**The GHL Mitras LX7 LED**

[GimpyFin]

That's good news for people on the fence because of the Windows app. I'll be curious to see if you get all the functionality that you do with the standalone GCC.

[cpllongjk]

Originally Posted by slief

From what I heard at MACNA.. They won't need to grumble much longer.. A web based interface outside of MyGHL is in the works. I didn't get an ETA but I know they are working on it. Personally, I find the Windows based GCC very easy and efficient to use. It's not like you need to use it often anyway. Once you have it figured out, it's quick and easy to setup the lights and it certainly makes fine tuning easy to get the best colors out of the corals.

I agree with Slief on this. Once you set everything up through GCC not much is needed. I actually prefer to set things up over GCC anyways since I am used to it now and myGHL isn't as easy for me.

[reefinder]

interesting to try the new software coming out. Honestly like stated before by

[reefinder]

slief once it is set up you don't mess with it much afterwards. Honestly I don't understand why these lights are flying off the shelf. you get great Par, amazing spread with unmatched color balance.

[ReefRockerLive]

Mitras LX7 SPS and Color update
Almost 1 year after having the Mitras LX7, I'm happy to say that I'm loving the results! SPS coloration has certainly improved under these lights and growth remains consistent. I'm even seeing better results under these lights than my previous ATI Hybrid.

This light gets an A+ in my book.

[GQuinn]

I just purchased two new Mitras Lx7 and they came with two different power supplies. I am trying to find out why, and which is the latest and greatest. Current owners, which one do you have?

image.jpg

[slief]

Originally Posted by GQuinn

I just purchased two new Mitras Lx7 and they came with two different power supplies. I am trying to find out why, and which is the latest and greatest. Current owners, which one do you have?

Attachment 380141

I am pretty sure mine are the smaller ones. My guess is that it was a supply chain/inventory thing and rather than hold shipments up for the GHL branded one, they substituted and slightly larger power supply knowing the max consumption of the fixture never changes. In the case of a power supply, you can always go larger but you can't go smaller assuming smaller means not meeting the consumption of the device. That Meanwell labeled P/S would appear to have a greater max current output but at the end of the day, they both accomplish the same thing as the logic is within the fixture itself. I think Meanwell is the supplier of the one with the GHL label as well and Meanwell makes some of the best power supplies you can get. If it were me, I wouldn't bat an eye at it but I am also in the computer manufacturing business and see this all the time. If our supply chain can't provide us with our 1200w power supplies when we need to produce systems, we will sub in a comparable 1500w power supply since the components will only draw what they need..

[GQuinn]

Originally Posted by slief

I am pretty sure mine are the smaller ones. My guess is that it was a supply chain/inventory thing and rather than hold shipments up for the GHL branded one, they substituted and slightly larger power supply knowing the max consumption of the fixture never changes. In the case of a power supply, you can always go larger but you can't go smaller assuming smaller means not meeting the consumption of the device. That Meanwell labeled P/S would appear to have a greater max current output but at the end of the day, they both accomplish the same thing as the logic is within the fixture itself. I think Meanwell is the supplier of the one with the GHL label as well and Meanwell makes some of the best power supplies you can get. If it were me, I wouldn't bat an eye at it but I am also in the computer manufacturing business and see this all the time. If our supply chain can't provide us with our 1200w power supplies when we need to produce systems, we will sub in a comparable 1500w power supply since the components will only draw what they need..

I understand this, but at the cost of these fixtures they should be the same. My Aquasanrise led that these are replacing has the same meanwell driver and it was about half the price of these two Mitras

[slief]

Originally Posted by GQuinn

I understand this, but at the cost of these fixtures they should be the same. My Aquasanrise led that these are replacing has the same meanwell driver and it was about half the price of these two Mitras

So your Aqua Sanrise uses a good quality power supply. While I agree it would have been good to have a matching set of power supplies and I am sure GHL USA would rectify that if aesthetics are an issue for you, the Meanwell power supply is where the commonality ends between an Aqua Sanrise Fixture and the Mitras and at the end of the day, the difference in the two power supplies you revived is nothing more than aesthics when it comes to the functionality and performance of your lights. If you are comparing this to the Aqua Sanrise, everything about these fixtures is different beyond just the manufacturer of the power supply. These use very specific high quality diodes with controlled lots on each diode batch and not diodes sourced based on price. They have more channels, better mix of diodes (based on nm range) for coral growth, better software, better board design, better cooling, more power, spread, channel mixing, support etc. Granted, I am sure you know this otherwise you may have stuck with the other lights.

As a manufacturer myself, I understand having alternate components on a bill of material. While it may be frustrating to have two power supplies that appear different, as a manufacturer, sometimes you need to deliver despite a shortage of a component like a power supply. That's where manufacturers have substitution components like that that don't sacrafice quality or performance but allow the show to go on when a component is on back order. The alternative would be to hold up production or deliveries to wait on a manufacturer like Meanwell to deliver a matching power powersupply. In the mean time, customers get frustrated and business is lost and in this case, over something that is purely aesthetic and not even a concern for most since these power supplies are usually hidden in or behind a cabinet.

Now keep in mind that GHL USA receives 100 or more of these fixtures at a time. Some are pre-sold while others are for inventory. They come in via the container or pallet full. As such, sometimes, these things happen. In my case all 6 of mine have matching power supplies but as I said, as the president of a company that manufacturers servers and workstations, I can understand the principles of lean manufacturing and even have alternative parts on our bill of materials that don't compromise quality or performance which is the case here as well.

As I said, I am sure GHL USA would be willing to address your concerns over the different power supplies on your two lights but I can assure you the only difference is aesthetics when it comes to the performance of these lights and most certainly was the result of an alternate component on a bill of material in which you happened to see both flavors.

[cpllongjk]

Has anyone replicated the CoralLab SPS AB+ schedule using their Mitra LX7s and would like to share it?

I have the data from the CoralLab Program and can probably come close to the schedule but I do not own a Radion so I cannot verify the color/intensity is similar.

[cpllongjk]

Originally Posted by ReefRockerLive

Mitras LX7 SPS and Color update
Almost 1 year after having the Mitras LX7, I'm happy to say that I'm loving the results! SPS coloration has certainly improved under these lights and growth remains consistent. I'm even seeing better results under these lights than my previous ATI Hybrid.

This light gets an A+ in my book.

ReefRockerLive,

Would you be willing to share your lighting schedule with the rest of us? Your corals look amazing and currently there aren't a lot of schedules out there designed for full sps tanks.

[slief]

Originally Posted by cpllongjk

ReefRockerLive,

Would you be willing to share your lighting schedule with the rest of us? Your corals look amazing and currently there aren't a lot of schedules out there designed for full sps tanks.

His schedule can be downloaded from the GHL Composer project website. Here is a link to his project.
https://www.aquariumcomputer.com/10h...mitras-lx7206/

[cpllongjk]

Originally Posted by slief

His schedule can be downloaded from the GHL Composer project website. Here is a link to his project.
https://www.aquariumcomputer.com/10h...mitras-lx7206/

Wow I can’t believe I missed this. Thanks Slief!

[slief]

Originally Posted by cpllongjk

Wow I can’t believe I missed this. Thanks Slief!

[Matthias Gross]

Originally Posted by GQuinn

I just purchased two new Mitras Lx7 and they came with two different power supplies. I am trying to find out why, and which is the latest and greatest. Current owners, which one do you have?

Attachment 380141

Hi,

there is no newer or older version, both are actual versions.
We ensure availability we have 2 sources for power supplies.

Usually it doesn't happen that a customer gets 2 different versions, because the "switch" is only made every several hundred produced lights.

Although the 2 different power supplies won't cause any technical problems we understand that you prefer 2 equal ones. If you want to replace one of them please contact GHL directly, see contact information on the GHL web page.
Thanks.

[kjonulak]

So I have a Mac, and if I reading this correctly I have to purchase parallels for $80 and then I have to get Windows for another $100. How long will it be before there is another option to be able to program these lights?

[slief]

Originally Posted by kjonulak

So I have a Mac, and if I reading this correctly I have to purchase parallels for $80 and then I have to get Windows for another $100. How long will it be before there is another option to be able to program these lights?

Why not just get yourself a cheap windows laptop like a chrome book? I know GHL is working on a web based interface that will eventually replace GHL Control Center (GCC) and allow users on any platform to setup, program and control all current GHL products including the MItras but as far as I am aware, a release date has not been mentioned. That said, GCC is a very good program for these lights. In fact, having used virtually every current LED light out there, it’s probably one of the most powerful and feature rich control interfaces of any lighting product on the market. As such, it’s worth the trouble having to deal with Windows until they release the web interface.

[networkcrasher]

Don't use parallels, it doesn't work well at all. Just buy windows and install bootcamp (boot camp assistant is the app already on your mac)

[kjonulak]

Originally Posted by slief

Why not just get yourself a cheap windows laptop like a chrome book? I know GHL is working on a web based interface that will eventually replace GHL Control Center (GCC) and allow users on any platform to setup, program and control all current GHL products including the MItras but as far as I am aware, a release date has not been mentioned. That said, GCC is a very good program for these lights. In fact, having used virtually every current LED light out there, it’s probably one of the most powerful and feature rich control interfaces of any lighting product on the market. As such, it’s worth the trouble having to deal with Windows until they release the web interface.

I find it frustrating that these manufacturers don't deliver a complete product. In order to make the product work, I have to purchase something else. I have a Mac computer, an iPhone and and iPad. You would think one of those would be sufficient to use. It's not just this product, EcoTech makes you purchase their reeflink product, but at least the reeflink product can connect to my Mac to make it function.

[networkcrasher]

That's not true on the Ecotech stuff. I have pumps and lights from Ecotech, a mac only household, and have never owned a reeflink.

[slief]

Originally Posted by kjonulak

I find it frustrating that these manufacturers don't deliver a complete product. In order to make the product work, I have to purchase something else. I have a Mac computer, an iPhone and and iPad. You would think one of those would be sufficient to use. It's not just this product, EcoTech makes you purchase their reeflink product, but at least the reeflink product can connect to my Mac to make it function.

You can use the cloud or your iphone or android device but initial setup (connecting it to the Wifi Network and firmware updates do currently require a windows based PC. It's been that way since the very first Mitras light and even GHL Profilux were released many many years back. Keep in mind that for many years, MAC's were dying breeds. There has been a resurgence in recent years but even today, the Apple market share among consumers pales in comparison to Windows. As a developer, it's hard to please everybody and developing programs for vairous operating systems and maintaining the code for every update to said OS can be costly. Granted, had they gone web based from the get go, that would have solved it but who knows how easy or difficult that would have been with such a diverse product range. Anyhow, I understand your frustration and I do know GHL is working towards a solution for that. If you had Radions, you would likely buy a $100 reef link. You can get a cheap used Windows system with Win 10 for around $100 too or borrow a computer from a friend, neighbor or whatever so you can set your lights up. Once you get them dialed in, they are set it and forget it. You can then use the cloud or apps to do basic stuff to them if you need to.

[mako61]

Originally Posted by kjonulak

So I have a Mac, and if I reading this correctly I have to purchase parallels for $80 and then I have to get Windows for another $100. How long will it be before there is another option to be able to program these lights?

I only owe Mac laptops also. ( I write linux code for a living) When I decided on LX7s I asked around my group of friends and family for a used laptop. I got an old (5+ years) laptop for basically nothing. It runs GHL fine and I have used it 3-4 times to setup the lights. I worried about this a lot more than was needed. You do this so rarely that any old junker laptop will be fine. ( I just back my files to google drive )

[d2mini]

Originally Posted by slief

Why not just get yourself a cheap windows laptop like a chrome book?

This.
I have a little netbook i picked up on amazon for $120.
Has usb ports and it came with a full version of Windows.
Can be used with the included keyboard or in tablet mode.
Works great for all my ghl programming needs.

[gcarroll]

Originally Posted by slief

There has been a resurgence in recent years but even today, the Apple market share among consumers pales in comparison to Windows.

I think it is important that a business understand just who their customer is. When if comes to reefkeepers in the US, you will fine that the Windows to Mac ratio is not that of the general population. For some a Mac is not an option for financial reasons. That said neither is a saltwater reef aquarium. When you then break that down to the hardcores that have the money to shop for high end LED lights and that ratio goes up even higher. Not making the product Mac compatible is definitely a turn off for some and reading through the last couple pages makes that point! As exciting as the new products are that GHL has been developing recently, IMO this should have been a much higher priority the strengthen the pool of users of the GHL product offerings.

[slief]

Originally Posted by gcarroll

I think it is important that a business understand just who their customer is. When if comes to reefkeepers in the US, you will fine that the Windows to Mac ratio is not that of the general population. For some a Mac is not an option for financial reasons. That said neither is a saltwater reef aquarium. When you then break that down to the hardcores that have the money to shop for high end LED lights and that ratio goes up even higher. Not making the product Mac compatible is definitely a turn off for some and reading through the last couple pages makes that point! As exciting as the new products are that GHL has been developing recently, IMO this should have been a much higher priority the strengthen the pool of users of the GHL product offerings.

Friggen IOS!!! I HATE it LOL. I am typing on my ipad and safari just refreshed itself and lost everything I had typed.

First, I am not discounting Mac users. I know many and with decades of experience catering to the film and post production industry (probably one of the largest Mac based user groups you will find), I know how passionate Mac users are. Heck, my brother is a Mac guy and hates Windows. While I do agree with some of your points and without a doubt, the lack of MAC support is a turn off for some, I am going to play devils advocate here.

You mentioned the importance of MAC support after reading the last two pages of this thread. I just searched the entire thread and the subject of Mac support only came up with 6 individual members who are solely MAC users in a 250 post thread. All but two either invested in a cheap Windows system or ran Windows on their MAC as a work around. That tells me the issue of not having MAC support and more importantly, the loss of business as a result is less than one might think. In fact, if you read and or search through the original GHL Mitras Club thread that was started in 2012 and still going strong here today with over 2200 posts, the subject of Mac was only discussed 49 times of which around half were replies and most of those who discussed Mac were running Boot Camp or something else to run Windows on their Mac as a work around. Yea, a few have expressed disappointment but not many to be certain. Again, even in that thread, there is very little indication of even a remotely significant loss in sales among Mac users as a result of the lack of Mac support. I think it’s an inconvenience more than anything else but not a deal breaker for most.

From a development standpoint, I’ve run my computer company since 1987. My company has written all kinds of software for Windows and MAC for professional video/film & post production workflows as well as web based interfaces for our in house developed NAS OS. At one point I had a number of full time programmers in house. We even did web based programming for a home developed e-commerce solution back in the early 90’s with a point of sale and inventory interface as well. Based on first hand experience, programmers are about the most expensive employees an electronic related company can hire. They are also not always the most loyal employees often leaving one job for another because of pay or other things. Writing and maintaining code for multiple platforms is VERY costly and MAC in particular can be very challenging. Given the relatively small ratio of MAC users for these particular products and the cost of writing a MAC specific program for the Mitras, Profilux and Dosers would make little to no sense. It would be very costly and there isn’t enough loss of business to warrant that approach and the additional overhead would ultimately be reflected in the end price of the product.

The best approach for heterogeneous support obviously is the web based approach. While it’s easy to imply that is something they should have done long ago, one has to realize that GHL has been building controllers, dosers and lights for decades if I am not mistaken and these are essentially computers or at least they all have computers in them running some sort of an OS. To date, they have used the same software interface (GCC) for all products including products discontinued long ago. I’d venture to guess that in order to support full web based control that allows 100% of the functionality of GCC while maintaining compatibility with all their products, their OS within their hardware would likely need to be re-written from the ground up for each individual product and essentially be based on the same core OS to minimize development costs. They would also need to develop the web based GUI/interface.

Again, it’s a very big and costly undertaking and inevitably, some customers would be dissapointed because supporting everything including some legacy stuff would be an issue which would mean they would likely need to continue support for GCC for certain legacy products. Having said that, I’d be inclined to guess that in the long run, the web based approach would have likely been much less expensive from a developmental standpoint. Still, having used GCC for over a year now, I can say that it’s very powerful and works very well despite being Windows based. I am however encouraged by the fact that they recognize the importance of support MAC users and even Linux users and are working on the web based approach. It’s a shame they didn’t go that route sooner but again, the loss of business is probably much smaller than one would think since many if not most GHL users with MAC have invested in Windows (either on their MAC or a cheap laptop) or borrowed a friends computer if they didn’t already have Windows.

Either way, they are working on a solution that will satisfy the needs of MAC users and hopefully it will come out sooner rather than later. I know they just released their new iOS and Android app and are working on other updates so there is light at the end of the rainbow.