Which is brighter ?

[snilam]

I was about to ask a similar question in regards to the Tri Cree XPe2...what would you say would drive them at their maximum potential without burning them out? for instance, Im running the BBW set up with the 18650 battery with a a 1ohm 2w resistor on each...and they are wired in parallel with an NBv3.

Sorry if I hijacked your thread, but I believe it may be relevant in the "what is brightest department".

like FJK said its not ideal but most definitely will work and give you a good looking saber but if you wanted ideal-ish the formula is R=(Vs-Vf)/I. Which for the xpe2 blues is forward voltage is 3.47v @1A so R=(3.7-3.47)/1=0.23 and wattage of .25w but since those are not readily available you would got to the next higher available resistor like the .47 ohm .5watt resistor in the store. whites are (3.7-3.15)/1=.55ohm. Now reason I say ideal-ish is because your battery drains so your source voltage will go down making the resistor to big (marginally) and also when fresh off the charger your voltage is actually closer to 4.2v making your value for your resistor slightly small. So if you want ideal you need a board that has current regulation like a PC or CF with CEX for a truly ideal driven LED and will give your LED the exact current you want it to get. Also I wouldn't drive your LED at 1.5A the added brightness you get is minimal at best and you are just reducing battery run time and life of the LED which should last a very very long time. Also with all dies on and running at 1.5A thats a total of 4.5A and a lot of batteries can have a hard time delivering that and also can make the board do weird things if it can't supply the amperage.

[darth_chasm]

^this^ And as a refresher from one of your other threads.

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com...l=1#post254574

[erlomd]

Thanks guys...this is very helpful! I know you stated that in a previous thread of mine...but I guess, I had a difficult time understanding it...heck, I still do...but it makes much more sense now...ohms means resistance...so, the lower the ohms the less resistance there is and more power is unleashed...that wattage is the amount of power you will be unleashing...so in essence, the less ohms and the more watts the brighter and more dangerous it is right?

[erlomd]

heres my blade and its brightness...its a 7/8 defused blade, 3.7Li 18650, 2 blue TRI CREEs running in parallel with 1 ohm 2w resistor within each (+) wire (2 in total)...then joined together after the resistor and connected directly to the battery
maybe if I used a 1" blade, it would defuse the light more evenly making it seem brighter...???

by the way, the camera has a tendency to increase the brightness and glow...its actually a little less bright than the 2nd picture

IMG_6665.jpgIMG_6667.jpg

[snilam]

Looks good to me. How do you have your blade diffused now? Unfortunately blades never photograph accurately so that's not you, its just how it is. In my experience they photograph a little more accurately in a room with the lights on.

[erlomd]

Looks good to me. How do you have your blade diffused now? Unfortunately blades never photograph accurately so that's not you, its just how it is. In my experience they photograph a little more accurately in a room with the lights on.

Thanks! its a Vaders Vault diffused blade...it has some kind of defusing element inside the blade and the outside of the blade is finely sanded
heres one with the lights on:

[snilam]

if its a vv blade then you should be good on that front they have excellent blades.