Please Contribute To Schematics for ON /Off Switches for Veggie / Flower Channels..

dochickory · Apr 28, 2013

ya bongo said:
The real problem here is, we have two dimmable Drivers on one PCB.
View attachment 2635387
And now try to separate them for the two switches!
I see no way to do this.

yabo

interrupt the neg? side supply to the dimmer w/ a dip s/w, not un-like computer boards, cards etc. but how convenient will that be in this case?, How often will this switch be used? etc. etc. personally I want a PC controlled logic board to run my stuff, think user interface of a LED SIGN same thing just lay the sign over and hang it, change diodes and write AND SCHEDULE SEASON, EVENTS, DURATION I can see it now

RainerRocks · Apr 29, 2013

My panel won't be running 24 hrs a day so it needs to be shut off everyday hence the need for a on/off switch. My wall outlet is a pain to get to and pull the main plug to cut the power.

I really wanted 2 on/off switch for both channels not one for the entire panel.

Even if I lower the dimmers isn't the current still being drawn ?

guod · Apr 29, 2013

heckler73 said:
Okay, now that I see what you are working with, let me get this straight:
Are you trying to turn off BOTH channels on that dimmable driver at once? If so, put the switch inline with the POSITIVE supply voltage (coming out of the Power Supply to the driver).
If you are trying to interrupt each channel, individually, put the switches (since you'll need two) inline with the positive outputs.

View attachment 2635557 View attachment 2635558

Unless someone has a better idea.

as this is a standard in electric circuits don´t do it with switching constant current driver.
the switch has to be on the power side, not between leds and driver.
the chance to kill some leds is great.

as jabo, i see no way to split the power input on the PCB.

heckler73 · Apr 29, 2013

guod said:
as this is a standard in electric circuits don´t do it with switching constant current driver.
the switch has to be on the power side, not between leds and driver.
the chance to kill some leds is great.

as jabo, i see no way to split the power input on the PCB.

This was the only thing that was bugging me about it, and I'm glad you brought it up.
What exactly is the risk to the LEDs? A voltage spike?

guod · Apr 29, 2013

^^^^

What exactly is the risk to the LEDs? A voltage spike?

on a switching constant current driver without load(the switch is off*) the voltage rise up to the maximum, the stored energie in the capacitor at the output stage is now also on its highest point.
if you now reconnect the leds, this high voltage drive a high current through the leds for a short moment, and now it depends on how much leds are in the string. shorter strings(number of leds in series) have a higher killrate.

13 Leds on a Meanwell LPC 35-700 in this situation...
the leds here are good to 1 Amps with peaks up to 2 Amps(10 msek).
one dead, one short, and a third one starts blinking after some minutes, strange thermal effect on this one.

https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/547085-diy-modular-led-light.html#post7754589

all above is only correct for switching constant current drivers.

*assumption> the switch is between driver and leds

heckler73 · Apr 29, 2013

guod said:
^^^^

on a switching constant current driver without load(the switch is off*) the voltage rise up to the maximum, the stored energie in the capacitor at the output stage is now also on its highest point.
if you now reconnect the leds, this high voltage drive a high current through the leds for a short moment, and now it depends on how much leds are in the string. shorter strings(number of leds in series) have a higher killrate.

13 Leds on a Meanwell LPC 35-700 in this situation...
the leds here are good to 1 Amps with peaks up to 2 Amps(10 msek).
one dead, one short, and a third one starts blinking after some minutes, strange thermal effect on this one.

https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/547085-diy-modular-led-light.html#post7754589

all above is only correct for switching constant current drivers.

*assumption> the switch is between driver and leds

So is that how you blew those 3 LEDs? By hooking up a switch (or connecting the wire) between the driver output and LED chain while it was on?

guod · Apr 29, 2013

heckler73 said:
So is that how you blew those 3 LEDs? By hooking up a switch (or connecting the wire) between the driver output and LED chain while it was on?

yes, did some testing on the panel, and one probe of the amp-meter falls off, reconnect the probe and.... baahhm...
... lesson learnt.

heckler73 · Apr 29, 2013

guod said:
yes, did some testing on the panel, and one probe of the amp-meter falls off, reconnect the probe and.... baahhm...
... lesson learnt.

Well... It sounds to me like this experiment should be redone without the ammeter in the circuit (what's the internal resistance of that? 0.5 Ohms?), to see if the results can be falsified.

You know, for the sake of advancement in science... :lol:

But seriously, if what you are saying is accurate, then it is a bad idea to put switches on the output. I stand corrected...

RainerRocks · Apr 29, 2013

Ok everybody..

Thanks to all who posted and tried to help me and others
who would like to wire a switch into their panel. ..much thanks .

Now that I know it can't be done because both drivers are on the same board I have
to abandon this idea if that is the case.

So I decided I would like to put in 1 on/off switch so I can just shut the whole panel
down.

In simple terms can someone explain on how it is done where I can have one on/off switch to control the panel . I want this toggle or rocker to be on the front panel where my dimmer knobs will be.

Everyone has been so helpful but I kind of got lost with all the electrical terms being used.

Here's my wire schematics.. Where would I wire my SPST switch.... between what numbers ?

1-Wall socket---> 2-Power supply---> 3-Driver Dimmer---> 4- Led's

My lights will not be on 24 hrs a day and from what I understand even if I lower
the dimmers they will still draw power.Good to save $ .

My power suppy
http://www.ledgroupbuy.com/180w-48v-3-75a-dc-power-supply/

My Makers Driver/Dimmer
http://makersled.com/?p=802

Thanks

guod · Apr 29, 2013

Ground wireing depends on your Country
i think that you have to solder the red/black Wires to the Dimmer-Driver.
the connector in the mid is for an external dimming-signal.

RainerRocks · Apr 29, 2013

guod said:
View attachment 2636416

Ground wireing depends on your Country
i think that you have to solder the red/black Wires to the Dimmer-Driver.
the connector in the mid is for an external dimming-signal.

Now that's a great picture ..I guess a picture does say a thousand words

I'm in the USA .

Thanks Guod !

guod · Apr 29, 2013

I'm in the USA ..

then ground-wireing depends on the state, afaik

RainerRocks · Apr 29, 2013

guod said:
I'm in the USA ..

then ground-wireing depends on the state, afaik

I'm in NYC and it seems NY is constantly changing/updating the NEC codes . I'm not
an electrician and trying to make heads or tails with the constant updates can give you a headache.

Born and raised here ...One more year and I'm moving to another state where
I can have a house and a freaking yard and not have to pay thru the nose in taxes !

RainerRocks · Apr 29, 2013

I emailed makersled who make the driver / dimmer and recieve a reply .. ..I gave them the link to this thread when asking if it could be done.

Here's a short version ...

"Right now there isn't an easy way to turn off each channel independently.

We will have a controller coming out very soon which we could add the independent channel control to. Right now (of course) it is built to fit the needs of the aquarium folks but we want to create a horticulture/plant version also. Below is the pre-release version of the manual:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JDHSDuaie34Gr5YWWN-NthDjnIHOR_SVzJQug2i-3cs/pub"

Anyone want to contribute and help design this new version and chime in ?

MakersLED said they could add independent control so I'm hoping they do..

Please Contribute To Schematics for ON /Off Switches for Veggie / Flower Channels..

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