Lights arrived yesterday, thanks Rusty Joe! I can see why people complained about the FT03S, I still like it though. There’s a lot of unrealized potential there.
Light arrived quickly and well-packaged. Great seller, thanks
Hey, friends…
All these sold.
I still have an almost unused Armytek Predator Pro with XHP35 HI CW if anyone is interested.
Sorry, what’s wrong with the SBT90 version? I was thinking about getting it.
The FT03s steps down instantly, you end up with a poor output.
It’s not that bad, it seems to run for about 30 seconds then steps down but you can kick it right back up. Honestly I’m not impressed but for $65 it’s not bad. It’s just barely better than my dedomed 50.2 ft03. The tint is better because it doesn’t have the yellow around it like the 50.2
Hmmm I see. The only thing holding me back from the 50.2 is the yellow corona. I already have the sst40 but I’d really like a more beefy version as well. It’s one of my favorite lights I own. Perfect form factor. Guess it’s not worth the 3x asking price. I’ll get the 50.2 then…
thanks guys!
I wouldn’t buy the 90.2 at $90, get the 50.2 and slice the dome. It’s almost as good.
The SBT90.2 is best at high drive currents (14+ amps) with a properly designed reflector. The ft03s has issues with that. The xhp50.2 version is not only nearly as bright, but the reflector is better suited for it. Slice and dice it and it’s a great thrower as the die is about the same size as the 90.2. The corona all but disappears when you remove the done and surrounding phosphor.
Yeah. I don’t really have the skills to do a slice and dice. I would probably damage the LED. Would love to actually. But just afraid. I have a GT70 that I would like sliced. But I don’t know how. Never did it.
We should start a thread specifically for the ft03 and how to slice and dice it. It’s not hard at all. I did mine free hand with a utility knife blade. It took about 20 minutes total including pulling the mcpcb and putting it back together.
Is there any videos on how to do this?
Maybe take a look at this
The person used schematics of the emitter to get a general height on the die/phosphor and then protected it with drill bits to prevent the blade from slicing too thin. There’s another user who has a set of washers sanded down to specific thicknesses to protect the emitter for slicing.
Dont slice it all at once, take it in layers. If you try to slice it all at once it likes to tear away and can take the phosphor with it.
I use washers of appropriate thickness and go in stages. There aren’t any bond wires to avoid like on xml2 or sst40 or xp-l, so it’s a little easier than those but not super easy. Start with a really thin, extremely sharp blade. I use disposable straight razor blades (be careful with them as they have dual edges) and a 1.5mm washer, slice, then go down to a 1mm, slice, then .6mm, slice, then if you’re getting close to the phosphor layer, go .55 to .50mm and slice. Use a pushing motion and don’t saw or rock the blade if you can help it. Then you should be real close to the actual die and you can start removing the phosphor around the edge of the LES. If you leave the phosphor around the die on, the beam will be really yellow (worse tint shift). Use a small xacto blade or scalpel to very gently cut around the die, then start lifting the phosphor off very gently with the tip of the blade. Tip: a magnifier is extremely helpful here. Once that’s done, you should just have phosphor covering the die. It’s the same process for the xhp70.2.
Ok thanks for the replies
I forgot to mention your washers should have a roughly 6.5 to 7mm inner diameter to clear the led.
I was like why do I need washers then I read it again and it make total sense, really smart approach.
Yep. Washers are spacers and help the razor blade stay flat so it doesn’t cut too deep. You can freehand it if you wanted, but I tried it and it’s soooooo much easier with the washer as a guide.
Thanks for all the tips guys! Maybe I’ll try with a cheaper light first just to make sure.