led drivers

[dvenson]

so i am curious what driver is better

http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-41/Mean-Well-ELN-dsh-60-dsh-48D-dimmable/Detail

http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-26/Mean-Well-ELN-dsh-60-dsh-48P-dimmable/Detail

i would want to use this dimmer also
http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-150/DIY-2-color-dimming/Detail

 

[that0neguy1126]

Exact same driver, the only difference is the type of signal they accept on the dimming circuit.

D = 0-10v
P = PWM

To use that dimmer, you want the D model.

 

[Boogie]

Exact same driver, the only difference is the type of signal they accept on the dimming circuit.

D = 0-10v
P = PWM

To use that dimmer, you want the D model.

Yeah..duh! pfft...amateurs..Thats exactly what I was going to say.

 

[Zooid]

wow, $30 for a wall wart and two potentiometers? damn, I'm in the wrong business
I probably spent less than $10 for the parts to make a dimming circuit and used a wall wart that I had laying around the house.

 

[that0neguy1126]

Haha Gale. I thought about opening up a business like this. Buy them from china, or even Cree and sell DIY parts at a 20-40% markup. Strickly online business, but don't think i have the time or motivation to do it.

 

[miwoodar]

Agree with all of the above.

I skipped the ELNs in favor of parallel strings on HLG's though. I would have used 8 ELN's (too many wires!) vs 2 HLG's for about the same cost. The HLG's are also 3way dimmable though so I can use them with any controller I want in the future.

 

[that0neguy1126]

Yep, the HLG's are much better then the ELN's. The HLG's have PFC also.

But if its a small build. I would go with the ELN's.

 

[miwoodar]

I just learned about LPF's this week BTW. They have 3 in one dimming like the HLG's but sized in the same range as the ELN's. http://www.powersupplyemporium.com/product_info.php?products_id=5207

 

[dvenson]

Gale I was going to make my own and save alot of money but for reference I linked that one

I will be eventually be putting a DIY led setup over a 58 gallon setup

 

[that0neguy1126]

Those LPF's are nice. Built in PFC (so you don't start a fire if you have 8+ of them connected).
The current is a little low. 1.25 / 2 = .625A per string if you did 2. But the ELN's are only 1.3A so not really much difference.
Like you said, fully dimable using PWM, Resistance, or 0-10vDC.

 

[dvenson]

thanks for the responses but you confused me with all the acronyms.

what is PWM

what is ELNs

what is HLG's

what is PFC

what is LPF's

 

[that0neguy1126]

PWM - Pulse wave modulation - basically a digital signal from a controller has either 0 or 10v DC output, so to emulate an analog signal and get say... 7vDC, it pulses between 0 and 10v to simulate 7v.

ELN - Cheap meanwell driver line of products. Low current
HLG - high end meanwell driver line of products. High current
LPF - High end meanwell driver line of products. Low current.

PFC - Power factor correction. Basically it levels the energy draw across the whole cycle of AC power. Without it, the driver pulls power only on the high and low cycle, which creates harmonics, which can heat up the power cables. With enough Drivers plugged into the same circuit, the cables get hot and catch fire. You would have to plug like 12+ into the same circuit though is what I have heard.

 

[dvenson]

thanks Derick

 

[Zooid]

damn, I'm slacking...missed all this hehe.

I though PWM was Pulse Width Modulation since it is varying the width of the pulse in order to vary the amount of on/off time.

 

[that0neguy1126]

It probably is. Im use to W = wave from all my Fiber Optics stuff.