Simu-Spot strobing issue

[ReefEnabler]

Hey guys, I finally ran my wires through my crawlspace and my profilux is controlling a powerbar, two Simu-Spots, and two Tunze pumps in my display tank, about 25 feet from the garage fishroom.


Everything is working out, except that one of my simu-spot's will start to 'strobe' after it reaches 100% brightness in either channel (red or white/blue). It's strange because both simu-spots are sharing the same settings.

Here's how my L ports are divided:

L1L2 has a Tunze 6201 as L1 , garage frag tank flow (L2 is unused).

L3L4 are the two Tunze 6201's in the display tank. 3v min 8v max, seems to work fine.


L5L6 is used for my SimuSpot LEDs. They are set to 0.8v min, 10v max

I run two VSL5 extender cables in the crawlspace, and then a YL1 splitter which connects directly to the two SimuSpots.

L5 is set to Illumination 1 (moonlight), and L6 is Illumination 2 (sunrise).

As a test, I programmed L5 to go from 5% to 100% over the course of 15 minutes, and after it reached 100%, only ONE of my Simu-Spot's was 'strobing', while the other one was on as expected. It did correctly slowly ramp-up the brightness, so it is communcating correctly with both Simu-Spots on some level...

I then repeated the same test using L6 (the red LEDs), and got the same result. One of my Simu-Spots will start strobing once it reaches full brightness.


Could I have done something wrong with my wiring? Maybe with the YL2-1? I noticed the YL2-1 comes with a short cable and a splitter.... is it necessary to use the cable with it, or can it be used with just the splitter?

I really dont think that this is any kind of thunderstorm option or anything, since I turned all that off, and it's only happening to a single SimuSpot, and they're both configured the same as far as profilux knows (or as far as I know )

Thanks, hopefully theres something wrong with my configuration!

Ryan

 

[AQD_ottawa]

Hi

We really need to see your settings, I am away right now, can i ask you to forward them to either matthias or Lorin they can give you the support on this issue until my return

 

[ReefEnabler]

I am not at home anymore but I will upload them when I go home this evening.

Thanks!!!!
Ryan

 

[kidney514]

Bring your spot next to the profilux and try them connected directly into the profilux, that we ca n eliminate the wiring factor!
Try one by itself id it work then try both of them with the spillter.

Let me know!

 

[ReefEnabler]

thanks Kidney that's a good idea, I will try that as soon as I get home

Can I get you to verify a few minor things for me:

Is 0.8 - 10v the correct range for both the Red and Blue/White channels of the SimuSpot, or can the red light use a lower min?


The YL2-1 cable comes with a 1m extension cable.... is that cable in any way different from the VSL extender cables? ie, would it be an issue to use that 1meter extension to only extend one leg of the split?

Thanks for all the support, I'll upload the settings file and try the LEDs without all my wiring extensions very soon.....

 

[AQD_ottawa]

The 1 meter cable is best to be used prior to the split.

The settings you have are correct in reference to the voltage.

I suspect as Lorin does you have a wiring glitch. Lorin will assist you from here

 

[ReefEnabler]

The 1 meter cable is located right before the Y splitter. Then the two Simu-Spots are plugged directly into the Y.

I just saved my settings and uploaded them to:
http://www.worstkind.com/aquarium/Settings.par

I am about to try kidney's idea of moving the lights directly to the profilux itself to eliminate bad wiring.


I did some more experimenting though, and either channel works totally fine as long as they are both not near 100%. When I had illumination 1 at 100% and slowly faded up illumination 2, the simu started strobing once ill. 2 was around 80% or so.....

turning down either channel will fix it right now. I'll post back after I manage to test more.....

 

[ReefEnabler]

ok, Kidney you were spot on with the wiring issue....

I took the 1m cable and YL1 splitter and connected directly to the L5L6 jack on the profilux, and they work perfectly. even got a 2nd 1m cable and VSL extender and it still worked fine with both at 100%.

But when I bring it back to my display tank and hook the same 1m cable to a VSL extender that comes out of my crawlspace, I get the strobing again. One light will only flash on for a split second once per second, and during that instant the other light is off.

But if I set just one of the channels to 50% or lower, it goes away. So I can easily program that to be the case, but I just feel like I'd be overlooking a possible wiring issue and possibly doing damage to the profilux.


I am using two 5 meter VSL extender cables from the L5L6 port to where the 1m extender cable connects it to the YL1. Could this be adding too much resistance to the line such that the profilux cannot supply enough power to both LEDs???????

Or could something be wrong with my cables?

 

[kidney514]

I'll leave the resistance part to matthias, I have no clue what type of wiring there is inside the extender (my guess is 32gauge stranded) and what is the resistance per linear foot!
Matthias that one is for you!