I bought some that are suppose to be LM281B+ with UV / IR last year and was about to get around to using them. Found out that those are older diodes but some say the 281b+ is still a decent led. Here’s the ones I got. I got the 3500K with UV/IR.
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I wouldn’t worry about burning the wood, it’s about cooling the silicone for longer life and more reliable spectrum output…and to avoid a thermal / current issue.
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Thanks for the info!
So assuming I verify one as ground, would I just leave the ground unconnected when I hook up a new 0-10v dimmer?
Also, how do I verify it as ground? I do have a voltmeter.
Would I just set it to measure resistance (ohms) then touch the black probe to the metal frame of the light and then touch the red probe to one of the pins and look for a low resistance reading?
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Bingo!
The 2 dimmer inputs to the driver are typically floating (referenced to ground).
But a safety ground would read zero Ohms.
Now, if you have access to electronic parts, jumping resister (10K to 50K) across the two floating leads and you should see a change in the light intensity. (Just to verify)
For a single driver it is normally a 100K pot. You short the center post (the wiper) to the left post. And then connect a wire to that pair and another wire to the right post. Those two wires connect back to the driver.
If it’s rotating backwards, no problem just connect the center post to the right terminal instead. That should give you zero to 100% variability.
I have seen the pots prewired and in a nice box on Amazon if you prefer going that route.
Is this a ‘brand name’ driver? Got a M/N?
Cheers
G
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Those are still definitely a viable economy light source. There are also boards with the 301b chips but the LM281’s are stlll fairly efficient. I wouldn’t run anything older though.
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This is the ballast:
I don’t think I need to mess with the ballast at all though.
The light is designed so the dimmer switch plugs into a male connector built into the frame.
It’s either an “M12 3 pin connector” or an “M19 3 pin connector”. I need to measure to be sure.
So my thought was to just buy the M19/M12 female quick connector and attach it to an aftermarket 0-10v dimmer and plug it into the light.
Something like this:
With one of these:
I just wasn’t sure how to wire it since the 0-10v dimmers only have 2 wires.
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Measure the diameter across the insides of the frame connector.
12mm = M12
19mm = M19
The video in the dimmer description suggests that there is a polarity issue to observe, that doesn’t make sense to me… as I understand them to be a potentiometer and that doesn’t have polarity…
Cheers
G
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That’s an M12-F connector, and Photontek probably specs it so the third wire can be used for their controller and RJ12 daisy chain control. Fluence uses the next size up for their dimmer connection and they have the wiring chart showing no current, so I think you’re safe to assume that just using two wires for dimming is ok:
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Awesome!!! Thank you so much. That was very helpful! Much appreciated. I had kind of hit a dead end.
I had reached out to PhotonTek but they were zero help. They really didn’t answer any of my questions and just said they weren’t aware of any aftermarket 0-10v dimmer compatible with their lights and recommended their $400 controller…
lol (safe to say I’ll be buying another brand in the future). I kind of feel like PhotonTek purposely made it a PITA to use an aftermarket dimmer to try and force sales of their $400 controller and that pisses me off.
I searched the web but couldn’t find any info or wiring diagrams for their lights. So I started searching for info on the Lumatek LED lights (their parent/sister company) and didn’t find much of anything either.
Do you happen to know of a good source for those M12 3 pin connectors?
I’ve found a few but none look exactly like what I’d need.
I am having a hard time finding one that looks like the one PhotonTek uses. Specifically the position of the 3 pins with that notch in the side + a twist lock outer ring (most seem threaded).
Ex’s:
This seems to be the closest I’ve found but I’m still not sure if it’s right and it’s like 6x more expensive.
Here’s a pic of the connector I need again:
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@TeddyNuggets If I were you, I’d just cut that connector out and splice it into the potentiometer you want to use, can use Wago connectors to reduce the wire size if needed. Or order a spare 5m cable from Photontek for $10 and use it as a donor?
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Yeah I thought about that but I didn’t see a way to get that connector off. I tried to get it off to see how it was wired. I can get the twist lock ring off but under that it all appears to be one piece/sealed. I’ll have to inspect it closer. I’ll take some pics next time. Maybe someone here will know how to get it off.
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Oh I know what you’re talking about, it’s probably just an extremely tight press fit with o rings since the waterproof spec for these connectors is IP67 or IP68. Try grabbing the next piece of the connector with some vice grips padded with a towel or jeans and give it a good steady pull up the wire while holding the rest of the plug with your other hand. I bet it will slide up exposing three screw terminals like my HLG connectors do, NEMA waterproof cable connectors for harsh environments have a really precise tolerance, a lot more than we’re used to on consumer electronics.
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Have some Bridgelux Gen 3 strips I desperately need to do something with. Anyone have any hook ups for a frame? I have some stuff to DIY a frame but figure that the chinese have been knocking off LED lights for long enough that all the components should be cheap and accessible. I like the LED lights that have the aluminum frames that fold in half and have the strips attach to heatsinks that connect to the frame. If anyone would know where I could score the frame components I would appreciate it.
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They are, on their amazon style online shops (ali*). With a bit of researches you can find good deals. Though a DIY folding light will ask for a bit of engineering on your side.
Check your local metal suppliers for 1” 90 degree aluminum stock to build your frame. I run the Bridgelux gen. 3 w/o the heat sinks with no issues.
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This is probably the most realistic option. I was hoping for something a little more elegant and mostly hoping the plethora of counterfeit Chinese led lights would also yield a plethora of reversed engineered aluminum frame components.
I made my frame out of wood. Cheaper and easy to use. Easy to screw in hinges for storage as well
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On riu I was keeping a thread going on diy shit from arrow, you can get unreal deals on there, like I built these boards with cree xpg3 diodes each diode cost no more than ¢30.
This will probably be my next diy project been focusing on my outdoor grow atm, I also picked up 12 cxb 3590 at 3200k 92+ cri for 2.50 each. And a lrs 600 watt to run em just need heat sinks now. I also found h in flux 3000k 88 diode strips for under $3, you just have to keep looking, all my indoor is %100 DIY lighting + a couple cmh fixtures.
Even got some of the new cree xpg4 diodes to play with, anyone round these part into that kinda stuff anymore?
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That’s interesting.
You mean Arrow, the electronics parts distributor? They have clearance sales?
The DIY action faded away as the retail pricing of LED lights dropped through the ‘buck a watt’ range. I still have parts to build another big ‘Bar’ light though… Nice score on those round H/S. Those will radiate heat nicely.
Cheers
G
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Not an actual clearance but when new stock comes in or parts are on the shelf for a long time they get ridiculously cheap, for example meanwell xlg 100 Watt driver for $4.00
https://www.arrow.com/en/products/xlg-100-l-ab/mean-well-enterprises
The prices can shoot back up any moment so you gotta keep look out
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