Rebel Tri-star

[Agelessanarchy]

I just picked up one of these to play around with.

http://www.luxeonstar.com/Red-Orange-617-nm-20mm-Tri-Star-Rebel-300-lm-p/mr-h0050-20t.htm

it's a rebel tri-star rated at about 300 lm @ 3vf at 700ma got an 18deg lens as well I figure it will take some modification to place but I like the challenge. Anyone else have any experience with these?

[vargose]

Its not going to work very well for you. The endor tri-Rebels put the LEDs too far away for effective focusing. There is another type tri-Rebel star that people use for sabers from led-tech. X-wing has many posts about this. The LEDs are much closer together. Granted you will have to learn how to do reflow soldering.

[Matt Thorn]

I have often wondered what Lumileds was thinking when they designed the Endor Tri-Rebels. The name itself suggests that they might have had sabersmiths in mind as a potential market (Come on: Endor? Rebels?), yet the design makes it so hard to use in a saber. :confused:

[Jedi-Loreen]

That's awfully "sabercentric" to read that much into the word Endor, considering how small a niche that lightsaber building is in the grand scheme of LED manufacture. :rolleyes:

[Onli-Won Kanomi]

Maybe but Endor doesnt really have any other use than in connection to SW and since it used Rebel LEDs its hard to think its entirely coincidental. But the fact they never came out with a tight optic does make one rather doubt they were thinking of our tiny little [but cool ;-)] segment of the much larger market.

[cannibal869]

I got one of those too.
My $0.02:
The lens has an integrated holder, which is a nice feature. The problem? It's kinda short in height compared to what we normally use for the TCSS system.
My solution? Incorporate these into a 1.25" MHS bladeholder sink tube adapter - since the heatsink can slide in to adjust to take up the slack of the extra space. Ta Da....;)

As for the optics - yes, 18 degrees is less than optimal. I'm going to experiment a little bit to see if maybe by collimating the lens if we can narrow the beam a bit for our purposes.

At least that's what *I* plan on doing with these...
Will it be brighter than a Lux III? My guess is probably not. But we won't know till we try.

[X]

Its not going to work very well for you. The endor tri-Rebels put the LEDs too far away for effective focusing. There is another type tri-Rebel star that people use for sabers from led-tech. X-wing has many posts about this. The LEDs are much closer together. Granted you will have to learn how to do reflow soldering.

I think you have it backwards Vargose the endor stars were the ones that X-wingband was using and the reg lens work fine. These are Endor http://www.luxeonstar.com/Luxeon-Endor-Star-LEDs-s/85.htm but they have been discountinued. The stars Agelessanarchy was talking about are the ones that are to far apart.

[Matt Thorn]

That's awfully "sabercentric" to read that much into the word Endor, considering how small a niche that lightsaber building is in the grand scheme of LED manufacture. :rolleyes:
To be sure, it would be surprising if we even registered on their radar. But you have to admit, it is an odd coincidence. On the other hand:


6-sided PCB mounts are commonly called "stars"
Presumably plenty of geeks work in the field of LEDs and related tech
A geek presented with the word "star" would naturally think "star wars" and/or "star trek"
A geek might, for a lark, propose the words "rebel" and "Endor" as product names, with non-geek top management being none the wiser

Then again, being geeks, it seems plausible that one or more of them were aware that their LEDs were being used to make lightsabers. :cool:

[Jedi-Loreen]

I suppose anything is possible....:p

[Matt Thorn]

I suppose anything is possible....:p
We geeks are everywhere.:o

[dj2rbo]

Hi people. I'm not trying to start a fight with anyone I'm just plain curious. The people who says that the rebel tri star isn't brighter than a lux 3 luxury v seoul because of optics are imo misinformed because maybe they never used it. if you stick with one color for all three of them and give them 1 amp is series its really bright. Really really really bright, with or w/o optics.

[sks1138]

To be sure, it would be surprising if we even registered on their radar. But you have to admit, it is an odd coincidence. On the other hand:


6-sided PCB mounts are commonly called "stars"
Presumably plenty of geeks work in the field of LEDs and related tech
A geek presented with the word "star" would naturally think "star wars" and/or "star trek"
A geek might, for a lark, propose the words "rebel" and "Endor" as product names, with non-geek top management being none the wiser

Then again, being geeks, it seems plausible that one or more of them were aware that their LEDs were being used to make lightsabers. :cool:

The rebel LED I have for says "Saber" on the pcb. Might be a coincidence...
http://www.luxeonstar.com/Saber-20mm-Star-Blank-MCPCB-Base-For-A-Rebel-LEDs-p/lxb-rs20a.htm

[Matt Thorn]

The rebel LED I have for says "Saber" on the pcb. Might be a coincidence...
http://www.luxeonstar.com/Saber-20mm-Star-Blank-MCPCB-Base-For-A-Rebel-LEDs-p/lxb-rs20a.htm
Whoa! That's new to me. Now we seem to have moved beyond the realm of coincidence. The company that makes the LEDs that have been the light source of choice among sabersmiths for several years makes products that are ideal (?) for such use and gives them the names "Rebel," "Endor," and "Saber"? :shock:

[Jay-gon Jinn]

I think you have it backwards Vargose the endor stars were the ones that X-wingband was using and the reg lens work fine. These are Endor http://www.luxeonstar.com/Luxeon-Endor-Star-LEDs-s/85.htm but they have been discountinued. The stars Agelessanarchy was talking about are the ones that are to far apart.No, he had it right...xwingband was making them himself with a reflow soldering oven and using this star pad from led-tech.de:
http://www.led-tech.de/en/High-Power-LEDs-Luxeon/Luxeon-REBEL/Star-PCB-for-Luxeon-Rebel-LT-1104_49_85.html
That puts all three of the domes in a tight enough circle that they all fit under the standard 20mm lenses sold in the store here. The regular Endor Star doesn't work for that, since the led's are spaced too far apart..

[pittapittae]

Quote:
4. A geek might, for a lark, propose the words "rebel" and "Endor" as product names, with non-geek top management being none the wiser

I'm with you Matt. Google waves, for instance, it's filled with Firefly citation: never seen the "Don't worry capt'n, it's all shiny!" quote on crash?

[vargose]

No, he had it right...xwingband was making them himself with a reflow soldering oven and using this star pad from led-tech.de

Thanks Jay-gon.

[psab keel]

What would REALLY make waves in the saber community is to have multiple dies under one dome. As far as I know Luxeon hasn't done this quite yet. I know LEDEngin, Cree, and possibly Seoul have. But if Luxeon could, man would we be in for a treat. Luxeon's reliability, brightness, and overall life would be that much better.

I have to start experimenting with the multiple dies under one dome LED's!

[FenderBender]

Multi die LEDs are well in use, and Luxeon hasn't been king of the roost in quite a while IMO. The P4s have Lux beat for every color save maybe red in brightness and power requirments. Even the once mighty Lux V was dethroned a long time ago. I personally don't find any use for luxeon except for maybe a cyan, and even then, you could get that with an RGB. Endor stars are about as useless as breasts on a nun, and don't give ANY advantage over any other LED on the market.

[Matt Thorn]

What would REALLY make waves in the saber community is to have multiple dies under one dome. As far as I know Luxeon hasn't done this quite yet. I know LEDEngin, Cree, and possibly Seoul have. But if Luxeon could, man would we be in for a treat. Luxeon's reliability, brightness, and overall life would be that much better.

I have to start experimenting with the multiple dies under one dome LED's!
I can't get Cree stars here in Japan, but I've used plenty of LedEngin RGBAs and RGGBs, and they are excellent. They also offer 10W stars in the standard colors, and these are four dice under a single 6.2mm dome. But with all four dice connected in series, the forward voltage requirements are quite high, and vary between bins. For example, in green, the minimum forward voltage for bin H is 14.72V, but for bin N, it's 19.52V.

On the other hand, the current requirements are what we're accustomed to: 700mA to 1500mA (peak).

FenderBender may have some experience with these. Oh, wait. He responded while I was typing this. He put it more bluntly than I would have ("Endor stars are about as useless as breasts on a nun" is sure to end up in someone's signature, unless it gets censored. ;)), but, yeah, he captures my own feelings on the matter in a nutshell.

[X]

No, he had it right...xwingband was making them himself with a reflow soldering oven and using this star pad from led-tech.de:
http://www.led-tech.de/en/High-Power-LEDs-Luxeon/Luxeon-REBEL/Star-PCB-for-Luxeon-Rebel-LT-1104_49_85.html
That puts all three of the domes in a tight enough circle that they all fit under the standard 20mm lenses sold in the store here. The regular Endor Star doesn't work for that, since the led's are spaced too far apart..

Oh I must have missed that difference. Sorry about that.

[Mikerulz]

I used a tri rebel like the one you showed but a RBB with the 18 degree Carclo lens and I got a nice even bright blade!

[Mikerulz]

Sorry for double posting but I forgot to say that the endors are discontinued, the tri rebels are different.