LED MeanWell power supply?

[Ron99]

So I set up the LM317 PWM circuit as above in my breadboard but have a problem. Seems to work until the transistor. Getting my 10V out of the LM 317 but when I hook up the Meanwell to the transistor output all I get is a very dim glow from the LEDs. If I hook the Meanwell directly to the 10V out of the LM317 the LEDs fire at full brightness. If I hook the Dim+ up directly to the output from the Arduino the LEDs fire and blink (using the blink code as a test right now) but at a lower brightness as they are only getting 5V max. Just nothing when I hook up to the transistor.

 

Any suggestions?

[evilc66]

Most likely it's because the transistor isn't biased properly. Check your voltages at all points on the transistor. I'll bet you find the emitter voltage low. I have made comments on the proper way to set up a transistor before in this thread, but you need a resistor on the emitter to saturate the transistor to turn it into an on/off switch.

 

An easier way to set up this is to place an NPN (not PNP like you have) transistor between the DIM- and ground. Use a 100 ohm resistor between the emitter and ground, and put the 10v source right to the DIM+ wire. The transistor is in saturation now.

[Ron99]

Most likely it's because the transistor isn't biased properly. Check your voltages at all points on the transistor. I'll bet you find the emitter voltage low. I have made comments on the proper way to set up a transistor before in this thread, but you need a resistor on the emitter to saturate the transistor to turn it into an on/off switch.

 

An easier way to set up this is to place an NPN (not PNP like you have) transistor between the DIM- and ground. Use a 100 ohm resistor between the emitter and ground, and put the 10v source right to the DIM+ wire. The transistor is in saturation now.

 

Thanks Evilc for the input. The reason I went with the PNP setup was that reading through the thread I thought that the PNP was thought to be a more reliable configuration than the NPN. It's hard to keep it all straight after 38 pages So then the circuit diagram above is incorrect and I need a resistor between the emitter and the Dim+? Would a 470 Ohm resistor be alright as I have extras from the building the LM317 part of the circuit? Do I still need the resistor between the Arduino and the base?

[Ron99]

Okay, sorry to be a pain but I'm not an electronics expert and I'm having trouble figuring out the Arduino/PWM setup. This is the circuit I have:

 

 

Is it incorrect or should it work as drawn? Does not seem to be working for me.

 

Also, does everything get connected to a common ground? i.e do I hook up the Dim- and GND from the Arduino to the ground from the 12V PS? Which ground from the Arduino should I be using? The GND from the power connectors by the analog inputs or the GND with the digital connections or does it not matter?

 

Also, as I asked before do I need separate LM317/10V circuits for each of the two PWM signals or can the single one supply all? Also, do I need a separate transistor setup for each of the eight drivers or can the output of one transistor go to 4 drivers?

 

Thanks.

[Ron99]

A bit of follow up. I have 10V at both the collector and emitter. It behaves as if the transistor is just staying on all the time. The PWM signal directly to the LEDs gets them to blink. But going through the transistor just gets steady on. No blinking. If I leave the LEDs hooked to the transistor and remove the Arduino PWM signal from the base input of the transistor the LEDS go off so the transistor is capable of going on and off but the PWM signal is not switching the transistor on and off, just leaving it on.

 

Man I wish I had paid more attention to electronics since high school 20+ years ago

[Ron99]

Just a bump. Any thoughts on why my transistor isn't transisting? I would like to get it working with the parts I have rather than going to buy different transistors etc. and reworking everything.

 

Thanks.

[Giannis86]

can someone put some light into the situation below?

 

My setup:

2x Meanwell ELN60-48D (9RB and 9W respectively)

Dimmable via the 10V circuit provided by Evil.

 

I put everything together today and luckily everything fired up on the first go.

Accordingly i opened my meanwells in order to adjust for current.

I added my Digital Multimeter (Black to COM and Red to DC current up to 10A) in series as you would add a led. After powering up, i tried to adjust the SVR2 knob to turn down the output current from thhe meanwells.

 

The weird part

While adjusting the knob, i found that both drivers shows readings as low as 0.23A up to 2.0 (at which point the leds go out)

 

Just to be safe i adjusted both to 1A as intended in the first place.

My understanding is that the meanwell's can be adjusted from 0.975 - 1.3A. Can anyone explain what is going on here?

 

edit: by the way, at the time of testing the potentiometer from the 10V circuit was turned to max

[rrcg50]

http://www.electronics-lab.com/articles/LM317/

 

Set the value of R2 to an easy to get pot value, like 5K, 10K, 100K, and adjust R1 to get the 10v max output.

 

If you want to get all the parts from Radioshack, you can go with a 10K pot, and a 1.5K 1/2W resistor for 0-10v ouput. Feed it with a 12v power supply.

i am a nob when it comes to doing circuits. do you have a physical pic of one of these built and can i controll 2 meanwell 30-27d's from one board

[ming]

can someone put some light into the situation below?

 

My setup:

2x Meanwell ELN60-48D (9RB and 9W respectively)

Dimmable via the 10V circuit provided by Evil.

 

I put everything together today and luckily everything fired up on the first go.

Accordingly i opened my meanwells in order to adjust for current.

I added my Digital Multimeter (Black to COM and Red to DC current up to 10A) in series as you would add a led. After powering up, i tried to adjust the SVR2 knob to turn down the output current from thhe meanwells.

 

The weird part

While adjusting the knob, i found that both drivers shows readings as low as 0.23A up to 2.0 (at which point the leds go out)

 

Just to be safe i adjusted both to 1A as intended in the first place.

My understanding is that the meanwell's can be adjusted from 0.975 - 1.3A. Can anyone explain what is going on here?

 

edit: by the way, at the time of testing the potentiometer from the 10V circuit was turned to max

I had the same results, although I didn't try upping it all the way to 2A. I just adjusted it to .95A.

[rrcg50]

I just got similar results but ONLY when I turned the pot all the way down to 1V... it got hot enough to start melting the solder at the back of the LM317. When I turn it to 5V, the LM317 gets warm, but never hot, when I turn it to 10V, it never gets warm.

FWIW, I'm using a 12V .3A power supply

 

I'm suppose to use a LM317? or a LM377?

The pic shows 317

 

 

One last question, if I wanted to hook multiple dimmer controllers of these, should they be wired up parallel or in series? In series, I'm guessing the GND of 1 goes to the Vin of the next? Sorry if the question seems dumb.

 

Thanks for all your help evil

I picked up these parts and was wondering if they were correct

*0.1 Uf ceramic disk capacitor-50wvdc maximum

*1uf electrolytic capacitor

*lm317t positive (adjustable voltage regulator)

*general purpose printed circuit board

*10 k ohm linear-taper potentiometer

*470 ohm resistors. 1/4w 5% tolerance

*1k ohm resistors 1/4w 5% tolerance. Is this everything I need to complete the dimmer for d meanwell. I read the whole thread and still am not sure.

[ming]

I picked up these parts and was wondering if they were correct

*0.1 Uf ceramic disk capacitor-50wvdc maximum

*1uf electrolytic capacitor

*lm317t positive (adjustable voltage regulator)

*general purpose printed circuit board

*10 k ohm linear-taper potentiometer

*470 ohm resistors. 1/4w 5% tolerance

*1k ohm resistors 1/4w 5% tolerance. Is this everything I need to complete the dimmer for d meanwell. I read the whole thread and still am not sure.

my parts are linked in post 717

[rrcg50]

my parts are linked in post 717

thank you

would it be too much to ask for you to post a pic of the board all finished top and bottom, this will be the first circuit i will be doing

[mmelnick]

I just read through this entire thread in one sitting. I still have a few questions though. I know that most (if not all) of these have been discussed, but I don't completly understand everything that's been said and my brain is in a state of shock.

 

1) I read that a cheapo 10V DC supply may put out 12-14 volts at times, but if I get a good power supply that can be switched between voltages do I have to use one of the circuits discussed in this thread with a 12V supply and a pot? I know I wouldn't be able to control it to an exact level, but switching in between something like 7V to 9V would be good enough and wouldnt require any additional circuits. I would just have to switch it between voltages to make it dimmer or brighter in increments right?

 

2) If I go with a setup like this and I turn off the 120V input and the 10V DC at the same time will I have problems with a peaking voltage greater than 10V with a 10V power supply under no load? Dfom what I understand the DC supplies put out higher voltage under no load.

 

3) What happens if I use more than 12-13 LED's on one driver? Will it drop voltage to each LED and just not be as bright? Will it drop amperage to each LED and not be as bright? Will it fry the meanwell by trying to overload it? I want to run 30 LED's total, so what would happen with 2 drivers with 15 LED's each?

 

4) If I build a 10V power supply circuit with a 12V power supply like the ones outlined in this thread can it be used to control 2 or 3 drivers all on thier own individual pots? Or do I need a power supply circuit for each driver?

[ming]

1. You would likely have the same problem unless you actually tested the voltage with a multimeter.

2. Regardless of load or not, some 10V DC will output more then 10V

3. It probably wouldn't light up at all since there isn't enough voltage to power that many LED's per meanwell, 13 max per meanwell

4. Yes, just connect all the meanwells to the same power supply and it'll work. Although I haven't found a solution for the heating up of the LM317 when dimming the pot, I'll probably end up getting an Apex controller instead.

 

I just read through this entire thread in one sitting. I still have a few questions though. I know that most (if not all) of these have been discussed, but I don't completly understand everything that's been said and my brain is in a state of shock.

 

1) I read that a cheapo 10V DC supply may put out 12-14 volts at times, but if I get a good power supply that can be switched between voltages do I have to use one of the circuits discussed in this thread with a 12V supply and a pot? I know I wouldn't be able to control it to an exact level, but switching in between something like 7V to 9V would be good enough and wouldnt require any additional circuits. I would just have to switch it between voltages to make it dimmer or brighter in increments right?

 

2) If I go with a setup like this and I turn off the 120V input and the 10V DC at the same time will I have problems with a peaking voltage greater than 10V with a 10V power supply under no load? Dfom what I understand the DC supplies put out higher voltage under no load.

 

3) What happens if I use more than 12-13 LED's on one driver? Will it drop voltage to each LED and just not be as bright? Will it drop amperage to each LED and not be as bright? Will it fry the meanwell by trying to overload it? I want to run 30 LED's total, so what would happen with 2 drivers with 15 LED's each?

 

4) If I build a 10V power supply circuit with a 12V power supply like the ones outlined in this thread can it be used to control 2 or 3 drivers all on thier own individual pots? Or do I need a power supply circuit for each driver?

[evilc66]

Just a bump. Any thoughts on why my transistor isn't transisting? I would like to get it working with the parts I have rather than going to buy different transistors etc. and reworking everything.

 

Thanks.

Easy fix would be to replace the transistor with a FET. Keep the resistor to limit current (more to protect the controller than the FET).

 

can someone put some light into the situation below?

 

My setup:

2x Meanwell ELN60-48D (9RB and 9W respectively)

Dimmable via the 10V circuit provided by Evil.

 

I put everything together today and luckily everything fired up on the first go.

Accordingly i opened my meanwells in order to adjust for current.

I added my Digital Multimeter (Black to COM and Red to DC current up to 10A) in series as you would add a led. After powering up, i tried to adjust the SVR2 knob to turn down the output current from thhe meanwells.

 

The weird part

While adjusting the knob, i found that both drivers shows readings as low as 0.23A up to 2.0 (at which point the leds go out)

 

Just to be safe i adjusted both to 1A as intended in the first place.

My understanding is that the meanwell's can be adjusted from 0.975 - 1.3A. Can anyone explain what is going on here?

 

edit: by the way, at the time of testing the potentiometer from the 10V circuit was turned to max

Not uncommon. The 0.975-1.3A range is just a range that Meanwell can guarantee proper operation.

 

I picked up these parts and was wondering if they were correct

*0.1 Uf ceramic disk capacitor-50wvdc maximum

*1uf electrolytic capacitor

*lm317t positive (adjustable voltage regulator)

*general purpose printed circuit board

*10 k ohm linear-taper potentiometer

*470 ohm resistors. 1/4w 5% tolerance

*1k ohm resistors 1/4w 5% tolerance. Is this everything I need to complete the dimmer for d meanwell. I read the whole thread and still am not sure.

Just fine.

[mmelnick]

OK, thanks for the reply ming.

 

Now if I go with the non dimamble version I just have to hook up the 120V AC feed by splicing one end to a power cord and wire my LED's to the other side and call it a day right?

[ming]

OK, thanks for the reply ming.

 

Now if I go with the non dimamble version I just have to hook up the 120V AC feed by splicing one end to a power cord and wire my LED's to the other side and call it a day right?

That, and just SRV2 inside the meanwell to 1A or however much you want and you're set

[mmelnick]

That, and just SRV2 inside the meanwell to 1A or however much you want and you're set

 

Awesome, thanks. Does anyone know where I can buy one of tehse for a good price? Earlier in this thread people were mentioneing these for a really low price, but I can only find 3 places that sell them and they are about the same price as the dimamble ones.

[sptom]

This may be a littel off topic but I didn't see anything about it in this or other topics. Whan I turn off the 120V power to my LED system (Meanwell ELN60-48D with 12 LEDs and a regulated 0-10V control) I get a slow fade and then an sudden bright flash. Is this normal or should I be worried? Thanks!!

 

Tom

[evilc66]

It's normal and has been covered before.

[sammy113]

:ninja:

Mounted on arduino

:naughtydance:

[Ron99]

Easy fix would be to replace the transistor with a FET. Keep the resistor to limit current (more to protect the controller than the FET).

 

Okay. any suggestions on a particular one? Somebody suggested the ICL7667 MOSFET which could do both the blue and white channel. Do you think that would that work?

 

Thanks.

[evilc66]

:ninja:

Mounted on arduino

:naughtydance:

 

Sharp

 

Okay. any suggestions on a particular one? Somebody suggested the ICL7667 MOSFET which could do both the blue and white channel. Do you think that would that work?

 

Thanks.

 

Almost any FET would work.

[trag19]

Okay. any suggestions on a particular one? Somebody suggested the ICL7667 MOSFET which could do both the blue and white channel. Do you think that would that work?

 

Thanks.

 

Ron, you might consider this IC:

4 Channel Level Shifter

 

What it will do is let you connect a 5V (or 3.3V) supply (whatever is driving your micro) and a 10V supply (the output of your LM317). Then connect the PWM pin of your micro to one of the Input pins and the DIM+ of the Meanwell to the corresponding Output pin.

 

There are four channels, so you could drive up to four Meanwells with this from four separate microcontroller pins.

 

One question in my mind is whether the Meanwell control will sink more current than this device can drive. It doesn't list a maximum output current, only a minimum, so I suspect there's not a strong limitation there.

 

One caution is that this shifter doesn't switch really quickly. So I'd keep your PWM frequency below 500 KHz. 50 KHz or less would be even better. Ah, I just noticed that the maximum frequency for the driver is 3KHz, so that should not be a problem. But this could be *your* problem with the transistor circuit. What frequency do you have the Arduino PWM set to? Is it below 3KHz?

 

It's $.55 from Digikey but they have a $25 minimum. Let's see... Ah, Mouser has it for $.70 and I do not think that they have a minimum.

 

ST HCF40109B at Mouser

 

So Vcc goes to your 3.3V or 5V supply. Vdd goes to your LM317 Vout (where your transistor collector is now). 'A' goes to the PWM output of your Micro. And E goes to the DIM+ input of your Meanwell. And you'll need to tie Enable A to your 3.3V or 5V supply as well.

 

For additional channels, use B - F, C - G and D - H and remember to supply voltage to the corresponding Enable pin.

[evilc66]

Nice find. That could make life easier, especially as a DIP package.

 

Looks like the output is ratiometric based on the input voltage. The output is limited to 100mW per output, but 200mW per package. At 3mA (average draw from the Meanwell), you are looking at about 120mW for 4 channels.