My curiosity finally got the best of me and I had to see what Feniex LED's are all about. I called the company and explained my situation of wanting to simply test something of theirs. Since they had a Python T-4 in blue that was a demo used at a show they sold it to me for 60% off.
It arrived today and was packaged very well. Upon opening it I was pleasantly surprised by the compact size. I decided to compare it to a Whelen LIN3 since I had an open one handy. I powered them both up using a 13.79 volt regulated power supply. I chose steady burn for both to not be distracted and get a good current measurement.
This is what I found:
-To my eyes both were similar in brightness. I may give the T-4 a +1 straight on.
-LIN3 had better off axis performance.
-T-4 current consumption = 0.500 amps. (Install guide says 0.300)
-LIN3 current consumption = 0.174 amps.
-T-4 after 5 minutes was almost too hot to touch while the LIN3 was still cold .
-T-4 produced RFI through the scanner on the same bench. (Company claims none)
This video shows the two side by side. T-4 on left, LIN3 on right.
T-4 is on left, LIN3 in on right.
Final thoughts:
Light output from the T-4 was pretty impressive and I initially thought I may have found something worth using. The heat and RFI generated changed my mind and will have me steering clear for the time being. I would be happy to test more, but not at my expense. :nono:
Update:
I decided to see just how hot this thing was getting and here it is at one hour. (@ 15 min. it was over 140)
Update 2:
I called Feniex today to give them my feedback. I felt obligated too. Everyone I've had on the phone was very pleasant considering my constructive criticism. They had a tech. call me back to talk about my concerns. I was told that the RFI problem is embarrassing for them and has been dealt with. The heat issue was something that was going to be brought to the engineers. I was also told that the "steady burn" pattern is a lower light output than the flashing patterns. I powered the light back up with an "all on" "all off" pattern that looked like 60-70 fpm and my visual observation of output was no different. With this pattern I still observed 150 deg. f. I told the tech. if they sent me "corrected" products I would happily revisit this comparison. They never did offer to take back or refund my "demo" light purchase which I kind of hoped they would. I did forward this link to their support also.
It arrived today and was packaged very well. Upon opening it I was pleasantly surprised by the compact size. I decided to compare it to a Whelen LIN3 since I had an open one handy. I powered them both up using a 13.79 volt regulated power supply. I chose steady burn for both to not be distracted and get a good current measurement.
This is what I found:
-To my eyes both were similar in brightness. I may give the T-4 a +1 straight on.
-LIN3 had better off axis performance.
-T-4 current consumption = 0.500 amps. (Install guide says 0.300)
-LIN3 current consumption = 0.174 amps.
-T-4 after 5 minutes was almost too hot to touch while the LIN3 was still cold .
-T-4 produced RFI through the scanner on the same bench. (Company claims none)
This video shows the two side by side. T-4 on left, LIN3 on right.
T-4 is on left, LIN3 in on right.
Final thoughts:
Light output from the T-4 was pretty impressive and I initially thought I may have found something worth using. The heat and RFI generated changed my mind and will have me steering clear for the time being. I would be happy to test more, but not at my expense. :nono:
Update:
I decided to see just how hot this thing was getting and here it is at one hour. (@ 15 min. it was over 140)
Update 2:
I called Feniex today to give them my feedback. I felt obligated too. Everyone I've had on the phone was very pleasant considering my constructive criticism. They had a tech. call me back to talk about my concerns. I was told that the RFI problem is embarrassing for them and has been dealt with. The heat issue was something that was going to be brought to the engineers. I was also told that the "steady burn" pattern is a lower light output than the flashing patterns. I powered the light back up with an "all on" "all off" pattern that looked like 60-70 fpm and my visual observation of output was no different. With this pattern I still observed 150 deg. f. I told the tech. if they sent me "corrected" products I would happily revisit this comparison. They never did offer to take back or refund my "demo" light purchase which I kind of hoped they would. I did forward this link to their support also.
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