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Vardarac
07-15-2008, 06:32 AM
I want my second saber to glow a lovely shade of blue from a flashlight-type LED. I'm going for the most brightness I can get off of 3.6V worth of Nimh. Any particular LEDs you can recommend? I caution you that I know absolutely nothing about high-power LEDs, only the 5mm/other small discrete and non-heatsinked ones.

psab keel
07-15-2008, 08:49 AM
I would say it's all a matter of preference. I personally love the Cyan Color and am partial to that, but I do enjoy the Royal blue as well. Sometimes the best thing to consider when choosing a color for your saber is to look at what would best compliment your hilt.

Hope this helped,

Psab

Vardarac
07-15-2008, 09:06 AM
I would say it's all a matter of preference. I personally love the Cyan Color and am partial to that, but I do enjoy the Royal blue as well. Sometimes the best thing to consider when choosing a color for your saber is to look at what would best compliment your hilt.

Hope this helped,

Psab

I meant what LED part (brand, bin number, specs, etc) is best suited to a bright blue saber ^_^;

I'm aware that most LEDs of this kind will require some kind of voltage boost, so I'll do my best to find/build a driver.

Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie
07-15-2008, 09:30 AM
You are aware that these forums are linked to a store, right?

http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Build-Your-Ownbr-Luxeon-III-Electronics-Kit-P6.aspx

This is the easiest way to get all you need.

Drivers are readily available. Why re-invent the wheel?

http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Luxeon-3w-driver-V2-P230.aspx

xl97
07-15-2008, 09:33 AM
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Luxeon-III-Star-P1.aspx
and here for the actual LED's
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Luxeon-K2-Star-P2.aspx

the Lux III's have a CYAN which is a nice color many prefer/covet

here are kits:
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Build-Your-Ownbr-Luxeon-K2-Electronics-Kit-P135.aspx
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Build-Your-Ownbr-Luxeon-III-Electronics-Kit-P6.aspx

Vardarac
07-15-2008, 10:00 AM
You are aware that these forums are linked to a store, right?

http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Build-Your-Ownbr-Luxeon-III-Electronics-Kit-P6.aspx

This is the easiest way to get all you need.

Yes, but I am also aware that my choices are not limited to Lux IIIs (unless those do happen to be the best cyan/blue/royal blue/however many names you can give to a fairly small range of wavelengths, in which case you may proceed to smack me with a boot to the head). What I am asking is which I should choose.


Drivers are readily available. Why re-invent the wheel?

http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Luxeon-3w-driver-V2-P230.aspx

I want to learn about electronics :)

OH and there's the fact that it's $50. That's a little steep for me to be spending on something that I am fairly certain does not cost a lot in parts.

Darth Leximus
07-15-2008, 10:34 AM
For a blue color you will want to go with a Luxeon LED probably a 3w will do you just fine.

As far as the driver goes, the $50 one is pretty fancy as it not only drives the LED but gives it effects as well, such as ramp up/down, shimmer effect and clash flash. There are also the BuckPuck drivers that are about $16 and simply regulate the current to the LED to extend battery life and keep the blade from dimming as the batteries die.

Oh and good luck inventing your own driver, many have tried....many have failed

xl97
07-15-2008, 10:52 AM
noone is trying to be discouraging here.. when we say the $50 is well spent on a dirver.. we mean it.. search around.. this is VERY smart lot here.. an if there was a better, cheaper, faster way.. it would be posted.. and be acepted as an avenue to persue...

You can also look @ getting a SEOUL P4 BLUE... I believe it takes more or less same requirements of a Lux III...

it really depends on the BLUE you want.. is you want CYAN LuxIII is way to go only.. I think K2's give alittle more output on some..but you have to change other requirmements.. (resistor, batt. pack possibly..etc)

no Cyan in that Ive seen... ther ohter choices are BLUE & ROYAL BLUE..

those are pretty much the tried and true LED's people use & endorse around here..

Vardarac
07-15-2008, 11:23 AM
noone is trying to be discouraging here.. when we say the $50 is well spent on a dirver.. we mean it.. search around.. this is VERY smart lot here.. an if there was a better, cheaper, faster way.. it would be posted.. and be acepted as an avenue to persue...

You can also look @ getting a SEOUL P4 BLUE... I believe it takes more or less same requirements of a Lux III...

it really depends on the BLUE you want.. is you want CYAN LuxIII is way to go only.. I think K2's give alittle more output on some..but you have to change other requirmements.. (resistor, batt. pack possibly..etc)

no Cyan in that Ive seen... ther ohter choices are BLUE & ROYAL BLUE..

those are pretty much the tried and true LED's people use & endorse around here..

Thanks very much :)

Are Lux V's worth it?

Onli-Won Kanomi
07-15-2008, 02:28 PM
Welcome aboard Vardarac...you may find this page helpful in comparing the various bluish LEDs we mostly use: http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/resistor.aspx

For example as you look at the regular blue LEDs you'll see that the blue LuxIII is the lowest lumens thus least brightest, all else like blades etc being equal.

You'll also see that by going to a blue LuxV instead you will increase brigthness by about 50% BUT to do so you would have to ALMOST DOUBLE the voltage of the battery solution you would use from 3.9 to 6.84V because thats what forward voltage that particular Lux V needs - thats because Lux Vs have increased brightness compared to the LuxIII by using more VOLTAGE.

Alternatively you could use a blue K2 which also is about 50% more lumens than the regular blue LuxIII and at a similar voltage...but uses about 50% more milliamps per hour @ 1500 instead of the blue LuxIIIs 1000...that's because the K2 have increased brightness by using more AMPERAGE instead of more voltage the way the Lux V did.

So there is a 'tradeoff' involved if you want a brighter blue - Lux V requires a higher voltage battery than LuxIII, K2 means less runtime for the same mah capacity battery as a LuxIII; if you are 'set' on using a lower voltage battery solution you already have the Lux V probably isnt for you...if you are willing to go to a higher voltage battery its something to consider...if you want to use a K2 you probably will want to be sure your battery has a high milliamp capacity.

Now look down at the cyans...there is no cyan K2 readily available in the star form we use for sabers so its a simpler matter of comparing the Lux III and Lux V..here you see a much greater brightness difference than with the regular blues - cyan LuxV is not 50% but 100% brighter all else equal than LuxIII cyan...so for double the voltage you are now getting double the brightness not just 50% more...it is more 'efficient' in that sense than the regular blue Lux V...and indeed the Cyan Lux V is the brightest in lumens of all the 'bluish' saber colours. As with the regular blue Lux V you will however still need the higher voltage batteries than the Lux III.

You will also note though that the cyan luxIII is still brighter than even the LuxV in regular blue...thats because the human eye perceives the primary wavelengths of cyan more easily.

So you see that brightness also varies BETWEEN colours due to human colour perception differences.

For that reason the ROYAL blue Lux LEDs are the the perceived 'dimmest' - because their dominant wavelengths are nearer the UV side of the visible spectrum so not as easily perceived by our eyes...that is why they use a different scale than lumens the other LEDs all use...royal ble is not as BRIGHT as other blues - but it is more SATURATED - a DEEPER blue colour and for some people they like that more.

It all comes down to what is most important to YOU...brightness, colour saturation, efficiency, battery size/capacity/voltage etc.

And also PRICE - a Lux V not only requires higher voltage battery solutions it also is a more expensive LED @ $22 instead of $8.

And also AVAILABILITY can be an issue...right now BLUISH Lux V cyans are hard to find because cyan is actually in between blue and green on the spectrum and the bluish ones most of us want that look like Luke's in ANH are the Bin ONE Cyan [aka Sunriders Destiny to saberfans] and lately the manufacturer seems to have been making more of the higher bin cyans instead which are more greenish than most of us prefer...TCSS alwas tries to get in the correct popular Luke-saber-bluish Bin 1 cyans but sometimes they are out of stock and right now the Lux V bin 1 cyans have been unavailable here for awhile...Bin 1 cyan Lux III however IS available here but if you decide you want one i'd suggest picking it up sooner than later before they run out again...and if you just buy one at random online from a nonsaber oriented source you might get a green bin 6 or something so caveat emptor - you cant go wrong with buying from the TCSS store imo.

Personally I find the bin 1 cyan Luxeon III LED as sold here to be a beautiful colour and nicely bright as well thats why I bought 3 as soon as they came in and happily will buy more...and I think its an apropos choice for anyone's first saber since it was Luke's "first step into a wider world" of sabers, but thats my 'old skool' tastes...your mileage may vary eh?

Decide which color YOU want, what you can afford, what battery options and how you want to drive it [buck pucks are great and a LuxIII and buck puck together isnt much more than a Lux V LED alone], what will fit in your hilt design and how bright is bright enough for YOU because ultimately only you can and then take the step to Jedi and enjoy building your first custom saber - have fun with it - it probably wont be your last!

Hopefully this is of some help to you in deciding what you would like to do...MTFBWY and Good Luck.

Vardarac
07-15-2008, 02:51 PM
Welcome aboard Vardarac...you may find this page helpful in comparing the various bluish LEDs we mostly use: http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/resistor.aspx

For example as you look at the regular blue LEDs you'll see that the blue LuxIII is the lowest lumens thus least brightest, all else like blades etc being equal.

You'll also see that by going to a blue LuxV instead you will increase brigthness by about 50% BUT to do so you would have to ALMOST DOUBLE the voltage of the battery solution you would use from 3.9 to 6.84V because thats what forward voltage that particular Lux V needs - thats because Lux Vs have increased brightness compared to the LuxIII by using more VOLTAGE.

Alternatively you could use a blue K2 which also is about 50% more lumens than the regular blue LuxIII and at a similar voltage...but uses about 50% more milliamps per hour @ 1500 instead of the blue LuxIIIs 1000...that's because the K2 have increased brightness by using more AMPERAGE instead of more voltage the way the Lux V did.

So there is a 'tradeoff' involved if you want a brighter blue - Lux V requires a higher voltage battery than LuxIII, K2 means less runtime for the same mah capacity battery as a LuxIII; if you are 'set' on using a lower voltage battery solution you already have the Lux V probably isnt for you...if you are willing to go to a higher voltage battery its something to consider...if you want to use a K2 you probably will want to be sure your battery has a high milliamp capacity.

Now look down at the cyans...there is no cyan K2 readily available in the star form we use for sabers so its a simpler matter of comparing the Lux III and Lux V..here you see a much greater brightness difference than with the regular blues - cyan LuxV is not 50% but 100% brighter all else equal than LuxIII cyan...so for double the voltage you are now getting double the brightness not just 50% more...it is more 'efficient' in that sense than the regular blue Lux V...and indeed the Cyan Lux V is the brightest in lumens of all the 'bluish' saber colours. As with the regular blue Lux V you will however still need the higher voltage batteries than the Lux III.

You will also note though that the cyan luxIII is still brighter than even the LuxV in regular blue...thats because the human eye perceives the primary wavelengths of cyan more easily.

So you see that brightness also varies BETWEEN colours due to human colour perception differences.

For that reason the ROYAL blue Lux LEDs are the the perceived 'dimmest' - because their dominant wavelengths are nearer the UV side of the visible spectrum so not as easily perceived by our eyes...that is why they use a different scale than lumens the other LEDs all use...royal ble is not as BRIGHT as other blues - but it is more SATURATED - a DEEPER blue colour and for some people they like that more.

It all comes down to what is most important to YOU...brightness, colour saturation, efficiency, battery size/capacity/voltage etc.

And also PRICE - a Lux V not only requires higher voltage battery solutions it also is a more expensive LED @ $22 instead of $8.

And also AVAILABILITY can be an issue...right now BLUISH Lux V cyans are hard to find because cyan is actually in between blue and green on the spectrum and the bluish ones most of us want that look like Luke's in ANH are the Bin ONE Cyan [aka Sunriders Destiny to saberfans] and lately the manufacturer seems to have been making more of the higher bin cyans instead which are more greenish than most of us prefer...TCSS alwas tries to get in the correct popular Luke-saber-bluish Bin 1 cyans but sometimes they are out of stock and right now the Lux V bin 1 cyans have been unavailable here for awhile...Bin 1 cyan Lux III however IS available here but if you decide you want one i'd suggest picking it up sooner than later before they run out again...and if you just buy one at random online from a nonsaber oriented source you might get a green bin 6 or something so caveat emptor - you cant go wrong with buying from the TCSS store imo.

Personally I find the bin 1 cyan Luxeon III LED as sold here to be a beautiful colour and nicely bright as well thats why I bought 3 as soon as they came in and happily will buy more...and I think its an apropos choice for anyone's first saber since it was Luke's "first step into a wider world" of sabers, but thats my 'old skool' tastes...your mileage may vary eh?

Decide which color YOU want, what you can afford, what battery options and how you want to drive it [buck pucks are great and a LuxIII and buck puck together isnt much more than a Lux V LED alone], what will fit in your hilt design and how bright is bright enough for YOU because ultimately only you can and then take the step to Jedi and enjoy building your first custom saber - have fun with it - it probably wont be your last!

Hopefully this is of some help to you in deciding what you would like to do...MTFBWY and Good Luck.

Wonderful post, thanks so much :) I think I'll try and find a bin 1 Lux V somewhere now...

Lord Dottore Matto
07-15-2008, 02:59 PM
Thanks very much :)

Are Lux V's worth it?Lux V, Not necessarily,

Onli-One has it nailed in his response. I will be very direct for you. Order a diy kit with a cyan lux III and 1000mA buckpuck. You will not be disappointed!

the links below are provided for your shopping ease:roll:

http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Build-Your-Ownbr-Luxeon-III-Electronics-Kit-P6.aspx (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Build-Your-Ownbr-Luxeon-III-Electronics-Kit-P6.asp)

http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/BuckPuck-1000mA-P10.aspx

Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie
07-15-2008, 09:08 PM
Onli-Won, that was a great explanation.

Two thumbs up!

Vardarac
07-16-2008, 09:18 AM
Oh. Oh. What if I got a bin 6 BLUE Lux V? Would that look decently close to cyan? And is there an ideal bin code for an "aqua" cyan lux III/V (that perfect blue-green that isn't quite green and isn't quite blue)?

eastern57
07-16-2008, 11:02 AM
bin 2 cyans are "aqua-ish"...

http://www.plecterlabs.com/index2.php?option=gallery&id=64&task=show

Malaki Skywalker
07-16-2008, 11:23 AM
Instead of Lux III's, K2's and V's, try Rebels, they are brilliant little LED's, Xwing is the Rebel master *Points to Xwing for his input on Rebels* :)

Darth_DevilGuy
07-16-2008, 11:58 AM
Instead of Lux III's, K2's and V's, try Rebels, they are brilliant little LED's, Xwing is the Rebel master *Points to Xwing for his input on Rebels* :)

yeah, but we don't have optics for those yet, I'm still waiting so I can make a true purple saber.

Malaki Skywalker
07-16-2008, 12:38 PM
yeah, but we don't have optics for those yet, I'm still waiting so I can make a true purple saber.

Not the Tri Rebel's, I mean the single ones on PCBs or stars (If you custom order them ;))

Eandori
07-16-2008, 04:26 PM
Just so you know, I created a YouTube video showing Luxeon V's (green and blue) next to Luxeon III and K2's. I have not personally used any Cyan's except for K2, but for at least Green and Blue I can confidently say the Luxeon V's are brighter. The video shows that too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ClmNLYH75s

Cheers,

Novastar
07-17-2008, 12:34 AM
Just so everyone knows, in Eandori's video, the Lux V is being over-driven in most all (if not all??) of the shots shown.

But... the K2 and Lux III... are running at their "standards".

I thought that was an odd choice Edwin made, but... it doesn't matter--the Luxeon V green (color as example), rated for 160 lumens *IS* "better" than the Luxeon K2 green, rated for 130 lumens.

I would imagine a Lux V over-driven extends that small 30 lumen difference quite a lot more. Not sure how much, but... I'd guess maybe it'd be 200 lumens to 130 lumens??! That'd be a very noticeable difference (as shown in the video).

However... with CF, since it is only configurable up to 1500ma of "delivery"... another advantage with the Lux V is... you *CAN* overdrive it. But you cannot overdrive a Lux K2 green (or cyan or whatever, lightside) on CF. :)

Malaki Skywalker
07-17-2008, 12:43 AM
However... with CF, since it is only configurable up to 1500ma of "delivery"... another advantage with the Lux V is... you *CAN* overdrive it. But you cannot overdrive a Lux K2 green (or cyan or whatever, lightside) on CF. :)

That is a good point, until we start to see some more "efficient" K2's e.g. 130 @ 1A, not much can be done :-? Whats going on with the TFFC K2's, they look promising, they could reach perhaps 270 Lumen @ 1.5A? Now that would be sweet :p

Eandori
07-17-2008, 05:16 PM
Yeah, all the luxeon V's in my videos are being run at 1 amp, overdriven from 700mA.

Like you said, compared to the green K2 that's about the best you are gonna get out of the green K2 with CF. Since CF does not output more then 1.5amps.

I could have overdriven the Blue Lux III, in the video I thought it was being overdriven the same as the Blue Lux V actually. But I should have looked at the max rated current in the Lux III spec, not just what they are rated at on websites. It does not matter in this case though, i have indeed ran the Blue Luxeon III at 1.5A and it's still not as bright as a Blue Luxeon V even at 700mA. The difference between them looks VERY similar to what I showed in the video.

Point being, yes the Luxeon V LED's are indeed brighter then their K2 and III counterparts.

Now... I have not tested any colored Seoul P4's... just the white. I hear the green Seoul P4 is supposed to rival the Luxeon V green. Sometimes Korean/Chinese made parts can fib a bit on their specs... so I'm curious to see if the Seoul P4 green really does Rival the Luxeon V green in total lumens.