"Area 51 LED" Information and discussion

captainmorgan said:

You've been following SDS's threads,haven't you.

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Guilty.

PSUAGRO. said:

Following the indagro business plan then huh?..........not a bad idea

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It makes more sense with the spectrum's that are used in small amounts, 10 watts of 730 nm can cover a 8x8 area so why build it into every light.

The 100 or 150's reworked with Vero 10's, instead of/ along with, the single/dual Vero 29?

Not super top efficiency but more than respectable PAR #'s.

Abiqua said:

The 100 or 150's reworked with Vero 10's, instead of/ along with, the single/dual Vero 29?

Not super top efficiency but more than respectable PAR #'s.

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I get the feeling he would rather delay a new light before sacrificing efficiency or quality too much,it's not like his current lights are that out dated.

I emailed Jeff about this thread so he'll be in here at some point.

i try email Jeff to [email protected] ,but email is bounced back as not deliverable. Anybody know good email for them ?or phone number will be even better

That is a good point, going by the numbers on paper, if they ran the XPL at 1400mA, the 3900K top bin is about 4.35W, 42.6% efficient (minimum) and cost $2.80/PAR W (retail cost, I expect Jeff would have had a better price lined up). The reason I mention the 3900K is because the best 3K bin I saw was 3 steps lower. So what would it take to top that with COBs?

Vero10 4000K @ 150mA, 3.7W, 43.3% typical, $2.71/PAR W

So it looks like the Vero10 would have a hard time topping that performance, but it is a good alternative and would not need reflectors/lenses, great for low profile setup but tricky to fit into a commmercial panel?

If we jump up to Vero 29, 4K, 37.8W, @ 1.05A, 43% (typical), $1.74/PAR W (retail price). Now that is much more in the commercial lamp price range but will require more vertical height and a reflector/lens so it might be more economical to go ahead and crank it? The 3K Vero29 @1.05A would be 41.8%, $1.78/PAR W.

I think Jeff was looking at the XP-L 3500k for the all white panel and the existing RW panel is 5700k and 630 nm I think.

I think it would be better for Jeff to wait for the best COB light he can pull off. From the way you DIYers talk, the COBs you're working with are going to be the next big thing. I don't think it makes sense for Jeff to change to 10w diodes and then lag the COB scene which is just starting to emerge? Seems like it would be a short-lived model and then those owners would expect an upgrade path to the COB model.

I was thinking about that a few weeks ago when you DIYers were saying some commercial COBs are near commercial release. I wondered how the 10w model would appear to miss the trend.

I would wait for the COB stars to align (if it's expected they'll align in the next 3-4 months).

Yes but a red and white with XP-L 5700k and a high efficiency 630 nm on dimmers would make a tremendous light that could veg and bloom.

And it could be dimmed down to work in smaller spaces too.

Might as well wait for the XHP product line to become available and somewhat affordable!?lol.............could be a looooooong time though.

It's a tough call now with the xp-l issues, ALL high powered cobs(29/cxa/etc) will limit his customer base with the height restrictions....dimmable driver(s) would help.

kinda agree with ^^^Abiqua on the vero 10/18 or cree's smaller cob offerings as a better overall option for MOST situations.

maybe cree gets their shit together on the xp-ls soon..........investors are running out of patience for sure

What would be great is if Jeff could buy direct from CREE and didn't have to fuck around with shitty little middlemen like those fucks at Mouser. Why doesn't CREE take on A51 as a corporate account? A51 doesn't buy enough LEDs?

I'd like to see a few, new USA-based companies emerge in the coming years who would not only incorporate COBs into their lighting fixtures but also offer untapped approaches to the indoor lighting scene.

In short, I'm not in awe today with what's out in the LED market but I am certain a few decent models will emerge as a result of COBs being as effective as they are now.

Any idea when the new light is going to be out? I've been ready to pull the trigger on a new light for a while now but don't want to buy last year's model if I can get a better one in a few weeks.

PSUAGRO. said:

It's a tough call now with the xp-l issues, ALL high powered cobs(29/cxa/etc) will limit his customer base with the height restrictions....dimmable driver(s) would help.

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Doesn't that lead to the conclusion A51 will need two models of lights? A concentrated HID-equivalent light? And, a softer (distributed) T5-equivalent?

You guys have talked about how the current generation of COBs are HID killers. That it's the next generation of LED. So, obviously he's going to go that direction.

But, even you acknowledge this will limit his customer base. Seems like the conclusion is there will have to be two models.

The question seems to be: with the proliferation of household LED "bulbs," T5/T8 retro tubes and SMD strips, does this customer base have potential?

Am I misunderstanding the factors at work?

stock said:

i try email Jeff to [email protected] ,but email is bounced back as not deliverable. Anybody know good email for them ?or phone number will be even better

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Try [email protected]

And they don't have a phone number listed. Which is crazy.

Jeff emailed me today and said he contacted Cree and Bridgelux and Cree said they would not sell to him direct but Bridgelux said they would.

Who is Jeff?

AquariusPanta said:

Who is Jeff?

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He's @Eraserhead and the owner of area 51 LED's .

@Yodaweed

As I suspected

BridgeLux for the win yet again!

Wow, CREE just fooked up. They don't want to be a part of the cutting edge, killing the horticultural HPS bulb? I imagine their shareholders might feel differently.