Meanwell LDD driver: for those who want to dim to 0 using Arduino
- Thread starter pwreef
- Start date
are the gerbers still posted somewhere in the thread? I was flipping back through and couldn't find them.......
Sacohen
New member
Sent PM.
nemosworld
Active member
good catch!
joshlawless
New member
Post 1726. I've been deleting outdated attachments from my user profile, so only the most recent are still available for download.
joshlawless
New member
Roberto @ Reef Angel is building me two custom dimming expansion units that will handle 16 channels each. I'll have to do a fair bit of programming to get it to do what I want, though. :-/
iced98lx
New member
Cool, I wonder if he'll use the chip that the 16 channel dimmer I used is based on (http://www.adafruit.com/products/815) it's i2c and very easy to use.
Hey Iced, What kind of a fixture did you build that required 16 channels?---Rick
joshlawless
New member
Because I'm entirely new to this PCB design game, and don't really know what I'm doing. :-D
Mostly because I just copied from O2Surplus' and rrasco's boards, since I didn't know how to add new components to mine when I designed them.
And I didn't think of it.
And, the free version of Eagle didn't give me any more room to work with on the PCB - I imagine it wouldn't have fit where the screw terminals do.
joshlawless
New member
If I had designed the board so that the LDD sockets were a little closer together (along the major axis of the board), it would fit by sliding into the groove on the top of the MakersLED heatsink (the 100mm dimension of the board is a perfect fit, but the sockets just barely prevent it from fitting in once populated). Maybe I'll make a v1.8.
LOL, your way ahead of me! If I knew how I would do it myself. For my build a cat5 on a 5up board would be ideal for running the pwm's back to my arduino.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1PCS-10P10C-NETWORK-RJ45-RJ50-CAT5-CAT5E-PCB-FEMALE-SHIELDING-SOCKET-JACK-US10-/300940204499?pt=US_Networking_Plugs_Jacks_Wall_Plates&hash=item46116f19d3
LOL I started out with the "freeware" version too. I think most new EAGLE users do too. If you intend to design more PcB's, which you probably will (it's an addiction) LOL. I recommend spending a couple of $$ to get your hands on the Standard Version of EAGLE. It opens up a "whole new world" of capabilities as compared to the "FreeWare" or "Lite" version. You'll get a much bigger PcB area to work in and multiple schematic pages. You even get the option to "import" previously drawn Pcb designs into the one you're working on. That feature makes it super easy to create multiple identical circuits on the same Pcb without having to place all the individual components by hand. Here's an example, It's a 5 channel "Dream Chip" driver that I'm working on.
I started out by creating the first channel on a Pcb that measures 50mm X 20mm
I then imported the same design into the work area 5 times to create this 100mm X 100mm Pcb, did a little editing, and Viola! It's done.
Sure- I don't see why not. I think that I've made a habit of using the screw terminals simply because most of my designs are posted for public consumption, i.e. everyone can see the connection point for a single wire. If a particular PcB design suits your needs but you'd like different connections, just edit the design yourself or ask me and I'll do it for you.:thumbsup:
Thanks O2!! I would like to figure out how to do it on Eagle. Would Eagle freeware version allow me to do something like this? If so I'll give it a try. I'm watching Tom's thread also as you guys have the solutions. Don't know if that A6211 is what Tom wants, but with 1500ma and pwm I think it is the answer I have been looking for on a DC power solution. I would need a 5up board, just need to think how to change out one driver if a problem would arrise. On the cat5's I think I could run the fans power and pwm also the 18B20's along with the A6211 pwm all back to my Arduino with one wire??---Rick
Yes- you can do a lot with the freeware version. Just download it and start learning how to use the basic program. There's a couple of good tutorials on "Instructables" that will show you the basics. Once you get familiar with the program, just load my 5upLDD-H board & schematic files into it, and begin hacking away.
I haven't "pulled the trigger" yet on that 5up A6211 PcB just yet (But I did get (50) A61211 from DigiKey today, "for testing purposes". LoL They were $.70 each, and I couldn't resist).
You've given me an idea. What if I can make an A6211 PcB compatible with the existing LDD-H PcB? Most of the LDD-H PcB designs that have been already posted here have the LDD's mounted side by side. There may be enough "wiggle room" to allow me to fit a slightly longer A6211 driver PcB into the same basic footprint of the LDD-H. Thoughts?
