Making a custom brand SMD grow panel

[Solipsis]

That 5 x quantum board ad is looking like a really good deal actually, right?
Am thinking 3500K..
35000 lm (even if this is not a PAR rating) seems cool! So thanks, will srsly consider it!

I can always play around a little later supplementing with some wavelengths. Royal blue maybe? Will have to see.

If it's not too red i could switch it up and put my cacti under there (you never want muxh stretching with those).. So may depend on whether the far red is weak enough.

@ prof xavier:
Check out zwonko.com to see the 90% filter in the windows (otherwise i would go blind since this is in my living room haha)

[sdfoster22]

It does look like a really good deal. If you want 3500k just alternate 3000k and 4000k. That should be almost like a 3500k. If you build the light and it gets too hot or the light is too strong you can always buy more and run them softer.

You can always suppliment. Blue or red if you need it.

[majorana]

I have a cob and like it but honestly smd seems better for me because they are less of a point source of light and the heat generated is concentrated too. Neither of which is nice when plants grow close.
My cob is good though for small cacti.

On ebay especially from asia i have no idea which ones are fake and shilling even with good ratings which can also be fabricated.

The important thing when ordering on Alibaba is not to go for the cheapest seller you find. A good price is great, but getting what you pay for is a bit more expensive.

And yes, SMD PCBs are great for getting a nice, even light coverage and high efficiency.

Also, your cupboard is beautiful. I wish I could do something like that in my living room without it making people suspicious about my plant growing abilities...

[Solipsis]

It does look like a really good deal. If you want 3500k just alternate 3000k and 4000k. That should be almost like a 3500k. If you build the light and it gets too hot or the light is too strong you can always buy more and run them softer.

You can always suppliment. Blue or red if you need it.

For this setup, it's either /or... 5 x is already pushing it big time i could not cram 10 of them in there.. not really planning to get rid of my COB although it is an interesting idea. Can't get this 150w hid sold.. piece of shit

I have a cob and like it but honestly smd seems better for me because they are less of a point source of light and the heat generated is concentrated too. Neither of which is nice when plants grow close.
My cob is good though for small cacti.

On ebay especially from asia i have no idea which ones are fake and shilling even with good ratings which can also be fabricated.

The important thing when ordering on Alibaba is not to go for the cheapest seller you find. A good price is great, but getting what you pay for is a bit more expensive.

And yes, SMD PCBs are great for getting a nice, even light coverage and high efficiency.

You may be right, but actually I spent or should say wasted a lot of time on there navigating through vendors who were just bullshitting me with specs that were so inconsistent that it made me nauseous.

Can't say how I actually picked one exactly but it just checked out without being too good to be true I guess.

When I said inconsistent just now I did not just mean too good to be true, I mean when I tried to look up info it was just vague and variable. Although part of that had something to do with their poor language / communicational skills and being terrible at conveying something like the fact that certain specs change if they wrap their LED units in a sort of waterproof sleeve trip.

===

Sorry I meant not the Quantum boards (out of my price range)! But the TCI samsung LED strips from ebay...

The Estonians are a little vague too pretending that they ship out of the US when it is out of Estonia (US shipping could not be free worldwide at 25$ for a package, often it costs 25$ alone lol).

For high efficacy LEDs with drivers for each 25$ just seems ridiculous. Not sure but this seems a bit too good to be true. OTOH it also seems so affordable that it becomes worth trying if there is paypal buying protection - but I will contact the vendor first to get a formal agreement on them being legit samsungs etc so I actually have a basis for argument @ his claims.

Also, your cupboard is beautiful. I wish I could do something like that in my living room without it making people suspicious about my plant growing abilities...

lol thanks, that's funny and touches home on a real issue where people can't think further than 'weed growing' when they see something like blurple lighting etc. Seems like there is hardly a frame of reference for growing plants as a hobby indoors.

[sdfoster22]

If you read the thread from riu I posted. People have had good results with them.

[unkle_psycho]

Didn't notice how long or powerful those TCI's were, but Bridgelux EB gen2 strips are around 3e for a 1 foot strip, and vestas are about 4e per ft. If the driver is not a known brand, it probably costs next to nothing to throw one in.

The led market is moving very fast. 150lm/w would have been a big deal a couple of years back, but it makes perfect sense for distributors to dump such products now.

[sdfoster22]

Do you know a company that imports them to the Netherlands without the huge tax? If not, some people just have to buy what is available to them for the money.

Saying lm561b and b+ is obsolete because lm561c and lm301b is available, is like saying older hps is obsolete because of cmh and the likes.

It's all about finding what's available and affordable to you, that still grows well.

Just like Australians are stuck with stuff from cutter for reliability.

These do come with their own driver.

[unkle_psycho]

I certainly would not say obsolete, but in general most things that can be bought fall under the law of diminishing returns, so if your a retailer and you have a lot of 2y old computers or phones, it becomes harder and harder to justify premium pricing. Nothing wrong with 2 year old computers or phones, but its not uncommon to see new 2y old models on discount for similar prices asked in the 2nd hand market.
I have been quite surprised that for example digikey keeps the price of gen1 intact, when gen2 is already in the market. I was imagining they have the approach because they supply the repair markets or something?

My computer is a few generations old, and so is my phone. They work great. My comment was simply because the OP was talking about suspiciously low prices

[unkle_psycho]

But isn't digikey fine? Finland is usually pretty greedy with taxes, but only charged VAT from my order

[sdfoster22]

I just don't want people to think they have to get the best of the best to be able to grow, then not want to or be able to afford the high vat or taxes. I then help them try to source what is best for their situation.