Setting Up a LED bulb testing lab at home

[pc2019]

Since @maukka has retired from testing bulbs, I’d like to pick up the baton and try to replicate his methodology in testing the bulbs that are available now.

I now have most of the testing equipment he used.

I plan to update this post as I refine my equipment and methodology.

Equipment:

• i1Pro spectrophotometer (if a rev A-D, without UV cut)
• Lisun IS-0.5M 50cm integrating sphere
• Thorlabs DET36A2 photodetector
• Oscilloscope with either
  • a high-voltage differential probe and current probe or
  • a galvanically isolated breakout box (in progress)
• Bench DC power supply

Software:

• BabelColor CT&A
• HCFR
• ArgyllCMS

Methodology:

• TBD

I’ll follow this post up with any questions I have as I go. I’ll definitely have some questions about how he performed certain tests.

[pc2019]

As I’m piecing together the methodology, I’ve run into the following questions:

1. How did @maukka generate his BBL charts (like this one)?
   
   I haven’t found this in CT&A, but maybe I’ve missed it, or maybe it’s in HCFR or ArgyllCMS. Or maybe he used something else.

2. How did @maukka conduct the tint shift tests? He somehow took measurements every 20 degrees, so he can’t have used the integrating sphere. So how did he conduct this test and control the environment and angles?
   

3. How did @maukka conduct his 1m lux tests (“Intensity (lux at 1 meter, candela) was measured outside the sphere at 1 meter.”)? Did he just point the i1Pro at the bulb in a dark room? Or did he have a more controlled setup, e.g. perhaps a variant of a lumen tube?

4. For @maukka’s flicker tests, did the photodetector have a direct view of the bulb, or did it have an integrated (indirect) view into the sphere?

5. Where can I find @parametrek’s scripts that maukka used for his flicker tests?

[thefreeman]

@pc2019

How did @maukka generate his BBL charts (like this one)?

With excel, it’s a plot with CIE1931 XYZ as background.

@pc2019

How did @maukka conduct the tint shift tests? He somehow took measurements every 20 degrees, so he can’t have used the integrating sphere. So how did he conduct this test and control the environment and angles?

I don’t know exactly his setup but personally I just marked angles on an arc and moved the spectrophotometer. I guess Parametrek’s method is better : Beam Profiles V3 released: an alternative to spheres and white wall shots

@pc2019

How did @maukka conduct his 1m lux tests (“Intensity (lux at 1 meter, candela) was measured outside the sphere at 1 meter.”)? Did he just point the i1Pro at the bulb in a dark room?

Likely just that.

@pc2019

For @maukka’s flicker tests, did the photodetector have a direct view of the bulb, or did it have an integrated (indirect) view into the sphere?

No need for integration there.

[pc2019]

Thank you!

@thefreeman

@pc2019

For @maukka’s flicker tests, did the photodetector have a direct view of the bulb, or did it have an integrated (indirect) view into the sphere?

No need for integration there.

Would it matter if it were an integrated view? It might be easier for me to mount the photodetector to the sphere.

Also, how did @maukka measure the temperature of the bulbs? Via contact probe or IR sensor? Did he measure the bulb surface or the base?

[pc2019]

Does anybody know how to get ahold of @maukka or @parametrek? They haven’t been on BLF in months, and I’m not sure how else to contact them.

[INeedMoreLumens]

@pc2019

parametrek

Have you tried Parametrek.com support forum?

[thefreeman]

Parametrek is active on reddit. Also on IRC, though I’m not sure what the address is.