New Flexible LED Panels

roly said:
Secondly, is there any SIMPLE system for battery powering the 3060s? The Travor FP-550 has been unavailable for quite some time now, and I'm no electrical engineer!
Click to expand...

I mentioned it back in the this thread but for fl-3060a and 3030a I usually use my qidian qd-188alt battery pack. I takes 8 18650 cells you buy separately and will output 5-24v which you can select in 0.1v increments. It's a super handy tool to have since you can battery power pretty much anything. I also tested some universal car dc-dc adapters that are very inexpensive and work fine for powering from an unregulated d-tap as long as you get the adapter with a DC barrel plug and then get the d-tap to 5.5x2.5mm barrel cable which is a cable that works on all kinds of common accessories.

Looks like 188alt may have been replaced by a new model: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bn0xB04o

I can't stress how handy it can be to have a ~$90 95wh (once you buy top of the line 3400mah cells) battery pack that has adjustable voltage regulation built in. It can essentially battery power any device you'll come across in a pinch.
 
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Those power banks can be very handy and extremely well-priced; I wish someone would do something a bit more affordable for that part of the film and TV industry that isn't making nine-figure blockbusters. Batteries are way too expensive.

The only issue I've found with removable cells is that the spring contacts create something of a high-resistance joint. I built some nickel metal hydride packs around AA cells for a special application and initially intended to use conventional spring-contact battery holders, but found that under any significant load the voltage started to drop off. The immediate fear was that they were just inadequate cells, but no - it was the resistance of the spring contacts. Welded, they were much better.

(Never, ever solder directly to battery cells. If you need to assemble a pack, buy cells with short tag strips welded on, and solder the tag strips.)

18650s do better because they develop a higher voltage, so they need to pass less current for an equivalent wattage at 12V than the same number of NiMH cells, but it depends what you're running. I would consider a 50-60W load to be pretty significant for something like that, no matter what the nameplate rating says.

I had the idea once that there ought to be a 3D printing design available for people to make up 18650 packs, but it would take a bit of circuitry for proper safety, and I haven't seen an off-the-shelf battery management board that was set up in what I felt was the right way. And you still wouldn't be able to fly with them.

P
 
Just took delivery of two Travor-brand daylight FL-3090s (I wish I'd read this thread before I purchased them, since the the bicolors have been shown to be just as bright). Comparing it to my older FL-3030, the materials are totally different. Instead of the crinkley plastic, this feels more fabric based, and there is a sheet of plastic covering the diodes (they are totally exposed on the FL-3030). It reminds me a lot more of my gaffer's FalconEyes lights.

I checked color temperature between the two lights on an iPhone app and I'm getting 5400K on the older FL-3030 and 5100K on the FL-3090.

I'll post some pictures if I can find the time.
 
Tried those XTpower XT20000 battery banks with 24V output.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XWTY96G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Works but getting about 30% less max output. Still pretty handy depending on your use.
Otherwise I can just use those bigger batteries with AC output. I've got this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Gen...5194971&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=400wh+battery

Planning on getting a small one too.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076PR4TBZ/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_7?smid=AY5XLL1NQPR7O&psc=1
 
scotchtape said:
Tried those XTpower XT20000 battery banks with 24V output.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XWTY96G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Works but getting about 30% less max output. Still pretty handy depending on your use.
Otherwise I can just use those bigger batteries with AC output. I've got this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Gen...5194971&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=400wh+battery

Planning on getting a small one too.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076PR4TBZ/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_7?smid=AY5XLL1NQPR7O&psc=1
Click to expand...

Hmm 50w max but that's enough for one fl3030a I suppose. What is on the LCD readout? I do like that my qidian displays the voltage and amp draw
 
It powers FL3060 as well which is what I tested it on. I know you don't believe me but these really don't draw that much wattage, agree to disagree I guess (I think you measured from before the AC adapter, I measured after).
It shows wattage being used on screen. Shows 35W when powering FL3060, which makes sense since I measured about 50W draw when plugged into AC for FL3060.
Not sure why it doesn't draw more from the battery bank, maybe the stock AC adapter puts out higher voltage, I have yet to measure that.
I've tried with other laptop 24V outputs and it's not as bright as the stock AC adapter.
 
Ok, noticed that using the stock adapter output is higher, but if I put the wattmeter in between the panel and AC adapter there's less output.
So I suspect the panel can draw more from the ac adapter than other sources for some odd reason, which explains why with other power supplies (and battery banks) the output is lower.
 
Extremely useful thread, I´m newbie flex panel, anyone here has info regarding Cineroid FL400 / 800 s and Westcott flex, one man band for indoor corporate videos, trying to find a good ratio output-CRI-portability thks a lot!
 
A quick update re battery power for my two bicolour FL-3060s.

I noticed that the Travor store on Aliepxress had them back in store, so I ordered a couple for about 43 euros each (the price has since jumped 20 euros, go figure…) http://tinyurl.com/y48ppbg8.

They arrived yesterday, a week or so after the order.

On unpacking them, I saw to my surprise that they included four NPF550-style batteries and two chargers per pack (with, to me, useless US-style plugs, but hey, I have about 2,769 NPF chargers lying around…). Given that the batteries/chargers included are worth around 50 euros alone, Travor is effectively paying me 7 euros to take the packs off their hands. Great!

As for the build quality, well, you get what you pay for (in my case, -7 euros per pack). I can't imagine them lasting more than an hour on a commercial set, but babied by a one-man bander they should be ok. For the price. The zips, in particular, which close the surrounding "bag" look worryingly flimsy.

Another negative is that the connection to the light is slightly different to that for mains power. The actual "plug" bit is the same, but there is NO surrounding locking mechanism, and so the connection is held in place by the flimsy (2.5?) plug iteslf, which is fighting against the gravity of the cord dangling below trying to pull it out. If you so much as lightly tap the connection, the light blinks. Some gaff tape will be required for peace of mind.

The battery connections/locks inside the pack are also not very sturdy. They work fine with the included 550s, but my 970s slip out constantly due to their weight. It is also quite a struggle to close the bag with the bigger batteries (and that weak zip strains worryingly).

Anyway, they do seem to work, which is all you can ask for, I think. As for battery life, I haven't tested it yet. If I get time, I'll do so in the next couple of days.

Hope this is of some help to some of you out there!
 
For anyone still interested in these lights, I measured the CRI and TLCI of these lights, they aren't very good.
TLCI was around 80 and R9 was 40ish.
 
scotchtape said:
For anyone still interested in these lights, I measured the CRI and TLCI of these lights, they aren't very good.
TLCI was around 80 and R9 was 40ish.
Click to expand...

That doesn't surprise me for the tlci. However I would have thought the r9 would be a bit higher. I've had two of the fositan 3060 versions for over a year. They really are quite handy for the price. Used them with quasar science tubes, litemats, skypanels, falcon eyes, hmi's, etc. They can serve as a key or as a fill without much of an issue as far as shifts compared to other lights. The remotes are extremely handy and on bigger sets these are great to just place around set to help with ambience when you need something quick that you can dial in color temp and brightness. I think the falconeyes are a better choice for an all around flex light with great color, but for the price these are bright and handy. The only issue I've had is the included power supply seems to have an issue where they just give up over time. I just bought some other 24v led power supplies for like $12 and they seem to be working. Definitely a place for these in a kit where price is a consideration.
 
Have there been any developments in flexible lights over the last few months? The price of the FL-3060 seems to have jumped again I note.

I'm looking for a couple of 1x3 or 1x4 lights at the budget end of the market. I already have a FalconEyes 24TDX so thinking that the 29TDX (1x4) might be a good bet in terms of colour matching. But at £370 each they aren't quite as budget as I'd like, but actually not a million miles away from Travor pricing given the increases.
 
I often bank 2 of the 3060A for a 1'x4' panel - they will take Kino accessories. the 1x2s can still be had for about $150.
that said I would stick with falconeyes just for color matching, unless you can be absolutely sure you'l not use them together.
 
BTW I bought a Sekonic C700 Spectrometer. Here are results from various LEDs I tested:

Notes: Basically the Falconeyes lights are quite a bit better for color than the Travors and run warmer and without the 1/4 green shift. Travor is very convenient and I use them a lot with 2 velcro'ed into a 3x2 softbox but I'm thinking of swapping them out for High CRI LED strips I have been using for some DIY projects which I also tested. Interesting to see how my RGBDT DIY lights fare for CRI depending on how much you use narrow spectrum RGB to supplement. Used very sparingly RGB can increase CRI slightly but quickly crashes the CRI as it introduces big spikes on the spectrum. Basically it's hard to recommend Travors based on this unless you are sure they look fine on your camera and can deal with the low CRI especially the low R9.

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Looking for a link or proper name/description for the right angle and straight connectors for the square tubing. Plastic or metal with button detent. Thanks I need to replace some that have "gone missing "
 
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