8x4 qb ideas

lol it was a Perfect structure

i think the buds under hps being more frosty is just anecdotal! I for sure have found the opposite to be true, Ive even had grower mates comment on the fact. But I’m more for following the science rather than trying to create the science. There’s just to many variables for anyone to do anything credible at home. That’s why I believe most info from outside of prohibition is pretty much just wrong.

I say double down on the qb’s lol


which board is which...

 

The first board looks like possibly an HLG QB? I don't currently know of any Chinese boards using 3535 white body 660nm. Looks like LM301H + LH351H.

The 2nd board looks like possibly a Chinese board (maybe IS, not sure if they use Epistar chips)? Looks like LM301H + Epistar 5630 660nm.

The 3rd board looks like possibly an older gen HLG QB, or Chinese board, but using LM561C. I'd guess HLG but not sure (the reason I'm guessing HLG is because there is no visible zener diodes, or little black marks on the chips like you get with the Chinese boards' LED's. I am assuming the visible zener indicates a 561Cs5 as opposed to a 561Cs6 chip. This is based on the comparisons I made when I bought single stand alone chips from a trusted 3rd party distributor - digikey - to compare the chips pre-soldered onto the QBs too. A single stand alone digikey 561Cs5 chip was shown to have a visible zener, and a single stand alone digikey 561Cs6 chip was shown not to have a visible zener. My Chinese QBs have the visible zener, while your HLG does not. I'm inclined to believe the Chinese low cost boards are being populated with s5 and not s6, while I'm inclined to believe HLG truly is using top of the line because the top of the line - s6 - ordered from the 3rd party matches up in appearance with the chips that HLG shows)?

You'd have to take pics with a scope to see any structure in the chips which could tell you more precisely what exact model the chips were. It's been awhile but I used to look closely at the LM561 and you can differentiate some of the models by visual inspection (b variations have a smaller inner die than c variations). Voltage bin can be determined by voltmeter, but determining flux bin is a bit tricky unless you have an integrating sphere (which you can 3D print for free, links attached).

Integrating Sphere for Optics Experiments by totesalaz

A 3D Printed Toolbox for Opto-Mechanical Components

 

A board is only as good as its chips. There are typically several different variations and bin grades for each chip model. There are several different performance levels/bin grades that the LM561C, and LM301H chips come in (not just Samsung chips, but all chips manufacturers have different performance levels/variations/bin grades/groups amongst their models). Just because a board is made with LM301H doesn't mean that it's going to perform the same as every other LM301H board. You have to look at which exact LM301H chip is being used ect. Same with 660nm. Just because a board has 660nm chips, doesn't necessarily mean that the 660nm chips are great ones. The Epistar 660nm chips will be much less efficient than a Samsung or CREE, ect. The whole point in using LED centers around efficiency. LEDs are more efficient than incandescent or HID, so that's why we use LED to create light instead of other sources, but there's thousands of chips and tons of bins or groups per chip. Buying LM301H or LM561C doesn't garuntee you're getting the best performing LM301H or LM561C. Its a good place to start because even the weakest performing variations are actually pretty good, but not all variations of a model are equal and thus if the same exact bin LM301H or LM561C aren't being used between the 2 boards you're comparing, then the boards will end up performing differently.

 

what an eye you have! The first is the IS, the second the Chinese and the third the hlg 550(v1). The only one I can’t confirm is the Chinese reds as I don’t actually know, well I guess I do now!

it would be cool to inspect further but I think that’s too far down the rabbit hole for me Lol

 

561B, 561Bplus, 561Cs5, 561Cs6, last 2 are from Meiju boards that are supposedly s6, but they look like s5 to me. I'd personally recommend Kingbrite over Meiju. I won't ever buy from Meiju again. If I buy Chinese again, it'll be Kingbrite.

 

if kingbrite had responded properly I might have gone with them. I know these seem the main two I see people do well with. You think kingbrite use legit and Meiju don’t?

I was doing some little tests with a Meiju board and an IS board. Meiju is a 288v2(@116w) and IS(@137) call their boards ish272.

I set up a 2x2 area in the middle of my 5x5. i looked on the IS website and their new board is advertised as

so I set it up at 21” and got my ish150 hung. I got

And for the meiju i got

Which is a huge dfference. i know their numbers are from a tent but would it really affect the middle number that much, i think not!?
so i looked for their old footprint charts but they delete the pages for their old products. luckily i have it.


Notice how its the exacts same numbers as their new board just at a different hight!, which means they dont actually test their lights right?

i noticed that this one is at 18" instead of 21", but i had put everything away by then so i just took the center reading at 18" and got 675ppfd. still not the 801 advertised. ive only used them for 1 grow so far so im not puuting it down to degradation..

also please i know it sounds like the simplest thing but i want to buy the mat with a grid pattern that you use to take measurements. i cant make one straight or acurate enough lol. ive seen people useing ones but i cant word it right, i keep getting cutting maps come up and its getting to me lol. Do they have a name?? i just want a black sheet with acurtae grid pattern lol

 

Bro what are you doing dude. Get sabers for even coverage and the qb96 for intensity. I even have the HLG UVa 30 and flower initiator pucks. They work amazingly can't look at UVA's without glasses but the plants love it and no damage. I have it on 12/12 with other lights.

 

Fosho just tag me if you get stuck. I like messing around with different SPDs too haha, you can build an SPD by digitizing the individual chips, or you can digitize the entire fixtures SPD from the manufacturers advertisement and mix and mash supplementals that way. I use both techniques. There's benefits to digitizing the individual chips, but it's kinda nice to just digitize 1 SPD and be done quicker too.

 

when I repair my wife's car, I special order the proper parts from the best sources, and you know what? I never have problems with the parts.
Good job @GottaCoughToGetOff

 

I bought from Meiju and didn't get the chips I made the sale contingent upon. I was told if I had them tested and it turned out that they were not the correct chip that Id recieve a refund of 10× the cost. Turns out that the suggested test that the refund was contingent upon was always going to be inconclusive. TBH it felt like I was scammed from the get go. In my attempts at mitigating the issues I was met with rudeness and an obvious lack of ethics.

I don't know much about Kingbrite. Personally though, I won't buy from Meiju again. To each their own though.

As far as the blue mats, idk, I guess you could make your own grid any various sorts of ways. Wrapping paper and a yardstick would work I'd imagine, or even just newspaper with a dark marker. I like what you're doing there though. Good to know what your spread looks like imo.

 

I hear ya. Im cheap too lol. I was convinced the HLG boards were overpriced and I tried to make the Chinese boards work instead. TBH the BABA boards work great, I was just after a specific chip. When buying from Alibaba, I'm assuming you are getting a bin or 2 under the top performing bins which is still very good, and for the price its hard to beat. Rita left a bad taste in my mouth with how things went down and that's pretty much my issue with Meiju. But they do make a light that grows the plants, no doubt about it.

 

*note I placed HLG on top. I know CGTGO wants the best bang for his buck ... I listed Meijiu on the bottom.
I don't trust meijiu either. imo, from forum experience, and from personal desires, I would investigate KingBrite as I've heard many good things from the buyers.

 

Yeah but there a good chance that the people you spent extra to source your “homemade part” from sourced their part from the “cheap” place in the first place. Like ALOT of things in our countries, your phone included...

This was on the box from IS when I ordered from them. This is what made me really start to think and what made me decide to finally try Chinese this time. I’ve spent a lot of money to get hlg and then IS boards. Maybe they shouldn’t reuse their boxes...



I don’t wanna turn this into a bash because they do have good boards and I’ve had good results But there are a few other very questionable things I’ve noticed from them.

Also as far as I can tell and chief confirm Meiju gave me what I pay for. Cause I would of felt pissed if I pay Extra for the LM301H and got something worse lol.. I Got what I was told, delivery was quicker than I could believe and it was cheap.
Obviously time will tell for How longevity Holds.
But at first glance there a good buy.

I was looking at them boards cough got the other day. Like £35 each for their v1 boards is pretty much a steel and it would be hard to find a better Option. Worked out very well I’d say Expecially since he wanted all white. Bargain! But thats because there getting rid of old stock. There v3 are like £80, because they added some epistar red and blue...