the PCB can get hot on the crappy stock PCB they’re soldered on.
Good idea to epoxy a heat spreading disc on the back.
The LED that’s in those bullets is a 0.5 Watt 5mm LED similar to this:
I bought a copper bullet branded Astrolux (i think TB-01 ?) with pretty powerful 3x LR41 inside plus 3x LR41 spare batteries a few years ago from Banggood.
I estimate it’s around 15 Lumen with fresh batteries, maybe even 20 Lumen.
Pretty impressive for the size.
Those Mateminco branded ones are crazy expensive.
Here’s a stainless steel one:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32844630381.html
You can see the brand name is photoshopped away, but i bet it says Astrolux.
Here’s an aluminium one:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32839012681.html
Either way, yes it would be nice in high CRI warm white, but Djozz tried it with a Yuji 5mm LED iirc, and it was much much less bright.
These LEDs here will do a better job, but still a lot less than the stock LED.
I think these LEDs are better suited for lights like this:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32885217288.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33023962121.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32923872041.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000385078691.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32775843914.html
Pages