Has anyone made an LED driver based on LM3463 6 channel driver IC?
- Thread starter tomservo
- Start date
Rott-
My tanks a 225 gal (72"L x 30"W x 24"T). I mounted 4 smack dab center and the rest in "cool/warm" pairs every 1 foot from center. Here's a photo-(not the best photo but you'll get the idea).
Yep- 4 in the center and two sets of two on each side. I'm driving the middle 4 at 1000ma to overcome the light losses due to the glass center brace, and 700ma at the remaining 8. These Vero Leds are rated to handle up to 3,000ma. I thought I'd be conservative and run them at 1,400ma. Evidently I wasn't conservative enough, as 700ma is more than adequate, if the leds have a clear shot to the water.
How are those doing heat wise on the maker's heatsink, Is it enough to keep them cool if measured at the case temperature marker on the chip? I'd expect them to run considerably hotter than an XML or Luxeon M but then their chip surface area is much larger and juctions spread out rather than a small point source of heat.
I can't imaging using these on my reef tank but perhaps the smaller vero 10s running very conservatively.......
I can't imaging using these on my reef tank but perhaps the smaller vero 10s running very conservatively.......
daveabbott007
New member
O2Surplus - is there a way we can buy these boards built (in the UK) - Really want one for my little Rio 125 Triton project
Hey rott,...how you doing,...almost called you the other day. My screens acting up,...no picture. It looks like there is all the little pixels,but no pic. Soooo don't know if its the screen, shield, or arduino, I wanted to check them with your setup. Anyhow I ordered a whole new set, arduino,shield,screen,...be here by friday. :lol:---Rick
Yep- Been up and running since Saturday night. No Tank pic's yet.... I dropped my camera on concrete and it's kaput. Gotta buy a new one.:sad2:
I dropped my Canon S70 and broke the Xenon flash bulb. Put it on the bench took it completely apart ( so glad I bought the clamp on magnifying glass) found the new flash part on ebay and got it all back together 2 weeks later when the bulb showed up.
Guess what,...pushed the button and it WORKED!! YAY.
Guess what,...pushed the button and it WORKED!! YAY.
O2Surplus - had a quick google the other day. Not sure if you've already done this or interested, but getting arduinos to talk to each other over I2C looks to be very simple. Somthing I'm intending to have a play with in the next month or two.
Would you be interested in a very simple example eg code for both arduinos, where a question is passed from one and the other replies? Should make the steps fairly obvious for changing to do whatever people want (eg one of your boards which is hooked to a screen and user input can be used to cotrol the PWM, etc on mulitple other boards, snce you designed tthem with that in mind!).
Tim
Would you be interested in a very simple example eg code for both arduinos, where a question is passed from one and the other replies? Should make the steps fairly obvious for changing to do whatever people want (eg one of your boards which is hooked to a screen and user input can be used to cotrol the PWM, etc on mulitple other boards, snce you designed tthem with that in mind!).
Tim
LOL- I've been thinking about how to do the same thing. I have plenty of Typhon controllers laying around that could be reprogrammed to control the 5up A6211 driver boards. The Typhon already has the I2C connection broken out, and it's already got the buttons. All I need is the software . If you've some code that could get me started, I'd love to have a copy.
I haven't got the code, but I have been googling and it looks easy. And I have two of your boards (and a mega) to test it out on. If I get chance this weekend I'll knock up a simple example of one board telling the other to vary the PWM on an LED on the slave board. Slave board will then reply confirming.
Still waiting on most of my LEDs so can't get playing yet with the test panel I want to build, but I do have a single XTE on small heat sink I've been using for testing which'll do fine to test this
Tim
Still waiting on most of my LEDs so can't get playing yet with the test panel I want to build, but I do have a single XTE on small heat sink I've been using for testing which'll do fine to test this
Tim
I haven't got the code, but I have been googling and it looks easy. And I have two of your boards (and a mega) to test it out on. If I get chance this weekend I'll knock up a simple example of one board telling the other to vary the PWM on an LED on the slave board. Slave board will then reply confirming.
Still waiting on most of my LEDs so can't get playing yet with the test panel I want to build, but I do have a single XTE on small heat sink I've been using for testing which'll do fine to test this
Tim
Tim-
That sounds good. I'll be interested in seeing whatever you can cobble together. If I understand things correctly, if we can move the timing/clock keeping functions to a master controller, we'll be able to free up the slave 5up A6211 driver boards to run code using the SoftPWM library. This would allow the Atmega chip to produce 10bit (1024) dimming rather the stock 8bit variety (255). I'm using the Timer1 library to achieve 10bit dimming right now and am very happy with it. A full 5 channels at 10bit would be really cool.
Not sure how easy two way communication is. All the examples I've found have been one way only, but that would still allow what you want. I'll have a play and see if the communication can go both ways (the examples I've been looking at have been training ones, so they may have just been keeping it simple) just because I want to
Will get you something before the end of the weekend, all being well.
Tim
Will get you something before the end of the weekend, all being well.
Tim
