Emisar D3AA is available now

I would say that's pretty accurate. And there's plenty of 90CRI version 50.3 HI available too, I just haven't found any Warm White yet. I prefer this over sbt90.2 and sft40, and 519 (for a thrower, it is double the output).

The lights in my pic earlier weren’t from Emisar. Hank uses nicer tint bins. Like, instead of SST-20 FB4, he uses FA3 and FD2. And instead of sw45, he uses sw45k.

Even with good SST-20 bins though, I still don’t like how it looks. At the brightness levels I use, it’s still pretty green, and tends to suck the blue out of things so pink objects appear to be an orange or salmon color instead.

It can be improved significantly by adding a pretty strong “minus green” filter, but that has downsides too. Like, it absorbs enough light that I can’t use turbo without melting the filter. Efficiency drops to fewer lumens per watt than the old 219A LEDs. And it still doesn’t render some colors accurately — pinks, purples, blues, and browns.

So for a lot of lights, instead of minus-green corrected SST-20, I’d rather use XP-L HI. It makes twice as much light at the same amperage, has a more consistent tint across the beam and at different brightness levels, can go higher on turbo, makes less heat, and renders many colors more accurately even though it’s only 70 CRI.

This shows a few LEDs basically how they appear IRL — straight from the camera, with white balance set to the center of the hotspot.

Ah ok ok, I assumed Hank used FB4 SST-20s :stuck_out_tongue:

Sorry for badly assuming that they were still using the greener SST-20s.

I’m surprised you have trouble with it though: my PL47 SST-20 FA2 4000k is very neutral overall.

I wonder if it’s because of optic choices as well: the 219B/XP-L HI rosy bins are quite rosy, which means that even with a red/indigo AR coated lens, you still are slightly rosy/neutral, while even a neutral/almost perfectly neutral SST-20 will be made a bit more green.

It also might have to do with luma<>chroma correlation at lower brightness levels. I mostly use lights at 100-300 lumens, so that might explain stuff a bit more as well, since you said you usually use lights at 20-50+ lumens.

Hank, if we order a single channel D4SV2 and request a lighted switch, will it come with a K9.3 driver & K9.3 firmware?

I have one and that appears to have happened. 3H from on does not go to momentary turbo, it switches to the other disconnected channel. I confirmed it is the K9.3 firmware by doing a version check.

I have a PL47 G2 with SST-20 4000K LEDs. It’s a nice host, but it has one of the lemongrassiest beams in my collection. I also have a PL47 G1 with 219B sw45 LEDs, and it has one of the nicest beams in my collection.

This stuff really depends on the person.

One of my absolute favorites is a D4Sv2 with tint ramping between XP-L HI 1A and 8A (~6500K and ~3000K). It covers nearly the entire ansi white range, and is significantly below BBL for most of that range. One of these days, I’ll have to see if I can get a tint-ramping KR4 with that same combination.

I’ve found SST-20 emitters to not be suitable for night photography, as they are far too green on low to medium settings. I’ve made that mistake in flashlight purposes twice, and not again. LH351D is usually OK, but looking forward to the 519A being available in range of CCTs.

Thank you! :slight_smile:

That's a good question, as I've ordered the same, I'm just going to wait for it to arrive. I still want to know what the firmware options will be available with the boost driver and if it's even directly compatible with the regular firmwares in TK's repository, given the CC drivers are driving FET & regulators.. as opposed to the boost circuit..

Yes, if you request the single channel D4S V2 with lighted switch, it’s with K9.3 firmware.
The D4S V2 boost version comes with the anduril 2 firmware, it’s the same as the DM11 boost driver firmware.

Hi Hank,

Thank you very much for the clarification.

Can't wait for mine to arrive.

Cheers

EDIT: Ah, just realized, Grizzly was talking about the CC linear version and I was talking about the Boost one..

So, just for future reference..

- D4SV2 CC Linear Driver + Backlit Switch = K9.3 Driver & Firmware

- D4SV2 Boost Driver + Backlit switch = D4SV2 driver & DM11 (12V Boost) Firmware

When you've bought 10 lights from Hank and you've just found out that there's a lighted switch hidden option.. :)) Yep, same boat..

BSI makes some really good glues that are worth the cost, but holy cow that debonder is ridiculously priced even for BSI! That’s like almost $300 for a quart! You could get a quart of acetone for around $10 and be just as proficient. :slight_smile: This and the loctite brand of debonder do have a couple extras in the mix but it’s not entirely necessary…they’re primarily acetone. (see below…oops)

I like BSI’s black rubberized super glue…that’s good stuff.

.

EDIT: Oops…big mistake, sorry. Just looked up the SDS because I was curious what they added in their mix…and this debonder is not acetone at all. It’s almost entirely DMF. Different product entirely. Acetone still works great, but DMF will do it faster and with a little less mess…didn’t realize it was still available. Not terribly dangerous but it’s one of those Yuck Chemicals so be careful with it and stand upwind.

That superglue sounds like something I need to have. (Love BSI 2 part epoxy)

That superglue sounds like something I need to have. (Love BSI 2 part epoxy)
[/quote]

Shop around…the amazon price on it is pretty high. I got mine from Taytools but it looks like they’re out or stopped selling it. Here’s their link for the accelerator package: https://taytools.com/collections/supplies-adhesives-ca-super-glue/products/bob-smith-industries-black-rubber-toughened-insta-set-accelerator . They sell on ebay and amazon, too, but not all items…pretty good outfit, have ordered from them lots of times over the years.

Without the accelerator (not really needed but can be nice to have) you can find the tube for $5 to $8 usually. It’s still a superglue, still somewhat drippy, but a little more resilient than most CA formulations and it does bond better to rubber (I think it may have been developed for R/C car tires or something in that hobby arena).

The black goo glue often used for phone repairs is more of a rubbery strong adhesive…also great stuff and much cheaper. T-7000, kind of a generic label with the same product being made by more than one company (and there are lots of T-glues in the range). Very inexpensive on aliexpress but then if you get an old/dry tube you’re stuck, so amazon at least gives you assurance of fresh product: Amazon.com

I used to use acetone before I found this stuff. Aetton works great but in my opinion smells way worse. Also I got lucky and found that little bottle for six dollars. But but I've removed about 20 Emisar drivers and 10 tail switch assemblies

and I still haven't even used half the bottle. So although it's rather expensive I might buy a bottle every two years. I have a gallon of acetone in the workshop that I spent 30 bucks on but I'd rather use this Stuff. It definitely works faster too

Yes, good stuff. I recall it smelling a bit like bad fish. lol. Not the BSI product, just a pint of it in a shop. Not sure what they used it for but I first learned of it exploring textile/fabric manufacturing. I’m a weirdo in that I like the smell of lots of chemicals but this (and formaldehyde……or PCP……) smell like death to me. Acetone isn’t real pleasant. Fun fact, though, acetone is created during basic cell functions in your body! :slight_smile: In the 1700s they used village thieves and harlots for acetone production, dangling them from the rafters in small log houses with……

I emailed him about this last week he confirmed to me this morning the D4 and D4S pages will be updated to include the option to purchase backlit switches.

For anyone like me wanting to order KR1 in gray or cyan, Hank told me in an email they will be back in stock next week.

D4V2 boost driver (single channel) option is now available