Luxeon 3 or 5?

[Veers]

I hear that 5 is overkill, and doesn't even look that great. Anyone have an opinion?

[Knuckle01]

if 5 is brighter then the 3...why wouldn't look great?

[Ghost4]

I hear that 5 is overkill, and doesn't even look that great. Anyone have an opinion?

You probably heard from someone who does like luxeons at all... if anything a Lux V looks better because it lights the length  A LOT better.  You can do a 40" blade with out having to worry about it having a faded middle.

There are drawbacks to a Lux V.  Heat, Voltage (has/needs a lot of both), takes some serious work to get sound, and limited colors.  Most run reds colors at lower than they can actually handle on Lux III's therefore they don't make a Lux V in those colors.

[Kyp Durron]

Hyperdyne's sound board MIGHT work...his system uses a 7.2 volt Li-Ion battery.

How much is needed to run the 5 watt LED?

-Joclad

[Ghost4]

About 7V.  So it would work (if he doesn't have anything to lower it, but only he'd know that)... but Hyperdyne's board is meant to work with his driver.  It's the double edged sword of working seamlessly with one piece is you may exclude others. :-\

[Kyp Durron]

Yeah, it was just a thought...it's the only thing I could think of that would even remotely come close to making a Luxeon 5 Watt have sound. I think I will PM Jim sometime and ask him about it.

-Joclad

[Ghost4]

Here's my thoughts, haven't done them lack of money and motivation... :-[ and many unfinished projects. :'(

Two micropucks or one buckpuck from luxeonstar.com can power a Lux V at lower than the normal voltage if run in the "boost" mode.  It sucks up the batteries faster, but here's the benefit: You can run the Lux V at 6V (or even lower like 4.5V which is normal for the MR board) and the MR would take the 6V fine while being at full brightness.

Idea #2 is run a 8AA pack and find the point on the pack where it gives 6V (usually at the very end) and wire the MR from there.

Idea #3 like EL simply run a voltage regulator and parallel lithium 9V's which should give okay runtime.

Odd musings with all the Lux V craze thanks to Ultra's new offerings... :D  I'm just going to go for a K2 when it's available.

[Kyp Durron]

I figure that someone will come up with a Luxeon 5 with sound sooner or later, it's just a matter of who.

And, when more than one saber smith comes up with it, whoever does it best.

-Joclad

[todd4566]

Based on some of the pics I've seen, 5w is considerably brighter than the 3w.  I have a hilt & 5w green coming soon, and will post pics when I get it.  I'm still trying to figure out how I want to power it though - either 2 9v's w/ regulator or a simple 4-AA pack. 

Quick Comparison of 3w vs 5w Lumens  *Luxeon Lambertian

Green 3w = 80
Green 5w = 160
Cyan 3w = 80
Cyan 5w= 160
Royal Blue 3w = 30
Royal Blue 5w = 700 mW
Blue 3w = 30
Blue 5w = 48

[Brandon Heat]

Hi guys, Look on photoninovations they have an assortment of 5w with sound. Look in the hilt section. Looks ok to me but I wonder how good they are? I have not seen any feedback from anyone who has there sabers.

Brandon Heat

[Louis]

Well, in fact, I must say 3W. Erv explain it to me yestarday when I asked him that question.

In fact, 5W seems to kill your battery xxx to fast, and the heat is to high with it!
Some use them BTW, but with low intensity so, it's quite like a 3W at the end...

Plus, most electronic devices are made for 3W luxeon, so...;)

[ani104]

Here's my thoughts, haven't done them lack of money and motivation... :-[ and many unfinished projects. :'(

Two micropucks or one buckpuck from luxeonstar.com can power a Lux V at lower than the normal voltage if run in the "boost" mode. It sucks up the batteries faster, but here's the benefit: You can run the Lux V at 6V (or even lower like 4.5V which is normal for the MR board) and the MR would take the 6V fine while being at full brightness.

Idea #2 is run a 8AA pack and find the point on the pack where it gives 6V (usually at the very end) and wire the MR from there.

Idea #3 like EL simply run a voltage regulator and parallel lithium 9V's which should give okay runtime.

Odd musings with all the Lux V craze thanks to Ultra's new offerings... :D I'm just going to go for a K2 when it's available.

Interesting ideas :)

Also, what is a K2?

[Ghost4]

A K2 is the newest version of a Luxeon.  It handles heat pretty much like a 3W with the same voltage requirements, yet it is only slightly under the stats of a 5W in terms of light output.  In the white it even matches the 5W :o .

The main problem with it not being used is it's not in star form.  This is what a Luxeon normally looks like for when we use it:


It has the nice solder pads and the indents where we can put screws.  Rather convinient.

The K2 is only available right now as this:


This is just the middle part and is harder to work with.  You can make a mount but it means you have to pay attention to alignment if you use stuff that normally uses a star (i.e. TCSS stuff).