# Programmable dimmer for twinstar 600s



## Kfactor (Aug 15, 2018)

Sorry for the response but that why I didn’t get a twinstar for the price u pay it should have all the bells and whistles. I really wanted to get one too looks like a nice light


----------



## jaz419 (Jan 21, 2018)

I think I found one that will work. I'll have it tomorrow, and if it works properly, I'll post the details!


----------



## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

Twinstar 600S psu is a 12v no? If it is pretty much any dimmer will work.


----------



## jaz419 (Jan 21, 2018)

gus6464 said:


> Twinstar 600S psu is a 12v no? If it is pretty much any dimmer will work.



yes it is 12v, but I bought a cheap amazon dimmer in the past that was supposed to be 12v, and it didn't fit the cord. Not really sure why that would be the case since it seems to have a standard plug.


----------



## Kaiede (Sep 11, 2017)

jaz419 said:


> yes it is 12v, but I bought a cheap amazon dimmer in the past that was supposed to be 12v, and it didn't fit the cord. Not really sure why that would be the case since it seems to have a standard plug.



The “standard” is usually 2.1mm inner diameter, 5.5 mm outer diameter (positive tip). The Twinstars use 2.5mm ID, 5.5mm OD (positive tip). So a little bit off. Adapters are easy enough to find if you really want to make a particular dimmer work. 

I’ve been running a custom controller on a Raspberry Pi for a while now. Not perfectly plug and play, but it works well enough that I’m happy with the result. I just need to pivot to start writing features that make it a bit easier to configure than editing text files.


----------



## jaz419 (Jan 21, 2018)

Kaiede said:


> The “standard” is usually 2.1mm inner diameter, 5.5 mm outer diameter (positive tip). The Twinstars use 2.5mm ID, 5.5mm OD (positive tip). So a little bit off. Adapters are easy enough to find if you really want to make a particular dimmer work.
> 
> I’ve been running a custom controller on a Raspberry Pi for a while now. Not perfectly plug and play, but it works well enough that I’m happy with the result. I just need to pivot to start writing features that make it a bit easier to configure than editing text files.




Ahh thanks for the info! Just ordered an adapter


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## swarley (Apr 12, 2018)

@Kaiede Would you like to help a noob and find a link on somewhere like Amazon of an adapter I could use for that?.. =D


----------



## jaz419 (Jan 21, 2018)

swarley said:


> @Kaiede Would you like to help a noob and find a link on somewhere like Amazon of an adapter I could use for that?.. =D




5.5mm 2.5mm DC Gender Adapter,2pack Replacement Adapter Plug Converter 5.5mm x 2.1mm Female Plug to 5.5mm x2.5mm Male Plug https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DVHFQZ1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_qwX6BbJTR5BP0

I ordered that one


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## swarley (Apr 12, 2018)

Thanks Jaz. =D


----------



## jaz419 (Jan 21, 2018)

swarley said:


> Thanks Jaz. =D




No promises on whether or not it's the correct one lol. I won't have it until Thursday


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Kaiede (Sep 11, 2017)

That looks about right. You may or may not need one that converts the other way too. 

A 2.5mm can fit in a 2.1mm socket, but the contact may not be ideal.


----------



## jaz419 (Jan 21, 2018)

So, I ended up buying this ramping timer 

Current USA Single Ramp Timer for Aquarium https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FDV1AFA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_03W7BbKJBQE1D

It works with the adapters I linked above. 

It does the job of ramping, but the only option is a 15 min ramp. I used to have my AI Prime on a 2 hour long, very gradual ramp on either side, which I liked very much.... With this particular unit it's just not possible to do that. 

So I'll keep looking I suppose. I don't really want to build my own with arduino....

Anyone have any other suggestions? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

There are a couple.. TC-420 (421) come to mind but not plug and play..(bare wires)
There is another Chinese ramp timer that looked promising.
I'll see if I can find it..
not the one but you get the idea..
The AI prime type programming is hard to find..


----------

