Just got my basic solstrip kit and dont know what to do :-D

[anon32470837]

The wiring was correct the first time. Its also correct the second time

Have you adjusted the pots on the driver? I Hope you didnt have the pots ALL the way to the right. You may have burned out some of the leds.

Start with them both turned ALL THE WAY counter clockwise. Thats the lowest power level. Then turn them both to the right maybe 1/4 turn, and check the voltage at the strips. You want to turn the Volts pot clockwise - in small steps - until the voltage gets to 24 volts. You may have to turn the Amps pot clockwise to get all the way up to 24 volts. You do not want to go over 24 volts.

EDIT: That driver should not be able to over drive the LED’s, so something else is going on with the lights.

It would be best if you have a power meter that told you amps and volts at the same time or at least total power. You dont want to run them over roughly 50 watts per strip.

[Roux]

He has instructions on the site for assembly…Here is the pdf

SolStrip DIY Instructions.pdf (1.6 MB)

I would start over and start at step 1 and rebuild.

[anon32470837]

@Fisch

Do you have these Tiny little Brown spots on your chips? Like I do?

The X2 3500 k strips do have those dots, so your ok.

[Fisch]

Yeah I asured the driver is set to minimum before I switched it on. So There shouldnt be problem…

Thanks @Roux! I will ready when I get home. I am now on pub quiz

[2RedEyes]

If you have the voltage pot down too far the leds may not come on or may cause the issue your seeing where some don’t.

[Fisch]

Ok guys Some good news. Both Lights are going. The First one had problem with bad conector conection.

But… Both of the Light Have problems.
Here is number one.
Only 8 diodes dont work. But when I put Finger next to them they start to glow. But very little. And Sametimes they work Just Fine except two But I think it wont have any impact overall to the plants

With my Finger

And Sametimes it stays like this

The second one doesnt react on touch or cable moving. Stays like this…

I Believe that its manufacture deffect. Nothing is perfect I cant wait to put them over the plants!!!

Thanks a lot

[Roux]

It looks like 3 SolStrip are malfunctioning, probably internally in the PCB board.

You should replace the malfunctioning strip with a working strip that way you have one complete light system. While you figure out the other one from @Baudelaire

[anon32470837]

@Roux

It looks like 3 SolStrip are malfunctioning, probably internally in the PCB board.

You should replace the malfunctioning strip with a working strip that way you have one complete light system. While you figure out the other one from @Baudelaire

I agree. Dont leave the ones with bad diodes connected to strips that are all good. Put all the good ones together, and talk to @Baudelaire about replacing the others.

[Fisch]

Ok I replaced one strip and Made one 100% functional Light I also changed the wireing so it looks better and more uniform

[Roux]

Now that is a sexy piece of equipment you got there

[2RedEyes]

Lookin good, only thing I would suggest but not really necessary is put some nice grommets in holes at the wire end of each strip and run the wires on the back side…

[anon32470837]

Have you contacted @Baudelaire yet about the issues? He is very good at customer service.

[Fisch]

That is a very nice idea @2RedEyes I might do that on the second Light.

Yes @anon32470837 I wrote him PM but didnt get the answer yet I think it will be Just Fine

[Baudelaire]

Ok, where to begin here.

First, as @Roux mentioned, are the instructions for building the SolSheet X kit @Roux linked to above, which are sent by email with every kit shipped. They also available on the SolSheet X kit web page. They are detailed yet concise. Follow them precisely and you will build a great light. Improvise without knowledge of how LED light systems are designed, and your results may differ to say the least.

Manufacturing defects in the strips are certainly possible. That said, I’ve yet to have a bad X2 strip out of literally hundreds sold. Having 3 out of 10 from the same order bad suggests something else.

Second, no strip mounting screws come with the kit, so what did you use? I do not recommend mounting the strips to the baking sheet with screws, that is what the double-sided tape is for.

The non-lighting and dimly lit circuits, and the fact that you seemed to “fix” one or two strips by re-mounting them, suggests to me that the screws might be too large or too tight and are crushing or shorting out the circuit traces in the PCB. The picture in Post #30 of the strips each with one dead and one over-driven string definitely points toward shorting at the mounting holes.

The strip mounting holes are M3 size. If you used the screws supplied in the kit, meant for mounting the acrylic shield, you are using M4 size screws, which will certainly damage the PCB and likely the circuitry. SolStrips can be mounted properly with screws, but you must use the correct size and should protect the strips from crushing with a nylon washer.

Third, your baking sheet is not of the recommended size in the SolSheet X kit instructions. It may work, but make sure it is large and thick enough to properly dissipate the heat produced by the strips. The instructions specify a 26x18 inch, 12 gauge aluminum baking sheet. Your sheet can be a different dimension but should have a similar thickness and total surface area.

Fourth, I don’t see that you’ve attached the fan assembly. The fan is not an optional component on a SolSheet X unless you plan on running the strips at 50% of their maximum output. The baking sheet will not cool sufficiently at higher wattage levels, which could also lead to the kind of emitter string failure you show.

Fifth, your picture of the 240w driver shows both rubber stoppers removed from the voltage and amperage pots - which suggests you’ve adjusted both voltage and current. What have you adjusted them to? Did you use a meter? If not you could be over-driving the circuit, which could also result in the behavior you are seeing.

I set the driver for the correct voltage to deliver the rated maximum wattage at 100% of current, and adjust the current pot to 50% before shipping. While the current (I/O) pot can be adjusted freely to dim the light, the voltage pot shouldn’t be adjusted without a meter - a small 20 degree turn of the pot can change the total wattage of the driver by 100 watts due to the multiplier effect (Volts X Amps = Watts).

My recommendation is to use the instructions to build your kit exactly as specified. If you do that and still have malfunctioning strips I am always willing to work with you to make things right. But the kits do require some attention to the details, and I can only vouch for the designs I’ve create and tested.

-b420

[Fisch]

Well yeah…I Have a tendency to fuck up things before I even think…but I Believe that it will work this time

Thank you so much for answer @Baudelaire. I will start over and everything should be Fine.

I Have only one question so far. Since I used all your wire… I dont have any so I got my self a new one but it is twice as thicker. But perfectly fits in to the strips. Is it ok to use that one? Or must be the exact thicknes? Thanks!

[Fisch]

And one more question. What KIND of tape is it? Where can I buy it or something. Somewhere on ebay? Thanks

[Baudelaire]

On the plus side, your wiring looks solid, in type and style…

The strip connectors can accept 16-22 AWG wire sizes. I send 18 AWG 2-conductor SOLID copper wiring, commonly called “T-stat” wire in the US (for wiring thermostats, doorbells, etc.) If your stripped leads fit into the connector holes easily, they should work.

The tape is “double-sided thermal tape” used for mounting LEDs and CPU chips to heatsinks. You should have all you need in the kit, but if you need more you can find it at electronics parts stores or Ebay. Here’s an example (I use the 25mm width).

-b420

[Baudelaire]

Also, make sure you mount the power through the side “lip” of the sheet, using the black plastic “nipple” tension-reliever nut. Very important for safe operation.

[Fisch]

Ok @Baudelaire I Just finished the lights. The problem is still There :-/ I did everything acording the instructions. The Forst Light works perfectly with 5 solstrips on lowest setting.

Then the second Light. Its done except the plastic shield and computer fan. The fan is Fine but one wire was not conected to it so I Have to fix it later. Anyway, Three strips still doesnt work properly. How to deal with this? Its only about 20 chips so I wouldnt mind to use it anyway but is it safe tho? Or does it damage rest of the leds?

But overall. The Light build was really Fun and looks really great. I would love to sell these to everyone! thanks!

Edit: I am sure I didnt damaged the strips with the screws because I bought new ones that are small and fit in to the strips. But I screwed them AFTER I tried the strips turn on and Discovered that they were damaged. So I really dont know how else could I damage them :-/

[Baudelaire]

@Fisch email me at help@solstrip.com and we can sort this out. Using larger-than-specified screws is one way to damage the strips, but lighting the strips up without mounting them at all is another way (as it screwing the screws in too tight and without soft washers to keep them from crushing the circuit traces on the strip and shorting them out).

As far as operating the lamps as they are, it is certainly “safe” (presuming your wiring is correctly done and safe). There is a slight chance of a current imbalance that could lead to premature failure of the rest of the strip or other strips. But more likely they will stay as they are for a long time. And the output loss is likely nominal.

Have you adjusted your driver yet? If you adjusted the voltage pot without a meter, you may still be overdriving the voltage, which will definitely lead to more damage and failures. Find cheap voltmeter and get that driver tuned to 24v asap. You can’t eyeball it.

-b420