DIY LEDs - The write-up

[james3370]

i've added the pot on a dimmable buckpuck that broke, but wiring the meanwells has me stumped i have a pretty good understanding once i see it broken down, but can't read schematics & such LOL

so i will have a pot (ones i've dealt w/ have 3 contacts like this) & a 10v wall adapter & the dimmable meanwell.

pot has 3 pins
wall wart has (+) wire & (-) wire
meanwell has 4 wires as follows (per the pdf spec sheet) on the output side:
red : V+
black : V-
blue : dim+
white : dim-

so can somebody break it down for me as to what wire hooks to what in sequence

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

James, can you post or direct us to the datasheet for the mean well you're using? Or give a model number? I know they come in a few different varieties w/r/t dimming and I don't remember which one you're trying to use.

 

[james3370]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15337355#post15337355 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by der_wille_zur_macht
James, can you post or direct us to the datasheet for the mean well you're using? Or give a model number? I know they come in a few different varieties w/r/t dimming and I don't remember which one you're trying to use.

(12) leds w/ forward voltage of 3.7 so thats (3.7*12=44.4) so using the ELN-60-48-P (the p being the suffix designating dimming w/ a pot...d would be the suffix for use on a controller)

http://www.meanwellusa.com/search/eln-60/eln-60-spec.pdf

page 2 of the pdf shows the pic of the output wire 4 color layout

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

I'm walking out the door but hopefully this will make sense despite being written quickly.

You need to configure the pot as a voltage divider such that the power supply feeds 0 - 10VDC to the two "dim" wires on the driver.

So, wire the power supply across the ends of the pot, and wire the dim+ from the driver to the wiper on the pot. Then, wire the dim- on the driver to the - from the power supply.

 

[james3370]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15337740#post15337740 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by der_wille_zur_macht
I'm walking out the door but hopefully this will make sense despite being written quickly.

You need to configure the pot as a voltage divider such that the power supply feeds 0 - 10VDC to the two "dim" wires on the driver.

So, wire the power supply across the ends of the pot, and wire the dim+ from the driver to the wiper on the pot. Then, wire the dim- on the driver to the - from the power supply.

this look right??

 

[indigobluetc]

I have a question for all of you that got heatsinks from heat sink usa.. Can anyone tell me how thick the bottom part is? Ya know the part from the bottom to where the fins start. Thanks in advance.

 

[james3370]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15337821#post15337821 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by indigobluetc
I have a question for all of you that got heatsinks from heat sink usa.. Can anyone tell me how thick the bottom part is? Ya know the part from the bottom to where the fins start. Thanks in advance.

you might have missed it, but it says it on the description:

Product Description
Extruded Aluminum Heatsink

8.5 inch wide

1 inch fin height

.300 inch base

the "large" & "medium" are .300 (about 5/16") & the "small" is .375 (3/8")

 

[big400g]

James... P stands for PWM (pulse wave modulation) you need the one with a D for direct voltage... With the ELN-60-48-D you will be able to dim based on the input voltage.

You wave your 110V coming in one side of the Meanwell (brown and blue), on the other side you have 4 wires, positive out to LED's (red) , negative back from LED's (black) the other 2 wires are the positive (blue) and neg (white) from your voltage requlator 0-10V for dimming controll.

You run 1-6 LED's in 4 strips and you will have 3-3.5V forward voltage nad 600-700mA

Looks like you need a different Meanwell with the "D" not "P"

unless you have a source for PWM outputs... make your own special controller.

 

[sphil876p]

James I have read a couple of posts on NR by Evil who knows the most about these power supplies, and it seems that he was testing the -P meanwells with the analog pots. From what I understand your drivers will work the way you are trying to run them, but I dont understand all of the electrical reasons why..... I am running the -D models the way you are suggesting, have pics of my pot and discussed the wiring of the pot..........

Take a look at page 1 of the thread
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1662682&perpage=25&pagenumber=1


HTH

 

[big400g]

Sphill, that would be good if he did not have to scrap his Mean Wells. I do not understand how they would still work, but I am not a EE either. I suppose it may work but not the same, there are internal pots for dimmin input and or output voltage maybe that is how they made it work??

I am anxiously waiting to hear if it works for you James, that would really suck otherwise.

 

[james3370]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15338528#post15338528 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sphil876p
James I have read a couple of posts on NR by Evil who knows the most about these power supplies, and it seems that he was testing the -P meanwells with the analog pots. From what I understand your drivers will work the way you are trying to run them, but I dont understand all of the electrical reasons why..... I am running the -D models the way you are suggesting, have pics of my pot and discussed the wiring of the pot..........

Take a look at page 1 of the thread
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1662682&perpage=25&pagenumber=1


HTH

i'm still lost as to what wire goes to what.....is my draft i posted on the last page right or wrong?? if wrong what needs to be changed to make it right??

btw big400g.....i don't have the meanwwells yet, just got the suffix confused when i was posting, so nothing "wasted" yet
i will be ordering the ELN-60-48-D

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

James, that's not quite right. Look at this schematic:

The "battery" on the left side is your wall wart. The zigzag line in the middle is the pot, and the circle with the V in it on the right is your drivers "dim" connections.

The wall wart's "-" and the "dim -" from the driver both connect to one side of the pot. The wall wart's "+" connects to the other side of the pot. The "dim +" connects to the wiper on the pot.

I'd do a mock up like you have above but the PC I'm on now has absolutely no image editing software on it.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

So I've been meaning to put seashore on this machine anyways. :lol: Here's the diagram:

 

[james3370]

thanks for the idiot-proof diagram (i wasn't too far off LOL)....i am the capt of the failboat when it comes to reading schematics

 

[JoshuaG]

James, this is what I was told VIA Evil on wiring the POT with the meanwell drivers.

Power supply positive --> 10K pot center tab
10K pot outer tab (doesn't matter which) --> Meanwell dimmer positive

Power supply negative --> DIM -

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

That would work too - you would basically be using the pot as a variable resistor instead of a voltage divider.

 

[big400g]

James, that is great! Sounds like there are now several people building arrays with this info, love to see more of them. Soundwave you started a LED wave

 

[dtech]

der_wille_zur_macht thanks for catchin that on the pot minimum order. Does anyone know what the specs are for a gang pot for Buckpucks?

 

[dtech]

der_wille_zur_macht thanks for catchin that on the pot minimum order. Does anyone know what the specs are for a gang pot for Buckpucks?

 

[Soundwave]

That's why I started all this, big400g. I wanted to help save people money and show them the light, so to speak.