Curious:  How many here still dedome?

nottawhackjob · 2018-05-18T20:30:56.000Z

With new LED offerings and subsequent increased lumens we’re routinely getting from flashlight manufacturers, how many here still go the extra yard by dedoming to increase whatever they think they’re increasing?

I don’t know about you guys but I’m pretty satisfied with stock LED output levels I’m already getting combined with the state of increasing batt capacities/performance hitting the market.

Back in the earlier days of XML’s, XPG’s, etc., dedoming became the rave pursuit as output increases for more throw was kinda going crazy.

Nowadays with multi-emitter powerhouses like the Q8 being readily available and reasonably inexpensive, I wonder if dedoming is basically overkill?

Is it genuinely worth it?

Whaddya guys think?

Geuzzz · 2018-05-18T20:39:54.000Z

Dedoming does not improve output, just increases the throw. So if you are going for ultimate throw it still makes the difference.

nottawhackjob · 2018-05-18T20:47:51.000Z

Ok let’s say I already understand that premise but if so what latest and greatest LEDs nowadays IYO truly benefit from this dedomed throw increase?

Can you quantify (in general/roughly) the percent of increased throw, etc.?

Geuzzz · 2018-05-18T20:48:23.000Z

Xhp70.2 for instance:

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In this video I show the awesome superpower of the XHP70.2 in a giga-thrower. See how to swap the emitter and boost the driver current. [Eight THOUSAND Lumen XHP70.2 Budget Light Forum Giga-Thrower!!!] . . Please let us hear what you think 5/20/18 Update To answer the question about sustainability I did a test with the final version of the light from turn on to 90 seconds. The output is quite stable because of the large copper mcpcb, however the light does heat u…

nottawhackjob · 2018-05-18T20:53:05.000Z

Ok I see. If you notice ‘lawallac’ in Post #8 of that thread kinda asks the same question. Not sure he got the answer post mosfet mod.

X31 · 2018-05-18T21:01:35.000Z

I still do it, my Nitecore EC4 has a dedomed XM-L2, my Thorfire S70S has a sliced XHP70, and my Brinyte B158B has a dedomed XP-L HD for max throw

firedome · 2018-05-18T21:07:54.000Z

It’s more of a personal preference. Dedoming on average increases the throw distance increases roughly by 40% after dedoming. One usually dedomes a single emitter light to increase its throw. Multiple dedomed emitters or domeless emitters can be used for a flooder.

Enderman · 2018-05-18T21:27:39.000Z

Geuzzz:

Dedoming does not improve output, just increases the throw. So if you are going for ultimate throw it still makes the difference.

But if you’re going for ultimate throw you would use LEDs like the Black Flat or CFT90 which already don’t have a dome
So there’s really no need for dedoming anymore.
Especially since the xpg3 and similar new LEDs don’t give improvement like the old xpg2 did.

Geuzzz · 2018-05-18T21:39:49.000Z

Enderman:

Geuzzz:

Dedoming does not improve output, just increases the throw. So if you are going for ultimate throw it still makes the difference.

But if you’re going for ultimate throw you would use LEDs like the Black Flat or CFT90 which already don’t have a dome
So there’s really no need for dedoming anymore.
Especially since the xpg3 and similar new LEDs don’t give improvement like the old xpg2 did.

The xhp70.2 of VOB went from 500+kcd to 900+kcd with a reduced lumens of only 6000 over 6700 domed. Sounds like a good reason to me :sunglasses:

Agro · 2018-05-18T22:06:28.000Z

Enderman:

Geuzzz:

Dedoming does not improve output, just increases the throw. So if you are going for ultimate throw it still makes the difference.

But if you’re going for ultimate throw you would use LEDs like the Black Flat or CFT90 which already don’t have a dome
So there’s really no need for dedoming anymore.
Especially since the xpg3 and similar new LEDs don’t give improvement like the old xpg2 did.

There are still areas where you can’t beat dedomed emitters:

XHP70.2 offers so much output that no flat LED can compete. Especially for the price.
SST-40 is cheap and powerful and 3V. XHP35 HI is somewhat close, but way costlier and 12V which makes it sometimes infeasible.

I guess these are the biggest deals.
But also:

Luxeon MX is probably the highest output 3V LED below $100. Dedoming it seems to make sense.
XP-L W2 provides similar throw to XP-L HI, but slightly higher output. Not much though
I expect LH351D to beat XP-L for output and roughly match it for throw, further differentiating it from XP-L HI. To be precise, I expect it to be slightly floodier.

And on top of that: many flat LEDs are only available in cool white. For those who want their LEDs to be warmer, dedoming increases LED selection.

Lexel · 2018-05-19T00:30:37.000Z

chadvone · 2018-05-19T00:40:24.000Z

I haven’t found the need lately. It was fun when I was chasing numbers. These days I am happier with a smooth beam of usable light.

Enderman · 2018-05-19T00:53:07.000Z

Geuzzz:

The xhp70.2 of VOB went from 500+kcd to 900+kcd with a reduced lumens of only 6000 over 6700 domed. Sounds like a good reason to me :sunglasses:

Did he dedome it or just shave it?
Shaving it is far easier and safer, which is what most people have done.

nottawhackjob · 2018-05-19T01:47:20.000Z

Should we be using a new term to describe shaving a dome vs dedomed?

Maybe shadome?

I’ve completely dedomed many an LED but I’ve never had to shave one - of course I haven’t bought the new really expensive LEDs either.

I gather that in cases like the xhp the gain by completely dedoming vs shadoming must be pretty negligible considering the cost if you mess it up.

Lightbringer · 2018-05-19T02:35:15.000Z

What they said…

I still got some CW XP-Gs that I was going to dedome. You lose output somewhat, but gain throw by having it be a more concentrated beam.

Also, dedoming warms the beam somewhat. Albeit unpredictably, as you can end up with a lemon-yellow beam or a beam with a nasty green tint, etc.

Since Cree came out with HI LEDs (vs HD), they kind of obviated the need to dedome LEDs. And they’re already binned, so you more or less know what color/tint they’ll be.

But I have yet to see a HI version of any G chip (eg, XP-G2 HI), let alone an E or E2. If you want a flashlight laser, you can dedome an XP-E2. Not many lumens, but a pencil-beam that’ll reach quite far.

So, sure, you can “throw” more and over a wider cone of light with sheer brute force, belting out a whole order of magnitude more lumens for the same throw, but good luck with heat, battery drain, longevity, etc. Sure, a pencil-beam thrower will be quite limited in actual usage, but for that use, it’ll be unbeatable.

nottawhackjob · 2018-05-19T05:17:19.000Z

First time I’ve read this particular thread on testing the Black Flat.

Good info indeed.

LED test / review - OSRAM OSLON Black Flat HWQP - still highest luminance of all LEDs to date! Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts

LED test / review EN Osram Oslon Black Flat HWQP LUW HWQP-8M7N-ebvF46fcbB4 UPDATE --- 06/23/18 --- raw data added! (link) Since several months this LED is a well-known and popular choice for ultra-long range distance flashlights (throwers). Many performance values are already known from other users / tests, but with this test / review I want give you and all these who want to start a project with this very interesting LED the opportunity to check all values and importan…

Geuzzz · 2018-05-19T05:52:45.000Z

Enderman:

Geuzzz:

The xhp70.2 of VOB went from 500+kcd to 900+kcd with a reduced lumens of only 6000 over 6700 domed. Sounds like a good reason to me :sunglasses:

Did he dedome it or just shave it?
Shaving it is far easier and safer, which is what most people have done.

He dedomed it by shaving the dome off

nottawhackjob · 2018-05-19T06:09:08.000Z

How much shaving do you need to consider it equal to dedomed? Norelco close or just BIC disposable shave close?

I know these are hairy questions.

Enderman · 2018-05-19T06:33:30.000Z

Geuzzz:

He dedomed it by shaving the dome off

Well, by “dedoming” most people here mean chemical dedoming.
Dome shaving is different.
Anyone can do it and it’s a lot safer.
No tint shift, no damage to phosphor, silicone layer left on top for protection, almost the same performance as dedoming.

nottawhackjob · 2018-05-19T06:54:48.000Z

VOB and Texas Ace rock!!!

Great work guys.