DIY Dimmable LED - indiegogo

[DARKSTAR22]

So i'm planning on building this dimmable LED fixture by using an arduino MCU to automatically dim it, kind of like the Radion or the maxspect, but DIY. would help if you guys could check it out

[luckyme]

papalitan ba ng digital potentiometer ung analog na potentiometer na kasama ng driver?

di magload sakin lahat. blocked ata

[DARKSTAR22]

Hindi, Gagamit ako ng driver na dimmable, pero imbis na DC 0-10V ang gagamitin pang dim, yung driver na may PWM ang gagamitin pagmagdidim, and kaya PWM gagamitin kasi icoconnect sa arduino tapos magseset ka ng time kung kelan mo gusto mag-on at mag-off, kaya ayun

[paulmt8]

How much is the cost of the arduino MCU? You need also a driver capable of PWM dimming. I suggest you get the analog version with 0-10V. You can use a battery and potentiometer to test an analog driver. You can't do that with PWM. You need to have an oscilloscope to check if you are really getting the right signal. My only experience in using an oscilloscope is during my ECE lab class 15 years ago

I am also into DIY. My rule of thumb is if the cost is less than half of the readily available finish product, it's ok to do it on your own. But if it's higher than half, just buy the finish one, save money and avoid possible frustrations in case your DIY wont work as expected. Unless, your motivation is the fulfillment feeling with DIY.

[luckyme]

[paulmt8]

P700 including the display and RTC board?

Drivers don't have potentiometers. Its the controller who will supply the signal to the driver. So far i have tried 3 dimmable driver types.

1. Drivers dimmable by triacs - triac dimmers alters the ac current going to the driver (light dimmers that you see at ace hardware or home depot).

2. 3 step Drivers dimmable by turning on and off quickly to get 3 different light intensity.

3. Drivers dimmable by 0-10VDC signal coming from a voltage source.
A. Some drivers has 10V source, just put potentiometer to control the voltage level to control the light intensity.
B. Use a separate 10V source and use a potentiometer to alter the voltage.
C. Use a controller like Apex, Reef Angel, arduino MCU etc to tell the driver when to increase and decrease the light intensity by sending 0-10V analog signal to the driver.

There are drivers dimmable by PWM or Pulse Width Modulation but I hav not tried it due to complexity. In PWM, the signal intensity is determined by time lapse of pulses using square waves. Im not sure about apex but Reef Angel has a PWM version.

Reef angel is using arduino. It's cheaper than apex but less reliable. I should know, i have one. I'm planning to buy apex soon.

You have another option. Inventronics has a device worth P800 that you can program to send analog voltage to your driver. But, you need a separate device to set the program.

Hope this helps.

[luckyme]

[paulmt8]

The invetronics timer is much cheaper. Check this out

[luckyme]

panu po pinoprogram ung inventronics? may
app for PC ba?

[paulmt8]

There is a programmer module that you can borrow from a supplier or you can have it programmed based on your light exposure time plan.

[Leica]

eto lang masasabi ko tama si paulm8
Digmaan ng utak to, dina ko maka relate

[paulmt8]

Eto lang din masasabi ko, hindi ko na din maintindihan mga sinasabi ko kaya sunsundin ko suggestion ni Leica, mag Apex na lang ako hahahaha

[DARKSTAR22]

well the fixture from rapidLED comes with a meanwell PWM driver, an arduino costs 600+ to 1300 from e-gizmo

[Aladdin]

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[paulmt8]

If I were you, go for a simpler setup. Unless you have an experience in programming arduino, I dont recommend it.

A 48 led kit at Rapid leds will cost $415 without a controller. The cost of hydra52 is only $599. So why waste your time and risk with DIY.

I have done a 52x3W dimmable LED build and my total cost is only P11,000. 1/3 the cost of hydra 52 at local price. Now thats enough reason to go DIY.