Can anyone tell me what Bin my Cyan Lux 3 and Blue Lux K2 is?

[Tekka]

Hi, can anyone tell me what Bin #'s i got?

The numbers in the back of the Cyan says :

S1HC 0001121
2306LXHLLE3C

My Blue K2 has the numbers

05027
PB14
N1L

I like these color and want to know for future reference when I order again thanks

[Novastar]

http://www.lumileds.com/pdfs/ab21.pdf

[Strydur]

The cyan is a bin 1 which is the cyan most people want.

The k2's are not assembled by luxeon in a star format exept for white and I dont think those numbers tell what bin they are but I could be wrong.

[Sohryu76]

Yep...
like me... Im looking for a Cyan Bin 1 at the moment...
right now, I'd take anything that looked bluish green... any luck with a Bin 4 or lower, Strydur?



The cyan is a bin 1 which is the cyan most people want.

The k2's are not assembled by luxeon in a star format exept for white and I dont think those numbers tell what bin they are but I could be wrong.

[Hasid Lafre]

bin 4 it would be greener than blue. bin2 is the highest bin one should go for a cyan.

[Strydur]

Its a crap shoot on what I get..anything I get above a bin 2 becomes a green.

[Novastar]

Sohryu, what Tim is saying is simply that you cannot "control" the bin number when you purchase an LED. It's sort of like when you buy a bunch of bananas or oranges or what not. Some are "perfect", while others are just "ok".

The only way to "control" the bin number would be to purchase MOUNTAINS of LEDs all at once (say, 1000) from a company, and when making the purchase, request bin "X". At that point, they could probably control it and give you what you want.

But for small/medium businesses like Tim's (or Corbin's when he was his own thing... or Erv's currently)... it's pretty tough to get such specific results.

One thing is for certain... if you get a SWEEEEEET green or cyan or whatever... be thankful!! :) I know I was for the green Flange III saber... :)

[Sohryu76]

Oh I know what Tim is saying...
He already told me in an e-mail about the issues with unbinned LEDs...
but doesnt mean one wont just pop in there :)

Im just waiting for him to get some LEDs finally back in that he will be ok with calling Cyan... he pulled the entire color because they are all green...
so once he gets one he considered Cyan... I'll be buying it! or two... I do need a V and a III afterall :)

Tim's been great so far with all my noob questions... all you guys have... (my first two posts dont count by the way)

so I'm glad to be here with ya'll

[Sohryu76]

Sohryu, what Tim is saying is simply that you cannot "control" the bin number when you purchase an LED. It's sort of like when you buy a bunch of bananas or oranges or what not. Some are "perfect", while others are just "ok".

The only way to "control" the bin number would be to purchase MOUNTAINS of LEDs all at once (say, 1000) from a company, and when making the purchase, request bin "X". At that point, they could probably control it and give you what you want.

But for small/medium businesses like Tim's (or Corbin's when he was his own thing... or Erv's currently)... it's pretty tough to get such specific results.

One thing is for certain... if you get a SWEEEEEET green or cyan or whatever... be thankful!! :) I know I was for the green Flange III saber... :)

They should pool their resources maybe add Ultra in there too... and buy a 1000 Bin of Cyan... and split them 250 each... (I use the number you gave me loosely since i dont think any of us know what quantity you have to order for that) and the overall suggestion is just made in jest :)

[Marsupial]

maybe you could go with the filtered white option?

I had the same problem when I wanted orange. I got a red-orange... way more red then orange. Then I got an amber (yellow-orange??) wich is way more orange then amber or yellow.

However, my 2 cyan lux III are cyan. one is a known bin 1 - still never used. the other one I believe is a bin 2 and has been in my saber for a while before it got converted to cree Q5 with yellow filter (see avatar).

all to say, sometimes what you want now ain't what you'll want later, and there might be other alternatives.

[Sohryu76]

maybe you could go with the filtered white option?

I had the same problem when I wanted orange. I got a red-orange... way more red then orange. Then I got an amber (yellow-orange??) wich is way more orange then amber or yellow.

However, my 2 cyan lux III are cyan. one is a known bin 1 - still never used. the other one I believe is a bin 2 and has been in my saber for a while before it got converted to cree Q5 with yellow filter (see avatar).

all to say, sometimes what you want now ain't what you'll want later, and there might be other alternatives.

I fully belive that..
just dont know what I want now then other than the cool Cyan color...
I even think maybe if the cyan is a bit more green than blue that it might look cool too...
but i just dont know!
and since right now, i dont even have my saber built... (just finally ordered parts) I think i got some time!

[Marsupial]

I fully belive that..
just dont know what I want now then other than the cool Cyan color...
I even think maybe if the cyan is a bit more green than blue that it might look cool too...
but i just dont know!
and since right now, i dont even have my saber built... (just finally ordered parts) I think i got some time!
if I'd be you, I'd get white and filters. this way you can change the led colour at will :)

[Sohryu76]

i always thought they didnt look as good..
am I wrong?
anyone have pictures of what they look like with filters?

[psab keel]

For those who purchased a BIN 1 Cyan from Corbin's Components before he joined with TCSS, I was his original supplier. So if you have True Cyan from that time they originally came from me. After attempting many times to get the correct color I bit the bullet and purchased 120 BIN 1 Cyan Lux III LEDS from Lumileds. It wasn't cheap, but I finally got the color I always wanted. Luckily I was able to pass this information about the "greenish Cyan's" to Corbin and began supplying him with true Cyan when some of his customers were finding their Cyan LED's were green.

BIN 1 Cyan Lux III is the correct Blue-Green or "Sky Blue" color and the next would be a BIN 6 Blue Lux III.

This is the way the chart reads for those who want a quick and easy summary to read the Color BIN Chart on LUX III:

Royal Blue Lux III
Bin 1 (Deepest Blue)
Bin 2
Bin 3 Medium
Bin 4 Medium
Bin 5
Bin 6 (Blue)
Blue Lux III
Bin 1 (Blue)
Bin 2
Bin 3 Medium
Bin 4 Medium
Bin 5
Bin 6 (Lightest Blue- Turquoise)
Cyan Lux III
Bin 1 (Lightest Blue- Turquoise)
Bin 2
Bin 3 Medium
Bin 4 Medium
Bin 5
Bin 6 (Lightest Green- Lime)
Green Lux III
Bin 1 (Lightest Green-Lime)
Bin 2
Bin 3 Medium
Bin 4 Medium
Bin 5
Bin 6 (Lightest Amber)


I hope this chart can help those who may be confused by the Luxeon Application Brief.

[Hasid Lafre]

I thought a bin 6 green was more pastel green? I dident think the color would change that rappid to amber.

[Novastar]

No, Hasid. Psab is correct (and not surprisingly).

http://luxeonstar.com/images/swatch-white.gif (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=5500%20k) White (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=5500%20k) (5500K) http://luxeonstar.com/images/swatch-warm-white.gif (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=3300%20k) Warm White (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=3300%20k) (3300K) http://luxeonstar.com/images/swatch-red.gif (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=625%20nm) Red (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=625%20nm) (625nm) http://luxeonstar.com/images/swatch-red-orange.gif (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=617%20nm) Red-Orange (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=617%20nm) (617nm) http://luxeonstar.com/images/swatch-amber.gif (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=590%20nm) Amber (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=590%20nm) (590nm) http://luxeonstar.com/images/swatch-green.gif (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=530%20nm) Green (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=530%20nm) (530nm) http://luxeonstar.com/images/swatch-cyan.gif (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=505%20nm) Cyan (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=505%20nm) (505nm) http://luxeonstar.com/images/swatch-blue.gif (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=470%20nm) Blue (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=470%20nm) (470nm) http://luxeonstar.com/images/swatch-royal-blue.gif (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=470%20nm) Royal Blue (http://luxeonstar.com/product-search.php?product_search=455%20nm) (455nm)
This is cut & pasted directly from a luxeon site. Ignore the whites for the moment, and you will see that the spectrum of light here (measured in nm, nanometers) moves from around 450nm to 630nm.

Also, as most people know, lightwaves... well, ANY waves have "peaks and troughs" (tops & bottoms so-to-speak). This is why they are called waves, heheh.

But what does that mean? Well, what it means is--certain colors are "brighter" because the wave is quite literally "more intense" or at a peak at a certain color... whereas other colors are found more "mid-wave", really neither at a peak nor trough.

This is also why certain bins even within the same general color... will appear the brightest.

Examples: if you're able to find a wave expression of the above values and their colors, you'll see how a nice and "yummy" green lightwave can be found at the apogee or top crest of the visible waveform--and so can a pretty sick red... at a reddish-orange point in the waveform (although it's technically "between colors" there)...

This is why green and red(-orange) tend to be labeled with the most lumens. It is because they are essentially spitting out the most VISIBLE and "correctly colored" light here, and the least... uh... (this is hard to say) "incorrectly colored" light in the waveform. I know that sounds weird, but... anyhow. SIMPLIFIED: Green and Red-O usually get the spotlight on lumens... because of their "peak" locations in the waveform. Location, location, location?? :)

REMEMBER: I am simplifying a lot of this GREATLY. Besides... *I* do not even understand all things lit and LED like an uber-duper-super scientist or what not. The point is... look at the waveform--and you will see which "nm" measurements show the most "ideal" points in the spectrum for each color.

Some "in-between" colors... are technically brighter than the more "sole/singular" color... since the in-between ones often hit... (drumroll please)... yes... the TOP OF THE CREST in the waveform.

Phew.

That wasn't even very technical, and it sure sounded like a shipload of cluck...

[psab keel]

Novastar,

In a non-technical way, you technically explained it. : )

I figured this might help with people who didn't understand the Application Brief on the Lumileds site. I know that it took me quite a while to understand it myself. Upon learning about how the colors were binned, I did some further research and studied what these LED's are capable of and it is pretty astounding how versatile these light sources are! (But being biased, Saber enthusiasts definitely have the coolest application!)

It's been quite a while since I've ordered any LED's, but I am pretty sure that you can do one of two things to get precisely the correct BIN color you want for a Lux III.

You can do like I did, and spend a whole lot of money, get a whole tray, keep the ones you want and sell the rest.

Or, and this is a better option, since you cannot order specific BINs in small quantities, I'm fairly certain that you can ask which BINs are in stock. Then you can chance it and order your LED as you normally would. Luckily if they have only the BIN you want in stock you're going to get your color. The down side to this would be that you may have to wait for quite a while for it to be in stock.

Some other LED distributors that carry Luxeons may be able to source specific BINs for you without it costing too much money. (Tim here can most likely help you, and there are many others who sell Luxeons as well if for some reason he can't source your color.)

Perhaps this information can be of help to those who need a specific BIN but don't have the money to buy a whole tray of LED's.

[Novastar]

Oooooo.... (amazed), Good one!!! Wait and ASK... duh, how come I never thought about THAT... :) Good call...

[Sohryu76]

For those who purchased a BIN 1 Cyan from Corbin's Components before he joined with TCSS, I was his original supplier. So if you have True Cyan from that time they originally came from me. After attempting many times to get the correct color I bit the bullet and purchased 120 BIN 1 Cyan Lux III LEDS from Lumileds. It wasn't cheap, but I finally got the color I always wanted. Luckily I was able to pass this information about the "greenish Cyan's" to Corbin and began supplying him with true Cyan when some of his customers were finding their Cyan LED's were green.

BIN 1 Cyan Lux III is the correct Blue-Green or "Sky Blue" color and the next would be a BIN 6 Blue Lux III.

This is the way the chart reads for those who want a quick and easy summary to read the Color BIN Chart on LUX III:

Royal Blue Lux III
Bin 1 (Deepest Blue)
Bin 2
Bin 3 Medium
Bin 4 Medium
Bin 5
Bin 6 (Blue)
Blue Lux III
Bin 1 (Blue)
Bin 2
Bin 3 Medium
Bin 4 Medium
Bin 5
Bin 6 (Lightest Blue- Turquoise)
Cyan Lux III
Bin 1 (Lightest Blue- Turquoise)
Bin 2
Bin 3 Medium
Bin 4 Medium
Bin 5
Bin 6 (Lightest Green- Lime)
Green Lux III
Bin 1 (Lightest Green-Lime)
Bin 2
Bin 3 Medium
Bin 4 Medium
Bin 5
Bin 6 (Lightest Amber)


I hope this chart can help those who may be confused by the Luxeon Application Brief.
So does this mean that a Bin 6 blue and a bin 1 cyan are almost the same color? because that is what I think I'm reading...

[xwingband]

Bin 6 Blue is more powder blue. Bin 1 Cyan is more minty, yet not a good hint of green.

I like Bin 1 Cyan personally.

[Sohryu76]

wow Xwing...
you really know alot..
I'm very impressed. I'm lucky I even know Cyan or Sunrider's Destiny is even a real lightsaber color...
and I only know that because I played Star Wars Galaxies...

(cuts the rest of the post out to find a better spot to put it...)

[psab keel]

Soyrhu76

(Did I spell that right?)

Yes you did read that correctly. While there is a difference in the two LED's as X-Wing pointed out, the difference is quite minimal and the color is exactly that beautiful sky blue that many of the shots from the OT sabers had.

Cyan is a pretty difficult color to find because others have pointed out here that it is a difficult color for the eyes to detect. It has a very narrow range on the wavelength making it hard to tell the actual color at times.

[Sohryu76]

Close my friend...
Sohryu you just swapped the h and the y...
feel free to leave the number off if ya like...

I'll just hit Tim up and see if he has a Blue Bin 6 maybe... lol if he feels like digging. Im not so much interested in a sky blue... but a nice blue green.. true to the Sunrider's Destiny from Star Wars Galaxies...
anyone familiar with what Bin of what color would give me something like that... i thought the Bin 1 Cyan might have looked closest:
here is the representation of the crystal: http://images.wikia.com/starwars/images/1/19/Sunrider%27s_Destiny.jpg
and the image of the blade extended: http://galacticarmy.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10006/normal_screenShot0332.jpg

OH! another question... Bane's Heart: Crystal - http://images.wikia.com/starwars/images/f/f3/Bane%27s_Heart.jpg

saber blade- (will take a screen shot once i get home, I have this blade in Galaxies...)

[Atomic]

So two possible solutions occur to me, and it's really up to Tim.

1) Tim offers LED selection as a custom service. You order your LED or Electronics Kit and add the Service for TCSS to select you a specific bin LED.

There are flaws to this plan. If Tim looks and cannont find it, do you still pay for the time to too to go thru all the LEDs? When you get the LED you requested and it's not the exact shade of mauvey-pink you wanted, are you going to (or be allowed to) publically whine about it?

2) Start an LED swap thread on TCSS. Post that you have X bin LED and want to trade it for Y bin LED. Shipping should be $1-$2 each for a padded envelope and a scrap of bubble wrap. The people do their transactions in PMs. You will not be allowed to talk about on these forums, since it seems clear you're trying to keep them clear of that.

The flaws. Plenty. People whining to each other, people whining to Tim, lost mail, damaged mail, etc.

The plus to #1 is people have a chance to get exactly what they want, and TCSS gets a chance to sell another service.

The plus to #2 is that if both parties are adult about it, at worst, someone loses an $8 LED at best, everyone is happy.

[Sohryu76]

So two possible solutions occur to me, and it's really up to Tim.

1) Tim offers LED selection as a custom service. You order your LED or Electronics Kit and add the Service for TCSS to select you a specific bin LED.

There are flaws to this plan. If Tim looks and cannont find it, do you still pay for the time to too to go thru all the LEDs? When you get the LED you requested and it's not the exact shade of mauvey-pink you wanted, are you going to (or be allowed to) publically whine about it?

2) Start an LED swap thread on TCSS. Post that you have X bin LED and want to trade it for Y bin LED. Shipping should be $1-$2 each for a padded envelope and a scrap of bubble wrap. The people do their transactions in PMs. You will not be allowed to talk about on these forums, since it seems clear you're trying to keep them clear of that.

The flaws. Plenty. People whining to each other, people whining to Tim, lost mail, damaged mail, etc.

The plus to #1 is people have a chance to get exactly what they want, and TCSS gets a chance to sell another service.

The plus to #2 is that if both parties are adult about it, at worst, someone loses an $8 LED at best, everyone is happy.

I'd never whine about anything Tim did when he tried to help me... he tried (his help so far with just the mechanical parts of my hilt are proof enough for me to believe that in the future) So even if I am allowed to Whine, I would not. Tim's a great guy, and has been phenominal with answering my nube questions...

That might be an idea... about the LED swap thread since i dont think swapping necissarily hurts Tim's business, but it might still be coming close to encroaching on his services... the other option is selling the LED on eBay if it doesnt work the way I want... I ordered a pair of resistors to perma-mount to a pair of 9v battery connectors just for the purpose of testing LEDs (lux III and lux V)... so there will be no damage to the LED for resale...

the other option i thought about is to go with a nice Red LED, and use some filters to get the hue close...

I started the thread here on the boards to see if someone else had seen a bin color they thought was close to help save on the whining and crying... also from talking to Tim, I think he already separates some of his LEDs by bin (possibly just the Cyans for obvious reasons) but when i asked him about Blues earlier he knew he only had two particular Bins in stock for the blues... (I asked about blues because supposedly a Bin 6 blue can look pretty close to the Bin 1 cyan according to the chart above, even though a second opinion from Xwing says they look more powder blue as opposed to cyan. *shrugs*)

but yes, if Tim asks for a custom work fee for searching through his LEDs, I'd pay it... I'd never ask him to test colors first though, so that is why i asked here... but I might just get a nice bright red, and play with filters to get the desired Bane's Heart color... (I might just order a red, and take my chances, then do the filter hunt instead...) I need a company that has all six bins in stock and takes returns to figure it out... lol

I'm just waiting now for the good word from the store about some Cyans coming in that Tim is happy with. and I can wait... Mainly because I already trust Tim. :)
oh and I wish Luv Vs were only 8 bucks... (which i kinda dont understand why another company only charges 10.00 less for their prebuilt Lux III LED packages than they do for their Lux Vs... but hey people are allowed to charge whatever someone else will pay, right?)

[Strydur]

I am not going to charge to look through the bins I have in stock..all you need to do is ask.

Cyans are currently on backorder so as soon as some come in which looks like early May I will see what bins are available and hopefully get some bin 1's.

I have thought about setting up the system so that I can show what bins are in stock but I dont think it would be possible and not to mention a pain in the arse. So if you need a specific bin then send me a email BEFORE ordering. If you dont really care but would like just the highest or lowest bin I have in stock then you can just mention that on the order and I will do my best.

[Sohryu76]

I am not going to charge to look through the bins I have in stock..all you need to do is ask.

Cyans are currently on backorder so as soon as some come in which looks like early May I will see what bins are available and hopefully get some bin 1's.

I have thought about setting up the system so that I can show what bins are in stock but I dont think it would be possible and not to mention a pain in the arse. So if you need a specific bin then send me a email BEFORE ordering. If you dont really care but would like just the highest or lowest bin I have in stock then you can just mention that on the order and I will do my best.

and people wonder why Tim is the man? Thanks for the update Tim! we all appreciate it! I'm almost tempted to work something, maybe with luxeon IIIs when the cash flow gets better, and actually posting pictures of what the different bins look like in the colors most requested, ie blue(or royal blue), green, cyan, and red... I know Tim is WAYYYY too busy for that, but I have more free time, just not the parts... yet... what do you guys think? this way its all the same room, the same camera, the same/almost the same ambient light... and as bins come in, i would add additional pictures...

whatcha guys think? worth it?

[Strydur]

I thought of doing the same thing.. Problem is by the time I ended up getting one of each bin color in stock to try we probably wouldnt be using lux3 anymore.

[Sohryu76]

I thought of doing the same thing.. Problem is by the time I ended up getting one of each bin color in stock to try we probably wouldnt be using lux3 anymore.

i just meant as a color variation thing...
i mean in my mind a bin 1 Lux III would be the same shade as a Bin 1 Lux 5 right? or Lux 10 for that matter?

[Novastar]

I thought of doing the same thing.. Problem is by the time I ended up getting one of each bin color in stock to try we probably wouldnt be using lux3 anymore.Now THIS much is true! :)

Seriously, sometimes I wonder if I should just sell everything but the Flange IIIs and start over. You know... blow 'em all out for like $50 each or something, heheh

[Sohryu76]

according to what i read... Cyans dominate wavelength is 505nm...
IF I'm going for the most "cyan" as opposed to Luke's ANH saber color... wouldnt that be what i wanted?
do most people want the Bin 1s and 2s for lightsaber color from ANH?
because Im really looking for the sweet mix of blue/green or turquoise...

[psab keel]

BIN 1 is turquoise.

[Sohryu76]

thanks...
i see in the gallery (yeah I finally looked there for once)
that there is a definate Bin 1 Cyan saber...
and it looks like its exactly the color I'm looking for...
so Maybe Luke's crystal from ANH is actually a Sunrider's Destiny crystal... lol!

[Sohryu76]

and most Cyan LEDs arent even Cyan... they are green!
Bin 1 is awesome... Bin 2 is a little Green... everything else... wow! I just thought you guys were exaggerating!
nope not even close huh?
I'd still love to see a Bin 6 blue in action...