Problems with Apex Base Var Ports

[ChuckLawson]

I'm trying to use the Var ports on my Apex base unit to control LED dimming on a set of Meanwell ELN-60-48D drivers, but I'm getting some real weird results.

With a test profile of:
Type: Ramp
Ramp Time: 1 minute
Start Intensity: 100
End Intensity: 100

and outlets base var 1 - base var 4 set to this profile, after five minutes (allowing plenty of time for the ramp from 100 to 100 to finish), with a DVM attached I get the following measurements on each port:

var1: 8.9v - 9.6v
var2: 4.1v - 4.3v
var3: 9.2v - 9.8v
var4: 6.6v - 7.1v

The voltages on each outlet just fluctuate wildly between these numbers -- these are the highest and lowest I saw while watching each outlet on the DVM for a few minutes.

I get the same results if I just turn each of these outlets to "Manual On" - in either case I'm expecting to see something a little closer to a steady 10v on all ports.

This is using a genuine "Apex 2 Channel Apex to Light Dimming Cable" - I started out with just a Cat 6 cable with one end removed, but when I got these results I figured I'd done something wrong and ordered the proper cable.

My firmware is version 4.04_BC10, and I've got an EB8, a DC8, an AquaSurf module, a pH probe, ORP probe and temp probe attached. Everything else seems to be working normally...

 

[aquamanic]

If you do another test with a different ramp profile, one that runs from 0% to 50% to you see voltages roughly half of what you see now?

 

[ChuckLawson]

I just wanted to update this... I ended up calling Neptune about a problem with my other Apex (which they quickly resolved), and asked them about this as well.

The long and short of it is that the unit needs to go back to them in order for them to debug this problem. Unfortunately, since I can't go a week without my base unit, I've decided to punt and just order a VDM to run my lights instead.

Thanks for your help!