I am following this thread out of interest because I am a major led lighting enthusiast and have actually built my own units from parts.
I am probably alone in this sentiment but I wish I could get bare housings from aurora or hanma and put good stuff in them.
Interesting discussion about the reflectors. I have not actually looked at the patent for the rigid reflectors but there is no way they have a patent on a particular efficiency number. They may very well have a patent on a specific beam shape from a specific light source.
I can tell from the photos posted that the alien light bars use optics rather than reflectors. I actually like a good optic more than a good reflector because the beam tends to be more even and does not have a hot spot in the center.
As for off road lighting companies making there own optics. I wish they would not. I would like to see a standard form factor used like 20mm round for instance. This would let us choose the really good stuff from companies that have been making LED optics and reflectors for a long time. Companies like carclo, ledil, fraen, polymer optics, ect. We would then be able to build the ideal beam. My ideal beam would from a combination of aspheric optics for a tigh focused very far reaching portion of the beam and 25 degree total internal reflection optic for a smooth transition from the spot to a wide area of light.
With an empty housing I could then fit latest and greatest LEDs of my choice like Cree XPG g2 in 4500K color temp. FYI Cree rolls out thousand of LEDs for a given chip die and then tests them and sorts them into bins for color temp, tint, and forward voltage. There is a big difference between cheap bins and top ones. With out a photo of the reel the led comes off of all claims are just claims. Many Leds sold from over seas companies claim to be a particular cree model and are not. A three watt cree LED can range from 80 lumens per watt for an old bottom of the barrel bin to well over 150 lumens per watt at a specified temperature and drive current.
I also have a huge affinity for the US engineered electronics from task led built by a guy named George. They have no equal. Electronics can easily use up to 20% of the power input in a LED design. A good design will be 97%. It is easy to measure this by measuring current into and out of the electronics.
Its neat to see alien taking Chinese built stuff and refitting new reflectors. They are on the right track with this and wow would I ever be a happy camper if I could buy empty light bars and supply my own electronics, optics and Leds. The housings do look to be quite nice even to my very critical eye.
