Sounds like a ganged on/off switch is there as well.
Three terminals are the pot. Your can test this all out with a multi meter.
Cheers
G
Sounds like a ganged on/off switch is there as well.
Three terminals are the pot. Your can test this all out with a multi meter.
Cheers
G
That style pot is typically used with a pcb board, but works as a free standing pot provided you have a steady solder hand.
That was my second guess… does it click when you turn it?
If you are controlling a pair of drivers, you want 50K pots.
The formula is 100K/(number of drivers)
Cheers
G
Yes, good point, @ifish got a picture?
Cheers
G
I am planning to upgrade my led light which will require an additional driver. The plan was to operate both drivers using a 100k dual. Will that be sufficient?
Mine is set up with 2x 100K pots.
Then I figured out I could have used a single 50K
Cheers
G
@ChemicalDependant Yes it clicks at very start when you turn it on
If I showed you guys how I fitted the wire to the pot you should have fit , I used a connector block and Jamed the prongs into block and then wired from block to cable lol
Rule number one , don’t touch the block haha , I have lots of these rules it seams
I have no problem with ‘farmer engineering’ so long as it holds together…
Cheers
G
So, my lights are flickering, pretty sure it is my crappy soldering on the potentiometer. Is there a way I can just do away with dimming and the flickering by eliminating it all together? I rarely dim them down anyway.
Yes just remove the potentiometer and tape the 2 ends up separately. Means your lights will run on full from now on
Thanks, I knew there had to be a way.
Keep in mind that the driver isn’t to big for the amount of strips your running
I was talking to a buddy recently who wanted to DIY but save some cash compared to previous setups, so I spitballed a new low cost build that should really pump out the photons. Somebody please check my math.
To outfit a 4x4 for veg and flowering, it’s two (2) separate fixtures, each with these parts:
For less than $500 delivered to outfit a 4x4, you get a lot of output in a great form factor, dimmable from about 100w to around 260-275w on each driver for total output of somewhere between about 520-550w, depending on how much factory overclock the drivers have. This should be hung no closer than 12" above the top of your canopy when run at full blast.
The build is super easy. Only need a drill and drill bit, a hack saw to cut the metal, and maybe a file or sandpaper to deburr your cuts and drill holes.
The only really critical thing to get right with these HO strips is to make sure they are well-mated to the aluminum angle with the double-sided thermal tape and fastened with the plastic nuts/bolts so they don’t come off. You can’t skimp on cooling them, but the angle aluminum is sufficient to heatsink them if mated properly.
Here’s the spec sheets on the HO strips and the 240H driver series.
DS134 Bridgelux EB Series Gen3 High Output Strips Data Sheet 20200612 Rev A.pdf (1.1 MB)
MeanWell HLG-240H Driver Series Specs.pdf (227.0 KB)
If you haven’t removed the wires from the pot, what you can do is reheat your soldering iron. Once it is hot, put a little solder on the tip and let it flow. Wipe that on a damp paper towel and put the tip against the pot lug and wire. You should see the solder on the lug/wire stay to soften. Feed your solder wire between the tip and lug, solder should flow. This should take no more than 30 seconds at the most. Don’t super heat the lug as that can potentially burn up the potentiometer.
Edit: putting solder on the tip allows for optimal heat transfer to whatever you are soldering.
Consider 4 of those ho strips per your driver and they should be plenty happy considering some heatsinking like your planning as you can over drive them almost 200% and with 4 your only talking 110-115% off said 240driver maxed out.
Also potentiometers do fail but as suggested you can just desolder it.
Does anybody have a recommendation for a normal input voltage (90-300v or whatever) 25-50w bluetooth or wifi dimmable driver to power two 4ft Bridgelux EB3 strips? One that is actually available to purchase online without shipping overseas.
I want to build a home lighting fixture I can dim without physical access to it, as I can’t wire a pot.
A Bluefish Mini with with MeanWell LDD boards?
I appreciate the suggestion, but I was looking for something both less expensive and more streamlined. I know there are drivers that have BT or wifi control capability, but I don’t know of any in my wattage range and for cheap…
Here are some offerings from MeanWell that are close, but no cigar:
https://www.meanwell.co.uk/led-drivers/bluetooth-led-drivers