TOPIC: 12W+ = RGBA ?

I need help understanding this whole new thing about this 12W+ LED upgrade. Now, I thought that an upgrade from 12W to 12W+ meant a more powerful, intense, brighter LED light/blade color. I sent an email to SF asking about upgrading my order to 12W+ since I wasn't aware of that option. They replied stating that the upgrade option is available during initial order form by selecting RGBA . I didn't know, that's what they meant by 12W+? since from what I understand, RGBA means that you get more color options but that the total output is still 12W. so where exactly is the 12W+? I am just very confused by this. So is RGBA the 12W+ option everyone has been talking about? Anybody can break it down for me?

thanks guys

I'm not sure what to tell you exactly about this because the information you're giving is really in conflict with what I've heard and read so far.

The 12w+ is NOT the same thing as an RGBA...based on everything i've read, heard, and understood up until this point.

However...

If you got an official email from saberforge telling you this...well maybe I'm wrong then. Clearly you should trust saberforge above all else, but this is a very strange response and I'm wondering if perhaps you didn't fully understand their response? Or perhaps english isn't your native language? There could be many factors involved here.

As far as I've been taught here, the 12+ is a version of the 12w LED that has the lights angled slightly different so that they focus the light much more evenly throughout the blade length, resulting in a much better and brighter looking evenly lit blade. It seems to be an unquestionably superior upgrade to the regular 12w and is going to be moved into regular use in the near future. Its already standard in their ASP system as far as I know.

That said, there used to be a way to order it by noting in your order comments that you wanted it. Afterward, SF would email you and tell you how to make a paypal payment of an extra amount of money for the upgrade and then it would be noted on your order. Paypal apparently stopped this practice for whatever reason and prevents SF from doing it anymore...so for the moment, they have announced that they cannot make this type of change while they figure out a different way to implement it into their order process.

I've also heard that new sabers in the future that choose 12w during the order will automatically be made into 12+ anyway so not to worry about this...but this is not absolutely confirmed so take this with a grain of salt.

The RGBA selection allows you to have different color combinations in your blade and is something totally different from the 12w or 12+ LED type of choice, so this is indeed a confusing issue you have.

Since you say that SF told you this information, I would definitely wait for some further confirmation because it is always the best idea to trust SF over anyone else...but this is truly an odd bit of info you've given us.

Someone else will definitely have to jump in here. This is way above my pay-grade.

Thank you so much for your input on this.. I actually don't feel crazy anymore.. Although you are correct on your assumption that English it is not my native language, I do understand it quite well What you said about the 12+ upgrade, I read it somewhere in NEW members thread... there, I also read about noting the desire to upgrade in the comment section and pay an extra 25 dollars for it. that's why I got confused with the email I received. Here is the email interaction that I had with SF

Me
Hello again. .. sorry but I keep finding things out that I just didn't see when I placed my order. . I would like to officially request an LED upgrade to 12W+ .. I understand that the cost is 25 dollars. . If you send me a link to payment method I will send payment right away. . Thank you

SF

Hello! Unfortunately, due to recent policy changes, we are unable to upgrade existing orders. You have two options to get the upgrade. You can either

A) Cancel you existing order and place a new one. This will reset your lead time. Or,

Wait for your saber to arrive, and sent it in at a later date for upgrades.


Please let us know how you'd like to proceed.


May the Forge be with you!

ME
I'll wait for my order as is. ... a suggestion for your company is to make all available upgrades be visible in your website please. The way i found out about the LED 12w+ was in the SF forum. . If you add during the configuration order as an available upgrade it will be a lot easier


Thanks anyways

SF

Hello,

You can add this feature on our website when you order on our site when you choose your colors. You just need to select RGBA+ in the drop down menu.


Thank you and may the Forge be with you!

ME

Oh ok .. never mind i thought it was something different. .. I'll keep the order as is. .

Thanks for the clarification

Hmmm. Thats...a really strange response.

Well honestly I don't know what to tell you. We forum members and customers obviously can't give a better answer than Saberforge official staff members. Hopefully someone can chime in here and give a better or clearer answer.

All I can say is that I "believe" that information exchange you posted (just the final part about the RGBA) to be incorrect based on everything I have learned here. But you can't just take my word because I'm not saberforge! Maybe Knytiri will come around and help. Although questions like these have not gone over very well lately...hopefully you won't get banned.

I know this must suck! Its really conflicting info and you aren't supposed to ask about this here on the forums...but what the hell can you do in a situation like this? I don't have a good answer.

RGBA is not the same as 12w+.

RGBA is only offered on hero tier sabers as the color switching needs the better board (currently the spark 2).

RGBA means that there are four 3 watt LED dies that can all be turned on together for a 12 watt white(ish) blade. Or they can be turned on and off to diffrent degrees to produce other colors that are less than 12watts. The dies are one red, one green, one blue, one amber. Just a note watts do not directly transfer into lumins which is how brightness is actually measured.

12w+ is a diffrent LED die configuration with a new lense and possibly diffrent model LEDs (I cant confirm but I think its between Cree XB-D and Cree XP-E LEDs)

So RGBA can be 12w+ and so can any normal LED combination to produce a single color for the lower than hero tier sabers.

As stated above tho I dont work for Saberforge so take their word over mine. Im just reporti g what i have learned on this forum.

You may also want to read through the FAQ.
https://saberforgeforum.com/forum/welcome/1305-comprehensive-faq-and-more-please-read-first

I hear you, I also believe it was perhaps an honest mistake by the SF rep.. Hopefully I will get some more info about this.. I certainly do not wish or expect to be banned over this.. I am not here bashing, accusing or crying about wait times,,, I am simply looking for clarification. I have placed 2 orders with SF and I am planning to place more in the near future because I believe their quality is great and they have indeed answer every email I have sent. So no ill will here at all. If this is not the right platform for my question I apologize.. thanks again for your help

Its a hard situation to dance around here. Your question is legitimate in my opinion.

However it has been stated numerous times lately to the point of anger and annoyance that ALL customer service issues and questions are to be dealt with in emails with staff only...not to be discussed on the forums.

Of course in this case, you did exactly that. But you got what you were "almost" sure was an incorrect response. So what are you supposed to do in this situation considering you are trying to complete an order? Especially considering it takes a week or more to get a response from emails due to their huge overload of orders? If you were to follow the advice in that email...you'd make an incorrect choice.

There doesn't seem to be a good answer to this dilemma. This is a situation where sometimes harsh, overarching policies do a good job of preventing the annoying, repetitive questions that waste staff time and resources, yet they also squash out some very legitimate and respectful concerns.

I hope you get an answer to your issue and I sincerely hope you don't get reprimanded for this. Just wanted you to be aware that there is very little patience for this or any other query at the moment, so may the force be with you.

I just wanted to add some input based on an email response I recently received from Saberforge. I was trying to find out when the 12W+ option would go from the $25 upcharge to the $5 upgrade. Here is what they said:

"The 12W+ has replaced the 12W, so when you place your order just be sure to select 12W and you will receive the 12W+"

I wish there was something in either the main site or ETSY indicating this. Getting ready to order my first saber and have gotten different responses to this question from different customer service reps. Hopefully the response above is true and all orders for 12W will now be 12W+.

I do know that until very recently, if someone wanted the 12w+ upgrade, they would ask for it in the order notes, which SF would respond by sending you a PayPal code that you would use to pay for it. As soon as payment was received, the request would considered fulfilled, and the 12w+ LED would be installed at build time.

Apparently, something happened with that PayPal process, where they were no longer able to do that. Not sure what the nature of the problem was. However, from the it sounds like if you ordered a 12w LED, then 12w+ is what you will get. If you ordered a 6w, the only recourse you have is to cancel the order, and re-order it with a 12w selection to get the 12w+ LED. The other option you have is to let the order complete, and send the saber in to have it upgraded, but I imagine that would be a little bit more expensive.

Late to the party, but I had the exact same question about a week ago and just yesterday I heard back from a customer service rep:

"The RGBA will result in a 12W LED. There is not an option for a 12W+ at this time with the RGBA. "