Samsung F Strip Build

Airwalker16 said:

A good lesson in learning I suppose. I've had this happen too many times to me. If I'm going to add pics to a long post, remember from now on, to highlight and copy your text before trying to insert the images so if unfortunately, your work is all deleted, it's a simple right click and paste away.

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Yeah I've done that before on other forums. I wasn't aware that inserting an image on this one would do that. Now I know.

CaliWorthington said:

Yeah I've done that before on other forums. I wasn't aware that inserting an image on this one would do that. Now I know.

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We'll normally it doesnt, but if you're gonna attach photos, just be careful and copy your text OR insert/load them at the very beginning.

Airwalker16 said:

No, I'm saying with even spacing you do NOT get even spread. You need the outer bars to be closer together than the middle ones. So if you can move them, do so.

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Is there an ideal distance to space them?

Something like 1", 7", 14", 23", 30", 36"

That would be 6 inch spacing for outer 2, then 7 inch, and 9 inch for center 2.

I guess I just assumed that equal light
spacing meant even light distribution in that area. I'm trying to wrap my head around the concept but it does make sense that the edges would not have as much intensity.

I dont have a light meter so unfortunately I really cant do any trials with different spacing.

CaliWorthington said:

Arrow Electronics has dropped the price of the 3,000K strips I use to only $5/each. They were $23 before. I bought another 15 immediately. I didn't look to see if the other ones (3500K, etc...) were also cheap now. I've got some plants vegging under the 3,000K and they're loving it.

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I ordered 8 of the LO9s in 3000k and am gonna run them in parallel in a roughly 3.5x3 grow cab. What driver would you recommend?

Slobberhose said:

I ordered 8 of the LO9s in 3000k and am gonna run them in parallel in a roughly 3.5x3 grow cab. What driver would you recommend?

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A Meanwell HLG-320H-48B is perfect for 8 strips.

40mm Thermal Tape
18awg solid 300v hook up wire 25' black
18awg solid 300v hook up wire 25' red (this is currently unavailable in 25' roll, so I put an alternate below)
18awg solid 300v wire 25' NTE Electronics (alternate)
14awg silicone flexible stranded wire 40' set red and black
Wago 221-415 5-way lever nut Qty 25
Wago 221-413 3-way lever nut Qty 10
Wago 221-412 2-way lever nut Qty 100
Meanwell HLG-120H-48B
Meanwell HLG-240H-48B
16awg AC power cable 2m

I use 6" lengths of the 18awg solid wire between LED strips and 5-way Wagos at each heatsink. The 14awg flexible wires run from the drivers to the 5-way Wagos, and between heatsinks with parallel strips.

You may not need any of the 2-way Wagos, unless you want to wire up the dimming. Your driver and AC cable configuration will determine how many 2 or 3-way Wagos you'll need. If you're running multiple drivers on one AC cable, you'll be using the 3 or 5-ways for that.

My setup has (1) HLG-240H-48B on one AC cable, and (1) HLG-240H-48B combined with (1) HLG-120H-48B on a second AC cable. These run into an Autopilot F20 Light and Cycle Timer, which has (2) light outputs. All the cables stay cool to the touch. The Wagos make it easy to add or subtract drivers from AC cables, so I can run less heatsinks/strips during vegging.

iPerculate said:

Is there an ideal distance to space them?

Something like 1", 7", 14", 23", 30", 36"

That would be 6 inch spacing for outer 2, then 7 inch, and 9 inch for center 2.

I guess I just assumed that equal light
spacing meant even light distribution in that area. I'm trying to wrap my head around the concept but it does make sense that the edges would not have as much intensity.

I dont have a light meter so unfortunately I really cant do any trials with different spacing.

Click to expand...

Ya just make sure the end strips are spaced a bit closer than the middle is all.

Weekly progress report



The 1 on the left side stretched a lot harder

Just got confirmation that my order of 8 influx lo9s shipped, couldn't pass up 8 strips for 66 bucks (price went back up last I checked). The driver is on the way also, so now I just need to order a PDM and source some aluminium. I have everything else.

Less than 72 hours (Corona and all) and the strips are here, arrow turned out great.

Got the tray with 14 strips, now I really wonder how to utilize them best. Anyone has any idea on the min current I can run those w/o heatsinks, just an aluminum frame?
Was thinking about running 10 strips on hlg320 48 that I already have here, for 0.67a. the rated and tested current for those is 1.37, so running on half.

If heatsinks are a requirement still, would use a u or o channel aluminum frame as a heatsink.

Again, thanks for the heads up on those

dannykay said:

Less than 72 hours (Corona and all) and the strips are here, arrow turned out great.

Got the tray with 14 strips, now I really wonder how to utilize them best. Anyone has any idea on the min current I can run those w/o heatsinks, just an aluminum frame?
Was thinking about running 10 strips on hlg320 48 that I already have here, for 0.67a. the rated and tested current for those is 1.37, so running on half.

If heatsinks are a requirement still, would use a u or o channel aluminum frame as a heatsink.

Again, thanks for the heads up on those

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Try the Samsung engine calculator tool. Input your model as per your image and then go down to the system configuration drop-down. Then you can try out different series or parallel configurations. You can also ramp your current up and down to see the potential results. Even messing with the temperature settings can show how output of light is impacted.

To run them on a bare frame, you would have to take temperature measurements and see how far you prepared to go. Personally, I would use some kind of aluminium backing just to aid with longevity and performance. If you are running them low, even thin alu strip/sheet/tube can be a positive.

Slobberhose said:

Just got confirmation that my order of 8 influx lo9s shipped, couldn't pass up 8 strips for 66 bucks (price went back up last I checked). The driver is on the way also, so now I just need to order a PDM and source some aluminium. I have everything else.

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Got 15 on their way too for less than £90....I could use them as under lighting in my kitchen and id still be saving cash lol.
Anyway my FOMO was far too high...and with that in mind what is a "PDM"....? Again my fear of missing out lol.

I'd think at half current you wouldn't need a sink. Those strips aren't the flex bendy ones are they'd they're relatively stiff?

Post some pics of the builds once you guys get them running, I'm always looking for ideas

Airwalker16 said:

I'd think at half current you wouldn't need a sink. Those strips aren't the flex bendy ones are they'd they're relatively stiff?

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Those are quite bendy I would say, but not flexible.

iPerculate said:

Post some pics of the builds once you guys get them running, I'm always looking for ideas

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will do mate! aluminum shop was closed today, the plan is for U shape profile, 50mmx50mm, 3mm thick as heatsinks and an L profile for framing. the driver which I thought is hlg-320H-48 turned out to be hlg-320H-c2800..
i have another hlg-100h-48b that i will use for now just to test 4 strips w/o any heatsink on 0.5a.

after playing with the samsung calc tool opted for a design with 12 strips, running on HLG-480H-48, 0.833A for each strip, total of 454.1w.
just ordered the driver and 6 more strips (so i'll have a total of 20, 8 more for a diff fixture) from Arrow, again with free int' shipping, plus 20$ off with a discount code i found online (20NEW)

Diddy147 said:

Got 15 on their way too for less than £90....I could use them as under lighting in my kitchen and id still be saving cash lol.
Anyway my FOMO was far too high...and with that in mind what is a "PDM"....? Again my fear of missing out lol.

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Power Distribution Module. I'm just gonna order the one from Atreum, it has 8 parallel outlets a digital display and built in potentiometer.

*Edit*
They're sold out lol. Anyone have any ideas for a comparable product?

Was thinking about adding a couple of these to the fixture


Anyone have any experience with these? Can barely find any info

iPerculate said:

Was thinking about adding a couple of these to the fixture

QB18 V2 Quantum Board

High Efficiency LED Boards for Red Spectrum. Each board has has6 Red, 8 Deep Red and 4 Far Red LEDs

horticulturelightinggroup.com

Anyone have any experience with these? Can barely find any info

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I think lot some people are using product with added red. But specifically QB18's, no you are right not many. They hold an advantage for people who want to adjust or modify red ratios. A few members I can think of are @diggs99 , @cobshopgrow and @jarvild .

Most led products seem to follow the trend of trying to emulate the levels of deep red and far red ratios found in CRI 90, by adding it to generic 80 CRI. For some, it appears to be a trend to try get finished product similar in appearance to that grown under Sodium HID. Though why thats a good thing is not so clear, to me.

And then for others, its an attempt to drive ripening and speed up the flower cycle. And theres lots of reports on here that it works. A good thing.

As for far red on its own. I don't doubt that it can encourage the transition to flower. I seen that flowering can also be more simply sped up by shortening the length of day whilst respecting DLI. Members @nachooo and @torontoke have demonstrated this.

The QB18's are 24V, so I could easily add 2 of them in series to my existing 48V circuit and turn up the current on the driver accordingly.

I could upgrade the driver later on, or run it on an independent driver but I would like the added spectrum for flower