They get the diodes from Samsung, from a high quality control factory, and then they build the board themselves, as in, placing the diodes and the wiring on a piece of aluminum
I guess you are mistaking HLG for the “high end Chinese” ones, like MH, VS or SF wich all buy Chinese built boards that use mostly Samsung diodes with some Epistar low end diodes around, usually for the red and IR and UV
I’m talking kingbrite to hlg because I agree most of the knockoff quantom board suck but kingbrites don’t.
I think I’ve seen the machine they do for this I just wasn’t sure if companies could buy them or if Samsung contractors was doing it.
Because my boards have printer SAMSUNG right on the board.
No, they are not. You are really spreading a bunch of misinformation. The samsung diodes are made in South Korea. They are not using samsung boards either, HLG designs and makes the quantum boards right here in the USA in their own manufacturing facility.
Yep. Still use the meanwell for all the rest they told me they found that the meanwell drivers seemed to burn up faster with the new board setups so far side by side with meanwell driver setting all up they don’t look a bit different. At first they did as my 260s were all being run at maybe 70% had the little hidden adjuster was cut down on all quite a bit I’m seeing ac infinity has there 2x2 light out on sale right now for 89 norm 129. Looks pretty sweet but seeing alot complain about corner coverage
How do the boards on my hlg and my kingbrite read SAMSUNG on the board then they just program It into the printing?
At the end of the day the kingbrites are still a better deal and the quality is on par
I stand corrected on the manufacturing process, my apologys.
It’s more us jobs with hlg for a higher price and a faster warranty.
It’s a cheaper price from kingbrite with more options and quality is very close, so much so no one would know the difference.
Im not American or Chinese so it’s all foreign imports in my situation to bigger more powerful countries.
Hmm either way they made it sound like it was just a new thing on the phone. Either way they were cool ass ppl to deal with for sure. Wish all customer service was like them.
I don’t recall seeing Samsung written on any of my QB-288 boards (I have dozens of them) will take a closer look when I go home for lunch and take some pics.
I won’t be home for like 2 weeks but I swear they read SAMSUNG on em. I won’t be home for 2 weeks, mine are 3 years old keep in mind.
Yours certainly may have Samsung on it and mine may not, looking on the HLG site, looks like some boards do have SAMSUNG on them and some don’t, so no telling, no biggie.
Sounds fishy to me!! I’m gonna give em a ring a ding ding
Got their VM left a message
Wow that’s a lot to take in and think about but thank you all for your help. Special shout out to my fellow Virginians. Price is a huge priority but I’m very concerned about performance, space requirements (20"×36"×52" tent) and the subsequent effects of each equipment choice on the requirements of the other components (like ventilation for example if the best lighting is also going to create heat dissipation issues). The tent is crammed into a slightly over 2x4 closet space which already limits my vent options somewhat. Eager to get started asap but need to figure out the best setup for a smallish budget. Btw, the maximum number I would even attempt to grow at one time will probably be 3 in the space I have even though we’re legally allowed 4 but since I’m completely new, I plan to only start with 1 or 2 at first until I get a handle on the basics. Number one rule of “keep it simple” seems like it’s getting further away from me.
Simple is hard, no doubt.
In a 4x2 you’ll do fine with a 260w XL Rspec - DIY10 does a 10% discount. Brings it under $300. You’ll also do just fine with a KingBrite 320 watt with the 660nm reds. The exchange for the lower price is a longer wait to get it.
They both may be bigger lights than you NEED but each has its strengths and truly requires minimal mental capacity to set up. I’d rather have more and dim than not have enough and regret it later whilst buying another light (trust me, I went down that road with 2x VS1000 lights. They’re fine in their own right and I’m actually using them now to veg seedlings, so it’s not wasted money in the end).
Hello fellow Virginian also. happy growing. Following along for the ride 
As i said above, i am doing two, under two BestVA DC 1500 series. They will do what you want them to do but ultimately you are the one spending YOUR money and have to make the prudent decisions on what to spend now and later 
I missed the return window on the 2 bestva 1500DC series lights when everyone here said “SEND THEM BACK” etc etc. Again, the pics in my original comment above show the proof in the pudding. I think the 10W dual chips, which most seem to be overlooking, is what contributes to LESS SUCK, from these “blurples” over any other blurple… Everything has a purpose, i intended originally after being told to ditch them, to upgrade lighting and use them for seedlings/clones starting out but after seeing what they CAN do with 2 plants…i’m rolling on with what i got for now and will cross a bridge when it comes
@Mark0427 those are much different than my boards yup hlg was a smaller operation when I got mine though so who knows maybe at first they were buying boards from Korea or a Chinese manufacturer and now they have made enough money to have their own circuit board printer in house hopefully they will call me back.
@Graysin has good points, ide say the same thing except I would go 320w regardless.
@OverallQuill80 I was in your same position when I startef I had a 4x2 tent in a closet and I didn’t even vent and just left a window cracked all winter in my spare room. My 2nd light was a hlg 320xl v2 and it was the latest and greatest thing at the time, now I would say get one with reds at the very least but again I personally would go with a kingbrite and get the one with reds and uv. 320w gives you 3 boards and that spreads your light out more. If you go with a 240w it’s only 2 boards and most of the light will be concentrated in the middle of the tent so definitely make the investment in a 320w regardless of what you choose.
I’ve used my hlg for 3 years and my kingbrites for 2 years, both are great lights but my kingbrites have better technology (also newer) and they cost less for two of them then 1 of my HLG’s lol.
The hlg produces great buds to its just a different tech and its more expensive. I will say the heatsink on the hlg is a bit thicker but then again it’s a bigger light then my duel 240w kingbrites.
Just ordered a HLG 135 R spec directly from HLG!! The discount code DUDE is still working which dropped the price to $151 and change. Thanks everyone for all the input. It’s a huge difference to shop armed with a little bit more in depth knowledge about components and specifications. A closer look into the offerings on the site named after the S American river opened my eyes and I’m glad I asked here before shelling out dough for that pink thing that would surely have required me to buy 2 more to get the amount light I’m going to need. Yes, I’m aware that the light I’ve ultimately chosen is not quite enough for when I’m ready to max out the space in my tent but my game plan from the start has been an upgrade as I go approach. At some point I’ll get a 2 or 3 space heatsink, driver and QBs and DIY a better custom build to get max coverage and dim it appropriately if necessary. @TheVirginian, you keep on doing you and enjoy the harvest. Those pictures say plenty as far as I’m concerned. The blurple I would have had to upsize to was close to $300 so that killed the blurple for me once and for all. Thank you again everyone for your valuable insight.
always, happy growing
I emailed my guy at HLG and asked why some of the boards have samsung printed on them and some don’t. Here’s their response:
Hello, The difference on the print of the QB’s sometimes varies due to where we source the PCB’s themselves from.
We populate with diodes here in house, but sometimes due to availability we source from different PCB distributors that will use a different print stencil.
All diodes would be the same, just a different PCB.