"High Lights" - high powered, CRI95 flowering boards made in Australia

I measured about 950 PPFD at 18" for both of them when I first set them up. The High Lights are limited by the 320 driver to around 345W at the boards. The QB324s matched them at around 400W at the boards. So both are getting similar PPFD coverage.

The QBs have the advantage of an extra reflective wall, as it was noted that this helped improve coverage on that side. Also, it's a single-plant grow for each station, so this removes some of the advantage the High Lights have in terms of wider spread, as the QBs have a lot of light concentrated in the middle, which works better for one-light, one-plant grows.

So it's a pretty fair side-by-side comparison. Or about as fair as I can make it.
 
Prawn Connery said:
I measured about 950 PPFD at 18" for both of them when I first set them up. The High Lights are limited by the 320 driver to around 345W at the boards. The QB324s matched them at around 400W at the boards. So both are getting similar PPFD coverage.

The QBs have the advantage of an extra reflective wall, as it was noted that this helped improve coverage on that side. Also, it's a single-plant grow for each station, so this removes some of the advantage the High Lights have in terms of wider spread, as the QBs have a lot of light concentrated in the middle, which works better for one-light, one-plant grows.

So it's a pretty fair side-by-side comparison. Or about as fair as I can make it.
Click to expand...

Thanks prawn!
 
TQUOTE="Prawn Connery, post: 14872394, member: 580054"]Yes, I'm not sure if I mentioned this already, but the Nichia Optisolis and Seoul Semiconductor Sunlike LEDs cost about twice as much as Samsung's CRI80 LM301B LEDs used on most other boards. The Nichia NF2W757GT-V3F1 LEDs that make up 2/3 of the board are about the same as the LM301Bs in terms of cost and efficiency, and we have secured the highest Flux bins available for each type of LED (and paid a premium for the privilege). The PCBs are a large diameter and 2mm thick, so are very sturdy. The copper tracks, traces and connectors are built to handle twice the maximum rated current for each board.

The boards were assembled in Australia to ensure quality control as well as ensure the LEDs we paid for went on the boards (and weren't swapped out by some unscrupulous factory in China).

We did not cheap out on anything mainly because we built these boards for ourselves. We sat around one day and listed all the things we would like to see in a LED flowering board and this is what we came up with. Then we looked at a matching heatsink that could do the job for a good price so we could offset the cost of the boards, as heatsinks tend to be quite expensive.

Finally, by putting everything on one board/channel, we also realised we could save money on drivers - plus the board was designed to use common 48V and 54V drivers that most of us already had, so we didn't have to upgrade.

It's swings and roundabouts - pay more for the boards, pay less for the heatsinks and drivers. But matching boards and heatsinks still work out around A$1 per watt, which we're happy with. And the spectrum is pretty much what we were aiming for. They may not be at the top of the efficiency tree, but they're not far behind. Preliminary testing shows them beating equivalent HLG QB324 V1 boards using combined CRI80/90 LEDs.

I guess it's like anything: if we were a business venture and producing hundreds of these boards at a time, costs would come down. But for a one-off like this, there are a lot of non-recurring costs that can't be recouped with just one production run for a few keen growers.

Having said that, we've got the boards we wanted and everyone who's seen them has been happy with the results.[/QUOTE]


Ready to do my drive by , initiation Led gang task. Lol. So i can get down with those boards. Good grief sounds crazy! Great work and greater idea! #IWantIn
 
It's not bad. The problem with seed grows is you often end up with a bit of variability which can make managing the whole grow a challenge if they are all being fed from the same reservoir. I've got a Wappa in there as a control strain, and it is doing it's usual stretch in the corner, which means having to raise the lights a little. Swiss Bliss is a predominantly sativa strain, but it tends to branch out more than stretch. The male I used for this cross was an indica pheno and it is showing in the F2 offspring. The female was a nice hybrid with one of the best highs - I grow this strain for the effect more than the yield.
 
Prawn Connery said:
It's not bad. The problem with seed grows is you often end up with a bit of variability which can make managing the whole grow a challenge if they are all being fed from the same reservoir. I've got a Wappa in there as a control strain, and it is doing it's usual stretch in the corner, which means having to raise the lights a little. Swiss Bliss is a predominantly sativa strain, but it tends to branch out more than stretch. The male I used for this cross was an indica pheno and it is showing in the F2 offspring. The female was a nice hybrid with one of the best highs - I grow this strain for the effect more than the yield.
Click to expand...

Keep tops even the @Randomblame way....give the shorties styrofoam booster seats:

59E8147C-79EC-4D45-8AC5-13C84F96C69A.jpeg

2” sheets, cut to size and stacked...no excuse for uneven tops...especially with such great lights...
 
Haha! Many ways to skin a cat, my friend. Corners and edges usually have less light intensity, so that's where the tall plants go. I can't lift my pots much because I've got a drain-to-waste system going on and gravity will fuck me up if I lift a couple of pots and end up with a bend in the line that prevents other pots from draining properly.

I appreciate the idea, but in reality what will happen is the short plants will end up on one side of the tent with a lower light, and the tall ones will be on the other side with a raised light - that's why I have separate light frames on each side.
 
Prawn Connery said:
Haha! Many ways to skin a cat, my friend. Corners and edges usually have less light intensity, so that's where the tall plants go. I can't lift my pots much because I've got a drain-to-waste system going on and gravity will fuck me up if I lift a couple of pots and end up with a bend in the line that prevents other pots from draining properly.

I appreciate the idea, but in reality what will happen is the short plants will end up on one side of the tent with a lower light, and the tall ones will be on the other side with a raised light - that's why I have separate light frames on each side.
Click to expand...

So the problem isn’t really the “seeds/plants”, my crustacean friend...

Some of us have unitized the entire plant..which could be done for any setup...especially with that head of yours...that likes to parry...

bottom line: your short plants are getting screwed, and your photons are being wasted...

Just sayin....

We all do it our own way...and that’s fine by me...
 
I meant variability more in terms of nutrient demand etc. But don't worry, I'll shuffle the plants around, adjust the lights up and down and more or less towards the middle of the tent, measure the output, and everything will "even out" in the end ;)

I do have a little trick up my sleeve, which is hydroton in the bottom of the catchpots I can use to raise the coco pots higher.

Besides, excuses are easier than solutions - you know that! :P
 
Prawn Connery said:
I meant variability more in terms of nutrient demand etc. But don't worry, I'll shuffle the plants around, adjust the lights up and down and more or less towards the middle of the tent, measure the output, and everything will "even out" in the end ;)

I do have a little trick up my sleeve, which is hydroton in the bottom of the catchpots I can use to raise the coco pots higher.

Besides, excuses are easier than solutions - you know that! :P
Click to expand...

See? Even sea insects can adapt....

Which excuses are you insinuating in your crustacean way?
 
Prawn Connery said:
I measured about 950 PPFD at 18" for both of them when I first set them up. The High Lights are limited by the 320 driver to around 345W at the boards. The QB324s matched them at around 400W at the boards. So both are getting similar PPFD coverage.

The QBs have the advantage of an extra reflective wall, as it was noted that this helped improve coverage on that side. Also, it's a single-plant grow for each station, so this removes some of the advantage the High Lights have in terms of wider spread, as the QBs have a lot of light concentrated in the middle, which works better for one-light, one-plant grows.

So it's a pretty fair side-by-side comparison. Or about as fair as I can make it.
Click to expand...
available ?
 
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