LSD Power Drivers

[Greengenes707]

I think @MrTwist1 gets it best...
different horses for different courses...
different strokes for different folks...
1000 ways to skin a cat...
You get the jist.
What is pulling the most weight per area, then factor in time and input....those are the real questions.

You guys can build lights all day long. I build, and I like to help people build GROW LIGHTS. They have to grow something to be a grow light. And once they've done that...they have data likes yield to accompany it. Till then, it's just a light.
Then we can talk how is said light being used? Long story short...
Lighting raw stats + implementation = potential to be used by plants. Nothing is as simple as 10% more PPF is 10% more yield in the real world...because you are changing more than just the PPF factor. You end up changing a number of factors.


Low currents are very good and have there place. I will make more options available in the future.


As for looking inside a LSD; it looks the same as a meanwell...a big grey brick of potting glue.

 

[JorgeGonzales]

I think @MrTwist1 gets it best...
different horses for different courses...
different strokes for different folks...
1000 ways to skin a cat...
You get the jist.
What is pulling the most weight per area, then factor in time and input....those are the real questions.

You guys can build lights all day long. I build, and I like to help people build GROW LIGHTS. They have to grow something to be a grow light. And once they've done that...they have data likes yield to accompany it. Till then, it's just a light.
Then we can talk how is said light being used? Long story short...
Lighting raw stats + implementation = potential to be used by plants. Nothing is as simple as 10% more PPF is 10% more yield in the real world...because you are changing more than just the PPF factor. You end up changing a number of factors.


Low currents are very good and have there place. I will make more options available in the future.


As for looking inside a LSD; it looks the same as a meanwell...a big grey brick of potting glue.

Yeah I was just trying to google for Pairiu or LSD open frame power supplies for that exact reason. Info is pretty light on the ground (in English) for either company.

Speaking of lighting stats, and totally off-topic, hows the ETL testing going?

 

[MrTwist1]

@Greengenes707 did u see my question about using a dc power supply to dim the driver in place of a potentiometer? I have one here that I can use but I am scared to try it.

 

[JorgeGonzales]

@Greengenes707 did u see my question about using a dc power supply to dim the driver in place of a potentiometer? I have one here that I can use but I am scared to try it.

This might be wrong but the 3-in-1 -should- have ~10.5V across the terminals that the pot would normally attenuate. Voltage control and PVM would sink that and provide 0-10V continuous or pulsed, so you should be fine if PVM is working.

So, I think all you need is a 10V source and a pot, or adjustable supply.

 

[MrTwist1]

This might be wrong but the 3-in-1 -should- have ~10.5V across the terminals that the pot would normally attenuate. Voltage control and PVM would sink that and provide 0-10V continuous or pulsed, so you should be fine if PVM is working.

So, I think all you need is a 10V source and a pot, or adjustable supply.

Thanks @JorgeGonzales. I've got a 7.5V wall wart, or a variable voltage 3V-12V power supply that I use to control PC fans. And how about the polarity of the wiring? DIM+ to DC 7.5V positive or negative? Cheers

 

[eastcoastled]

I think @MrTwist1 gets it best...
different horses for different courses...
different strokes for different folks...
1000 ways to skin a cat...
You get the jist.
What is pulling the most weight per area, then factor in time and input....those are the real questions.

You guys can build lights all day long. I build, and I like to help people build GROW LIGHTS. They have to grow something to be a grow light. And once they've done that...they have data likes yield to accompany it. Till then, it's just a light.
Then we can talk how is said light being used? Long story short...
Lighting raw stats + implementation = potential to be used by plants. Nothing is as simple as 10% more PPF is 10% more yield in the real world...because you are changing more than just the PPF factor. You end up changing a number of factors.


Low currents are very good and have there place. I will make more options available in the future.


As for looking inside a LSD; it looks the same as a meanwell...a big grey brick of potting glue.

At the end of the day the light source is about 25% of the equation IMHO. Environment is huge, and will always skew my numbers. If my driver won't dim, it's not going to shut me down, i'm going to make an adjustment somewhere else. I find myself wanting to turn the juice up rather than down, but that's just me.

 

[Greengenes707]

Yeah I was just trying to google for Pairiu or LSD open frame power supplies for that exact reason. Info is pretty light on the ground (in English) for either company.

Speaking of lighting stats, and totally off-topic, hows the ETL testing going?

That is where practice and experience go above and beyond a data sheet.
ETL is going. Lights went up on the site, and will get certified when ETL is done. They are coming to our factory this week. If a facilities NEEDS the cert, then they should wait...but many , big or small, just want a bad ass light as soon as possible.

This might be wrong but the 3-in-1 -should- have ~10.5V across the terminals that the pot would normally attenuate. Voltage control and PVM would sink that and provide 0-10V continuous or pulsed, so you should be fine if PVM is working.

So, I think all you need is a 10V source and a pot, or adjustable supply.

That is how things SHOULD work.
But the issue is exactly that, there is no voltage, and why resistance is useless. But supply the circuit voltage works via analog voltage.
I tried PWM and it did not work.

@MrTwist1
The only way I could simulate a voltage dimming was just connecting the dimming leads to the barrel end of a 12v supply. And got low or high based on the voltage or not. Different voltages should produce a different dim status.
Voltage dimming is basically dimming a voltage supply connected to the dimming leads. I'm not a fan of it because of all the additional things required.

 

[MrTwist1]

That is where practice and experience go above and beyond a data sheet.
ETL is going. Lights went up on the site, and will get certified when ETL is done. They are coming to our factory this week. If a facilities NEEDS the cert, then they should wait...but many , big or small, just want a bad ass light as soon as possible.

That is how things SHOULD work.
But the issue is exactly that, there is no voltage, and why resistance is useless. But supply the circuit voltage works via analog voltage.
I tried PWM and it did not work.

@MrTwist1
The only way I could simulate a voltage dimming was just connecting the dimming leads to the barrel end of a 12v supply. And got low or high based on the voltage or not. Different voltages should produce a different dim status.
Voltage dimming is basically dimming a voltage supply connected to the dimming leads. I'm not a fan of it because of all the additional things required.

I just tried this with a 7.5V supply and did not notice any dimming unfortunately.

 

[Greengenes707]

I just tried this with a 7.5V supply and did not notice any dimming unfortunately.

I was afraid of that.
It's the dimming programming. And why it needs to be totally re done. They changed a part supplier for the dimming chips and that is where it has gone south. They know what they need to do and are doing it. I appreciate everyone being understanding.
Just consider the drivers that went out so far NOT dimmable. Might be worth just cutting off the leads all together.I'm really sorry about this.. I'll get you the working ones as soon as they are ready.

 

[MrTwist1]

I was afraid of that.
It's the dimming programming. And why it needs to be totally re done. They changed a part supplier for the dimming chips and that is where it has gone south. They know what they need to do and are doing it. I appreciate everyone being understanding.
Just consider the drivers that went out so far NOT dimmable. Might be worth just cutting off the leads all together.I'm really sorry about this.. I'll get you the working ones as soon as they are ready.

No worries man I know you'll make sure we're taken care of. I appreciate all that you do for the community and I am glad to support PLC and give something back to you where I can. Tbh I'm actually managing ok with mine for now cos surprisingly it seems to run 2 3590s ok... I know it is not recommended, but for now it helps me deal with the summer heat in lieu of dimming. Cheers

 

[Growmau5]

Transistor over heat & MW driver failure. Learned to keep the tops of drivers unobstructed

"Free air convection " cooling doesn't mean no air convection cooling.

Tried to dig further, but got annoyed, frustrated, bored.

 

[JorgeGonzales]

Wow. I looked, said hell no, and closed it back up. The potting compound isn't there to stop trade secrets, it's there to help move heat out. I'd leave it alone.

But you are awesome.

 

[led2076]

got my package from PLC Monday afternoon and have read and read on this dimming.
hooked my 2 drivers up and they will just rock wide open on the flower side!!
I will just roll with that until the dimmable replacements come in.
until then I am happy. I trust PLC for my light needs.

 

[Airwalker16]

I'm actually surprised he didn't test them before sending out an entire shipment of defected drivers.

 

[led2076]

Transistor over heat & MW driver failure. Learned to keep the tops of drivers unobstructed

"Free air convection " cooling doesn't mean no air convection cooling.

Tried to dig further, but got annoyed, frustrated, bored.

good to know, as I saw a few builds were people were enclosing the drivers. when I see them again I will point this out so hopefully they can reconsider their driver mount location.

 

[The Green Griffin]

I'm actually surprised he didn't test them before sending out an entire shipment of defected drivers.

You can't bench test every single product you sell, unless you only sell a few items a day. Even then the labor involved would drive costs up significantly. This stuff happens. A small change by a supplier who did not think the change would affect anything gets discovered when the end user has issues. Should the manufacturer of the driver discovered this? Sure, IF the manufacturer of the components they use told them there was a process change. In that case they should have tested the new run. If not, then they might not catch it until standard QC testing at random showed an issue. By then many would have shipped. PLC cannot test every component, that's simply an unrealistic expectation.

What you SHOULD expect is that PLC handles the issue quickly, communicates clearly and does whatever possible to minimize customer inconvenience. That shows the company's integrity, and PLC is all over this. I'm always more impressed with a company that handles adversity well than when everything is perfect. Stuff WILL go wrong, that's life. Creating confidence that PLC will take care of any issues? That's what builds brands.

 

[MrTwist1]

^^^What he said^^^

 

[Airwalker16]

You can't bench test every single product you sell, unless you only sell a few items a day. Even then the labor involved would drive costs up significantly. This stuff happens. A small change by a supplier who did not think the change would affect anything gets discovered when the end user has issues. Should the manufacturer of the driver discovered this? Sure, IF the manufacturer of the components they use told them there was a process change. In that case they should have tested the new run. If not, then they might not catch it until standard QC testing at random showed an issue. By then many would have shipped. PLC cannot test every component, that's simply an unrealistic expectation.

What you SHOULD expect is that PLC handles the issue quickly, communicates clearly and does whatever possible to minimize customer inconvenience. That shows the company's integrity, and PLC is all over this. I'm always more impressed with a company that handles adversity well than when everything is perfect. Stuff WILL go wrong, that's life. Creating confidence that PLC will take care of any issues? That's what build brands.

I wouldn't think testing them all would be necessary at all. But I'd think its safe to say that a freight crate of drivers most likely came from the same production run. Most of them at least. But if after one failed to dim, testing 3 or 4, he'd known they weren't dimming.

 

[PurpleBuz]

Its the mfg (LSD) that should have done the testing when there was a change in the product.

 

[PerroVerde]

I'm actually surprised he didn't test them before sending out an entire shipment of defected drivers.

I wouldn't think testing them all would be necessary at all. But I'd think its safe to say that a freight crate of drivers most likely came from the same production run. Most of them at least. But if after one failed to dim, testing 3 or 4, he'd known they weren't dimming.

@Airwalker16 , how many LSD Drivers do you own and how many have you had problems with? If the number is zero please follow the advice at the end of this video...