tl;dr - are these strips legit, or shit?
Second post. My first is in the 'introduce yourself thread,' which explains my lack of options and kind of being stuck with the options I do have.
Looking to light a 4x4 grow in a 5x5 tent. Not my first grow, but first in a tent from germination > flower. I'm a virgin with LEDs. I'm thinking of a SCROG or mainlining for 4 plants (2 difft. strains) with a focus on even distribution as opposed to canopy penetration. I'd like to keep veg time as short as possible, but the legal limit is 9 in flower and I'm new in this country so don't want to push limits right now. Was thinking QBs, but then after reading/watching various light reviews I'm now thinking that strips and bars would likely be better.
Limited options, but I came across these strips:
https://www.agroled.com.ar/productos/ba ... =381946125
https://www.samsung.com/led/lighting/le ... /h-influx/#
https://cdn.samsung.com/led/file/resour ... _v0917.pdf - (the strips are on page 59)
They're available individually, or as part of a kit mixed with 4, 3000k strips and 4, 4000k. Advertised as lm301h, but I think the business just threw that on there to maximize internet searches and/or get those who don't bother researching before they buy. I'm seeing a product from 2017 marketed by Samsung as "Industrial" as opposed to horticultural. Only 32 diodes per strip.
https://www.agroled.com.ar/productos/ki ... =395112787
My thoughts go in two directions:
First - some company scored a cheap source for a 5 year old strip made by a well known international brand (most things here have a national brand equivalent), decided to add lm301h to the product description and is trying to sell lights Samsung markets (or marketed, since they're from '17) as "Industrial" as opposed to Horticulture to growers inclined to believe what they're told without doing any further research, and are hoping to profit by selling LEDs that aren't really cut out for the job, but that they got a good deal on.
Or - they actually know what they're doing and sourced good leds from Samsung that although not marketed for Horticulture (perhaps because the lm301h better occupies that space) can certainly provide the light necessary in the required wavelengths for cultivation - even if they're not the best current choice from Samsung.
The company (Agroled) sells natinoally made blurple lights that look like they were inspired by what you see on Amazon, generic blurple COBs, and these strips both individually and as part of kits. Right now they cost around $21 (US) per strip or a little over $200 for a kit containing 8 strips, wiring, and a Phillips Xitanium driver (no heatsinks). 8 of the below bar/heatsinks would add $50 to the cost.
Having read the "DIY LED Strip Build Designs for Samsung H-Series, F-Series, Q-Series, and Bridgelux EB Gen.2" article, I'm using the suggested 4x4 build guidelines for the H-strips (perhaps with different diodes than what was in the article) and only have one row of diodes. In my case only 32 per stip. So a minimum of 24 of these strips (maybe 28) to get nice even distribution. Even if they can be used I'm not sure if it's worth it considering I'd also have to either DIY (no scrapyards I've come across) or get the ready made bar/heatsinks, framing, and put the whole thing together; a big hulking contraption if all connected.
If the strips are worth buying I'm considering modifying an idea I had to build a light using quantum boards that are claimed to be made with lm301h - the ones you find on Aliexpress. I was originally thinking of taking 6 of these boards and DIY an HLG Scorpion like configuration with a sheet of aluminum. If the strips are decent and not a waste of money I thought maybe use only 4 of the quantum boards in a homemade HLG 600 configuration and then the kit of 8 strips could be set up in a square configuration to give more light to the perimeter of the 4x4 area while letting the boards primarily light the inner area. I'd prefer all white qbs, but would have to settle for the ones with the Epistar reds. I guess the tradeoff would be not having to augment elsewhere with reds. The strips are white only.
I'm also interested in any potential China sources for quality LED strips (boards, etc) that has a decent reputation. I'd love to find some that are similar to what are being used in the ViparSpectra KS series where the diodes are a bit more heavily weighted to the ends of the strip to better light the perimeter and corners. Might be worth trying to deal with or work around Customs, or seeing if a retailer here would be interested in sourcing them.
If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. Hope I wasn't too wordy, but I find on forums more people complaining about lack of details than too many. Thanks for any thoughts/opinions/suggestions.
So, gIven my circumstances, would you buy these strips or take a hard pass?
