aquastyle online diy led's

Basic / Standard Reef Angel hardware
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mvwise
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by mvwise »

Sebyte, you mentioned earlier in the thread:
In your other post you say that you have : 2 x Meanwell ELN-60-48p. I went for the LPF version as they don't have the internal pot and are self adjusting, also they work with analogue and PWM. For the extra $10 I thought they were a better choice.
I am currently running two of the ELN-60-48D with 14 LED's on each for a RSM130D, but have been contemplating the same as yours for a new build I am making on another tank. If I read your post correctly, I do not need to adjust the current down from 1000 mA to 800 ma using the internal pot as I did on the ELN model?

Essentially, if wiring LED's in a series then is would be simply a matter of plugging in and turning on, am I correct? No muss no fuss?
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Sebyte

Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by Sebyte »

Correct, the LPF drivers do not have an internal pot, and are self adjusting.

LPF 60 D

Features :
Universal AC input / Full range (up to 305VAC)
Built-in active PFC function
High efficiency up to 90%
Protections: Short circuit / Over current / Over voltage / Over temperature Cooling by free air convection
Fully isolated plastic case
Fully encapsulated with IP67 level (Note.6)
Class power unit, no FG
Class 2 power unit
Built-in 3 in 1 dimming function (1~10Vdc or PWM signal or resistance) Suitable for LED lighting and moving sign applications
Compliance to worldwide safety regulations for lighting
Suitable for dry / damp / wet locations
3 years warranty
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mvwise
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aquastyle online diy led's

Post by mvwise »

I spoke with my original supplier about these drivers. He said that they run a constant current of 1.25A and that you needed to be careful not to blow the LEDs.

I'm using Cree LEDs with a maximum current rating of 1000mA. So running in series all would be exposed to 1.25A unless limited by the dimming port.

If run in parallel then you would reduce the load to 625mA which would be okay but I don't have the quantity of LEDs to run in parallel.

Does this make sense? Not sure how to test this out without connecting the LEDs and risk blowing them.


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Sebyte

Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by Sebyte »

All you can do is calculate your load and select the driver accordingly. I went for the maximum number of LEDs that I could use per driver while keeping within spec of the driver, and the space on the heat sink.

That is why I used the combination of series and parralell circuits. But you do need to understand OHMS law and how to calculate the load across the circuit. There are a number of websites that give help on this. I think I did mention one site in a previous post that will do the calculations for you.

I will repeate for all readers, that there are many ways to build LED systems. My approach was my choice only, and may not be suitable for all system builds.

I am reluctant to give specific advise on circuit designs as like any DIY project there is no guarantee it will work untill it does, if you see what I mean :?
abhi_123
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by abhi_123 »

My leds are blinking like mad. I am using lpf series drivers with 24 leds in a parallel stings of 12 leds.i am using pwm Module for dimming dont understand why they are blinking
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rimai
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by rimai »

abhi_123 wrote:My leds are blinking like mad. I am using lpf series drivers with 24 leds in a parallel stings of 12 leds.i am using pwm Module for dimming dont understand why they are blinking
http://forum.reefangel.com/viewtopic.php?p=10406#p10406
Roberto.
00Warpig00
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by 00Warpig00 »

Waiting for my RA+ to arrive and sunrise/sunset has been a big goal of mine from the start. I too have a 72 LED aquastyle kit and went with the cheap Maxwellen drivers because I was not able to find a driver at the time that would dim to less than 10%. Decided i would replace them later when I got a controller. Well it's that time... From reading this thread it seems as if the LPF series go down to 3%. I would be ok with that I think but am a little confused about what you state about the LPF drivers going into standby mode to shut them completely off to 0% I realize there will be a gap from 3% to 0% but the spec sheet of the LPF series seems to contradict what you are saying is happening real world.

Sebyte wrote:
I went with the MeanWell LPF series because they have a self sensing circuit that detects if a Pot is connected or an external analog or PWM signal. In addition the MeanWell LPF series will turn the LED's dim to 3% and at 0% go into a standby mode, like a TV, and do not really need to use up valuable RA ports.
Sebyte wrote:You can run several drivers on a port.

But you do not even need to run the drivers through a port

Instensity grows from 15 to 75 and back down to 15.
Returns 0 when not within the time schedule.

The 0 at the end of the function forces the Driver to switch off. With Meanwell drivers they go into a hibernation state consuming very low power. My understanding is that Meanwell recommend not turning the drivers off as they respond better from that state when the command signel is ramped up.

These LPF drivers sound great but the spec sheets for the LPF series say that to turn the LED's off you will need to wire a relay. (Bottom of page 4 of both documents)

http://www.meanwell.com/search/LPF-60D/LPF-60D-spec.pdf
http://www.meanwell.com/search/LPF-90D/LPF-90D-spec.pdf

Just so I understand fully before I buy LPF drivers...

Are you saying that you can use PWM to turn your Drivers/LED's all the way off and essentially do NOT have to plug your drivers into power outlets on the relay box? I hope so this is what I want to do.

Also I was hoping to leave one of my strings of Bridgelux Royal Blues dimmed to 3% and have this string function as my moonlights. So essentially I would use the Parabola code but shut 3 of my 4 strings of LED's off to 0% and leave one set on at 3% for moonlights.

Am I crazy and not understanding something in this thread? It sounds like what I want to accomplish is workable with the LPF series drivers according to your experience, but not according to the spec sheet.

Any more insight you can provide would be great.

Thanks,

Nick
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Sebyte

Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by Sebyte »

In my experience,

Once the driver reaches (approx)3% the LEDs stop emitting light. At 0% the driver appears to go into a standby mode, although there is still a supply voltage to the driver.

If you want to remove the supply to the driver when the LEDs are not emitting light, then you would need to use a relay port on the RA.

As for the spec sheet, it is technically correct. My understanding of how an LED works is that once the supply voltage reaches the threshold value the LED starts to emmit light, and when the voltage goes below that value the LED stops emitting light. At that point there is still a voltage being applied to the circuit. To fully turn off the LED circuit you would need to fully remove the supply to the driver.

In practice, once the LEDs have stopped emitting light, you can think of the setup as being like a TV in the standby mode.

Hope that makes sense :)
mliew
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by mliew »

Hi Steve,

I was hoping to get your advise. I just ordered from Aquastyle the 14 LEDs Dimmable Kit which consists of

14 x LEDs (Mix of White, Red, Royal Blue and Actinic)
2 x Meanwell LPF-16D-24
2 x Potientometer
and other parts

Can you please suggest which Reef Angel Plus Controller should I get
0-10V PWM Signal?
0-10V Analog Signal?

Based on my understanding I do not need the potientometers if I wire the dimming leads to any of the Dimming output (daylight or actinic) of the RA Relay Box. Is that correct?

I am a complete noob in this but I am really keen to purchase the RA and learn to code.

Cheers,
mliew
Sebyte

Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by Sebyte »

Just took a look at their site and they say "Built-in 3 in 1 dimming function (1~10Vdc or PWM signal or resistance)" Which means that the driver will work with both Analog as well as PWM.

So on that basis it should be ok with either RA controler.

The choice is yours ;)
00Warpig00
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by 00Warpig00 »

Pulled the trigger on the LPF series drivers last night. Since Mean Well does not make LED drivers that will put out ~70V... In order to replace my 4 Maxwellen drivers that came with my Aquastyle 72 LED kit I am going to need do a little series/parallel rewiring. I ordered two LPF-90D-36 drivers and going to divide my two blue strings into four blue strings in parallel and hook up to one driver and divide my two white strings into 4 white strings and drive them with the other driver. Just waiting for the UPS man to arrive. I will report my results when it's done. :)

Nick
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mliew
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by mliew »

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the advise I will order the PWM signal version. I read rimais post that PWM is the considered the "digital" age whereas analog is old school.

In regards to the potientometers, Can I wire the dimming leads to any of the Dimming output (daylight or actinic) of the RA Relay Box. I do not need the potientometers if i do that is that correct?

Is there a form of wiring diagram out there? really thanks for all the advise and information

Cheers,
mliew
Sebyte

Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by Sebyte »

Aquastyle normaly send a circuit diagram, they did with my order.

Just substitute the RA PWM Connections for the pot, make sure you have the polarity correct.

Good luck and enjoy!
mliew
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by mliew »

Thanks! Steve!
WaymondWomano
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by WaymondWomano »

Can you not use the Maxwellen drivers with the RA dimming function?
Sebyte

Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by Sebyte »

My understanding, and I may be wrong, is that the Maxwellen LED Dimmable Driver does not accept an input signal such as PWM or Analog. The potentiometer controls an internal bridge circuit by changing the resistance in one leg of the circuit.

As I have said, I could be wrong and if someone is using them I would be interested to hear how they are working.

As you will see in my earlier posts I use MeanWell LPF drivers which work with both types of RA controllers.
00Warpig00
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by 00Warpig00 »

WaymondWomano wrote:Can you not use the Maxwellen drivers with the RA dimming function?
Nope, and I think Sebyte hit the nail right on the head on the Maxwellen drivers. The Maxwellen drivers are potentiometer only controlled. You could theoretically use an electronically controlled potentiometer but if you take it to that extent you might as well replace the drivers as replacing them would standardize your setup, and probably even cost less.

Nick
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WaymondWomano
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by WaymondWomano »

Thanks, mate. Now I need to figure out how many LPF-60D-48's I will need to run 60 LED's.
mliew
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by mliew »

Hi guys,

Got an update. I received my DIY kit from aqua style and have successfully soldered and connected the wires. I went with the 14 LED and 2 x Meanwell LPF-16D-24 Dimmable option.

1st series - 7 x White LED connected to 1 x Meanwell LPF-16D-24 with Dimmer (potentiometer) but no 10v adapter
2nd series - 3 x Royal Blue, 2 x Actinic, 2 x Red connected to 1x LPF-16D-24 with Dimmer (potentiometer) but no 10v adapter

I ran into a weird problem. I cant seem to adjust the mA of my 1st series when I ran a multimeter. It kept on staying at 0.58-0.59 mA on the multimer when I turn the internal potentiometer in the Meanwell driver. I have tried both drivers and it's the same for both. My external dimmer / potentiometer is turned to the highest setting when I ran the multimeter test.

But when I ran the multimer to my 2nd series, no problem at all. When I turn the internal potentiometer in the Meanwell driver, I can adjust the mA to 0.70 which according to the LED specs, is the optimum level of brightness.

Any ideas?

Thanks heaps

mliew
Sebyte

Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by Sebyte »

Mliew said
I cant seem to adjust the mA of my 1st series when I ran a multimeter. It kept on staying at 0.58-0.59 mA on the multimer when I turn the internal potentiometer in the Meanwell driver
I am a little confused, LPF Drivers are sealed and do not have an internal adjustable pot according to the spec sheet.

Are you going to use the LED setup with a Reef Angel controler?

If so then provided you have the correct number of LEDs in the circuit to produce a load on the driver within the specified range, then the driver will auto sense either the PWM or analog controlling signal.

If you are just using a pot to adjust the brightness then remember that increasing the resistance increases the brightness, or forward voltage. You could try replacing the 40k pot which comes with the kit with one of a lower range.
mliew
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by mliew »

you are right steve, now that you mentioned it. I am such a noob. I was dumb enough to actually pop the bottom of the driver open and went and turn a little screw like thingy in the driver thinking it was the internal potentiomenter. :roll: :roll:

https://twitter.com/mervinliew/status/2 ... to/1/large

did I just screw up the driver???! please let me know.

Yes I am going to use the LED setup with a Reef Angel controller plus which i will order as soon as i complete my plumbing, sump, RoDi kit. I have alot more work to go.

thanks steve,
00Warpig00
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by 00Warpig00 »

Hmm.. in your pic that is a potentiometer. I have not popped my LPF's open but I wonder if they are adjustable now that I see your pic.

Nick
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Sebyte

Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by Sebyte »

did I just screw up the driver???! please let me know.
Your guess is as good as mine ;)

Anyone can make a mistake, so don't feel bad! I have jumped into things without fully resurching, so now it is always a case of RTFM even if I think I know what I am doing.

Post us on how it works out, then others will learn from your experience. :oops:
rimai
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by rimai »

Interesting...
Please do let us know what you find out.
Roberto.
mliew
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by mliew »

Hi guys,

My driver seems to be working fine. I did another test and my LEDs light up alright no blowout. I guess before you do anything read the specs that the driver manufacturer created. Next step for me is to plumb my sump and make a DIY overflow out of PVC.

Cheers,
mliew
00Warpig00
Posts: 289
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by 00Warpig00 »

00Warpig00 wrote:Waiting for my RA+ to arrive and sunrise/sunset has been a big goal of mine from the start. I too have a 72 LED aquastyle kit and went with the cheap Maxwellen drivers because I was not able to find a driver at the time that would dim to less than 10%. Decided i would replace them later when I got a controller. Well it's that time... From reading this thread it seems as if the LPF series go down to 3%. I would be ok with that I think but am a little confused about what you state about the LPF drivers going into standby mode to shut them completely off to 0% I realize there will be a gap from 3% to 0% but the spec sheet of the LPF series seems to contradict what you are saying is happening real world.

Sebyte wrote:
I went with the MeanWell LPF series because they have a self sensing circuit that detects if a Pot is connected or an external analog or PWM signal. In addition the MeanWell LPF series will turn the LED's dim to 3% and at 0% go into a standby mode, like a TV, and do not really need to use up valuable RA ports.
Sebyte wrote:You can run several drivers on a port.

But you do not even need to run the drivers through a port

Instensity grows from 15 to 75 and back down to 15.
Returns 0 when not within the time schedule.

The 0 at the end of the function forces the Driver to switch off. With Meanwell drivers they go into a hibernation state consuming very low power. My understanding is that Meanwell recommend not turning the drivers off as they respond better from that state when the command signel is ramped up.

These LPF drivers sound great but the spec sheets for the LPF series say that to turn the LED's off you will need to wire a relay. (Bottom of page 4 of both documents)

http://www.meanwell.com/search/LPF-60D/LPF-60D-spec.pdf
http://www.meanwell.com/search/LPF-90D/LPF-90D-spec.pdf

Just so I understand fully before I buy LPF drivers...

Are you saying that you can use PWM to turn your Drivers/LED's all the way off and essentially do NOT have to plug your drivers into power outlets on the relay box? I hope so this is what I want to do.

Also I was hoping to leave one of my strings of Bridgelux Royal Blues dimmed to 3% and have this string function as my moonlights. So essentially I would use the Parabola code but shut 3 of my 4 strings of LED's off to 0% and leave one set on at 3% for moonlights.

Am I crazy and not understanding something in this thread? It sounds like what I want to accomplish is workable with the LPF series drivers according to your experience, but not according to the spec sheet.

Any more insight you can provide would be great.

Thanks,

Nick

I have received my LPF-90D-36 Drivers. I have been playing with them. Not quite getting the same results Sebyte describes. I was wondering if I might ask a few more questions?

First, what I did and what is happening in my case.

I rewired my strings of LED's as mentioned earlier in the thread. My RA+ is the Analog model and I am hooking up my LPF drivers to a Analog dimming module that I had Roberto custom modify for me to make the first three ports 0/1/2 PWM ports and the second three ports 3/4/5 Analog ports. I hooked my drivers up to the dimming module's ports 0/1 (PWM) and did some testing but those ports dont seem to work to control my drivers. So I went to the analog ports 3/4 and my drivers seem to respond pretty nicely to the analog input the led's brighten to about 95% of what they are capable of (they get a little brighter if I leave the dim leads to float open circuit) even though the analog port is set at 100% the ports max out at ~9.7VDC I'd love to get the full 10V out of them if possible. On the other end of the spectrum the led's dim the analog ports down to approx 0.5 VDC they dim down pretty dim but they do NOT turn off even when the analog port is set to 0%. At 0% the voltage across the analog port with the drivers attached is 0.5VDC but the ports go down to about 80 milivolts when the driver leads are disconnected from the ports. Not sure whats up with this but I believe that these drivers may not be capable of reaching lights out/standby mode when being driven with an analog dimmer. This leads me to a couple questions for Sebyte.

1. With your LPF drivers are you dimming using PWM ports or Analog ports?
2. Are you driving your LPF drivers from the Relay Box or from a dimming module?

I know my drivers can go into standby mode and turn the LED's completely off. I have tested this by twisting my two dim leads on the drivers together to short them to 0 Ohms and the LED's turn off quite nicely. I have compared my Parabola function code line to what Sebyte gives as an example earlier in this thread and my code appears to be correct. I even have the last 0 to turn the led's/drivers off/standby but my drivers don't turn off at 0% when hooked to the Analog ports.

I also have a question for Roberto if he sees this.

I ordered a Analog RA+ and an additional Expansion relay box. The Relay box that came with my RA+ has a sticker on it that says Analog. The relay box that shipped with my expansion relay module does not have this sticker. Does the expansion relay box have PWM ports? Can I interchange the relay boxes and test with the ?PWM? ports on that relay box to eliminate an issue with my Modified Analog/PWM dimming module?

I would really like to be able to turn off my LED's without using a switched outlet and currently I cannot seem to do this.

Nick
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rimai
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by rimai »

Yes, you can swap them.
The one without sticker is PWM signal :)
Roberto.
Sebyte

Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by Sebyte »

In response
1. With your LPF drivers are you dimming using PWM ports or Analog ports?
2. Are you driving your LPF drivers from the Relay Box or from a dimming module?
1. I am using PWM

2. The PWM signel is from the two channel ports on the standard RA controler. I do not have access to PWM expansion so I have not been able to verify.
Sebyte

Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by Sebyte »

In response
1. With your LPF drivers are you dimming using PWM ports or Analog ports?
2. Are you driving your LPF drivers from the Relay Box or from a dimming module?
1. I am using PWM

2. The PWM signel is from the two channel ports on the standard RA controler. I do not have access to PWM expansion so I have not been able to verify.
00Warpig00
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Re: aquastyle online diy led's

Post by 00Warpig00 »

Thanks for the info guys.

I did some reconfig and testing today and tonight.

I hooked back up to the PWM ports 0/1 on my Dimming module and tested and got the same exact results as with the analog ports 3/4 on the dimming module. Not sure why I couldnt get the pwm to work before but it appears to be working now. LED's still do not turn off and they dim to the same level on either the analog or PWM ports.

Being that Sebyte's results were achieved while using PWM hooked up to the PWM ports on the relay box I tested that configuration as well. I hooked my LPF's to the Actinic and Daylight channels on my PWM version relay box. Uploaded the appropriate code changes to the RA+ and got the same exact results as with my dimming module. The LED's still do not turn off but do dim to an acceptable level for moonlighting in my opinion.

This got me to thinking about the PWM/ANALOG ports on the dimming module.
I downloaded Eagle and peeked at the schematic for the dimming module. Looked at the spec sheet for the LM358 dual op amp. The spec sheet for the LM358 noted that the output's were short circuit protected. This made the lightbulb turn on in my head. In theory I can leverage this short circuit protection. This is just an idea and Roberto please chime in with your feedback since I do not want to blow out my dimming module, but here is what I saw in my head when the light bulb went on.

Image

I can use ports 0/1 to drive the dimmer from 1%-100%-1% in my parabola and I can use a SPST relay that will short the dimming + lead's of each LPF driver to ground as shorting my dim+ leads to ground turns the LED's off. To turn the lights on in the morning I deactivate ports 3/4 turning off the relay connected at my desired times and turning on the respective colored lights. This removes the short from the Dim+ lead this will turn the LED's on at the lowest setting. I then manipulate pwm ports 0/1 for my lighting schedule. I can use ports 3/4 as on/off switches and can turn the white LED's off at night then leave the blues at 1% as moonlights and can activate that relay by schedule to turn off the moonlights.

Is there a better/easier way to do this without using AC outlets on my relay boxes?

I have plans for all of them. I also want to get rid of my old dial timers. After all why did I buy a controller?

Is there a way to put the op amp input to ground inside the dimming module via code?

Any Ideas anyone?

Nick
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