hanging but they dont move much also no sharp edges for wires to be cut on so i have no concern myself.
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Any time you or anything else moves the light, an amount of vibration can be imparted in the loose wires. They oscillate back and forth, even at a very small scale that you may not see with your eye. Honestly you may not ever have a problem, just food for thought.
I had made a vibratory table, and I hadn’t tacked anything down… well the wires broke at the connectors for the vibrating motors. V2 I tacked it a few places and still going strong. Essentially don’t leave much wire to “swing” back and forth.
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like the spark plug cables on some cars =)
Did you use multifilament or single core cable? This makes a difference.
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This was multifilament, but it broke where it was tinned just up from the soldered connection.
But yes, if tacking it didn’t work I planned to use silicone coated wiring with a high core count. Fortunately lights don’t vibrate that much.
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so i’m hoping that one of you guys can help me replace my 2 1k hps lights for my 4x8 flower tent. i know just enough to know i don’t know enough.
i’m willing to order parts and put them together, i just don’t know what parts i should get. i’m running 2 1k hps that cost me about $125 a month. it’s getting to be to much.so i would like to what i need to sufficiently light a 4x8 flower tent. dimmable would be prefered. i’m in the states if that makes a difference.
i’ve been reading through this thread for a long time, and learned quite a lot.
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well there are always prebuilt options say 4 ViparSpectra P2500 or the likes, dont have to build and is plug and play…
Build wise if still wanting to go the bridgelux route, probably be looking at xlg-240 or hlg-320 drivers and running 8 of the 1180mm strips off the 240’s and or the same or 10 of those off the 320 and would be running 4 groups of those or possibly 5 of the xlg-240’s if your wantign to bump it up a bit, could start with 4 with room for a fifth
would get you in the ballpark of 30-40w/sqft
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Thanks, more to look up now. Those ViparSpectra lights do look pretty nice. Looking at some reviews, they seem to be on par with some of the more expensive lights, just without some of the fancy features. Maybe cheaper drivers too.
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Yep. Didn’t make a difference. The tape held them down just fine.
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That is to be expected.
It is 62mil FR4 with copper and parts on one side only. The stresses are not evenly distributed - especially after re-flow.
It actually works in our favor, Pin down the ends and it is making good contact with the heat sink all along the length.
Cheers
G
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Nice, I’m doing thermal tape and two rivets on the side notches nearest the ends.
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In my opinion that curvature could be used to advantage… as long as the actual “heat sink” aka aluminium beams also follow the curvature. getting a parabolic effect might get you a more effective light?
In my mind it makes sense… don’t know if I verbalise my ideas that well…
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I understood ya, maybe that could be helpful for some situations, but for mine the strips will be approx 22”x22” of a roughly 23.5”x23.5” area, so it should cover it pretty dang well I would think/hope!
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If your tape is as sticky as mine the rivets are unnecessary if taped along the full length.
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Belt and suspenders!
Sometimes those pressure sensitive adhesives will release over time,
Just for peace of mind I’d use a couple mechanical fasteners… 
Cheers
G
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Yeah, whether necessary or not, my paranoid/overkill self didn’t really want to find out.
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I use small screws down the strips to ensure they always remain mounted securely.
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Is there a driver that can run just one or two strips? Was trying to hunt one down, but not having any luck. We want to grow some herbs n stuff up on our kitchen bar. Shouldn’t need more than one, maybe two strips for that.
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What size/length strips?
Depending on which, prob either an XLG-25 variant or preferably a XLG-75 variant so that way you have room to spare for an extra strip or so depending OR if just running smaller/less strips, you could potentially dim it down and it might be more efficient and also run cooler.
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