Cool lights CL-LED256 User manual

CL
CLCL
CL-
--
-LED
LEDLED
LED256
256256
256
256
256256
256 LED
LED LED
LED Lighting
Lighting Lighting
Lighting Panel
PanelPanel
Panel
Operations Manual
Operations ManualOperations Manual
Operations Manual
Cool Lights USA
www.CoolLights.biz
Manual V1.1. Cool Lights CL-LED256 is © Copyright 2009 CoolVideoLights.Com
All Rights Reserved.

2
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................................................................3
ASSEMBLY AND OPERATING PROCESS .........................................................................................................................3
REMOVE THE LED 256 PANEL FROM THE BOX ........................................................................................................................3
Mounting power supply on the light stand .........................................................................................................................4
Plug the AC to DC power supply into the AC ....................................................................................................................5
Turn on the panel ...............................................................................................................................................................5
BARNDOORS ............................................................................................................................................................................6
FIXTURE TRANSPORT ...............................................................................................................................................................6
BATTERY PLATE ADAPTATION AND INSTALLATION ...............................................................................................6
SONY NP-F970 BATTERY PLATE INSTALLATION.....................................................................................................................6
PANASONIC D54S BATTERY PLATE INSTALLATION.................................................................................................................7
FILTER PANEL SET ...............................................................................................................................................................8
TROUBLESHOOTING ............................................................................................................................................................8
OPERATING SPECIFICATIONS AND PARAMETERS .................................................................................................... 9
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS ......................................................................................................................................................9
OPERATING SPECIFICATIONS ...................................................................................................................................................9
PHOTOMETRICS......................................................................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
This is the operations manual for the Cool Lights USA CL-LED256 LED Panel. The exact
models available are the CL-LED25656S (5600K spot panel) and the CL-LED25632S (3200K
spot panel). Your LED 256 panel puts out a comparable hard light to a tungsten 300w fresnel
based on light meter readings. You should have received the CL-LED256 Panel, a barndoor
unit, angle adjustable stand mount with baby stand adapter, and a 45w AC to DC 9V power
supply with 16 foot American power cord. While the LED 256 power supply includes an
American power cord, it functions on any voltage between 100VAC and 240VAC 50/60hz and
puts out the 9VDC that the panel needs via a 4 pin XLR female connector on a 6 foot cable.
Your panel also included a set of filter panels and a complimentary nylon carrying bag. Should
any parts be missing contact us at [email protected] and mention your order number and
which part or parts are missing.
Figure 1: Included Items of the CL-LED256 Panel
Assembly and Operating Process
Remove the LED 256 Panel from the box . Take the panel from the box and remove
the carrying case which surrounds it for protection. Also remove the AC to DC power supply,
stand adapter and filter panels. There are no bulbs with such an LED panel to insert. It is
ready to put into use right out of the box.

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Put the LED panel on a stand .The bottom of the LED
panel includes a ¼-20 screw mount which can be used with
many types of standard photographic mounting adapters
including our own included angle adjustable baby stand adapter.
Just screw the ball mount into the bottom of the LED 256. The
adapter includes a thumbscrew adjustment to lock it in place.
The top adjustable knob allows angle adjustment. The other
thumbscrew toward the bottom of the adapter is for secure
tightening on a baby 5/8” type baby male mounting. Open the
thumbscrew enough to allow the unobstructed insertion on the
baby “spud” or 5/8” male adapter at the top of your stand. Then
tighten the thumbscrew to make sure of a secure attachment.
The panel should not wobble on the connection. Use the top
adjustment knob to adjust angle of the fixture. Figure 2 shows
the panel’s adapter on a baby stand.
Warning. You should not over-tighten the thumbscrews as
they could possibly be stripped and ruined with too much forcing. Just apply enough tightening
pressure to get a good connection and not more.
Attach the AC to DC power supply to panel DC
input .The panel has a 4 pin XLR main DC power input on
the bottom side. This is the main DC power input from
whatever external power supply you may use to power the
LEDs—including of course the Cool Lights AC to DC power
supply that came with the panel. Simply attach the 4 pin
XLR from the power supply into the mating connector on the
back until it locks into place. Figure 3 shows the 4 pin XLR
plugged in.
Warning. You should never attach this connector while the
power supply is plugged in to line voltage, nor should you
un-attach it while power supply is plugged in. You run the
risk of damaging the power supply in this case! Also, you
should never attach both the included AC adapter and a
battery to the battery plate at the same time. While the
panel itself is well protected against this scenario, you run
the risk of damaging your AC to DC power supply in this
case! Also, always use a surge protector on this and any
other electronic lighting to protect your power supply from
over voltage and spike conditions on your AC line.
Mounting power supply on the light stand . The
power supply includes a nylon strap and carabiner clip
(attached to its plastic casing) to allow versatile attachment
in different configurations to the light stand or yoke. You can
Figure 3 – 4 pin XLR connection
Figure 2 – Adapter on a
baby stand
Figure 4 – Power supply clipped to
stand adapter thumbscrew with
carabiner

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simply attach the carabiner to one of the thumbscrews of the light stand or to the yoke. You
can wrap the nylon strap around the base of the light stand, etc. Many different configurations
are possible with this included type of attachment. Of course, you can also just lay the power
supply on the floor at the base of the light stand as well, but it is recommended to use the
carabiner to hang on the light stand for optimum heat dispersion from the power supply into the
air. Figure 4 shows the carabiner attached to the top riser thumbscrew of the light stand.
Plug the AC to DC power supply into the AC . Using the included American power plug,
insert the IEC adapter end of the plug into the power supply IEC adapter. Then insert the AC
plug end into a surge protector and then plug the surge protector into the AC wall socket. This
protects the power supply from over voltage and spike conditions on your AC line. The power
supply can operate on any voltage in the world from 100v to 240v 50/60hz. To adapt the
American power plug to another socket type in another country is a simple mechanical type
adapter and no other transformer or other type of adaptation is necessary. You can also
completely replace the power cable with another IEC type from your country if you prefer.
There is no on/off switch on the power supply, only on the panel itself.
Turn on the panel . Figure 5 shows the back of the LED 256 panel and the various parts.
Simply make sure all the bank select switches are in the “1” or on position, turn the dimmer dial
to full intensity and finally, turn the master (red) switch to the “1” or on position. Once started,
the light comes on instantly (as long as the dimmer is on full and the bank select switches are
all on as well). Since there are both a dimmer and bank select switches, dimming with your
LED 256 is extremely versatile and can be accomplished with a number of combinations of the
bank selects and/or the dimmer.
Your LED 256 has the ability
to attach common styles of
semi-professional camcorder
batteries directly to the back
of the panel through optionally
available battery mount plates
(see Battery Plate Adaptation
and Installation section of this
manual). The switching panel
includes the master on/off and
3 bank select switches.
Thanks to the internal DC to
DC converter which
conditions the input power,
you can power the panel on
anything from 6VDC to
18VDC through this 4 pin XLR
input (or through the optional
battery adaptation plates as
well). This includes quite a
variety of commonly available
power supplies which you may already have in your tool arsenal. For instance, many
camcorder battery chargers also include a 4 pin XLR female output cable to allow you to power
Figure 5 – Various parts of the panel.

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a camcorder directly (output is nominally the same as a battery—around 14.4V average). This
same connection will allow you to power the LED 256 panel from this type of power supply.
Barndoors . The CL-LED256 LED Panel
includes as standard a barndoor unit which fits
into the accessory holder on the front of the
panel. The barndoors come attached to the
panel out of the box. They are locked in place
with one spring loaded safety lock on the top of
the panel as pictured in Figure 6. In order to
unlock this lock and remove the barndoors,
simply pull up on the lock and swing it over to
one side so it no longer attaches to the
barndoor. Then just slide the barndoor unit up
and out of the accessory holder.
Fixture transport . Fold up the barndoors and leave them installed in the accessory holder,
they provide great protection for the LED panel inside. When closing the barndoors for storage
or shipping, close the side flaps first then the upper and lower fold over the top of the side
flaps.
Warning. You should not transport the LED 256 with the stand adapter still screwed into its
mount at the bottom of the LED 256. The added torque or pressure could break the mount on
the bottom of the fixture. Always unscrew the stand adapter when putting the LED 256 back in
the bag and keep it in the separate zipper pouch on the front of the bag.
Battery Plate Adaptation and Installation
As mentioned before, your LED 256 has the ability to directly adapt commonly available Sony
or Panasonic type camcorder batteries directly to the back of the fixture for the utmost in
portability and convenient powering even in conditions where power would not be readily
available. The LED 256 includes a universal
mount which allows for easy swap-out of the
battery adaptation.
Sony NP-F970 Battery Plate Installation .
The Sony F970 plate comes by itself. Here are
the easy installation steps:
1). Remove the screw in L bracket above the
battery plate area as shown in figure 7. The L
bracket is used to hold the plate in place and you
cannot insert the plate on the LED 256 unless you
first remove it.
Figure 6 – Barndoor lock engaged / barndoors
in place
.
Figure 7 – The battery plate retention L
bracket.

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2). Find the 4 keys on the battery plate and on the plate interface on the LED 256. Line them
up and insert the plate on the keys. Then, slide the plate down until it won’t go further.
3). Replace the L bracket and screw to keep the plate locked in place.
4). You may now attach a Sony L series battery (or compatible) to this plate and test. Your
final installation should look like the picture in Figure 8.
Panasonic D54S Battery
Plate Installation . The
Panasonic D54S plate installs
with exactly the same
procedure as the Sony NP-
F970. See above for
instructions. Figure 9 shows
the plate installed and ready
for operation.
Warning. You should never
attach both the included AC
adapter and a battery to the
battery plate at the same time.
While the panel itself is well
Figure 8 – The Sony F970 battery adapter assembled into place
and ready for battery insertion.
Figure 9 – The Panasonic D54S Mount adapter assembled into
place and ready battery insertion.

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protected against this scenario, you run the risk of damaging your AC to DC power supply in
this case! While it may work in some scenarios, there are too many scenarios to cover, thus
we cannot recommend but using one power input of the 2 available at any given time.
Filter Panel Set
Your LED 256 comes with a set of 4 acrylic filter
panels which can fit behind the barndoors of the
fixture and modify the light output in various ways.
These include: ¼ minus green, ½ minus green, full
CTO (color temperature orange) and diffusion all in
a convenient nylon pouch as shown in Figure 10.
The minus green filters can remove any green from
the LED 256’s light to help it mix better with other
light sources. The full CTO can change the 5600K
daylight LED 256 to a 3200K color temperature.
The diffusion panel provides some minor diffusion
for those times you feel the light is too hard. These
panels may also be used without the barndoors. Just
use the spring loaded accessory lock on top to keep
them in place.
Troubleshooting
When troubleshooting any problem, always start with the simplest possibilities and work
forward to the more complex ones as you exhaust each scenario. Start with the power plug
and make sure it is not only securely plugged into the wall but also into the power supply’s IEC
adapter. Also make sure the 4 pin XLR is snugly connected to the panel. Finally, make sure
you see a green light on the AC to DC power supply. This indicates that the power supply is in
operation. No green light means the power supply is not properly connected to the AC input or
it has failed. After all those suggestions, make sure you are working within the suggested
optimum operating temperatures of 32ºF and 125ºF (0ºC to 51ºC). There is no fan in the panel
or power supply so it is highly recommended not to use them in overly hot conditions for a long
period of time.
Warning. LEDs are static sensitive devices. Do not touch the LEDs on the panel with your
fingers as you may transfer built up static electricity in your body into the LEDs, thereby
potentially damaging them. In general, the LEDs are well protected in the circuit but it is
possible that a direct transfer of static charge could damage an individual LED. The LEDs on
your panel are connected in series of 3 with a current limiting resistor. Should one LED in the
series of 3 go out, all 3 in that series will not work until the damaged or defective LED is
replaced.
If all trouble shooting options are exhausted, then you most likely have developed a bad
switch, dimmer knob or power supply. If the unit is still in warranty, you will need to acquire an
RMA from [email protected] so the defective unit can be returned and repaired or replaced.
Figure
10
–
LED 256 Fil
t
er Panel Set
.

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Operating Specifications and Parameters
General Specifications
Dimensions: 5" x 5" x 3.25"
Weight: 1 Lb. 15 ounces.
Construction: Powder coated (black) aluminum
LED Type: 5mm Round LEDs in 3200K or 5600K versions
LED Beam Angle: 40 degree for "spot" panel and 60 degree for "flood" panel
LED CRI:
- 5600K Spot: 80 CRI
- 3200K Spot: 85 CRI
Voltage Input: 6 VDC to 18 VDC
Current: 2.4 amps nominal at 9 VDC (22 watts)
Power Supply: 9VDC with IEC plug adapter and 4 pin female XLR DC output--includes
carabiner attachment to hang power supply on light stand. Universal voltage input 100VAC to
240VAC 50 / 60 hz
Battery Adaptation: Optional battery mount plates in Sony or Panasonic types
Barndoors: Removable from slide in accessory holder
Stand Adapter: Angle adjustable baby stand adapter
Dimming: Yes via continuously adjustable dimmer dial
Bank Select: 3 bank select switches controlling LED column on/off with Master switch as well
Carrying Case: Black nylon padded case included
Operating Specifications
Optimal Temperature Range: 32ºF to 125ºF (0ºC to 51ºC)

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Photometrics
All readings in Lux taken with light meter.
Conclusion
This completes setup and testing of the Cool Lights CL-LED256 256 LED Panel. With proper
care, you should get many years of service out of its sturdy aluminum construction. Thanks for
your business!
Cool Lights USA
5360 Capital Court, Suite 100
Reno, NV 89502
www.CoolLights.biz / [email protected]