cf power requirements

[dj2rbo]

I'm a little confused about how to power one up. where can I find info on this? Lets say if you want to power up a tri rebel or a lux 3 or 5? Please someone help me for I am so lost.

[Skottsaber]

I'm pretty sure most people use a 2x Li-Ion setup, or 4xnimh setup.

[Rafalema]

7.2v Li-Ion is needed at least for the V5.

The minimum voltage of the V5 is 5.5v or something close to that.

[Rhyen Skytracker]

Yes, 5.5Volts is the minimum voltage for the CF V5. Here is the manual. http://www.plecterlabs.com/Media/Doc/CrystalFocusSaberCoreV5.07-GB.pdf

[dj2rbo]

Okay so it doesn't matter what led it is as long as its over 5.5 volts. Like if you use a ledengin 10 Watt. You don't have to program anything like the ultrasounds?

[HerrTenko]

As far as I know, CF detects and regulates the current by itself to match your Led's requirements, so you normally don't have to configure it by yourself. On the other hand, you may want to tweak that a bit in the Config.txt file, for exemple of you want to overdrive your LED for maximum brightness (do this with caution, though, for if can fry your LED if not done correctly).

So basically, you don't have to touch anything if you don't want to. :p

[dj2rbo]

Okay now I'm scared..... hopefully the link rhyen put up says everything I need to do. Oh yeah what I have is a 4.3 so ill look at that pdf file.would I need to plug the sd card to a computer to program the overdriving, flicker, etc??

[HerrTenko]

Yep, the whole point of the SD card is that you can modify everything easily using your computer's Notepad.
And don't be affraid, it may look a bit tricky at first, but just take time to read the manual and there should be no problem. ^^ Here's the link to the 4.3 manual, by the way : http://www.plecterlabs.com/Media/Doc/CrystalFocusSaberCoreV4.3.pdf
You should use this one, things changed quite a lot with the V5 so CFV5's Manual wouldn't help you that much with your 4.3, I guess... ^^

[Novastar]

Okay now I'm scared..... hopefully the link rhyen put up says everything I need to do. Oh yeah what I have is a 4.3 so ill look at that pdf file.would I need to plug the sd card to a computer to program the overdriving, flicker, etc??There is nothing you can really do in copying files over to the SD that could ever "damage" CF. Not even if you provided NO options. The default settings are actually the most ideal for bench-testing and confirming if things work.

The only solitary "danger" is if you tell CF to output more current than the LED can handle (unlikely these days, especially if said LED is on a heatsink).

Also, for the record... if you're simply confirming if the board works + getting sound... you can give the board something like 3.7v to 4.5v just to test. Not that your main LED would be bright here... but the board will boot + make sound + go through menus quite easily with (for example) a single Li-Ion cell.

For additional help on configuring your SD card(s):
http://www.thecuttingedge.s5.com/bop/cd.html

...visit the above page, and scroll DOWN to the "FAQ" (frequently asked questions) area.

[dj2rbo]

Thank you for this. I will probably install mine a little simple first. 2 14500 li ion with a p4 or lux 3. In the future though I want to try the clash flash with a 4die led like a ledengin. Would 2 3.7 li ions be fine for it. One would be white and the other three blue, green, or red?

[Novastar]

I'd recommend a 7.4v pack (Li-Ion or otherwise) for doing a LEDEngin setup where you (essentially) have "4" LEDs running. More specifically, I'd recommend 18650 cell types/sizes over 14500s. I won't go into WHY, but... it's somewhat important for the total "momentary" amp draw.

Whether you wire a LEDEngin in series or parallel (or a mixture... what I like to call "paraseries" or "seriallel", lol)... is up to you, and depends on your perspective/needs/project. :)