PWM dimmer for 30+ lights

Randomblame

Randomblame

Well-Known Member
canope said:
Anyone here uses a PWM dimmer, which do you recommend and why?
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Rocket Soul said:
Also looking for this.
As he is finally back, and 10x better then google, here we go.
@Randomblame
I only need for 3 though, 30 might be tricky. For those kind of amounts maybe look into trolmaster agro.
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Hey Rocket, hey canope.
I'm using either poti's or the 6,50$ 0/1-10v dimmers from rapidled.com. PWM is mostly used by micro controllers like the bluefish, stormX, hurricaneX or DIY controllers based on arduinos/rasp's. You would need a PWM extension board to connect such an amount of lights to it but it should work.
You can also find small PWM dimming boards on e3ay to add PWM dimming to your setup but they need their own power supply so using them makes it a lot more complicated. If you wanne try them look for a board with high hz PWM signal to avoid flickering.
To dimm 30+ fixtures in once you could probably also use a 0/1-10v dimmer. My rapidled dimmer is connected 3 ELG-240-C1400B drivers(in parallel to dimm my 6 Amare solarbars in once. Rapidleds dimmer works with the 100μA the driver puts out at the dimming wires. No need for an external voltage source. But there is another controller available which is much easier to setup.
The Ilumi Meshtek controller is a small bluetooth controlled board and one can get PWM or 0/1-10V versions with up to 4 dimming ports. They don't need internet connection (only for firmware updates) and are controlled via an app on your smartphone. You could connect several lights in parallel to each port to dimm them in once and you could have up to 4 separate clusters if you want. And this controller costs only a fraction of what other controllers like the bluefish costs and is much easier to handle. But even this one still needs a small power supply, but 12v/0,5A is already enough.
I've no link by hand but google Ilumi Meshtek and you'll find them. I even believe rapidled has them; at least a few versions.

BTW, you could also use cheap poti's. With a 10k poti you could dimm 10 drivers connected in parallel. If you find a 5k one it could dimm 20.
You could use a small waterproof project box, three 10k poti's and 3 bus bars to connect the dimmer wires in parallel. This way you have only 3 dimmers, all build in in a small box. Keep the dimmer wires all at the same length to keep them all at same resistance. You don't want uneven dimming. With pwm or 0/1-10v wire lengths doesn't matter.

So, I believe that's it. I myself prefer the Ilumi Meshtek because its the only one you can use locally and without internet. And 20 bucks is just a 1/10 of what a bluefish will cost you!
 

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TreeFarmerCharlie

TreeFarmerCharlie

Well-Known Member
Randomblame said:
Hey Rocket, hey canope.
I'm using either poti's or the 6,50$ 0/1-10v dimmers from rapidled.com. PWM is mostly used by micro controllers like the bluefish, stormX, hurricaneX or DIY controllers based on arduinos/rasp's. You would need a PWM extension board to connect such an amount of lights to it but it should work.
You can also find small PWM dimming boards on e3ay to add PWM dimming to your setup but they need their own power supply so using them makes it a lot more complicated. If you wanne try them look for a board with high hz PWM signal to avoid flickering.
To dimm 30+ fixtures in once you could probably also use a 0/1-10v dimmer. My rapidled dimmer is connected 3 ELG-240-C1400B drivers(in parallel to dimm my 6 Amare solarbars in once. Rapidleds dimmer works with the 100μA the driver puts out at the dimming wires. No need for an external voltage source. But there is another controller available which is much easier to setup.
The Ilumi Meshtek controller is a small bluetooth controlled board and one can get PWM or 0/1-10V versions with up to 4 dimming ports. They don't need internet connection (only for firmware updates) and are controlled via an app on your smartphone. You could connect several lights in parallel to each port to dimm them in once and you could have up to 4 separate clusters if you want. And this controller costs only a fraction of what other controllers like the bluefish costs and is much easier to handle. But even this one still needs a small power supply, but 12v/0,5A is already enough.
I've no link by hand but google Ilumi Meshtek and you'll find them. I even believe rapidled has them; at least a few versions.

BTW, you could also use cheap poti's. With a 10k poti you could dimm 10 drivers connected in parallel. If you find a 5k one it could dimm 20.
You could use a small waterproof project box, three 10k poti's and 3 bus bars to connect the dimmer wires in parallel. This way you have only 3 dimmers, all build in in a small box. Keep the dimmer wires all at the same length to keep them all at same resistance. You don't want uneven dimming. With pwm or 0/1-10v wire lengths doesn't matter.

So, I believe that's it. I myself prefer the Ilumi Meshtek because its the only one you can use locally and without internet. And 20 bucks is just a 1/10 of what a bluefish will cost you!
Click to expand...
Do you know if those MeshTek controllers have an API available for integrating them with another control system?
 
Randomblame

Randomblame

Well-Known Member
TreeFarmerCharlie said:
Do you know if those MeshTek controllers have an API available for integrating them with another control system?
Click to expand...

No, not for sure. But I don't think so. At least its not open source as far as I know. You need to contact one of the devs. You could also look for a firmware update, download and decompile it and see what you'll find. But I'm not a developer and have no clue. Maybe you'll find something useful online.
 
Rocket Soul

Rocket Soul

Well-Known Member
Randomblame said:
Hey Rocket, hey canope.
I'm using either poti's or the 6,50$ 0/1-10v dimmers from rapidled.com. PWM is mostly used by micro controllers like the bluefish, stormX, hurricaneX or DIY controllers based on arduinos/rasp's. You would need a PWM extension board to connect such an amount of lights to it but it should work.
You can also find small PWM dimming boards on e3ay to add PWM dimming to your setup but they need their own power supply so using them makes it a lot more complicated. If you wanne try them look for a board with high hz PWM signal to avoid flickering.
To dimm 30+ fixtures in once you could probably also use a 0/1-10v dimmer. My rapidled dimmer is connected 3 ELG-240-C1400B drivers(in parallel to dimm my 6 Amare solarbars in once. Rapidleds dimmer works with the 100μA the driver puts out at the dimming wires. No need for an external voltage source. But there is another controller available which is much easier to setup.
The Ilumi Meshtek controller is a small bluetooth controlled board and one can get PWM or 0/1-10V versions with up to 4 dimming ports. They don't need internet connection (only for firmware updates) and are controlled via an app on your smartphone. You could connect several lights in parallel to each port to dimm them in once and you could have up to 4 separate clusters if you want. And this controller costs only a fraction of what other controllers like the bluefish costs and is much easier to handle. But even this one still needs a small power supply, but 12v/0,5A is already enough.
I've no link by hand but google Ilumi Meshtek and you'll find them. I even believe rapidled has them; at least a few versions.

BTW, you could also use cheap poti's. With a 10k poti you could dimm 10 drivers connected in parallel. If you find a 5k one it could dimm 20.
You could use a small waterproof project box, three 10k poti's and 3 bus bars to connect the dimmer wires in parallel. This way you have only 3 dimmers, all build in in a small box. Keep the dimmer wires all at the same length to keep them all at same resistance. You don't want uneven dimming. With pwm or 0/1-10v wire lengths doesn't matter.

So, I believe that's it. I myself prefer the Ilumi Meshtek because its the only one you can use locally and without internet. And 20 bucks is just a 1/10 of what a bluefish will cost you!
Click to expand...
Thanks buddy. So am i getting this right: several channels and able to dim multiple drivers on each channel? This is going to be so dope.

My growbuddy was allways dismissive of leds, even when i showed him Growmau5 stuff. "Maybe in Hollywood but not here".

So we in Hollywood now.
 
Randomblame

Randomblame

Well-Known Member
Yeah, exactly! They also can handle 10v PWM out of the box. StormX and hurricaneX can only handle 5v PWM and need an extension card to enable 10v PWM. Only the bluefish is able to handle both 5 and 10v PWM but the fucker costs 200 and you still need the PWM extension card to get enough pins. So another 25! The Meshtek controller is made to keep it as simple as possible, costs around 20 bucks and with its app you can still simulate sun rise/sun set if you want. You can also setup different levels for each channel and start with more blue light in the morning and finish the day with more red/far red.
You're 100% right, you've arrived hollywood. These boards ARE dope!
 
grotbags

grotbags

Well-Known Member
Randomblame said:
Yeah, exactly! They also can handle 10v PWM out of the box. StormX and hurricaneX can only handle 5v PWM and need an extension card to enable 10v PWM. Only the bluefish is able to handle both 5 and 10v PWM but the fucker costs 200 and you still need the PWM extension card to get enough pins. So another 25! The Meshtek controller is made to keep it as simple as possible, costs around 20 bucks and with its app you can still simulate sun rise/sun set if you want. You can also setup different levels for each channel and start with more blue light in the morning and finish the day with more red/far red.
You're 100% right, you've arrived hollywood. These boards ARE dope!
Click to expand...
yep the meshteks look great, im gona use them on my next build. im just waiting for mouser to get them back in stock, june i think it was?.

@Randomblame have you actually had one of these 4 chan ones wired up and working? im just trying to get my head around how they split up the current accross the 4 channels, i read in the manual something about if one of the channels is using less the excess can be used by another channel?, also it mentions trying to get your voltages accross the 4 channels as close as possible, do you know how close they have to be?. do they chop up the current the same if your using CC or CV drivers?.
 
canope

canope

Well-Known Member
Would the Bluefish PWM controller be able to control 30 lights that are daisy chained with this kind of wire?

Note: the left end is broken on this one but it's the only pic I have right now, it's like the the one on the right but has 3 connectors, all daisy chained to my lights.
 

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canope

canope

Well-Known Member
p0opstlnksal0t said:
Ya it's easier on environmental controls and inrush current.

Does it have a temp probe and can dim if heat gets too high?
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I don't think it dims if temps get too high, but it does show temp on the screen. Did you buy your lights from Meijiu? If so you can ask them and they'll send it for free if you make a considerable order. Let us know about your setup, just did mine in LED and will have results by mid Sept
 
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