Nichia Develops 60 Lumen Per Watt White LED

[ddrueding]

He was discussing mounting them to some kind of offroad vehicle whose onboard power system couldn't handle the additional load of normal lights. Compared to automotive stuff, it is both light and cheap.

 

[timwhit]

He was discussing mounting them to some kind of offroad vehicle whose onboard power system couldn't handle the additional load of normal lights. Compared to automotive stuff, it is both light and cheap.

I pictured him using it to stun someone with the light and then beat them with the handle.

 

[Pradeep]

What are people's thoughts on this one?

My concern would be the non user replaceable battery.

For an ATV type vehicle you could do much better for the money.

http://www.lsracing.com/yamaha-raptor-350_edge-led-atv-head-light-kit.html

You may need a rechargeable battery to attach to depending on the vehicle.

 

[sechs]

I pictured him using it to stun someone with the light and then beat them with the handle.

Beating someone with a lithium ion battery?

This is why I have a Maglite LED flashlight.

 

[Will Rickards]

So the second Romisen RC-R4 I bought back in 2008 (first one stopped working) is now not bright anymore. I assume this is normal? The LED has reached the end of its life?

 

[Bozo]

Graphite Foam for LED cooling.

 

[Stereodude]

So the second Romisen RC-R4 I bought back in 2008 (first one stopped working) is now not bright anymore. I assume this is normal? The LED has reached the end of its life?

The LEDs should last 10's of thousands of hours, so that seems somewhat unlikely.

 

[time]

What Stereo said.

The Romisens are conservatively driven and fairly well heatsinked, so LED degradation isn't at all likely.

How much dimmer is it? Could it be running in a 'moon' mode?

What failed in the first one, the switch or the pill?

You could try changing it to direct drive, i.e. just a resistor. For someone who's in the middle of repairing an LCD display, that should be a walk in the park.

 

[Pradeep]

So LEDs don't suffer from light fall off as they age? I thought they would still hit 75%/50% over time?

 

[mubs]

Many traffic lights in the U.S. were switched to LEDs for obvious reasons. I've seen too many where several LEDs in the cluster would die, resulting in the dead pixel effect. If LEDs have such long lives, why does this happen?

 

[Will Rickards]

I used to be able to use it in the daytime indoors. Now it is barely able to be used in the dark. If you are saying this is not normal then I'll suspect the rechargeable batteries and try some other batteries first.

 

[Will Rickards]

Tried non-rechargeable batteries, same problem. I tossed it. I'll just order a new one or something similar that takes those batteries.

 

[jtr1962]

The driver on some of those early Romisons was flaky. They used components which IMO weren't up to the task. What probably happened is one of the parts went, most likely either the Schottky diode or the MOSFET. End result would be the light either doesn't work at all, or comes on dim.

The newer Romisons have an improved driver board with higher efficiency and higher drive current. You should be OK.

 

[Stereodude]

So LEDs don't suffer from light fall off as they age? I thought they would still hit 75%/50% over time?

Yeah, they hit 50% after like 50,000 hours or something. Do you really think Will has used it that much? :smack:

 

[time]

jtr1962: On a different note, I have a 2-level Romisen here that's failed after a few months - it dimms down to nothing in about a second. Is it even worth thinking about repair, or should I just bin it (another one of the same model is fine). The pill looks kinda small and well-sealed (don't know if it's glued or just soldered).

 

[jtr1962]

jtr1962: On a different note, I have a 2-level Romisen here that's failed after a few months - it dimms down to nothing in about a second. Is it even worth thinking about repair, or should I just bin it (another one of the same model is fine). The pill looks kinda small and well-sealed (don't know if it's glued or just soldered).

If it's like the Romison I have, then the driver board is soldered to the heat sink and fairly easily removed for examination. If you can get the board out without too much trouble, then attempt a repair. In all likelyhood the bad part is either a MOSFET or Schottky diode. Don't spend too much time on it, however. These lights don't cost much to replace, and time is money. If you were in the US and planning to bin it, I would offer to pay the postage to send it my way so I could reuse the body. However, postage from Oz makes it pretty much not worth doing that.

If the driver board is toast, then another possibility is to order another board which physically fits ( make sure the new board is designed to accept whatever voltage range the battery in your light provides ). Cheaper than a new light, plus the new board might offer several more modes and/or better quality.

 

[Stereodude]

I think the moral to the stories is to not buy Romisen lights.

 

[time]

That would be the moral if you were a card-carrying member of the Candle Power Forums elite.

I've bought at least 15 Romisen flashlights, comprising nearly a dozen different models, and only one has failed. Ironically, one of the 'new improved' driver boards. :dunno:

For a 'budget' brand, it's pretty reliable.

 

[time]

Um, I just had a peek at Candle Power Forums.

The admins are indulging in a colossal mindf*ck. I don't think I'll bother going back there ever again.

So Stereodude, I'm really sorry that I implied that you had anything to do with those witless motherf*ckers.

 

[Stereodude]

That would be the moral if you were a card-carrying member of the Candle Power Forums elite.

Nah, they only buy Surefire even when other competitors are selling vastly superior products for a fraction of the price. :rofl:

 

[Bozo]

A good read about LEDs for lighting.

 

[CougTek]

Maybe in three or four years, LED bulbs will become a serious alternative, but now at 40$ for a 60W-equivalent replacement, no thanks.

 

[BingBangBop]

I contend that LED's need to become price competitive to CFL's and that's not likely to happen for several years yet.

 

[paugie]

The hardware store I visited here had 55W equivalent LED bulbs for less than $25.
Still stiff. but makes me think about buying one or two.
I am using CFLs but they burn out in a year. Do these things stand up well to being turned on and off every now and then? I know the CFLs don't like being switched on/off often. (I could be wrong)

 

[Stereodude]

In theory LED bulbs should have no issues being switched off and on.

The GE CFL's I've been using have been pretty good. I've only had a few fail in the past 6+ years.

 

[LunarMist]

My experience is also that the CFLs don't last more than a year or two, for example in the toilet where they are subject to many short power cycles. The CFL in the kitchen range is on 24/7 and lasts 3-4 years. I installed two LEDs in the toilet last summer and prefer them for the rapid startup. We'll see how long they last. There is no way I will put 6 LEDs in each toilet at current prices.

 

[mubs]

The biggest issue I have with CFL is the flimsy glass; I've broken too many trying to put them in the socket or take them out. Since the CFL glass tube is usually long, trying to put them in a wall socket with a built in fluted shade is a nightmare. Incandescents never had this problem; never broke one in a similar socket.

 

[MaxBurn]

230% efficient LED. Greater than unity power consumption.

http://dvice.com/archives/2012/03/230-efficient-l.php

http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-03-efficiency.html

 

[LunarMist]

230% efficient LED. Greater than unity power consumption.

Not so useful at picowatt levels.

 

[CougTek]

They should make electrically-conductive paint made of these LED. Illuminated walls which have almost no energy cost.

 

[LunarMist]

Maybe the ceiling, but not the walls.

 

[sechs]

Not so useful at picowatt levels.

Not for light. For cooling, however....

 

[LunarMist]

Not for light. For cooling, however....

Millions of 'em would not cool a gnat's ass.

 

[sechs]

I bet they would.

 

[Santilli]

Funny, but I just got done redoing the lighting in the house. Prior the mini-flors just didn't do it for me. Expensive, and not that great for light. The month before last, my energy bill was nearly 200 dollars, this from a baseline of between 40-60 dollars.

So, I've done the following:
All the lights that stay on a lot were replaced with LED's. 3 for 15 dollars at Costco. Each uses 4W, 200 Lumens. I spent a bunch of money 36 bucks for the bulb in that article, the 38, just so I can see what color the pants are, blue or black, in my hall.

This may seem weird, but here is how PG&E works. I'm allowed a basic, freezing rate of energy for the apartment. 60 bucks gets me 700 K/w hours or so. Now, if I go about 33% higher, it quadruples my energy bill, just a hair below 200 dollars.
A LOT of this was using the central heating, which is not cost effective, and appears to power stuff we don't use, that maybe wired into it.
Hand washing the dishes, since we did this already, and used the dishwasher just as a final rinse and dry. Our dishwasher requires pretty much clean dishes going in, or the filter fills up, and we have problems.

The Samsung TV just went back, and was replaced by a 27" monitor, since the TV uses 54 W, the monitors are rated at 20 W, thanks to LED's.

A lot of this was caused by my new roommate failing to turn the heat off, and the lights. However, the LED's finally offer a big enough savings to even put up with 6 bucks a bulb, and if they suck, I'll take them back to Costco.

I also replaced the 1000 Watts of incandescent bulbs with the mini-flors in the bathrooms, since they have come down to 5 bucks for 4, and, they use 13W or so for a 60 Watt equal to incandescent. I now have a huge box of incandescent
bulbs that will stay in the house if I leave sometime. Wondering what next months bill is going to be...

The Beast is looking like a bit of overkill, but, I'm planning on using the Athlon dual in the other room a bit more, and work on getting the costs down a bit in there. 64 vs. 260 at idle for the chips, IIRC.

 

[ddrueding]

If you want a low powered machine, build one around a 35W Intel CPU, 1.35v RAM, and a single SSD. That will be a low draw machine.

 

[CougTek]

1.35v RAM

I'd rather buy a Kingston low voltage DDR3 kit. 14$ more, but at least it has a Cas latency of 9 cycle instead of the horrible 11 cycles of the Crucial kit.

 

[ddrueding]

I'd rather buy a Kingston low voltage DDR3 kit. 14$ more, but at least it has a Cas latency of 9 cycle instead of the horrible 11 cycles of the Crucial kit.

I have had good luck with Kingston RAM, but I have never has issues with a Crucial stick ever. I simply don't consider anything else at this point.

 

[CougTek]

Corsair? Is there a low-power computing thread somewhere? We are derailing this one.

 

[LunarMist]

And Greg destroys another good thread.