DIY Help Needed for LED Lights - Use Orbit Marine Fixture with controllable Channel drivers?

kenman345

kenman345

Member
Hi Guys (and Gals),
I have a Current USA Orbit Marine fixture on my tank and quite enjoy it's small size and disbursement over my tank environment. It does a great job up to the point that I use a Reefkeeper Elite with tons of controlled items on my tank, but yet I am currently unable to control my Light fixture.
This got me thinking, why do I need to stick with the stock timer for the light fixture? Surely their is another way. I know the Reefkeeper can use a module (ALC) that allows control of ballasts and light fixtures through 0-10V signals. I was hoping to get your help in finding the right dimmer/driver for the job.
The Orbit Marine has two Channels, (1 White, 1 Blue) and the Ramp Timer Specs are as follows:
Voltage: 12-24VDC
Max.Wattage: 120 watts @ 24VDC / 60 watts @ 12VDC
Max.Watts per channel:60w@24VDC/30w@12VDC
Dimensions: 3.5” x 3.5” x 0.5”
Cable Length: 12”
Dimming Type: PWM
Connector: DC Plug 2.5mm x 5mm
Channels: 2
I will have to figure out the connector plugs issue (need stripped cords with proper connectors) when I know it's worth spending the time on (might just buy a different timer or parts to scrap them and still preserve the original items intact).
So I hope this is something one of the people with experience in this department can help me with. I have found a few different drivers but really unsure if they will work or if I would be ordering the right one (and where the heck do I get them (source) ).
Thanks for your time and I appreciate any help you guys (and girls) can provide me as I try to integrate a so far non-integrated aspect of my tank into my Aquarium Controller
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
I'm going to take a stab at it, but hopefully Corey will chime in since he's done a lot of reading on the LED but I'm thinking you'll need a converter or board to convert that PWM signal to use with your controller....
 
kenman345

kenman345

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by acrylic51 http:///t/397788/diy-help-needed-for-led-lights-use-orbit-marine-fixture-with-controllable-channel-drivers#post_3546894
I'm going to take a stab at it, but hopefully Corey will chime in since he's done a lot of reading on the LED but I'm thinking you'll need a converter or board to convert that PWM signal to use with your controller....
Well, I've seen Drivers for LED lights that I think might fit the bill but I am not sure so I would rather get a fresh view on it. I will look into this, It's all kinda foreign to me
 
kenman345

kenman345

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by acrylic51 http:///t/397788/diy-help-needed-for-led-lights-use-orbit-marine-fixture-with-controllable-channel-drivers#post_3546894
I'm going to take a stab at it, but hopefully Corey will chime in since he's done a lot of reading on the LED but I'm thinking you'll need a converter or board to convert that PWM signal to use with your controller....
I was looking at this unit in particular:

http://www.meanwell.com/search/LPF-60D/default.htm

The LPF-60D-24 Model. What do you think? Does this deliver what I need?

Or this: http://www.anigmo.com/products/low-voltage-PWM-LED-dimmer.html

But I haven't heard of anyone using the Anigmo driver with the ALC ever.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
I'm not terribly up to date with what is currently popular in the diy led world. I really wouldn't know what to recommend here without being intimately familiar with the fixture or the controller. I'm gonna take a guess that the fixture is using a 0-5v pwm dimmer. What size signal does the reef keeper ALF kick out, 0-10v?
 
kenman345

kenman345

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///t/397788/diy-help-needed-for-led-lights-use-orbit-marine-fixture-with-controllable-channel-drivers#post_3546912
I'm not terribly up to date with what is currently popular in the diy led world. I really wouldn't know what to recommend here without being intimately familiar with the fixture or the controller. I'm gonna take a guess that the fixture is using a 0-5v pwm dimmer. What size signal does the reef keeper ALF kick out, 0-10v?
I think you missed the part where I essentially need a replacement for the LED Timer that I have. It handles all the power controls for the lighting and it's coloration and stuff. I added the specs of that timer for the ability to reference that to help.

Also, apparently the Ecoxotics LED lights can be used with the same timer, so maybe that might have a more widespread user base that can help me with the proper driver I would need.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Programable controlers aren't power supplies. They simply control the fixtures power supplies. Will the new wireless controllers they sell for these fixtures not work? I believe the new models are being sold with remotes.
Most manufacturers don't give up ALL of their proprietary information. So without cracking everything open to do a little testing I'd be hard pressed to recommend hacking a new controller in there. Maybe someone on one of the bigger forums have already tried.
Sorry. :(
 
kenman345

kenman345

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///t/397788/diy-help-needed-for-led-lights-use-orbit-marine-fixture-with-controllable-channel-drivers#post_3546933
Programable controlers aren't power supplies. They simply control the fixtures power supplies. Will the new wireless controllers they sell for these fixtures not work? I believe the new models are being sold with remotes.
Most manufacturers don't give up ALL of their proprietary information. So without cracking everything open to do a little testing I'd be hard pressed to recommend hacking a new controller in there. Maybe someone on one of the bigger forums have already tried.
Sorry. :(
Well, the fixture uses Epistar 0.25w LED's. If you look at the link below, they indicate the amount of LED's they use per channel. the timer/controller for it does have an IR remote but an Aquarium controller does not have the IR interface to control it, nor would that work to fully get the most out of the fixture.

For more, check this out:
http://current-usa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Orbit_Marine_Light_Specifications.jpg
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Crazy question but can you not simply get the same replacement controller from the manufacturer? Are you looking for something specific? Are you sure you need a new controller and not simply a replacement power supply?
 
kenman345

kenman345

Member
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Ok, I thought you said that the aquarium controller wouldn't allow you to get the most out of your fixture. I was confused.
IMO, what you are looking to do requires probably an engineers degree to pull off. Bottom line is that the technology they are using in the fixture isn't designed to be used with the reef keeper.
Other manufacturers like A.I. or Ecotech have ultimately designed their equipment to be controlled by some of these aquarium controler.
IMO, you'd be better off either buying a compatible fixture or design a diy one from the ground up.
Does the ALC use 5v or 10v dimming signal?
 
kenman345

kenman345

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///t/397788/diy-help-needed-for-led-lights-use-orbit-marine-fixture-with-controllable-channel-drivers#post_3546939
Ok, I thought you said that the aquarium controller wouldn't allow you to get the most out of your fixture. I was confused.
IMO, what you are looking to do requires probably an engineers degree to pull off. Bottom line is that the technology they are using in the fixture isn't designed to be used with the reef keeper.
Other manufacturers like A.I. or Ecotech have ultimately designed their equipment to be controlled by some of these aquarium controler.
IMO, you'd be better off either buying a compatible fixture or design a diy one from the ground up.
Does the ALC use 5v or 10v dimming signal?
ALC uses 0V-10V signal to handle dimming.

I think i have found the right drivers, but not sure and wanted to confirm.

Meanwell ELN-60-24D is one I am looking at but not sure if it's going to work as I am unfamiliar with this stuff.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
The issue I see isn't finding a driver that will work with the reef keeper. The fixture apears to be using a constant voltage power supply and the meanwell is a constany current driver. It would most likely blow those little leds. But I haven't crunched the numbers yet.
In order to control multiple channels I'm guessing the unit uses a single constant voltage power supply and then a couple smaller drivers build into the unit for the individual channels and regulating the current.
 
kenman345

kenman345

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///t/397788/diy-help-needed-for-led-lights-use-orbit-marine-fixture-with-controllable-channel-drivers#post_3546941
The issue I see isn't finding a driver that will work with the reef keeper. The fixture apears to be using a constant voltage power supply and the meanwell is a constany current driver. It would most likely blow those little leds. But I haven't crunched the numbers yet.
In order to control multiple channels I'm guessing the unit uses a single constant voltage power supply and then a couple smaller drivers build into the unit for the individual channels and regulating the current.
Well,

The ELN-60-24D is actually a driver that people have used with Ecoxotics and the Reefkeeper before. But I have not heard of anyone trying what I am wanting to do yet.

If you look at the link below, Apex systems can use the ecoxotics LED with the same driver and the same 0-10V type of LED controls, but I am hoping to be a bit more confident before ordering parts.

http://www.ecoxotic.com/community/tech-tips/connecting-an-apex-or-apex-jr-to-a-dimmable-led-driver
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
At this point I think you are more confident about pulling it off than I am. Again, when it comes down to led units that have proprietary designs that allow them to work with the Apex for instance you should consider that the compoments chosen for the design were done so with the intention of giving people the option to do that.
I don't see the same thought put into the orbit marine just yet.
I could be missing somethinh but from what I can tell so far it wouldnt be worth the effort to me. If you're willing to invest in new power supplies then I'd personally rather start from the beginning and end up with the options I want.
JMO
 
kenman345

kenman345

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///t/397788/diy-help-needed-for-led-lights-use-orbit-marine-fixture-with-controllable-channel-drivers#post_3546944
At this point I think you are more confident about pulling it off than I am. Again, when it comes down to led units that have proprietary designs that allow them to work with the Apex for instance you should consider that the compoments chosen for the design were done so with the intention of giving people the option to do that.
I don't see the same thought put into the orbit marine just yet.
I could be missing somethinh but from what I can tell so far it wouldnt be worth the effort to me. If you're willing to invest in new power supplies then I'd personally rather start from the beginning and end up with the options I want.
JMO
Yea, I just figured someone with more intricate knowledge of LED systems would be able to respond with anything I might have overlooked in my research so far.

I am having a DJ friend who operates a production company take a look at what I've looked into and weigh in, hopefully in the next day or two when he's less busy. I am hoping he might actually know exactly what I will need to pull this off, but I do not know exactly when he will be available to chat about this.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
There are some guys on the big site that design these little controllers all the time. That's where I'd look for a more in depth opinion. I'm sure there's a way to do I just don't feel comfortable putting my stamp on it without some personal experience. Even if you can hack into it from what I understand you wont get control over the individual channels. You can only control both channels at once.
 
kenman345

kenman345

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///t/397788/diy-help-needed-for-led-lights-use-orbit-marine-fixture-with-controllable-channel-drivers#post_3546946
There are some guys on the big site that design these little controllers all the time. That's where I'd look for a more in depth opinion. I'm sure there's a way to do I just don't feel comfortable putting my stamp on it without some personal experience. Even if you can hack into it from what I understand you wont get control over the individual channels. You can only control both channels at once.
Again, I believe I already mentioned that I realize I would need one driver per channel to get overall control.

And I am posting everywhere I can to try and find information, I appreciate you being the absolute only responder on this from all the forums I have asked.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Apologies, I've been pretty busy so I'm in and out. I will try and look into this a little closer soon as I get a little free time.
One of my concerns that I haven't seen any info on is how the power supplies are tied into the actual pc board. If they are integrated into it then its probably not worth accidentally destroying the board over.
I know there is most likely a power supply for the fixture that plugs into the wall. What I'm interested in seeing is the guts of the unit.
 
kenman345

kenman345

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///t/397788/diy-help-needed-for-led-lights-use-orbit-marine-fixture-with-controllable-channel-drivers#post_3546949
Apologies, I've been pretty busy so I'm in and out. I will try and look into this a little closer soon as I get a little free time.
One of my concerns that I haven't seen any info on is how the power supplies are tied into the actual pc board. If they are integrated into it then its probably not worth accidentally destroying the board over.
I know there is most likely a power supply for the fixture that plugs into the wall. What I'm interested in seeing is the guts of the unit.
I actually found on the Current USA website that they responded to a Question 2 years ago for the Truelumen LED Strips that they are able to be used with the ELN-60-24D I was looking into. That same LED system is a recommended match for the timer/controller my Orbit Marine fixture came with. I think that helped me with my answer.

I emailed Current USA about this question and hope to hear back before I make any purchases. I am trying to practice some patience with this project as I anyways am trying to save up money for a new LED fixture or the parts to make this fixture controllable
 
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