# O2surplus's 6' New LED Build.



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Can't wait to see this on top of a tank. I built an LED light a while back just to see. I think I might give the meanwell ldd driver a try in conjunction with the arduino. I'm not digging the multiple shadows. I might need a longer heatsink and spread those LEDs out.

I recently added roscolux filters into the CEP/PAR meter researched by Hoppy. It looks to be pretty accurate. I can send you one.


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

mistergreen said:


> Can't wait to see this on top of a tank. I built an LED light a while back just to see. I think I might give the meanwell ldd driver a try in conjunction with the arduino. I'm not digging the multiple shadows. I might need a longer heatsink and spread those LEDs out.
> 
> I recently added roscolux filters into the CEP/PAR meter researched by Hoppy. It looks to be pretty accurate. I can send you one.


Oooh! so the filter makes it more accurate? I like the sound of that and I'll take you up on your offer. I'd love to test the PAR output of this light at different power levels, so a more accurate PAR meter would be awesome to have. (I've been storing mine in the dark to keep the diode fresh- lol)

Tell you what...spend some $ on a better led (these VERO's are Killer) and I'll send you one of my Meanwell LDD-H compatible A6211 drivers to power it with. I'll send it with a selection of resistors that will allow you to set it's drive current anywhere from 300 - 1600ma. This way you won't have to guess which LDD-H to use.:icon_smil


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

hah, that's smart. Didn't even think about using a resistor for the LDD driver.


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

mistergreen said:


> hah, that's smart. Didn't even think about using a resistor for the LDD driver.



No- the resistor isn't used with an actual MeanWell LDD. They're for setting the drive current on the LDD-H "CLone" driver that I build. Check this out- The driver I build fits all of the popular LDD-H driver mounting PcB's because it has the same pin out arrangement and is the same size footprint of the MeanWell LDD-H. The big difference being You can't adjust the programmed current setting on a MeanWell LDD-H (say you buy a 1000H, but need a 300H, oh well you're screwed. Go buy a 300H) You _CAN_ adjust the programmed current value on my driver. All it takes is one resistor swap. (it's that little 1206 package resistor next to the inductor coil) I've got these little drivers reliably pushing 1600ma. You can't do that with a genuine LDD-H.LOL


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## jedimasterben (Aug 21, 2011)

sexay


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

O2surplus said:


> No- the resistor isn't used with an actual MeanWell LDD. They're for setting the drive current on the LDD-H "CLone" driver that I build. Check this out- The driver I build fits all of the popular LDD-H driver mounting PcB's because it has the same pin out arrangement and is the same size footprint of the MeanWell LDD-H. The big difference being You can't adjust the programmed current setting on a MeanWell LDD-H (say you buy a 1000H, but need a 300H, oh well you're screwed. Go buy a 300H) You _CAN_ adjust the programmed current value on my driver. All it takes is one resistor swap. (it's that little 1206 package resistor next to the inductor coil) I've got these little drivers reliably pushing 1600ma. You can't do that with a genuine LDD-H.LOL


oh, I see. That's a smart setup.


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## skanderson (Jul 25, 2010)

very nice looking unit cant wait to see its color over a tank. i just picked up some of the luxeon cob arrays to try out over something. either my fw sump light or over my old reef tank frag tank with alot of rb added. i was hoping to get the 90 cri 4k temp luxeons but i couldnt find a source for less than a around 80 of them.


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

jedimasterben said:


> sexay


LOL- It's my anorexic version of "An Evil Cluster on Steroids"



skanderson said:


> very nice looking unit cant wait to see its color over a tank. i just picked up some of the luxeon cob arrays to try out over something. either my fw sump light or over my old reef tank frag tank with alot of rb added. i was hoping to get the 90 cri 4k temp luxeons but i couldnt find a source for less than a around 80 of them.


I had to borrow a camera,and one that I'm not familiar with, so bear with me. These pictures don't do this thing any justice. LOL

Here's a shot looking down at the completed lighting system.












Front View ( Starougyne's out of control- I know )













Complimentary side view-












That's it for now.


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## paronaram (Jun 29, 2009)

Very nice!!!
Fantastic project execution!

Are this LED's get very hot?
If you compare with XM-L

Thank you
Aram


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## benjaf (Mar 27, 2012)

Very impressive! How do you keep controllers in sync? Are they all connected to one master clock or do they each have their own time?


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

paronaram said:


> Very nice!!!
> Fantastic project execution!
> 
> Are this LED's get very hot?
> ...


Thanks Aram!
These Leds are gigantic in size when compared to an XML, so their larger surface area should allow them to run much cooler. I'm not worried about them ever overheating LOL- The "warm white" leds are only being driven at 300ma or 10% of their rated current capacity. The "cool whites" are at 1000ma or 33% of capacity. With 6 cooling fans and 6' of aluminum, the heat sink never even feels slightly warm to the touch.




benjaf said:


> Very impressive! How do you keep controllers in sync? Are they all connected to one master clock or do they each have their own time?


LOL- Each has it's own DS1307. I haven't noticed any time "drift" yet. It's been 6 days and they're still within 2 seconds of each other. I programmed the clocks using the "TimeSet" sketch that "Sink" posted here a few years ago. The sketch pulls in the system time/date from your computer and transfers it to the DS1307. In the future, I plan to eventually move most of the dimming & time keeping chores to a Master controller & reprogram the 3 driver boards as it's Slaves, using I2C for communication.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

O2surplus said:


> In the future, I plan to eventually move most of the dimming & time keeping chores to a Master controller & reprogram the 3 driver boards as it's Slaves, using I2C for communication.


That's probably best. 

What thermometer are you using for the tank?


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

mistergreen said:


> That's probably best.
> 
> What thermometer are you using for the tank?



I'm using a DS18B20 that's reporting to one of the controllers and printed to an LCD.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Do you know of any other devices that use onewire.h like the DS18B20?

I had a hunch people are using this and want to incorporate this into my web ardunio controller either as a generic onewire device or a specific onewire thermometer.


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## benjaf (Mar 27, 2012)

O2surplus said:


> LOL- Each has it's own DS1307. I haven't noticed any time "drift" yet. It's been 6 days and they're still within 2 seconds of each other. I programmed the clocks using the "TimeSet" sketch that "Sink" posted here a few years ago. The sketch pulls in the system time/date from your computer and transfers it to the DS1307. In the future, I plan to eventually move most of the dimming & time keeping chores to a Master controller & reprogram the 3 driver boards as it's Slaves, using I2C for communication.


Those DS1307s aren't exactly the most accurate clocks around, the alternatives are just so much more expensive.. But since all 3 have pretty much the same environment they might at least drift in the same direction


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

mistergreen said:


> Do you know of any other devices that use onewire.h like the DS18B20?
> 
> I had a hunch people are using this and want to incorporate this into my web ardunio controller either as a generic onewire device or a specific onewire thermometer.


OneWire devices are convenient to use on an Arduino project because they only cost you one digital pin to run a huge network of sensors and other devices. Here's a list- http://www.maximintegrated.com/pl_list.cfm/filter/21/ln/en


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

benjaf said:


> Those DS1307s aren't exactly the most accurate clocks around, the alternatives are just so much more expensive.. But since all 3 have pretty much the same environment they might at least drift in the same direction


Yes- They're not the most accurate, but we're talking about turning a light on and off over a fish tank. LOL- My fish won't care if their "daytime" gets skewed forward or back a few minutes over the course of a year. I only paid $.40 for each chip, so I can't complain either.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

O2surplus said:


> Yes- They're not the most accurate, but we're talking about turning a light on and off over a fish tank


so currently you have no dimming just on/off???


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

jeffkrol said:


> so currently you have no dimming just on/off???



Oh Yeah- I've got 10bit dimming :thumbsup: using a modified version of "Sink"'s TimerOne code that he posted here on the Forum a few years back. I posted a copy of it here-http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showpost.php?p=5731898&postcount=165


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

O2surplus said:


> Oh Yeah- I've got 10bit dimming :thumbsup: using a modified version of "Sink"'s TimerOne code that he posted here on the Forum a few years back. I posted a copy of it here-http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showpost.php?p=5731898&postcount=165


Then you should add a line of 660nm reds... No sunset is complete without it..


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Speaking of colors, Does anybody know of any good RGB leds?


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

mistergreen said:


> Speaking of colors, Does anybody know of any good RGB leds?



You can find them on FleaBay for cheap. I purchased some 50 & 100 watt RGB arrays last year that were of decent quality.


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## bluediscus (Jul 31, 2009)

O2surplus said:


> Thanks Aram!
> These Leds are gigantic in size when compared to an XML, so their larger surface area should allow them to run much cooler. I'm not worried about them ever overheating LOL- The "warm white" leds are only being driven at 300ma or 10% of their rated current capacity. The "cool whites" are at 1000ma or 33% of capacity. With 6 cooling fans and 6' of aluminum, the heat sink never even feels slightly warm to the touch.


Nice setup! How come you are only driving the led's to 10% & 33% of their rated current, heat issues? And do you have any par measurements for the vero 18's at this level? I was thinking the size of these things would make them great for deep tanks! Except there seems to be limited options for optics for this model.


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

bluediscus said:


> Nice setup! How come you are only driving the led's to 10% & 33% of their rated current, heat issues? And do you have any par measurements for the vero 18's at this level? I was thinking the size of these things would make them great for deep tanks! Except there seems to be limited options for optics for this model.



Thanks for the compliment! Heat's never going to be an issue. This heat sink will handle over 600 watts with ease and I'm only pushing a little over half that. I'm running the leds at low current simply because they produce plenty of light as-is. There's no need to drive them any harder only to have to dim them using PWM. I don't have any PAR values yet, But I'm betting there's at least 100 micromols at the substrate right now,and that's without any optics & mounted 36" from the substrate.


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## HunterX (May 19, 2012)

Great build! I can't wait to get my controllers from. Also seeing now that you have tested them and ran them, you can help me with my build. LOL


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

The Allegro V(max) is lower than Meanwell LDD's.. 


> Supply voltage 6 to 48 V





> Meanwell 9-56V in.... 2-52V out


TI LM3463 


> Wide supply voltage range (12V-95V)


Allegro for cost? 

Have you stress tested it to see if it can do higher V(in).. 










sorry odd side question... Oh and the output of the TI.. Limited to 300mA /channel?? Some odd reason I can't find that spec..this isn't my native language.. 
Fleabay had a proto-board for the TI on sale and it listed each out at 250mA (ONLY $75.. make offer...300847193587)
Oh as to dimming.. The TI and I believe the allegro is internally limited to 8bit.. Why would 10bit from an Adruno ect be of any benefit??


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

jeffkrol said:


> The Allegro V(max) is lower than Meanwell LDD's..
> 
> 
> TI LM3463
> ...


The TI chip is a current sink that can only handle 300ma per channel. It's a joke when compared to the Meanwell LDD or the Allegro A6211. The A6211 is limited to PWM signals ranging from 100Hz to 2Khz. No problem there, I'm using a 150Hz signal with 10bit resolution. 10bit Vs. 8bit ?? The difference is subtle but obvious to the human eye. The difference between 255 individual steps when using leds can be seen clearly. 1024 steps- more difficult to see. 12bit- nearly seamless.



OK- Let's do a little comparison between the MeanWell LDD series and the Allegro Microsystems A6211. All performance extremes in RED

1.) Meanwell LDD-1000H (the most powerful model to date) MAXIMUM OUTPUT- 52V/1000ma COST - $5 - $11 each.

2.) Meanwell LDD-1500L (the most powerful model to date) MAXIMUM OUTPUT- 30V/1500ma COST - $5 - $11 each.


3.) Allegro Microsystems A6211 MAXIMUM OUTPUT - 46V/3000ma COST to DIY $7 (I bought 300 A6211 chips in china for $.78 each w/ delivery costs included. That's less than what I would have paid for them from a US supplier like DigiKey)


A little back story- 

The driver that I designed is an answer to a question posed by a member of other Forum that I frequent. His hope was to find an led driver, similar in size to an LDD, that would have the performance capabilities to drive a 5 channel "Dream Chip" to it's maximum current of 1400ma at a Vf of 36V. With these specs in mind, the Meanwell LDD-1000H had the voltage, but fell short @ only 1000ma of current and the brand new Meanwell LDD-1500L had the current, but fell short with only 30V available on the output. Neither driver could support the "Dream Chip" to it's maximum output.
We searched and searched, looking at many different driver IC's until we eventually found and settled on the Allegro Microsystems A6211/6213 constant current IC. It was the clear winner, as it could drive the voltage/current load that we were looking for, and also cheap- since it only required a small amount of support components. In short- the performance we needed for roughly the same cost as an LDD, plus the benefit of being able to tailor it's performance to our exact needs.

The VERO 18's that I used in this build thread have specs inline with what the A6211 can provide, so using an A6211 based driver only made good sense. The driver design I came up with, allowed me to mount 5 of them side by side, within the confines of the Makers Heat sink and have the ability to adjust their current output, whenever I wanted with a simple jumper swap. I'd have to swap the entire driver had I opted for using the Meanwell LDD-H.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

O2surplus said:


> 3.) Allegro Microsystems A6211 MAXIMUM OUTPUT - 46V/3000ma COST to DIY $7 (I bought 300 A6211 chips in china for $.78 each w/ delivery costs included. That's less than what I would have paid for them from a US supplier like DigiKey)
> 
> 
> A little back story-
> ...


your needs.. never to mine.. LOL.. 
Put the 2 together .. (high V in .. )

As to the TI.. yea thats what I thought too.. low max I...........


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## jedimasterben (Aug 21, 2011)

So let's see the tank now


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

jedimasterben said:


> So let's see the tank now



Hey Ben!

I just did a 200 gallon water change yesterday, so the water's still a bit cloudy- LOL. I'm slowly moving away from keeping fast growing species and moving towards keeping more "slow growers". It's been a challenge so far, as I'm used to providing a ton of light/ CO2 & Nutrients for fast growth. My job's been keeping me away for days/weeks on end and that's the reason for the change. I'll get back to keeping a "Full throttle" plant tank when work slows down again. Here's a few shots of the tank from today and a couple "proof of life" photos of my BF Mini 6up "Master/Slave" LDD-H/SCW boards. The boards are controlling (8) 1000ma/700ma mixed LDD-H and (4) A6211 1400ma drivers. I've got a single TDK/Lambda 48V/21amp power supply providing juice for the whole show.:hihi:

Full tank shot-









a couple from the right side lookin' in-


















My Starogyne Repens ( soon to be pulled completely)









Here's the BF Mini 6up "Master"-









Here's the 6up "Slave"-


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## jedimasterben (Aug 21, 2011)

Sexy! That's a LOT of staurogyne, makes my 'carpet' look puny! lol

I still have yet to install my new boards. I just paid for the LEDs for V2 of my Sunpower, though, so I'll be pulling the whole thing down and rewiring the whole shebang again lol, and I'll be getting my feet wet with a little LED reflow


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

jedimasterben said:


> Sexy! That's a LOT of staurogyne, makes my 'carpet' look puny! lol
> 
> I still have yet to install my new boards. I just paid for the LEDs for V2 of my Sunpower, though, so I'll be pulling the whole thing down and rewiring the whole shebang again lol, and I'll be getting my feet wet with a little LED reflow



LOL- I've still got *your* leds and I know the snow has melted off around Fason's house. Any chance that I'll be seeing something in my mail box soon?:hihi:


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## jedimasterben (Aug 21, 2011)

O2surplus said:


> LOL- I've still got *your* leds and I know the snow has melted off around Fason's house. Any chance that I'll be seeing something in my mail box soon?:hihi:


LOL - I completely forgot about it and I know he forgot, I'll text him and remind him


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## Fissure (Jun 29, 2014)

Cool, that ball of staurogyne is insane xD


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## rottison (Aug 28, 2014)

those look almost like halides behind those doors


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## robsworld78 (Aug 14, 2014)

200g water change, how big is that thing? It looks like it has depth. I like the fact you have small fish in there. I did that with my 125g.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

O2surplus said:


> Hey Ben!
> 
> Here's the BF Mini 6up "Master"-
> 
> ...


From the first to the last it seems you completely redid your command and control/driver unit(s).

Inquiring minds want to know, including why you went w/ some Meanwells over all of your own drivers.



> use with the new BlueFish "Mini" Wifi led controller.


I need to improve my reading comprehension..


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

rottison said:


> those look almost like halides behind those doors


LOL- 12 Vero 18's are pretty darn bright.



robsworld78 said:


> 200g water change, how big is that thing? It looks like it has depth. I like the fact you have small fish in there. I did that with my 125g.


It's a 225. I have a 275 gallon tote attached to my RO/DI system, so I've always got plenty of water for making large changes. 



jeffkrol said:


> From the first to the last it seems you completely redid your command and control/driver unit(s).
> 
> Inquiring minds want to know, including why you went w/ some Meanwells over all of your own drivers.
> 
> ...


I'm only using the Meanwells until my new 6 channel Allegro A6211 PcB's are finished. The new driver PcB's will be similar to the 5 channel drivers that I built at the start of this thread, but the new design will integrate the BlueFish "Mini" and an Arduino Nano for control.


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## jedimasterben (Aug 21, 2011)

O2surplus said:


> The new driver PcB's will be similar to the 5 channel drivers that I built at the start of this thread, but the new design will integrate the BlueFish "Mini" and an Arduino Nano for control.


Why not use a logic circuit that averages out all the used PWM signals and varies the fan accordingly?


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

O2surplus said:


> I'm only using the Meanwells until my new 6 channel Allegro A6211 PcB's are finished. The new driver PcB's will be similar to the 5 channel drivers that I built at the start of this thread, but the new design will integrate the BlueFish "Mini" and an Arduino Nano for control.


I really, really like the bluefish concept "except" I still have a "personal" issue w/ giving all control (AFAICT no "manual" overide) to the cloud.. Fine now but what if 1) cloud goes away or 2) they decide to charge a yearly subscription to "my" light..
I did chat w/ bluefin about my concerns.
By the time any of the above occurs most likely I won't be around, but..........

I keep watching the Wi-Fi programmers go at it.. Of course that has it's own set of problems.. 

after re-reading your post, are you implying redundant control w/ the Nano?????

THAT may be interesting..

Never mind, again:



> The Arduino Nano is only there to step up the Mini's 480Hz PWM signal to an inaudible 25Khz PWM signal for cooling fan control


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

jedimasterben said:


> Why not use a logic circuit that averages out all the used PWM signals and varies the fan accordingly?



I can't think of a better logic circuit than an actual micro controller.:wink: Changes to software are easier to make than soldered in hardware.


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

Ugh.... I think I'm done for awhile? (At least that's waht I keep telling myself _LOL) 

Just finished swappin' in a couple of these to drive my Veros. No more LDD's for me!

Here's a few pictures of how they turned out. They work beautifully too....

topside-









backside-









Master & Slave-


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## jedimasterben (Aug 21, 2011)

Sexy!! How much do those cost with all of the drivers on it?


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

jedimasterben said:


> Sexy!! How much do those cost with all of the drivers on it?


Off the top of my head figures.....

PcB (100mm x 160mm, 2 oz copper, ENIG finish) $22.20 each

A6211 led driver @ $5 each X 6 = $30

SCW08C-12 @ $14 each X 2 = $28

Arduino Nano = $5

Pin Headers, 3.81mm screw headers, and other misc parts = $7 per board.

Total = $92 each 

LOL- Dayum! that's more than I thought, and I'm sure I forgot a few items/$$ here and there.:hihi:


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## jmelvin (Aug 11, 2014)

O2 that board is sexy! I'm still using your 0-10 to PWM. Only wish it was six channel instead four.. Lol Keep up the awesome work!

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk


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## zlpa chawngthu (Oct 18, 2017)

Hmmm i had been on this board for what i see, like O2's work and like AH work, very impressive, but, O2 had come to commercializing his work, don't see his work to build but i see there is an option of ordering his work, thats all folks, my first post ever


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

zlpa chawngthu said:


> Hmmm i had been on this board for what i see, like O2's work and like AH work, very impressive, but, O2 had come to commercializing his work, don't see his work to build but i see there is an option of ordering his work, thats all folks, my first post ever


Not at the moment..

suggest looking at blu Acros work..

https://blueacro.com/


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## Lingwendil (Nov 16, 2012)

jeffkrol said:


> Not at the moment..
> 
> suggest looking at blu Acros work..
> 
> https://blueacro.com/


He will customize emitter selection as well. One of the threads we were brainstorming in we came up with an alternative arrangement for his freshwater layout that should work better, let me try and find it...

I run two of his 24w arrays over my reef tank with custom emitters, and they are a wonderful LED array to work with, and very affordable too. Easy solderless connection, mounting options, and nice color mixing, with optional reflector and lens for pendant use. Highly recommended.


Edit- here it is, I'd love to ask him for a custom board using the following emitters, on his Luxeon C/SemiLEDs board-



jeffkrol said:


> back to the semi...
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------
> ...


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## Downwardflight (Oct 22, 2017)

I've seen links to his board designs in gerber I think, maybe it was on a different forum, but there's no harm in asking. Besides he says what the drivers are based on, halfway down the first post.


> It’s based around the Allegro Microsystems A6211 constant current led driver IC.


 You could look at example schematic listed with datasheets and figure it out. I bought some drivers from him maybe a year ago, he made them to the ma outputs I needed for my colors, was slightly more than meanwells but with 3x the output I'd say it was worth it...and I've had no problems with them. 

I love DIY but its a lot more work on the maker's part to figure things out, even small changes/customization can end up in a lot of work. DIY means Do-It-YOURSELF. I'm just glad there are people out there that take the time to not only share their work but help with diagnosis and help complete strangers with their own problems even when they fail to read a thread well. I too am guilty of that. I usually have to read a thread 5 or more times and have gotten in the habit of writing notes as I go, and looking everything up/cross referencing from other sources as well. Most of the pride at the successful completion of the project comes from having to figure it out and struggle a little, happy DIYing!


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