Any thoughts on some cheap U'King LEDs?

[bruce]

 

They're very cheap. I suspect that may be "Cheap and nasty" rather than "Cheap and cheerful".... around 40 quid a pop.

But I'm sure I read a review somewhere saying they were surprisingly good - metal bodies, although plastic end caps, reasonably bright, fanless...  can't find that review now.

And I know of someone who's looking for Cheap & Cheerful...

Anyone seen one in the flesh? What's the light output and build quality like? Would our good friend Clive have a field day if he opened one up?

Here's an Amazon link - £65, but you can get them for around 40 from other sources.... (eg eBay) under various brands, including U'King

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Equivalent-Adjustable-Floodlight-Spotlight-Halloween/dp/B09XDLM4N9

 

 

 

 

[Simon Lewis]

Not seen one but it's probably worth trying out just for "Bring a romantic and dreamy atmosphere to your home"!!

[timsabre]

I've not seen one either but I suspect given the statement "80W equivalent" that it is using WS2812 pixel LEDs as the light source, rather than the normal 3W RGB led you get in LED par cans etc (which would be at least 144 "real" Watts). So I think it will not be very bright - think of 80cm of pixel tape...

[Boggy]

I bought 8 x LED parcans about 2 years ago from China. After failing a PAT test I opened them up to find that the earth was not connected and the mounting of the PCB was dodgy (holes did not line up, half of the screws missing, screws inserted at an angle to cope with mis-alignment). Thankfully, I had plenty of time during covid to fix them up. I have used them twice and found that the light output is OK. It should also be noted that one had a faulty keypad and after submitting a fault report I was sent a replacement unit. 

[Trunker]

Hi have around 16 U'King fixtures (200w Par slim Metal type).

https://www.uking-online.com/product/8-pcs-b117-par-can-4in1-rgbw-18-leds/

You have to take them for what they are, but the colour, brightness and quality for what you pay for them is actually really good. Are they as good as an ETC fixture? Ask the same question about a Budget Smart car compared with a Volvo XC60.............

I haven't had no issue with them yet, I would say I have seen worse built fixtures that cost more to buy.......Use the fixtures for the right purpose and scenario and they may impress you. 

Edited December 26, 2022 by Trunker
added link

[simonkbike]

Very timely question; I've been looking at the same units.  Any idea about fan noise? I have some Chinese moving head wash lights bought about 4 yrs ago & the fan noise is quite loud.

S.

[bruce]

So I bought a couple, arrived on Friday. Haven't done a full examination yet, but first impressions are quite positive - ie the casing was earthed, they lit up, they seem reasonably sturdy. Couldn't really assess brightness, as it was daylight. Haven't done a proper test yet, will do some more testing later this week.

No fans, so completely silent - the main body is effectively a big heatsink.

 

[Don Allen]

When choosing any light I check the specs, something not many Chinese suppliers will provide in detail. U'King are good for putting their specs on their web site and you can ask them for more details. The specs of the b117 are below. I look for air cooled in the specs, if not mentioned then there may be fans. I still ask them the question to confirm no fans. Expect fans with slim par fixtures, especially light weight plastic ones, as it is the only way to get rid of the heat. The wide beam width of 45 degrees will provide a comparable coverage to a fresnel in small venues and be useful for low ceilings, but will not be as bright when compared beside a similar wattage standard 25 degree beam width led par. When I am looking for a quiet led par, I look for at least 6kg for a 200W led par, or get an outdoor one with indoor connectors, not tails with IP65 connectors. You need to do a PAT test to confirm that the earth is there, I have got led par's that have had the earth lug screwed onto the plastic body of a PowerCon input socket. The manual that I attached below stated that the led par has RDM (each LED PAR has UID (Unique Identification Number) which they do have, but the RDM is not functional, all you can do is read the UID !

Specification:

Energy consumption: 200W
Working voltage: 100 – 220V AC 50 / 60Hz
Material: Aluminum shell
Shell color: black
Lamp bead type: LED
The number of lamp beads: 18 * 10W
Lamp beads effect: four-in-one LED light
Lens angle: 45°
Control mode: Auto, voice, DMX 512, master-slave , standard DMX 512
Channels: 8CH
Color dimming: red, green, blue, white, four colors can be independent dimming
Sound control: sensitivity adjustable
LED digital display, advanced optical lens, excellent color mixing.
Life: 100, 000 hours of life, low power consumption
Operating temperature: -25 degrees to +35 degrees
Cooling: air-cooled
Use: disco, nightclub, party, and so on
Product Size:23*23*12cm
Net Weight: 2.5Kg

HY-P186S-RDM v1.1.pdf

[dmxlights]

On 1/2/2023 at 12:11 AM, bruce said:

So I bought a couple, arrived on Friday. Haven't done a full examination yet, but first impressions are quite positive - ie the casing was earthed, they lit up, they seem reasonably sturdy. Couldn't really assess brightness, as it was daylight. Haven't done a proper test yet, will do some more testing later this week.

No fans, so completely silent - the main body is effectively a big heatsink.

 

Did you buy the one you linked to or was the Uking one and how did you find the light out put. I am also thinking of getting some

[bruce]

A bit more experimenting. Less impressed.

They're certainly bright, and the heatsink is big, making them feel sturdy.

The DMX-out (3 pin XLRf) is too tight to take a Neutrik XLRm - but cheapo connectors fit OK.

But more importantly - the PSU seems under-rated. I've got 2 of them - RGBW - seem to work fine until you whack all the DMX values to max. If you have RGB at 100%, and start to lift the W, then one unit does the right thing. The other work fine until  it gets to R100G100B100 and W about 70% - then it starts to flash about once a second.

 

[Don Allen]

I have had Chinese suppliers fit lower wattage power supplies to led par's I have bought the same led par's from before. When I asked them why they said it was because they did not have thermal overload circuitry so reduced the power supply wattage to limit led damage. I mainly use my led par's indoor and if outdoor avoid rigging in direct sunlight to avoid overheating. Even indoors some users can have overheating by rigging conventional lights alongside led par's. You may have two different power supplies. Uking will answer any questions on emails or web chat.

[Trunker]

On 3/27/2023 at 9:05 PM, bruce said:

A bit more experimenting. Less impressed.

They're certainly bright, and the heatsink is big, making them feel sturdy.

The DMX-out (3 pin XLRf) is too tight to take a Neutrik XLRm - but cheapo connectors fit OK.

But more importantly - the PSU seems under-rated. I've got 2 of them - RGBW - seem to work fine until you whack all the DMX values to max. If you have RGB at 100%, and start to lift the W, then one unit does the right thing. The other work fine until  it gets to R100G100B100 and W about 70% - then it starts to flash about once a second.

 

I will say I have never experienced this issue. I have around 17/18 of these units in use regularly. One quirk I have found is that if you have (for example) a 24 channel desk, you cannot put the fixture starting at 21. Even in 4 channel mode, it will not operate unless there are 'free' channels after the last 'attribute/fixture' channel. 

[sunray]

14 hours ago, Trunker said:

I will say I have never experienced this issue. I have around 17/18 of these units in use regularly. One quirk I have found is that if you have (for example) a 24 channel desk, you cannot put the fixture starting at 21. Even in 4 channel mode, it will not operate unless there are 'free' channels after the last 'attribute/fixture' channel. 

That's interesting, I have some 7 channel Eurolite PAR64 and regularly put them at CH45 (or 44) on a 48CH desk for R, G, B, Dim, (Flash) and the same on a transcension SDC816 starting CH13.

I'd never even thought to consider it would be any issue.

[dosxuk]

Probably just a combination of a desk deciding to only send out data for the channels that it is controlling, and very simple receive code in the fixtures, which only start to process a packet when it has received a full complement of channel data. In other words, not a fundamental issue with DMX, desks or fixtures, but something that can crop up if you're unlucky.