Photon Freedom - new nichia led?

[JTI]

Has the LED in the current photon freedom (white) been upgraded? I notice there is a new Nichia 5mm with 28 lumen output...

[gregozedobe]

I'm not sure. I recently purchased 5 new Freedom Micros and 2 X-light micros. 3 of the Freedoms and both of the X-lights had one type of brighter LEDs, while two of the Freedoms had less bright LEDs.

The brighter LEDs had a "whiter" hotspot with a yellow ring (halo) around the hotspot, while the less bright LEDs had a cooler tint (bluer ?) hotspot with no ring.

The Freedoms with the less bright LEDs also had batteries that were depleted on (20% and 40% capacity) compared with the brighter lights. And yes, I did replace the depleted batteries with fresh, 100% capacity ones. It helped, but they were still a lot less bright.

So I'm thinking they were probably old stock with a less efficient LED, but have no idea when the change to the brighter LED happened. All the boxes were marked ""NEW! 100% BRIGHTER - TO THE MAX", but I believe that has been on all the packaging for some years.

I'm waiting to hear back from the seller to find out what they want to do (Of course I want all my new lights to have the brighter LEDS).

[bryan]

Yes, the "2x brighter" label has been on the packaging for a number of years, since one of Nichia's earlier efficiency improvements where the brightness was doubled. Since that time there have been a couple more steps forward in brightness but the packaging has remained the same. If your batteries were significantly discharged when you received the lights, then they must have been fairly old indeed. The batteries themselves have a 10-year shelf life, and while the Freedom electronics do use a very tiny amount of power even when shut off, that amount is so miniscule that it would take a number of years to see any measurable decrease in battery capacity.

Bryan Avery
PhotonLight.com
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Bryan Avery
PhotonLight.com: Powerful LED Flashlights, Keychain Lights, Leatherman Tools & more.

[MaxieGodde]

Next, find a firm flat surface with a bit of give in it, such as a notebook or pad of paper (just something that won't scratch up the LED during this next step), and press the light nose-first down against that surface to push the LED back into the battery compartment area to remove it. There is a small ring that serves as a gasket to seal around the edge of the LED when it is installed. If it falls out during this process, make sure not to lose it.

[gregozedobe]

On my PFMs with covert nose the LED pushes out away from the battery compartment - there is a molding in the body that prevents the LED from going back into the battery compartment.