Ciphers DIY 120 and 75 gallon LED build

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cipher43 http:///t/390510/ciphers-diy-120-and-75-gallon-led-build/20#post_3463266
OK so went to radio shack and wouldnt you know it they only have one of the 100k pots. Can I hook both of the HLG drivers together or will that make them go boom.
Also I thought i would say that I am gonna be running 3 strings of 12 on each of the HLG drivers. I looked back to the pm and you had suggested this driver to me so I hope that means I wont have a problem.
Im still waiting on a controller to see if the typhon gets fixed or if the dim 4 is what im gonna need to do for mine. Im going with the typhon on the 75 since its got ELN P drivers.
I wouldn't hold my breath on the typhon.
If you ran 4 strings of 9 leds you could get 800mA max per string and not have to worry about turning anything up too high. You wanted something with the potential to run more leds down the road I think so you have a good driver for that.
Yep, you can hook up both drivers to one pot. Blue wires to the middle terminal on the pot and white wires to the left terminal if you want clockwise rotation when you want to make things brighter.

 

[cipher43]

hmm I already have them wired for 3 strings of 12 so if that is a problem I may have to rewire it all.

 

[2quills]

I'd just test at which point the pot turns up and make a little mark on the pot around 850mA for now. But you'll probably want to check for balancing before you start to turn anything up that high.

 

[cipher43]

Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///t/390510/ciphers-diy-120-and-75-gallon-led-build/40#post_3463297
I'd just test at which point the pot turns up and make a little mark on the pot around 850mA for now. But you'll probably want to check for balancing before you start to turn anything up that high.
Just so Im clear, That would make it so when the knob is turned all the way counter clockwise there will be no power to the leds correct? I dont want to have the leds start fullblast and blow all my fuses lol

 

[2quills]

It should,yes. Thats how it worked with the ones i picked up for testing. Start with the pot turned half way up to be safe.

 

[cipher43]

OK so I have short checked an all is good. Now my question is what setting am I gonna need to test if my strings are balanced. Here is the multimeter im using

 

[2quills]

20 dcv

 

[divinity]

So if you have a controller, you don't need these pots ? Am i correct. Just trying to picture
all of this.

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by divinity http:///t/390510/ciphers-diy-120-and-75-gallon-led-build/40#post_3463895
So if you have a controller, you don't need these pots ? Am i correct. Just trying to picture
all of this.
Correct. There are controllers available that can control all of the aspects of dimming, timing for on/off times as well as fade times for sunrise/sunset. POT's simply allow you to ramp the intensity of the lights up or down, they're just simple dimmers.

 

[2quills]

Any progress reports, Greg?

 

[cipher43]

I should have something to report in a few hours. Been working on it but want to see how far I can get today before I post too much. Plus I need to go and cut some 2X4s to hang the things from so dont have much time on my lunch break to type.

 

[cipher43]

IT LIVES!!!!!!!!

pay no attention to the mess LMAO.
This is with just the whites and them turned all the way down because I didnt have time or the heat shrinks to hook up the blues or red/greens.
Ok so everything is wired up how I want it and now Im trying to figure out how to check and see if my strings are balanced. Could you give me a detailed description on how to test that Corey cause I am confused.
Also Whats a good way to run my ELN P driver without a controller. If I end up getting a dim4 controller I am gonna switch this one with one of my D drivers but wanting to keep the thought of using the P for now.

 

[2quills]

You might be able to run the P on the dim4. I've read quite a few reports that folks have ran 1-10v pots on them. I guess those drivers just need a 10v signal to run and they're not too picky on if it's analog or digital. But that controller will probably never do functions like lightning strikes so I don't think it really matters. If you have a 10k pot and 10v power supply laying around you could test it out and see. I don't think it will hurt anything.
Voltage Drop Test: This is for determining how much current is going through your individual strings. Simply set your meter to 20dcv and touch the red probe to the input side of a resistor and the black probe to the output side of the resistor. You'll get a reading in volts which will be the equivalent in amps. 0.5 volts = 500mA, 1.2 volts = 1.2 amps (1200mA).
Forward Voltage (single led): Leave meter set at 20vdc, red probe to + on led and the black probe to - side of led.
Total Forward Voltage (for entire string): Set meter to 200vdc, red probe to anywhere at the head of the string (like on the terminal block screw or something after the resistor). Black probe to anything at the end of the string. Or you can do it touching the red probe to the + side of the First led in the string and black probe to - side of the Last led in the string.

 

[divinity]

So where due the fuses come into play ? in the drivers

 

[cipher43]

OK I just tried to do the total string forward voltage test and a fuse went boom. I rechecked where I had my probes touching and they were on the correct strings so Im not sure what happend.

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cipher43 http:///t/390510/ciphers-diy-120-and-75-gallon-led-build/40#post_3464032
OK I just tried to do the total string forward voltage test and a fuse went boom. I rechecked where I had my probes touching and they were on the correct strings so Im not sure what happend.
That's the method I use to test mine, I've done it with both methods I've described. You do have to be very careful of where you touch the probes, that's very important. If you crossed strings with your probes that could potentially cause that to happen because you'd be creating a short between strings. Otherwise you're just taking a reading, no reason why the fuse should blow.

 

[cipher43]

well thats odd then cause I tried it a second time and the same thing happend. Both times I had the red on the terminal block after the resistor and the black one on the terminal block where the - side returns to the black wire. Any thoughts?

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cipher43 http:///t/390510/ciphers-diy-120-and-75-gallon-led-build/40#post_3464036
well thats odd then cause I tried it a second time and the same thing happend. Both times I had the red on the terminal block after the resistor and the black one on the terminal block where the - side returns to the black wire. Any thoughts?
No other thoughts on it atm. That's how I tested and pretty sure that's how I asked Meowzer to check theirs. I'm just about done finishing the cables up for my panels, I could check it again tommorow if you'd like. You had the meter set to 200vdc right? Though that shouldn't really make a difference as far as blowing a fuse it concerned. Just 1 fuse blew?

 

[cipher43]

Yes it was set to 200vdc and yes only the one fuse blew. It was the one at the start of the string I was trying to test on. I will take pics of where I was testing tomorrow and post them to see what you think.

 

[2quills]

Ok. Yeah cause that one is stumping me right now. I'm not a master electrician but electrical is a big part of my day job and a voltage test is a voltage test...you always measure from positive to ground.