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EVERYONE pls understand I'm NOT an expert on this.. I COULD be doing this totally wrong, but at least I'm doing it haha.
B
LED Build tonight!!!!
- Thread starter snowmansnow
- Start date
EVERYONE pls understand I'm NOT an expert on this.. I COULD be doing this totally wrong, but at least I'm doing it haha.
B
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Well an issue that I'm having, which completely stopped my work, is that I already have the stars thermal pasted to the sink. The problem is that I can't seem to reheat the pretinned solder that is on the heat pads on the stars.
my digital iron registers 480, and works great on naked connections, but i think the sink my be wicking away too much heat to REheat what is already there.
Hmmmmm:yuk:
You may be right in that. To test it try throwing the entire sink and LEDs in a hot oven for a while and work while it is HOT...
I have done this on some other projects and it worked for me. I was not usind LEDs. I have no idea how much heat they can take.
Jason
I have done this on some other projects and it worked for me. I was not usind LEDs. I have no idea how much heat they can take.
Jason
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while i appreciate your idea, and will defend to the death your right to say it, I think I'll pass on this one haha.
I am meeting with a guy who is over operation management at a local hospital. if anyone can tell me what the issue is he can.
I look to be up and running again today.
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beginning the driver 1 (all blue) strand
Driver out + goes to the 1st LED in the array.
The - of THAT LED goes the + of the next and so on.
The - of the LAST LED goes back to the driver so that they r wired in series.
B
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Driver out + goes to the 1st LED in the array.
The - of THAT LED goes the + of the next and so on.
The - of the LAST LED goes back to the driver so that they r wired in series.
B
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cool. looks like a fun project!
mike
mike
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its interesting and somewhat fun haha
i just hope it works.
I wonder if there is a way to check my connections with my multimeter as i go
i just hope it works.
I wonder if there is a way to check my connections with my multimeter as i go
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Ok I finished the first dimmer control strain. This will be the blues.
the next will be mostly white with a few blues, since I went 60/40 instead of 50/50.
I checked the in and the out wire with my multimeter set to OHMS, and got a good strong reading so I feel like I have a good connection between all the leads.
B
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the next will be mostly white with a few blues, since I went 60/40 instead of 50/50.
I checked the in and the out wire with my multimeter set to OHMS, and got a good strong reading so I feel like I have a good connection between all the leads.
B
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starting the other thread
whites on driver 2
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whites on driver 2
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ok here is the finished array.
all the oranges will be on one mean well. the blues will be on the others.
Next is to take the RKL / ALC connectors and solder them to the mean wells.
after that it's testing time (hopefully things will work!).
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all the oranges will be on one mean well. the blues will be on the others.
Next is to take the RKL / ALC connectors and solder them to the mean wells.
after that it's testing time (hopefully things will work!).
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with the array finished its time for testing (holds breath)
I'm running an ALC with my RKL so here is how you set up and adjust the driver with this setting.
The - of the last LED goes to the + of a multimeter. The + of the first LED goes to the + of the driver. The - of the multimeter goes to the - of the driver so that the multimeter is seen as inline.
It took me a while to get this strait. LOTS of props to a few guys over at RC for helping me figure this out.
ALSO, if you do this, MAKE CERTAIN your meter doesn't come loose during the testing or you'll blow stuff up!
Once the Multimeter is in line hook up the ALC cable from the driver.
WITH THE INTERNAL POT TURNED DOWN all the way plug the unit in the wall.
I GOT LIGHTS!!
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I'm running an ALC with my RKL so here is how you set up and adjust the driver with this setting.
The - of the last LED goes to the + of a multimeter. The + of the first LED goes to the + of the driver. The - of the multimeter goes to the - of the driver so that the multimeter is seen as inline.
It took me a while to get this strait. LOTS of props to a few guys over at RC for helping me figure this out.
ALSO, if you do this, MAKE CERTAIN your meter doesn't come loose during the testing or you'll blow stuff up!
Once the Multimeter is in line hook up the ALC cable from the driver.
WITH THE INTERNAL POT TURNED DOWN all the way plug the unit in the wall.
I GOT LIGHTS!!
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ALSO important about the multimeter.
(i don't KNOW THESE THINGS WITHOUT A GREAT DEAL OF HELP being a musician haha)
Make sure it is reading DC. Set to 10v and read to mA. Since it is reading 10v on my meter and I'm looking for mA. I will be dialing in .70 on the meter to = 700 mA.
Notice all the wrong things I have going on with my meter in this picture
1- the + is in the wrong side!! DUH
2- I should be turned to 10A and not mA
3- I'm reading AC and not DC as I should
(again, if you've never done it ... you'd never know)
with the correct settings I adjusted the internal pot of the driver (SRV2 I believe) to get .850 for the blues (since they can take more mA) and .650 for the whites.
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(i don't KNOW THESE THINGS WITHOUT A GREAT DEAL OF HELP being a musician haha)
Make sure it is reading DC. Set to 10v and read to mA. Since it is reading 10v on my meter and I'm looking for mA. I will be dialing in .70 on the meter to = 700 mA.
Notice all the wrong things I have going on with my meter in this picture
1- the + is in the wrong side!! DUH
2- I should be turned to 10A and not mA
3- I'm reading AC and not DC as I should
(again, if you've never done it ... you'd never know)
with the correct settings I adjusted the internal pot of the driver (SRV2 I believe) to get .850 for the blues (since they can take more mA) and .650 for the whites.
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Time to wire up the drivers and turn everything on! wish me luck and minimal blowing up 
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Everything working perfect! The whites are VERY bright, and pretty much wash out the blues at 100%. That being said I can dial them back easily with the ALC.
the color of the blue is amazing as far as color rendition in the corals go. I've never seen them pop like this.. its like a hippy light show in there with just the blues on.
I'll try to rig a temporary way to get it over my tank so we can see what it looks like over water.
Pic with just blues they are MUCH bluer and MUCH LESS PURPLE.
...and then with everything on. That being said.. in the over all shot from the corner .. the blue is way off.. its BLUE .. not purple.
The color isn't right in the pic, but i've noticed LED LIGHT is VERY hard to get right.
If anyone has a par meter I WOULD LOVE TO borrow it to do some tests vs my t5 fixture.
B
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the color of the blue is amazing as far as color rendition in the corals go. I've never seen them pop like this.. its like a hippy light show in there with just the blues on.
I'll try to rig a temporary way to get it over my tank so we can see what it looks like over water.
Pic with just blues they are MUCH bluer and MUCH LESS PURPLE.
...and then with everything on. That being said.. in the over all shot from the corner .. the blue is way off.. its BLUE .. not purple.
The color isn't right in the pic, but i've noticed LED LIGHT is VERY hard to get right.
If anyone has a par meter I WOULD LOVE TO borrow it to do some tests vs my t5 fixture.
B
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here are some pics of the 60degree optics for the blues.
Still more blue.. less purple.. u get the picture (pun intended)
B:yay:
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Still more blue.. less purple.. u get the picture (pun intended)
B:yay:
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one thing that is kind of startling is how warm the sink gets. It isn't HOT, but is CLEARLY very warm to the touch after 10 mins of full lights on.
I can see how a few computer fans are going to come in handy
If I can get ahold of a proper laser thermometer I'll chart the heat increase without a fan for 5 mins or so.
B
I can see how a few computer fans are going to come in handy
If I can get ahold of a proper laser thermometer I'll chart the heat increase without a fan for 5 mins or so.
B
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i can do that.
the light has been over my frag tank for a few months now. It's still running great with no issues at all. I have it on about 6 hours a day (comes on when my "daylight" comes on over my main display).
The frags in the tank are doing great. I haven't lost anything because of "sun bleaching" or anything else. I noticed yesterday that the frags have overgrown the superglue on the frag plug and most of the acros are starting to encrust the plugs.
Update = great light, but expensive.
ALSO. I would put fewer blues and more whites in the system next time. Im about 3 blues to 2 whites right now and IMO its just too blue (but things are growing well so... meh).
I'm gearing up to put a bunch of frags up for sale possibly this next Friday, so everyone can see the corals under the light at that point
Thanks for the interest
b
