kentuckyclowns
Member
Anybody have any extra gen2 harnesses laying around or know where I can get one. I need 4 total...I think. Wiring up 4 total gen2 puks.
DIY LEDs with Radion Pro G2 pucks?
- Thread starter rcmike
- Start date
From what i've seen no one sells the harness itself, it seems Gen 1 folks send theirs in and Ecotech replaces the harness and Gen 2 folks are direct swap so no one ever really has extra harnesses. djmx2002 a few post up is having one made that looks promising but will be a week or two. Depending on how you're wiring them, if you're not wiring them in the traditional style with two pucks you may be better off just making your own harness with the pins/connectors mentioned in this thread as you'll have much more flexibility.
ghbrewer
New member
Well, couldn't sell the Gen 2 Radion pucks that I got a while back, so bought 4 more and am going to build a 6 puck fixture. I have dabbled in DIY LEDs in the past, but nothing to this extent. I plan on putting this fixture over my new tank that I am also getting ready to build. The tank will measure 54" long x 24" wide x 25.5" high. I was told that 4 pucks would give me good coverage, but I wanted to make sure so I decided on 6.
It seems that LDD drivers will be the best way to go, using PWM dimming. I am thinking that I will probably either purchase the Bluefish LED Controller, or the Coralux Storm X. I really wanted to control them via my Apex, but it seems I will get better control with a dedicated controller.
I have been following this thread, and it has been a great help. The problem is I need further clarification on determining which and how many drivers and power supplies I will need.
The total voltage is what is throwing me off, and this is what has plagued me in prior builds. Do I need to total up the voltage for each individual diode, or just each type? I don't want to have to run more than one or two power supplies if I can avoid it. If totaling for each diode, it looks like I will need a lot of power supplies, which does not seem right.
When it comes to drivers, I was hoping to just get away with 5 LDD drivers (one for each channel). Is this possible running this number of pucks? Or will I need around 15? I am planning on using LDD-1000h for the whites and royal blues and LDD-700h for all others, does this sound effective/efficient?
It seems that LDD drivers will be the best way to go, using PWM dimming. I am thinking that I will probably either purchase the Bluefish LED Controller, or the Coralux Storm X. I really wanted to control them via my Apex, but it seems I will get better control with a dedicated controller.
I have been following this thread, and it has been a great help. The problem is I need further clarification on determining which and how many drivers and power supplies I will need.
The total voltage is what is throwing me off, and this is what has plagued me in prior builds. Do I need to total up the voltage for each individual diode, or just each type? I don't want to have to run more than one or two power supplies if I can avoid it. If totaling for each diode, it looks like I will need a lot of power supplies, which does not seem right.
When it comes to drivers, I was hoping to just get away with 5 LDD drivers (one for each channel). Is this possible running this number of pucks? Or will I need around 15? I am planning on using LDD-1000h for the whites and royal blues and LDD-700h for all others, does this sound effective/efficient?
kentuckyclowns
Member
I need some help with a similar calculation issue to what brewer was asking. I took some numbers from a previous post and came up with the info below. Based it on whites @ 3.4V & 1500mA and the royal blues @ 3.5V & 1500mA. Again, looking at Gen2
So, if I were looking at controlling 2 puks, and only looking at the white and royal blue lights (all 8 whites on one string and all 8 royal blues on one string), I come up with 27.2V and 1.2A for whites and 28V and 1.2A for the Royal Blues.
The meanwell driver info is:
DC Voltage= 48V
LED Output Voltage= 24~48V
Current= 1.3A
Power= 62.5W
So....does that mean I can only run a total of the 8 whites and 8 blues per 60-48D driver if I run in series?
If the above is true, would I be able to run these in parallel or would I loose too much of the Amperage to power them?
So, if I were looking at controlling 2 puks, and only looking at the white and royal blue lights (all 8 whites on one string and all 8 royal blues on one string), I come up with 27.2V and 1.2A for whites and 28V and 1.2A for the Royal Blues.
The meanwell driver info is:
DC Voltage= 48V
LED Output Voltage= 24~48V
Current= 1.3A
Power= 62.5W
So....does that mean I can only run a total of the 8 whites and 8 blues per 60-48D driver if I run in series?
If the above is true, would I be able to run these in parallel or would I loose too much of the Amperage to power them?
Using the ELN 60-48D just keep in mind you will need to combine a few strings or add some additional Star LEDs to those strings since the ELN has a minimum output voltage of 24 volts. You must have at least 24 volts of LEDs attached to each driver.
If it were me I would add extra stars to keep the reds and greens on their own strings, maybe add some cyan to the green string and add some true reds to the red string......
Or you could just add extra blues or violets, (which would have less impact on the overall color of the tank) keep in mind that the ELN does not dim to zero so you will be a little limited on reducing the output of the red and green strings if you end up not needing much output from them for your taste.
If it were me I would add extra stars to keep the reds and greens on their own strings, maybe add some cyan to the green string and add some true reds to the red string......
Or you could just add extra blues or violets, (which would have less impact on the overall color of the tank) keep in mind that the ELN does not dim to zero so you will be a little limited on reducing the output of the red and green strings if you end up not needing much output from them for your taste.
kentuckyclowns
Member
So I'm super low on voltage but not on amperage. So how can I can more LEDs? Just sacrifice the amps and run then at lower?
kentuckyclowns
Member
Actually, I just realized that I was adding the amps of every led together when I reality it's just whatever the led max amps is, right? So for a string of series LEDs, even though you have 8 LEDs at 1.5A, it's not a total of 12A but just 1.5A for that string, right?
Correct. For a series string of LEDs you add up the LEDs voltage for that string, but amps is simply the amps you want that string to run at. I.E. 1.5 amps (max amps would be lower if using a combined string of leds with reds for example mixed with blues the max amps would typically be 0.7 amps or whatever the lowest power handling LED is rated for)
Make sense?
ghbrewer
New member
The amperage makes sense to me, but what I do not understand is how it looks like each of the pucks are rated at 57.3 volts and there are people suggesting you can run two pucks off of a single 30v to 48v power supply.
It simply matters how you combine the LED strings in the Pucks. There are countless ways to do this.
Few drivers could run all the LEDs from one puck if they were all wired together in series. Most people are using LDD drivers with one LDD per color on the puck allowing for more than one pucks string per LDD driver given a PSU over 30 volts.
So using a 48v PSU than can be adjusted up to 51-54 volts you could feasibly run up to 4 pucks using only one LDD per color string.
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crn005
New member
djmx2002, any updates? I'm curious to see how these turned out.
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kentuckyclowns
Member
So I'm lost now...I see comments about LDDs, LDD boards, and power supplies. So it looks like you need to have a power supply along with the LDD 1000. So if I have a Gen2 puk (non-pro version), I have 5 colors. The problem is that I'm looking to run 4 puks so how many of the 3.5V, 1.5A LEDs can each LDD 1000 run and what power supply should be used? It looks like the CLG 150-36A is being used but how many LDDs can be run off that power supply?
Clearly a newb so I appreciate the help.
Clearly a newb so I appreciate the help.
crn005
New member
No worries. We all had to learn this the same as you are now. So, as a review, here are the roles of the power supply, LDD drivers, and the 5-up board (aka LDD board). The power supply, well, supplies power. It hooks up to the wall and can pull as much or as little power as the unit is rated to do. The LDD driver's job is to allot the power that the power supply is providing. LDD drivers will allot different amounts based on their physical capabilities and how they're controlled. The 5-up board's job is to link everything together. The LDD drivers and power supply are both plugged into the board, and this allows them to do their assigned jobs.
So, to answer your question, as far as your power supply is concerned, there are a couple of options. You can either have one really large power source, or multiple smaller ones. From there, that power will be allotted to the LEDs via the LDD Drivers. The demands of the LEDs dictate what size LDD driver you should use. After all, the LEDs need to get an appropriate amount of the power supply to do their job well. Hence, that's why we size our LDD drivers accordingly to the LEDs. At the end of the day though, as long as you have a large enough total amount of power to push everything, you're fine. It can be one large source, or multiple small ones.
Also, you asked about how many LDD drivers could be used for a particular power supply. The answer isn't absolute. It can range. So, say we have a definite amount of total power. The LDD driver's job is to divide up the power and put it where it needs to go, yeah? So, considering we have a definite amount of power, it can either be divided up into a few large groups, or multiple smaller groups. That's why the number of LDD drivers per power supply isn't set in stone. It just depends on how you want to divide up your power.
From earlier in the thread the gen 2 consists of the following per puck:
4 cool whites
4 royal blues
4 blues
2 red
2 green
So using the LDD drivers You could power all 4 pucks with 5 LDD drivers given a drive current of 700mA (1000ma maybe but the voltage could be a bit too high depending on the individual chips bins, which is unknown)
at 700ma each of the white, royal blues, and blues will draw in the ball park of 3 volts, so you could run each channel from the 4 pucks in series at or below 700mA.
4 times 4 times 3 volts equals 48 volts for the strings. Using LDD drivers you need to add the 3 volt drop for the LDD so you would need a PSU that can deliver at least 51 volts. Most 48v supplies like the meanwell SE serise can be turned up to around 54 volts giving you a little head room on voltage.
An adjustable power supply that allows up to 54 volts and at least 4 amps(or more) should suffice. these are relatively common.
Look back over the first few pages of the thread, most of this is figured out already starting around post #53
4 cool whites
4 royal blues
4 blues
2 red
2 green
So using the LDD drivers You could power all 4 pucks with 5 LDD drivers given a drive current of 700mA (1000ma maybe but the voltage could be a bit too high depending on the individual chips bins, which is unknown)
at 700ma each of the white, royal blues, and blues will draw in the ball park of 3 volts, so you could run each channel from the 4 pucks in series at or below 700mA.
4 times 4 times 3 volts equals 48 volts for the strings. Using LDD drivers you need to add the 3 volt drop for the LDD so you would need a PSU that can deliver at least 51 volts. Most 48v supplies like the meanwell SE serise can be turned up to around 54 volts giving you a little head room on voltage.
An adjustable power supply that allows up to 54 volts and at least 4 amps(or more) should suffice. these are relatively common.
Look back over the first few pages of the thread, most of this is figured out already starting around post #53
ghbrewer
New member
Just to confirm, is that 1 power supply for all 4 pucks or for each channel?
kentuckyclowns
Member
Thanks Zachts and crn! So are most people going with just all LDD-700s or a mix of 1000 and 700? Do the LDDs all have to be the same on the 5UP board?...I guess if they are run off of different drivers it would work but if it's the same driver then there would be issues with getting the right A and V to and through the LDDs to the LEDs right?
_shorty_
New member
remember that the lower the current you drive them at, the lower the internal heat is going to grow within each LED and the longer your lifespan will be. In exchange, you get less intensity, of course. However - I'm guessing many people don't run these things at 100% out from the factory (which are driven at max currents) anyway... so it's a balancing act.
With G2 pucks, I personally am runnig the White and Royal blues at 1000 (since they max at 1500mA), the XRE's I'm running at 700, and my violets and reds @ 500 (only because I added a lower capacity, extra red to the red string). 700 on each is probably a good option, though.
kentuckyclowns
Member
Brewer, just sent you a pm with info on that meanwell driver.
kentuckyclowns
Member
So are you running your 1000s off the same power supply as your 700s? If so, how is that functioning because I don't know how you could provide power to the LDDs at different amperage and different voltage and not fry them..I would assume each has a max input and also assuming you have them wired parallel to each other...
