Thinking of a new light ..

SNEAKYp · Apr 16, 2014

Is that going to be a dimmer on the side of the model?

Mohican · Apr 16, 2014

Where are the feet to protect the COBs? I love that feature on your other lights.

stardustsailor · Apr 16, 2014

SNEAKYp said:
Is that going to be a dimmer on the side of the model?

In front panel ,one current adjust pot ,
commonly adjusting all the four CXAs in operation,at same driving current ...

Yeap...

Dimmer pot -Spectrum toggle switch..
That's the Human interface ....
From indications only Amperage and Chip case temperature

In the back side it will have an On/Off Switch,the AC power socket and the reset button of a circuit breaker .

stardustsailor · Apr 16, 2014

Mohican said:
Where are the feet to protect the COBs? I love that feature on your other lights.

I'm thinking on a similar solution ...
Something better than tattoo ink caps ..

Mohican · Apr 16, 2014

Cool! What are your thoughts on automated plant or light movers?

SNEAKYp · Apr 16, 2014

This light is gonna be cool

stardustsailor · Apr 16, 2014

Mohican said:
Cool! What are your thoughts on automated plant or light movers?

Tried once to make a plant mover with a ....turnable ....
Anyway ...The motor died soon ...Too weak to turn the-watered- pot ....
(Even if I had it 'geared' to turn the pot one whole 360 round / 18 or 12 hours .....)
Anyway ....
Dunno ...
I'm not in robotics ...(servo's and stuff ....) ..Yet ,i guess ...

Mohican · Apr 16, 2014

I wonder whether plants get dizzy?

stardustsailor · Apr 16, 2014

SNEAKYp said:
This light is gonna be cool

I think so ....
It's a self protecting beast ....
And I'm sure ,it is going to help producing some fine weed ,for poor me !

stardustsailor · Apr 16, 2014

Mohican said:
I wonder whether plants get dizzy?

Dunno ...I got ...while trying to water ..LOL!
Like chasing a kid to eat it's lunch ....sort of ...
( Stupid ...I could have stood still and let the pot water itself around ... :dunce:

...)

stardustsailor · Apr 16, 2014

Now ...
Can't sleep ...
( Awesome ...That white russian batch is awesome ! ) ...
And testing the " Thermal Monitoring ,Protecting and Active Fan Speed Control" ...
It responds fast and precise ...
Did some tests with the latest code ..
1) Tried to see when the full fan overdrive(>12 V ) begins,at which Tc ...
2) Check the Tc averaging routine ( for 4 operational chips ,in two "sets" / "modes " ,veg-flower spectrum)
3) Double check the Thermal Relay Protection operation ( if operates even for one Tc ) .
4) Try different fans (quality,brands ,power) ,to check if anyone is not "compatible" ...
(None ,so far ...tested over....Hmm mm....plenty ..enough )
5) Trim the fan kick-start ..(Power level-Duration )...

And few more things ...

It might take some final adjustments and refining ...
But seems to work really great ...

Vid notes :

-Long ,bad quality ,boring vid.Waste of time .

- Blue led is relay signal

-Blue 7seg led display is fan PWM voltage ...

-LCD display (probably you won't be able to see $h!t ,cause of the super-crappy quality of my mobile's camera ..)
shows 4x Tc at each operational mode...

-Solder iron tip is supposed to be the CXA's case ...

BOOOOOORRRRRRRINGGGGGG:

PetFlora · Apr 18, 2014

Have you seen this? Programmable LED

https://www.intelligentgro.com/index.php/products/igro-228led

stardustsailor · Apr 18, 2014

PetFlora said:
Have you seen this? Programmable LED

https://www.intelligentgro.com/index.php/products/igro-228led

LOL!!
Who would 've ever thought ,that it will be a time when grow lights will have a ..'brain' (sort of ....)

Anyway ..Nice find there Pet ...

Some design Updates :

Due to space and weight restrictions ,the design has changed(once more ) quite enough ....

New Version Specs :

Light Source : 4x Cree CXA3070 3000°K -80CRI-Z4bin

Heatsinks : 2x 200 x 160 x 40 mm ( LxWxH )

Fans : 4x 120 mm 5.4 Watt Sunon MagLev ( MEC0251V1-0000-A99)

Drivers :4x MeanWell HLP-80H-42

Fan/MCU PSU : MeanWell PS-45-15

Protection :
-EMI : AC Filter
-Inrush current : Class C resettable circuit breaker
-CXA Chip Over-heating : MCU controlled power cut-off ,through an industrial mount Solid State Relay (25A )

Case : Standard Rack Size (19" ) Blanck Steel/Aluminium 420 x 350 x 88 mm ( WxDxH )

Features :

-Driving Current of CXA Chips : Adjustable (common) , ~300 mA to 1950mA

-MCU controlled Fan Speed
-Individual CXA Case Temperature Monitoring ,
Displayed on LCD screen ,white led lit ,along with :
-Average operating Case Temperature
and
-Driving Current

-Hall effect Amperage Sensing.Sensor is not part of the CC circuit of the arrays.

-Hardware & Software sensor (Temperature & Amperage )Low-Pass filtering.

.......DIY meets High-End industrial design . :razz:

New 'screen'...Besides ,on the breadboard ,the ACS712 Low Current Sensor Board v14
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8883
(Measure Range : 0-5000 mA )

PetFlora · Apr 18, 2014

The only thing I notice that's missing is the ability to tilt each heat sink to direct the lights to provide better below canopy penetration

stardustsailor · Apr 18, 2014

PetFlora said:
The only thing I notice that's missing is the ability to tilt each heat sink to direct the lights to provide better below canopy penetration

Unfortunately,while is doable (relatively easy ) ,it will mess with the cooling ,as
it will alter unevenly the air volume entering the air inlets (the sides perpendicular to the length of the heatsink )
and will ultimately change the path of the air channel ...There are a lot at stake ...

( Cool air will only enter the case ( as air-sealed as possible ) from the bottom side,from the fin openings of the heatsinks and from air inlets underneath where drivers are mounted,inside the case .(<=Although on purpose at tad "choked " ,not to lose overall "negative pressure " inside the case.Warm air will exaust from fan openings,on top lid of the case .
Fans are blowing outwards,not inwards.They "suck" air from bottom of case .Top lid of the case will be supported with alum bars ,riveted all along,to minimise vibrations ,that 4 x 5 Watt fans ,might cause while operating ,specially when overdriven .
All the inside side walls of the case ,as also the top lid will be internally covered with flame-retardant sound supressing foam ( enter=>Ricofon ),in order to minimise audible noise/vibrations coming from fans .
)

SNEAKYp · Apr 18, 2014

I like the sound proof foam idea, you could even put rubber gaskets where the fan's are seated to minimize vibrations.

salmone · Apr 19, 2014

churchhaze · Apr 19, 2014

Why not just use the 7-segment display with a tactile push button to toggle through outputs, and use indicator led's and a faceplate to let the user know which number is being displayed? A buzzer of some sort can alert the user if any of the temperatures get to high.

Do you really need the LCD?

I really like the project (I'm way too lazy to apply myself like you do), but sometimes it seems like you include devices for devices sake.

(I guess this was already discussed? I have volatile memory and somebody turned me off)

Here's an example of what I mean (found on google images, not mine. I'm actually not sure what this thing is other than 4x7segments with a bunch of indicator leds.)

Mohican · Apr 19, 2014

SS - Your renderings are beautiful! I did a quick one to show my general greenhouse layout:

Cheers,
Mo

stardustsailor · Apr 21, 2014

ok ...
Just came back home ,from a short Easter holiday trip ...
Lot's of things to at home and not much time ....
But I can't resist ....

So ...

Thinking of a new light ..

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