If you don´t mind soldering potentiometers (and putting them into a project box, for better appearance), I´d recommend B type drivers. Although I don´t mess with the power often, I find the internal pot a bit cumbersome to use in some situations (takes a very small screwdriver and turning a tiny -sensitive!- knob).
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Not to mention the B-type drivers can be controlled with PWM allowing all kinds of automation. Like the Bluefish I use.
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True that the B type allow more dimming OPTIONS. I just don’t find many folks who buy a 300w driver and run it at 50%. Or set up automated dim-down and dim-up periods with Arduino’s, etc. More like, they fire it up to 110% of rated max (which you can do with a type A), and hang it as close as possible without scorching the tops, and grow grow grow…
Even for temporary dimming during seedling/cloning etc., dialing down the A pot is a 30 second, one screwdriver effort. And Mean Well’s internal pots are much better quality than the external pots that are available on Ebay etc.
Unless you are going towards a multi-driver, electronically automated system, the A drivers are superior for virtually all typical applications, IMO. If all you want is a knob to manually adjust, get an A and keep a Phillips screwdriver handy.
-b420
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What that man said 
and I absolutely love fucking about with stuff.
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You make a good point, I used the A driver exactly as you described for my brother’s light. I’m in the minority, I have four drivers controlled by a Bluefish LED controller. This allows me to adjust the dim up, dim down, as well as other blending spectrum.
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So, yeah, different strokes for different folks. If I could I´d trade the only A I have for a B on a heartbeat. Perhaps this is a good chance to ask what do you guys use for automation. @ReikoX mentioned the Bluefish, anyone could guide me to use a spare Arduino Uno I have around here?
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You could hard code something pretty easy. It’s just a PWM output. If you wanted to be able to control it over the internet with your phone, like my Bluefish, it would be a lot harder.
In addition to the Bluefish. some other off the shelf options are ChilLED Drive and the Coralux Storm LED Controller.
https://aquarium-led-controller.com/product/bluefish-led-controller/
http://coralux.net/?wpsc-product=storm-led-controller
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By Request: The new dual-connector SolStrip X2
You asked for it, and you got it. Photon Solutions is excited to present the company’s latest iteration of its horticultural LED light strips, the dual-connector SolStrip X2. Brought to you, by, well, you…
If you’ve read some of my blog posts here you’ll know I advocate parallel wiring schemes in LED strip light projects for the added cushion of safety over high-voltage series-wired designs. Most LED DIY shops promote series wiring, arguing that series is simpler, “cleaner”, and offers more protection for delicate and expensive COB lights. Human safety is given short shrift by the series folks, IMO.
Luckily, we are building lights with LED strips, which by design have overpowering protection designed into them, negating the protective advantage of series wiring and allowing us to use much safer (for humans and light-emitting diodes) parallel circuits using ultra-low 24 and 36 volt power supplies.
This wiring style works well with SolSheets, where the “spider” of power leads leading to each SolStrip in a SolSheet lamp is easily contained within the lamp housing. But as several SolStrip DIYers have mentioned, it is less ideal in the increasingly popular SolStix Rack systems, where parallel wiring harnesses stretched across six and eight-strip racks can create a spaghetti-knot of wiring held together by a dozen or more connectors, like this:
The dual-connector design eliminates the mess and fuss of parallel wiring designs in rack systems by placing a dual-conductor, single-pole Molex connector at each end of the X2 strip. The design allows for all positive leads to be run along one side of the strips, using only the strip connectors, and all negative leads to be run along the opposite side. The design eliminates the overlapping wiring and additional connectors needed for extended rack designs, like this:
The new dual-connector X2 SolStrips will be offered exclusively with our X2 SolStix going forward, unless the single-connector design is requested. It should make for easier and cleaner rack builds, allowing builders to neatly tuck their wiring harnesses into the rack support hardware, and minimizing the number of connectors - and potential continuity issues - per circuit.
It wasn’t our idea, but it was a good idea, and the direct result of input from the SolStrip builder community. Keep offering those good ideas and we will continue using them to make SolStrips even better. -b420
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I was thinking a ready made wiring loom might be a good addition but this is even better/easier eh 
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Getting info on the solsheet x…i think im gonna put forth the effort and buy 1.
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You wont regret it pal but watch out cos those solsticks can be addictive, especially if your a sun starved Scotsman. I’ll soon have enough of the things to light a runway and i still want more, just ask @anon58740919 
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i want to order a solsheet, but if one led fail and stop working i must replace the whole strip?
No. If a diode fails, the rest of the strip will continue to light. The diodes are grouped in 12 circuits of 8 diodes each. If a diode fails, the group of diodes it is part of will go dark. The other 11 circuits will absorb the power formerly used by the dark circuit and glow slighter brighter. That’s about it, and it’s one of the advantages of strip LED over COB LED systems, where the failure of a single COB can lead to the successive failure of the entire lamp.
I’ve even knocked off a dead diode with a slotted screwdriver and run solder across the gap to light up the remaining diodes in the circuit. That strip still works fine, I use it for testing drivers. That said, I’ve never known a SolStrip diode to fail under normal operating conditions. The diodes in my test strip were victims of a dropped hammer.
Even if a whole strip should fail, you can replace it for $20. Try that with a Quantum Board.
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Maybe this is the wrong place to ask since I’m sure everybody here will defend led… But does anybody notice a potency, trich, or terpene loss when compared to using hps? Hps produces more uv and more umol ppfd. Any thoughts?
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Not true. “More umol PPFD” needs to be better defined and qualified to be meaningful. Do you mean more umol/joule, the traditional measure of photon output efficiency? LEDs blow HPS away.
As for UV, neither LED nor HPS produce significant amount of “UV” as in UVA or UVB. Never mind the paucity of research showing significant benefits of UV on cannabis production vs the very real health risks of human exposure to high-UVB environments.
Eye Hortilux 1000w HPS
SolSheet X 250w with 3500K X2 strips
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I appreciate the responses and knowledge. I’m doing my best to research light tech. And more specifically light tech as related to cannabis.
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I have no way to test potency other than have my gear smoked but I can tell you that the most trichome laden buds I have grown have been under LED.
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