I'll be honest. As much of a throw junkie as I am I have spent the last year almost completely ignoring anything throw related. It is not a change of heart as much a change of circumstance. Not being able to use the collar has been a let down. I know I know. Better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. Says the man who never lost his love. But it is hard for us as a species to go backwards in our material possessions and abilities. We are wired for one thing. Progress. Improvement.
And here we are with the latest improvement in the hallowed XPG line from Cree. The mighty XPG3. As alluded to earlier although I have known of this LED's existence I have all but completely ignored it. Things to do. People to see. It seems my disinterest was warranted. In the configuration that any self respecting throw junkie cares about(dedomed) the XPG3 has turned out to be a colossal downgrade. Worth only shoving into the spare bin drawer next to the Luxeon 3's and XRE's. I have sat back as many a pundit has attempted to ascertain why this paper upgrade is a real life downer. I have finally had enough.
One thing I never told you all was that I was one of if not the first to start dedoming LEDs. If you look back at some of my earlier announcements of record breaking lights this was a key component to most of them. Over the years I have developed many many solutions to the dedoming problem. In the early days when XREs were all the rage I made a connection with the water permeability of the silicone encapsulant and the properties of water itself. Basically I found an ideal soak time for the XREs in water that when extracted and exposed to high heat would flash steam and expand to separate the die from the encapsulant perfectly. Anyway I say this just to hint at a large toolbox of ideas that have been collected over years of research. This XPG3 has suddenly peaked my curiosity. Why I don't know entirely. To some extent it is the potential I see in this XPG3. The what ifs. It is also the challenge to tame the beast. I love a good technical challenge. Genuinely. It gets my heart pumping like nothing else. So I have made it my goal to find the hidden potential of this LED. I can't promise anything will come of it. But the search for answers will be immensely rewarding either way.
There is an end goal other than just the pleasure of discovery. Whatever I can glean from this investigation will be applied towards an upgrade of the DEFT-X/Victor line. I cannot at this time make new lights with the collar but there is nothing stopping me from applying the latest technology to already purchased lights. So I am currently attempting to create an upgrade path for older lights. I really don't know how far I will be able to take it or if I will be able to surpass the amazing level of performance of the Victor Enthusiast but I promise to do my best. I will inform you with more info when I have it. The tests are already underway.
And here we are with the latest improvement in the hallowed XPG line from Cree. The mighty XPG3. As alluded to earlier although I have known of this LED's existence I have all but completely ignored it. Things to do. People to see. It seems my disinterest was warranted. In the configuration that any self respecting throw junkie cares about(dedomed) the XPG3 has turned out to be a colossal downgrade. Worth only shoving into the spare bin drawer next to the Luxeon 3's and XRE's. I have sat back as many a pundit has attempted to ascertain why this paper upgrade is a real life downer. I have finally had enough.
One thing I never told you all was that I was one of if not the first to start dedoming LEDs. If you look back at some of my earlier announcements of record breaking lights this was a key component to most of them. Over the years I have developed many many solutions to the dedoming problem. In the early days when XREs were all the rage I made a connection with the water permeability of the silicone encapsulant and the properties of water itself. Basically I found an ideal soak time for the XREs in water that when extracted and exposed to high heat would flash steam and expand to separate the die from the encapsulant perfectly. Anyway I say this just to hint at a large toolbox of ideas that have been collected over years of research. This XPG3 has suddenly peaked my curiosity. Why I don't know entirely. To some extent it is the potential I see in this XPG3. The what ifs. It is also the challenge to tame the beast. I love a good technical challenge. Genuinely. It gets my heart pumping like nothing else. So I have made it my goal to find the hidden potential of this LED. I can't promise anything will come of it. But the search for answers will be immensely rewarding either way.
There is an end goal other than just the pleasure of discovery. Whatever I can glean from this investigation will be applied towards an upgrade of the DEFT-X/Victor line. I cannot at this time make new lights with the collar but there is nothing stopping me from applying the latest technology to already purchased lights. So I am currently attempting to create an upgrade path for older lights. I really don't know how far I will be able to take it or if I will be able to surpass the amazing level of performance of the Victor Enthusiast but I promise to do my best. I will inform you with more info when I have it. The tests are already underway.