Dave_uk Posted December 11, 2009 Author Share Posted December 11, 2009 Dave Great looking build. Do you have a close up photo or do you know the resistor bandings. Heres a photo Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted December 15, 2009 Author Share Posted December 15, 2009 ok.. Ive been getting loads of messages about the controller so to help everyone out here is a pdf document with full a full parts list, circuit diagram, board layout and link to the code etc. This should be enough to enable anyone that can hold a sodering iron to replicate the controller. Before downloading and reading this document please be aware that I accept no liability for any damages or losses suffered as a result of actions taken based on the information in the document. It is simply a documented account of the way my controller was built and if anyone wishes to replicate the design they do so at their own risk. Here is the link Link to comment
solonavi Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 There's great stuff there. Cheers JC Link to comment
evilc66 Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 It's a lot simpler than I thought it would be. I can't believe how cheap that LCD module is. Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted December 16, 2009 Author Share Posted December 16, 2009 It's a lot simpler than I thought it would be. I can't believe how cheap that LCD module is. Yep. not too many components but does exactly what it was designed to do. I dont know how they sell the LCD shields for £10 and still make a profit. Happy they do though. They arent the best looking screens available but are the perfect size and with the joystick/button etc I think they are ideal. Link to comment
jdskidawg Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 could you add this controller to any LED set up, say maybe 6 or 12 LED set up and just use diff power supply, buck pucks for the amount of LED's your using? or would you need to change things on the controller also ? Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted December 16, 2009 Author Share Posted December 16, 2009 could you add this controller to any LED set up, say maybe 6 or 12 LED set up and just use diff power supply, buck pucks for the amount of LED's your using? or would you need to change things on the controller also ? You could use the controller for any amount of buckpucks from 2 (1 for each colour) up to the maximum the buffer chip supports (10 per output/colour I think). It wouldnt require any change to the controller. Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted December 17, 2009 Author Share Posted December 17, 2009 V2 of the document will be coming soon with a user guide etc. Link to comment
quietstorm Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Hi Dave, I have questions about sunrise and sunset phases. Are these made by dimming the blue leds only ? Could you please tell us how you do it (what time the blue leds start and finish ramping up for sunrise mode, how about the white leds) ? Thans Dave ! Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 Hi Dave, I have questions about sunrise and sunset phases. Are these made by dimming the blue leds only ? Could you please tell us how you do it (what time the blue leds start and finish ramping up for sunrise mode, how about the white leds) ? Thans Dave ! In the code each colour has a data array of 96 values each representing a 15 minute time interval in the 24 hour period. This enables complete control over the period and intensity of each colour. I will be experimenting with this to give different colour temps at different times of the day. I currenly have a 2 hour dawn and dusk (both colours) with 10 hours on max intensity (75% at the moment). Link to comment
Rome Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Dave that build is excellent man really thought out and clean! Did you have to use those filter capacitors between the pucks and psu like johnamon was talking about? Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 Dave that build is excellent man really thought out and clean! Did you have to use those filter capacitors between the pucks and psu like johnamon was talking about? Thanks, Im pretty happy with the way it turned out. I ended up using the capacitors as I didnt want to take the risk of killing the buckpucks. Link to comment
quietstorm Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Dave, I'm far from being an expert in coding so I don't understand everything in your code. As you've described you have defined 15-minute time intervals for lighting. Is it possible to increment / decrement light in a "more" linear way ? Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted December 24, 2009 Author Share Posted December 24, 2009 Dave, I'm far from being an expert in coding so I don't understand everything in your code. As you've described you have defined 15-minute time intervals for lighting. Is it possible to increment / decrement light in a "more" linear way ? Its just the data array that is split into 15 minute intervals but the code adjusts the instensity incrimentaly every 1 minute between intervals. It would be possible to have a larger data array with closer together time intervals (would also use more memory) but I dont think it would be of any benefit unless you wanted to be able to change LED intensity in a shorter time. One thing i have found is that Its pretty much impossible to have a completely smooth dawn/dusk as the arduino only has values of 0 to 255 for PWM and the difference between 0 and 1, 1 to 2 etc are noticeable. at higher levels its not noticeable at all though. Link to comment
Nemo Niblets Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Hey, guess what? I found one of my Royal Blue LED photos! This is a 5g aquarium I set up for some blind cave tetras. Used the Red Sea coral ornaments for kicks. I can't remember the settings I used to get this to come out right, but the shutter speed was like 2 seconds lol... You can see what I mean about the blue/shaded areas looking 2D. The fake acro looks real. Lol! Link to comment
imcosmokramer Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 really nice dave. Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted January 14, 2010 Author Share Posted January 14, 2010 BUGGER!! Lost a power supply today. Its the second time its happenned. Looks like its overheated and died. Im worried that it might be something in my array causing the power supplies to fail. Can anyone with some electrical experience (hi evil) tell me if this is possible or if I have probably just been unlucky. Link to comment
johnamon Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Hi Dave, I blew both of the buckpucks prior to adding the capacitors recommended by the cree datasheets. My 12 LED unit has been running since last June on the same maplin power supply.. However my Maplin power supply has recently been squealing when the fan kicks in (the fan bearings sound wrecked). So it could just be a case that we have purchased rubbish power supplies!! Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted January 14, 2010 Author Share Posted January 14, 2010 Hi Dave, I blew both of the buckpucks prior to adding the capacitors recommended by the cree datasheets. My 12 LED unit has been running since last June on the same maplin power supply.. However my Maplin power supply has recently been squealing when the fan kicks in (the fan bearings sound wrecked). So it could just be a case that we have purchased rubbish power supplies!! Thats what happened to the first power supply. It got really noisy before it failed. Im hoping its just the power supply that was crap as thats easy to fix. Link to comment
johnamon Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Hmm... I should investigate a backup soon then!! I might be getting away with it because I'm only running at about 2amps (2strings of 6 LEDs plus arduino) and my kitchen doesn't go above about 15deg C at this time of year in sunny Aberdeen! Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted January 14, 2010 Author Share Posted January 14, 2010 Im only running at around 3A per power supply and they are rated up to 6A. I think they have crap fans and overheat easily. Link to comment
johnamon Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 I'll get my screwdriver, Hoover and lubricant (ooh err..) and see if I can't fix my injured psu tonight! I'm going on holiday soon and don't want a failure then! Link to comment
evilc66 Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Ooh err missus indeed. I'm surprised that those power supplies need fans to keep cool even at that low of an amperage. Sounds like a poor design to me. While it may cost a little more, see about stepping up to a better power supply. Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted January 14, 2010 Author Share Posted January 14, 2010 Ooh err missus indeed. I'm surprised that those power supplies need fans to keep cool even at that low of an amperage. Sounds like a poor design to me. While it may cost a little more, see about stepping up to a better power supply. Hi mate :-D They arent cheap power supples. They sell for £55 each and are rated up to 6A@24V so should do the job nicely if theyre not just crap. Do you think its likely that its a short or something in my array thats causing is to draw too much current? If its probably just down to crap quality power supplies I will try to exchange them for a different model. these are the current ones and im thinking these may be better. They are alittle cheaper but are rated just as high and dont need a fan to keep cool. Link to comment
gdayskippy Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 What kind of tank is that ? Looks amazing. Link to comment
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