DiY LED - Cree CXA3070

Abiqua said:

....Moore's law is hitting this form of diode quickly!......

Click to expand...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitz's_Law

"Haitz's Law is an observation and forecast about the steady improvement, over many years, of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). It states that every decade, the cost per lumen (unit of useful light emitted) falls by a factor of 10, and the amount of light generated per LED package increases by a factor of 20, for a given wavelength (color) of light. It is considered the LED counterpart to Moore's law, which states that the number of transistors in a given integrated circuit doubles every 18 to 24 months.[1] Both laws rely on the process optimization of the production of semiconductor devices."

http://www.ledlightinggroupllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Haitz-email.pdf

One thing I've noticed running different combos...they all work..just some better than others. Not too hard to change a few leds out to fine tune what you want to see in the garden. Not nearly as monstrous a situation as when the upgraded version of your light comes out and your drooling all over again.

heres the link for the driver I chose...haven't tested it yet so can't say how well it works. It should be capable of up to 5 cxa 3070 or what I'm doing which is 4 cxa 3070 and reds and violet on the extra watts. Only catch is the reds and violets will have to be 1a capable...so osions for red and semiled for violet.
http://www.futurelightingsolutions.com/en/Technologies/Semiconductors/Lighting-Solutions/LED-Driver-Modules/Pages/1009944-EUC-200S105DT.aspx?ManufacturerName=INVENTRONICS&isFLS=true&IM=0
.

200w and dimmable for about $120. Inventronics becomes a better price point at the higher wattage it seems. Just need to be careful with the higher voltage as others have warned. But I want to try the cxa 3590 one day and it will be nice having everything wired and ready to go.

thanx, very nice driver...

By the way....that's a stupid simple setup for a uber efficient grow light...upgrade ready.

put a plug on the driver.

screw hangers on a nice heatsink

solder dimmer wires to pot

connect leds

attach fans with a wall wort

done.

200w light that kicks ass and is ready to be upgraded

Mr Flux thanks a million for putting together the LER and graphs!!! I had looked into the HDs before and wrote them off for growing, but I did not notice the improvement in the hi CRI and I have been searching for a good high CRI COB for a photography lamp.

Positivity those drivers pricier than I thought, you could get the same job done for $40 and swap the drivers out if you need a change in current? We can get cheapos in 350mA, 650mA, 900mA and 1300mA $10 each although I suspect you already know that and you are diggin the dimmable? Good point about the CXA3590, vf of 76 at 1A, I don't have anything on hand that could power that

Just trying to predict the future a little. Seems 1a, dimming, and a high voltage range will be a good setup to work with these cobs for a while. Without having to order more stuff later

Nothing wrong with the drivers your running I'm sure...just trying to get a setup going that will last a while and have some flexibility. The inventronics drivers look to be built for the long haul with the waterproofing, heatsink style case, etc...

stardustsailor said:

The large lumen drop ,while for sure it means Photometric efficiency decreasement ,does not necessarily means radiometric efficiency decreasement .

Click to expand...

It turns out that modern whites from 2700K-5000K with normal CRI have more or less the same LER of about 325 +- 10. So when the lumens drop it is a reasonable assumption that the efficiency has dropped. Either that or it has a freak spectrum.

Edit : Mr Flux and Supra SPL...

What do you think of the 'minimal' combo of NW 5000 K & WW 2700 K COBs ?

Click to expand...

I think it is nice but you could just as well pick one color temp somewhere in between instead of mixing two color temps. Supra has choosen the CXA 3000K, I have choosen the Vero 4000K. In a watt-for-watt graph they look very similar, the Vero is basically a warm white with extra blue.

Up till now the NW 5000K -WW 3000K -640/660 nm 'combo' has given me the best results,
by far from any other led combination ....

But WW 3000K +640/660 nm can not be replaced by WW 2700 K ?
(Ok, that spike in 640-660 nm will be missing ...But maybe for better ...)

Any ideas / thoughts /knowledge to share for that issue ?

Click to expand...

If I had the reflux soldering skills that you have I would be reflux soldering the heck out of red Luxeons or Oslons and provide the white with COBs.

SupraSPL said:

Hey Canna how is your 2700K order looking?

Ladies are doing good, 4 weeks in. Unfortunately I got early fading on the bigger ones. They depleted too much nutrient during Veg. I have increased the fertilizer in the upcoming batches hopefully that will increase yield. The smaller ladies that were not depleted are looking really nice and green though.

Kandy Kush on the left, will fatten up later. Ace of Spades in the center, Blue Widow on the right.

Close up of the Blue Widow, ignore the nug on the bottom that is a tiny Kosher Kush that I am letting go, ran it for the last time in the shade and it still made nice nugs. Flavor is delicious but stems are brittle and I have better OGs so OK about letting this one go.

Click to expand...

As of now I am not sure what to say of the order. Yesterday I recieved a refund? or maybe they are going to take it out later. Either way I have a two month lead time minimum. I want to upgrade soon so I might jump of the 3000k and say screw it of the 2700k. Your plants look like they are doing just as good!

Flux is the 4000k Vero the only thing over your plants?

Positivity -
A few pages back you mentioned getting the Ideal COB holders and LEDil reflectors. Did you find a source for the LEDil reflectors? I couldn't find anyone (Mouser, Digi-Key, etc.) who actually had them on the shelves.

Plus they're danged expensive...

If it all comes together, are you going to buy the Ideal COB holders, then the Ideal Reflector Adaptors? Or are you thinking of a DIY method for attaching the reflectors?

CannaBare said:

Flux is the 4000k Vero the only thing over your plants?

Click to expand...

Right now there's 200W Vero + 100W various chinese LEDs, mostly deep red + red.

MrFlux said:

Right now there's 200W Vero + 100W various chinese LEDs, mostly deep red + red.

Click to expand...

Why do the seperate colors when they come in a single package like the CXA 2700k now? If you could do it over would you go single cob or keep them spaced like you have now?

I did get the ideal holder and reflector adapter from newark, that came in quickly. The Angelina reflector is from future lighting solutions. Wasn't in stock but I've had good experiences with them getting the parts in...still waiting. http://www.futurelightingsolutions.com/en/Technologies/Semiconductors/Lighting-Solutions/Optics/Single-LED-Optics/Pages/9036842-F13402_ANGELINA-W.aspx?ManufacturerName=LEDIL&isFLS=true&IM=0

cant say I recommend them, was very expensive for everything, especially with newarks handling fee. Might not even be necessary unless trying to grow a tree like me..lol

Positivity said:

I did get the ideal holder and reflector adapter from newark, that came in quickly. The Angelina reflector is from future lighting solutions. Wasn't in stock but I've had good experiences with them getting the parts in...still waiting. http://www.futurelightingsolutions.com/en/Technologies/Semiconductors/Lighting-Solutions/Optics/Single-LED-Optics/Pages/9036842-F13402_ANGELINA-W.aspx?ManufacturerName=LEDIL&isFLS=true&IM=0

cant say I recommend them, was very expensive for everything, especially with newarks handling fee. Might not even be necessary unless trying to grow a tree like me..lol

Click to expand...

Is that a 48* viewing angle or a 48* angle from center= a 96* viewing angle?

Looks nice. Might try to paint white or get in white!

Ledils website says its a 52* angle on the 30 series. Wish it was 90*....will see how it goes. 93% efficient as is according to ledils site! not sure I'd paint it white

CannaBare said:

Why do the seperate colors when they come in a single package like the CXA 2700k now? If you could do it over would you go single cob or keep them spaced like you have now?

Click to expand...

The colored arrays are a bit of a relic from the past, they still pull their weight but I would like to replace them with vero's. I very much like the way the small vero's are spread out, it gives excellent light spread and can be close to the canopy.

SupraSPL said:

Veg room needs an upgrade. I plan on cutting the big heatsinks in half and updating them with XTEs I have lying around, XPE reds and Luxeon ES deep reds/royal blues. Currently 80W soon to be 60W.

Click to expand...

What do you cut your heatsinks with and how do you do it??? I want to use some of my at120's and make something to toy around...Cutting the heatsink up into sections is a major key to my plan.

Thanks

Hello all,

Thank you all for sharing! What an excellent thread, I am truly grateful.

I've decided to build some lights and just purchased...

20-CXA3070-0000-000N00Z230F
20-Arctic Alpine 11GT - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7983377
24-http://www.fasttech.com/product/1320606 extras per SupraSPL..thank you

I'll be attempting to create 4 foot flowering lights using...http://www.homedepot.com/p/Veranda-1-1-2-in-x-5-1-2-in-x-8-ft-Vinyl-White-Ranch-Rail-135040/203008796

Can't decide if I should use 4 or 5 lights per rail. There will be enough room to add more lights at a later date.

Thoughts?

Again, THANK YOU!

MrFlux said:

The colored arrays are a bit of a relic from the past, they still pull their weight but I would like to replace them with vero's. I very much like the way the small vero's are spread out, it gives excellent light spread and can be close to the canopy.

Click to expand...

What wattage? I'd like to see a datasheet

Positivity said:

Ledils website says its a 52* angle on the 30 series. Wish it was 90*....will see how it goes. 93% efficient as is according to ledils site! not sure I'd paint it white

Click to expand...

I'd be very interested in hearing more about this if/when the Angelinas show up, plus how it all fit together with the Ideal Reflector Adaptors. If you could post back that would be great! Or PM me, but others might be interested too.

Westnewton said:

I've decided to build some lights and just purchased... 20-CXA3070-0000-000N00Z230F

Click to expand...

Jeepers, West, you don't mess around, do you?

Are you thinking of hanging the CPU coolers from the vinyl fencing? Vinyl fencing is very heavy for the amount of rigidity that you get. I'd be inclined to try unistrut or something similar...