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eastern57
10-12-2008, 05:24 PM
Here's a quick comparison shot(s) of an MR LED string/ladder with the [SMD] resistors taken off. Erv did this a while ago and it certainly does brighten my life up some more, but without the individual resistors - we get a little more of the DIY unevenness that we've all come to love and/or live with...

Lux V blue (unk bin) @1A vs. MR LED string w/o resistors direct drive @6V

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/eastern57/Misc/DSC04030.jpg




Lux V cyan (bin2) @ 1A vs. same string

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/eastern57/Misc/DSC04038.jpg


interesting, eh?

:)

Jedi-Diah
10-12-2008, 11:53 PM
So, how bright was it really? The Lux V looks about the same as the MR mod but you can never really tell from pics.

Also, I'd like to try this. What exactly did you do to the MR blade? Do I just remove the resisitors (clip them off)? Or do I need to replace them with something? I've never opened up the MR blade to look at the led strip.

Thanks,


Here's a quick comparison shot(s) of an MR LED string/ladder with the [SMD] resistors taken off. Erv did this a while ago and it certainly does brighten my life up some more, but without the individual resistors - we get a little more of the DIY unevenness that we've all come to love and/or live with...

Lux V blue (unk bin) @1A vs. MR LED string w/o resistors direct drive @6V



interesting, eh?

:)

Jedibum
10-13-2008, 03:35 AM
In the pictures it looks like the MR without resistors comes pretty close to the Lux V. I may have to try that too. Eastern57, What is your impression when you see them in person?

It would be interesting to see a new comparision with the Makototsai style saber since all of the videos so far just show a comparision with a normal resistored MR.

xwingband
10-13-2008, 04:14 AM
From when I've tested this 6V is way to much to pump into the string. I maxed my 3A power supply at 3-4V with it and it was getting hot just with that.

What I did to remove the resistors was to simply unsolder them. I have a really pointy tip on my iron and I pretty much lever it out on one side. I usually don't even have to unsolder the other side as it will crack off. Then I bridge the connection with solder.

eastern57
10-13-2008, 07:11 AM
Yes, I unsoldered the resistors, but I bridged the connections with a piece of wire (the solder bridge was a little clumpy).

It's [visually] not as bright as the luxVs... it's got more of a dull look: not as "shiny", if that makes sense. But it is brighter than a standard MR. Naturally, the cyan looks brighter, but when it comes to light output, it still projects a respectable amout. Along those same lines, the blue luxV (and blues in general) projects a lot more than other colors - maybe it's the camera, maybe not... Regardless, comparatively speaking, the luxVs are still brighter - but just using them as a benchmark shows how much brighter they can be without the resistors. And the pictures accurately show how much more even the string blade is: there's now "inward bowing" like the lux blades have.

I just really like the MR wafer board, and how it's already set up to scroll and the LED slots have the solder pads. I might swap out LEDs....

erv
10-14-2008, 02:06 AM
From when I've tested this 6V is way to much to pump into the string. I maxed my 3A power supply at 3-4V with it and it was getting hot just with that.

What I did to remove the resistors was to simply unsolder them. I have a really pointy tip on my iron and I pretty much lever it out on one side. I usually don't even have to unsolder the other side as it will crack off. Then I bridge the connection with solder.


that's what I did when I tested with my custom CF for led strip. I ended up controlling the current in the blade with my electronics, but I stopped at 2A.
Removing the resistors can be done even with a normal tip, heating the side of the smd to melt both joints at the same time, remove the resistor, then bridge it with solder.
Don't play too much with that unless you have a regulated PSU with current limiting. Remember also that the MR LEDs aren't HB ones, you can obtain better results by changing the LEDs on the strip.

For what I remember, now that I've lit up a hyperblade for the first time at home and finally see the bightness in person, I'd say it's similar, but still under with the stock MR LEDs, and it should be the same, more or less, with HB LEDs.
The Hyperblade I'm refering to is a V2, I'm leaving away the V1 I got since it's full of dark spots (not dead LEDs, just the nature of the blade).

Erv'

xwingband
10-14-2008, 06:10 AM
Yeah, I figured if I ever wanted to do it seriously I'd stop at 2A. Among all the things on my "list" this is really far down on the priorities. Mostly I wanted to futz with it to see if in the future I could get some use out of the strings. I figure that I'll do something with PVC and make them just demo sabers.

Jedi-Diah
10-14-2008, 08:18 AM
Hi Erv,

So, from your testing the hyperblade in person, you think we should be able to equal hyperblade brightness by making our own custom led strip with HB LEDs and using (the yet future) CF for led strips? I've never seed a hyperblade in person.





For what I remember, now that I've lit up a hyperblade for the first time at home and finally see the bightness in person, I'd say it's similar, but still under with the stock MR LEDs, and it should be the same, more or less, with HB LEDs.
The Hyperblade I'm refering to is a V2, I'm leaving away the V1 I got since it's full of dark spots (not dead LEDs, just the nature of the blade).

Erv'

eastern57
10-14-2008, 04:52 PM
I did a few things today:

- I reconnected the MR strip (minus resistors) back to an MR board - then stuck it in a hilt. It runs of 6V now (filtered via board).

- I took some solo pictures trying to capture the way the blade looks for real. It was a little bit of a challenge - I had to dial the aperture settings way down just to see the LED separation. With the combination of MR strip, foamy insert, and difuser, I was actually surprised to see how well it actually blended - better than a standard MR blade w/resistors. You actually have to look to see the dark spots on this one... otherwise it's very easy to disregard. :) smiley!

- I tried a few more "brightness comparisons"... but trying to compare brightness of a single-high-powered light source vs. multi-low-pewered light source... wasn't really a contest. But... As a benchmark comparison, it shows how well a LED string blade CAN stand up to a LuxV - and these aren't even HB LEDs. So again, I was a little surprised at how well LED strings/strips/ladders perform.

- I also ripped one of the switch connection pads of one of my MR boards and cursed to the heavens... cause it wasn't on purpose... :(



Anyway, here's some pics:


Nice shot of the blade without showing the dark spots - I was really surprised at "how this could be" the way it looks to someone who isn't "paying attention to" or "looking for" dark spots.

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/eastern57/LED%20String/DSC04063.jpg


A few shots showing the spacing...

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/eastern57/LED%20String/DSC04069.jpg
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/eastern57/LED%20String/DSC04058.jpg
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/eastern57/LED%20String/DSC04051.jpg
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/eastern57/LED%20String/DSC04057.jpg
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/eastern57/LED%20String/DSC04054.jpg

Like I said it was a bit of a challenge trying to get those spaces to show up on camera. It's a little easier to pick out visually (actually looking at it with your eyes), but this one (this blade) in particular seemed to blend a lot better :confused: ...go fig.


Here's the "brightness comparisons". Two things to pay attention to - or at least be aware of:

1. The halo around the blades, shows the light projection. And from the single-light source where the lumen count is exponentially higher than one single 5mm LED, naturally, spreads out further. This does not, however, reflect how the blade actually looks (visually). This is apparent when you see the comparison between a) one blade that's a darker blue, but wider halo, and b) one lighter blue with a shorter halo.


[Also, I should mention that historically, and techincally, cameras tend to favor "blues", and accentuate that spectral portion.]


2. The over-exposure (white) on the LuxV blades, also does not factor into "how does it look"... and is, again, a product of the projecting light.



Vids:

LuxV Blue (unkn bin)
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/eastern57/Misc/th_MOV04074.jpg (http://s306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/eastern57/Misc/?action=view&current=MOV04074.flv)

Direct link:
http://s306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/eastern57/Misc/?action=view&current=MOV04074.flv


LuxV Cyan (bin2)
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/eastern57/Misc/th_MOV04075.jpg (http://s306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/eastern57/Misc/?action=view&current=MOV04075.flv)

Direct link:
http://s306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/eastern57/Misc/?action=view&current=MOV04075.flv



eastern57 :)

Jedi-Diah
10-14-2008, 05:03 PM
In the video, the modified MR blade looks about the same as the front half of the Lux V blade.

So, would you say it is actually brighter in person than in the video?

eastern57
10-14-2008, 05:11 PM
In the video, the modified MR blade looks about the same as the front half of the Lux V blade.

So, would you say it is actually brighter in person than in the video?

That's hard to say.... Just holding them out on the air and looking at them... of course the cyan "looks" brighter...

But with the darker blue of the luxV... I'd say they're about even.

Jedi-Diah
10-18-2008, 05:13 PM
I removed about 10 of the resistors from the MR blade. The brightness is about the same as the Makoto blade. Hard to say exactly because I need to plug in one blade at a time but is seems pretty close.

I also tried putting the Makoto led strip (with the foam diffuser) in a nylon tube and it looks pretty good.

erv
10-19-2008, 12:22 AM
whatever the brightness you get with modded MR strip, remember that those LEDs don't have the same efficiency than HB ones, be carefull not to break your LEDs or electronics. With no resistor (aka "direct drive") a LED will take all that it wants, if the supply voltage is high enough and the batteries provide the current. Sorry to repeat myself but when I did that on the MR strip, I used custom electronics to control the supply voltage, and you can do the same with a PSU.
So, to sum it up : MR strip with no resistor is great for testing but it's not a "final" solution :-)

About comparing brightness, as you say, hard to tell, since
A) you don't have makoto's own blade right there
B) you don't have a lux meter.

hopefully, among the other stuff I have to finish next week, I'll be able to start some test about that !
Erv'

Jedi-Diah
10-19-2008, 01:33 AM
Thanks for the warning on the MR blade/electronics. No, I don't have a PSU or current limiting electronics (yet). Hopefully in the future.

Actually, I do have one of Makoto's blades right here. It arrived about a week ago. It works great with an MR board (scrolling effect, bright). His came with a foam diffuser like the MR blade only slightly larger diameter (also removable with a 8 pin plug). It was just in a polycarb tube with no extra diffuser. I found a nylon blade tube works real well for diffusing and looks pretty even and bright. So far, it is much brighter than a Lux III which is brighter than the original MR.

This is the one he sent me: http://album.blog.yam.com/marikoswork&folder=5055849

Personally, I'm not interested in how bright things are on paper or with a light meter. If you can tell it looks brighter, then it is brighter. If you can't tell if it's brighter or it's really hard to tell, then I'd say it's about even and no reason to worry about it.


whatever the brightness you get with modded MR strip, remember that those LEDs don't have the same efficiency than HB ones, be carefull not to break your LEDs or electronics. With no resistor (aka "direct drive") a LED will take all that it wants, if the supply voltage is high enough and the batteries provide the current. Sorry to repeat myself but when I did that on the MR strip, I used custom electronics to control the supply voltage, and you can do the same with a PSU.
So, to sum it up : MR strip with no resistor is great for testing but it's not a "final" solution :-)

About comparing brightness, as you say, hard to tell, since
A) you don't have makoto's own blade right there
B) you don't have a lux meter.

hopefully, among the other stuff I have to finish next week, I'll be able to start some test about that !
Erv'

erv
10-19-2008, 01:53 AM
totally agreed on the last point. It's just that currently the comparison method is only base on digital cameras, most of them being relatively cheap ones, and pics aren't consistent. As you point out, it's a matter of "seing it in person", thing you can't do when.... you're not there ;)
That's why I'll try to "standardize" the comparison method, just like eandori did when working on the hyperblade and the overdriven lux V.

now if makoto has sourced a foam diffuser, that's really great. Getting this custom made can be hard to find (especially in france) and expensive.

Question : when looking at the blade "in person", do you see wires running in the blade or the blade is using some sort of PCB ? I've sourced some good wires to test that when I'll build my own ladder + scrolling effect blade.

eastern : nice pics and thanks for taking the time to choose the camera exposure etc to get a more "realistic" picturing method of the blades.

Jedi-Diah
10-19-2008, 09:09 AM
I haven't removed the foam diffused yet because its held on with hot glue at the base and I haven't wanted to cut that yet in order to see the leds. I know he is using an LED ladder. I certainly don't see any wires through the diffuser. It is pretty bright but not like "hurts your eyes" bright. However, after looking at a blue Lux III for a while in the dark and then turning on Makoto's blade, it does look really bright and almost makes you squint. It's like comparing a Lux III to a normal MR blade. It's about that kind of difference when comparing it to a Lux III. Soon I'll have a working royal blue Lux Rebel to compare it with.

Soon I will remove the foam and see what it looks like bare bones. Did I mention that the nylon tube works really well for a blade?


totally agreed on the last point. It's just that currently the comparison method is only base on digital cameras, most of them being relatively cheap ones, and pics aren't consistent. As you point out, it's a matter of "seing it in person", thing you can't do when.... you're not there ;)
That's why I'll try to "standardize" the comparison method, just like eandori did when working on the hyperblade and the overdriven lux V.

now if makoto has sourced a foam diffuser, that's really great. Getting this custom made can be hard to find (especially in france) and expensive.

Question : when looking at the blade "in person", do you see wires running in the blade or the blade is using some sort of PCB ? I've sourced some good wires to test that when I'll build my own ladder + scrolling effect blade.

eastern : nice pics and thanks for taking the time to choose the camera exposure etc to get a more "realistic" picturing method of the blades.

eastern57
10-19-2008, 10:06 AM
eastern : nice pics and thanks for taking the time to choose the camera exposure etc to get a more "realistic" picturing method of the blades.

Entirely my pleasure. :)

I'm going to swap-in some HB LEDs on an MR sting that I've been wanting to play with. I'll leave some of the stock one in - for comparison.

erv
10-21-2008, 09:10 AM
got my comparison finally made, using the lux meter.
Setup is blade standing alway in the same position on the desk, lux meter measuring at 30 cm from the blade and 30 cm from the desk. All lights off.

I'm driving all the electronics / blades at 2A. First cause the PSU I have at home for the moment goes only at that amperage, second cause I'll never go to the 4A supposed to drive a hyperblade V2, unless using the proper batteries and not some retarded 900 mAh ones (said to be used at 1.5C max, guess where's the mistakes in the maths).
Constant current for everyone give a good idea of "efficiency".
The V2 hyperblade has been finally fixed after some intensive work to repair the PCB tracks and blade segments junctions, now every single LED is light up, including those which were not even soldered on the PCB (!). It's running out a V2 driver, flickering off, just static blade. I've replaced its initial stock diffuser + the inner nylon tube by an MR diffuser since it works pretty well too. The Hyperblade keeps however in any case it's outter nylon tube. I'm not testing with the V1 I have since it's full of dark spots at 2A.

** MR without resistors, driven by the custom CF (ledstrip version), 64 LEDs, 85 cm of blade lighting : 23 lux. Pretty even, a bit more than a standard MR since it's brighter and hence tends to remove the dark spots. A few of them anyway, due to binning and some LEDs getting tired of my tests.

** Hyperblade, 150 LEDs, 89.5 cm of blade, V2 driver, MR diffuser : 60 lux. Minored of 5% since the blade is longer => 56 lux. Dark spots, MR diffuser doesn't hide them very well on a hyper blade.

** Hyperblade, 150 LEDs, 89.5 cm of blade, V2 driver, stock diffuser : 86 lux. Minored of 5% since the blade is longer => 81 lux. Pretty even blade.

** MR PCB + 64 HB LEDs (70°), 85 cm of blade, MR diffuser & tube : I had to first get rid of the binning problem eastern mentionned (and that I expected to get), I had to replace about 15 leds to get something even on the tint and brightness. Very even if the LEDs match. 46 lux.

** MR PCB + 64 HB LEDs (70°), 85 cm of blade, custom diffuser (foam) and Hyper blade tubes. Very even blade. 52 lux.

So with 2.34 times the number of led and about twice the voltage, the hyperblade goes about 55% brighter. Not surprising with everything double but the diffuser is also important (just like for luxeon saber).

Now I have to build my ladder version, but I'm out of green LEDs, I have to order some. However, I have also to test another kind of led I've sourced too, and I'll compare on a little segment. Those might actually be the one I'll chose for my next blade experiments.


I finished wiring my other HB LEDs, 50° ones. I only had 10 so I redid the same experiments but with a segment only. I lit up the same length of the hyperblade to compare.

** Custom ladder segment (10 leds, 11.5 cm long), MR stock blade and diffuser : 50 lux. Very even and bright
** Hyper blade segment (18 leds, 11.5 cm long), stock Hyperblade diffuser, inner & outer nylon core : 34 lux.

I'm now going to order more of those and build a full custom ladder blade and get the best of those leds, aka voltage versus current. That's really cool if we can get it to work with the standard MR diffuser.


Erv'

Jedi-Diah
10-21-2008, 11:56 AM
Hi Erv,

Thanks for your dedication to this craft.

Very interesting results. That Hyperblade must be pretty bright. How does it look in person? Do you think it looks good but can do better?

I'm trying to confirm your "add on" post. Are you saying that 10 HB leds on your custom ladder were brighter than 18 leds on the Hyperblade (50 lux vs. 34 lux)? Does it look obviously brighter? What is your forcast/estimation for the brightness on your custom HB ladder blade when completed? Do you think it will out perform the Hyperblade as far as brightness "to the eye" goes? That's how it seems to me and its very exciting!

erv
10-21-2008, 01:59 PM
yep, the lux is really nice for that, using the other (and brighter) LED I tried, 10 are brighter than 18, for the same current used.
Me having the 10 in parallel, the hyperblade working in pairs of 2 LEDs in serie, but with twice the voltage.

I don't care about absolute brightness, just like I don't care who's pi$$ing the furthest in the snow.
My goal is to get good brightness and even blade, brighter than MR and probably luxeon, but with reasonable autonomy and battery setup. Just like good electronic systems should be designed.

Jedi-Diah
10-21-2008, 03:05 PM
Yeah, you're right. I didn't mean it like a contest of who can get the brightest blade possible. I was just thinking the brighter the blade, the more it would look like a "real" lightsaber (as if it were a blade of pure energy), like in the movies...

But that's great that your 10 in parallel are brighter than their 18 in series. I wouldn't have a clue whether to put them in parallel or series. I am really dense when it comes to electronics. I haven't been taught well and my learning is slow. But once I "get it", I will know it. I'm glad there are people like you (and others) who know what they're doing to help guide people like me along.

One question: If I had a CF or Ultra Sound board that can manage different current output, what current setting is optimal for the led strip blade? I guess that might depend on how the led strip is wired and made.

Makoto did post on his blog how they are wired and it looks like they are "piggyback" on top of each other. I suppose that would be parallel with all the negatives together and all the positives together?

Thanks!


yep, the lux is really nice for that, using the other (and brighter) LED I tried, 10 are brighter than 18, for the same current used.
Me having the 10 in parallel, the hyperblade working in pairs of 2 LEDs in serie, but with twice the voltage.

I don't care about absolute brightness, just like I don't care who's pi$$ing the furthest in the snow.
My goal is to get good brightness and even blade, brighter than MR and probably luxeon, but with reasonable autonomy and battery setup. Just like good electronic systems should be designed.

erv
10-21-2008, 10:12 PM
that's 100% correct, the makoto design if full parallel, means that the used current is divided equally between each led, or almost (minor differences, if the forward voltage of each LED isn't totally contant, drift over temperature etc).
Like eandori mentionned elsewhere in another thread, it's not the best configuration, but this shouldn't be taken as a generic remark.
If the forward voltage of the LED is like 3V, like the new green one I've used, then you can reasonnably put 2 LEDs in serie, then wire the pairs in //. This will divide the used current by 2 but requires 6 volt to work at an equivalent brightness.
However, with a 7.4V battery setup, 6V are low enough so that you can get autonomy and do regulation. It means that 7.4V will be "adapted" to match 6V, but even with the batteries going down the regulator will maintain the 6V on the output until the battery gets close to, let's say 6.5V.
Knowing also that the batteries will actually start around 8.4V and will remain at 7.4V for a long time (if you choose appropriate capacity versus the used current).

Just like the current CF, if I release a ledstrip version of the board, current, or at least output voltage to the strip will be configurable, of course.
For now, like eastern has tried, you can put CF to the maximum of 1.5A to drive the ledstrip. However, with all the LED in //, that not optimum, 2A will be better, but that's above the capacity of the current regulator (luxeon driver side of the board). Like he said, even with that, the LEDs are already overdriven, I've been to 31 mA per LED when I tried with the overdriven MR strip and my HB experiment.

So far, before getting in the final design of the controller, I'll build a complete blade so that I have the exact requirements and specs for the board.

Jedi-Diah
10-21-2008, 10:56 PM
Would there be any difference if the led strips were wired in sections for scrolling effect or just all together in // (without sections)?


that's 100% correct, the makoto design if full parallel, means that the used current is divided equally between each led, or almost (minor differences, if the forward voltage of each LED isn't totally contant, drift over temperature etc).
Like eandori mentionned elsewhere in another thread, it's not the best configuration, but this shouldn't be taken as a generic remark.
If the forward voltage of the LED is like 3V, like the new green one I've used, then you can reasonnably put 2 LEDs in serie, then wire the pairs in //. This will divide the used current by 2 but requires 6 volt to work at an equivalent brightness.
However, with a 7.4V battery setup, 6V are low enough so that you can get autonomy and do regulation. It means that 7.4V will be "adapted" to match 6V, but even with the batteries going down the regulator will maintain the 6V on the output until the battery gets close to, let's say 6.5V.
Knowing also that the batteries will actually start around 8.4V and will remain at 7.4V for a long time (if you choose appropriate capacity versus the used current).

Just like the current CF, if I release a ledstrip version of the board, current, or at least output voltage to the strip will be configurable, of course.
For now, like eastern has tried, you can put CF to the maximum of 1.5A to drive the ledstrip. However, with all the LED in //, that not optimum, 2A will be better, but that's above the capacity of the current regulator (luxeon driver side of the board). Like he said, even with that, the LEDs are already overdriven, I've been to 31 mA per LED when I tried with the overdriven MR strip and my HB experiment.

So far, before getting in the final design of the controller, I'll build a complete blade so that I have the exact requirements and specs for the board.

Jedi-Diah
10-28-2008, 08:34 AM
Dear Erv,

If you built a led strip version of CF, would it be compatable with the normal Luxeon LEDs as well? I mean, could you swap it between your led strip sabers and your Luxeon (Seoul/LedEngin/Cree) sabers or would it only work for led strips?

Thanks,


that's 100% correct, the makoto design if full parallel, means that the used current is divided equally between each led, or almost (minor differences, if the forward voltage of each LED isn't totally contant, drift over temperature etc).
Like eandori mentionned elsewhere in another thread, it's not the best configuration, but this shouldn't be taken as a generic remark.
If the forward voltage of the LED is like 3V, like the new green one I've used, then you can reasonnably put 2 LEDs in serie, then wire the pairs in //. This will divide the used current by 2 but requires 6 volt to work at an equivalent brightness.
However, with a 7.4V battery setup, 6V are low enough so that you can get autonomy and do regulation. It means that 7.4V will be "adapted" to match 6V, but even with the batteries going down the regulator will maintain the 6V on the output until the battery gets close to, let's say 6.5V.
Knowing also that the batteries will actually start around 8.4V and will remain at 7.4V for a long time (if you choose appropriate capacity versus the used current).

Just like the current CF, if I release a ledstrip version of the board, current, or at least output voltage to the strip will be configurable, of course.
For now, like eastern has tried, you can put CF to the maximum of 1.5A to drive the ledstrip. However, with all the LED in //, that not optimum, 2A will be better, but that's above the capacity of the current regulator (luxeon driver side of the board). Like he said, even with that, the LEDs are already overdriven, I've been to 31 mA per LED when I tried with the overdriven MR strip and my HB experiment.

So far, before getting in the final design of the controller, I'll build a complete blade so that I have the exact requirements and specs for the board.

erv
10-28-2008, 09:01 AM
that will be a specific board, ledstrip driving differs to luxeon driver (which has a true current regulation)
Erv'

Jedi-Diah
10-28-2008, 10:02 AM
Ok. Thanks for the confirmation. I guess I need to start saving so I can get both.



that will be a specific board, ledstrip driving differs to luxeon driver (which has a true current regulation)
Erv'

Jedi-Diah
11-18-2008, 01:52 PM
I have 2 1000mA buckpucks and they each drive the led strip at exactly 1000mA (with MR battery pack - 4.8V). But when I put them together in parallel (all the same colored wires together), it measures only 1300mA and a little bit brighter (maybe 10-15% brighter) and not sure why. Do I need to increase the voltage? I don't think so. 2x1000mA buckpucks should put out 2000mA.

How can I drive it at 2000mA? These are 71 x 30mA leds all wired in parallel.

erv
11-18-2008, 01:56 PM
it's a bad idea, I don't think buckpucks (and switching mode current regulators in general) are meant to be put in //, it totally fools their individual currement measurement (each one trying to maintain 1A on his own)
You need to find a 2A buckpuck.

Jedi-Diah
11-18-2008, 02:08 PM
Thanks for the explanation Erv. I knew someone would be able to set me straight. I'm using those buckpucks for my kid's sabers anyway (cyan and green lux III).




it's a bad idea, I don't think buckpucks (and switching mode current regulators in general) are meant to be put in //, it totally fools their individual currement measurement (each one trying to maintain 1A on his own)
You need to find a 2A buckpuck.

eastern57
11-27-2008, 08:12 PM
The emphasis point for this first one is that evenness is also determined by how you actually construct the blade.

This is a comparison between an MR strip, minus resistors (blue) and my latest Makoto LED string (red). The MR strip is uniformly even because of the fact that they're still uniformly mounted on the wafer board. On the red one, you can see that the LEDs are basically having a bad hair day due to sloppy construction - easy fix, but it demonstrates my point.

http://s306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/eastern57/LED%20String/?action=view&current=MOV04200.flv


This next one is in the open, during the day, all shades open, and as bright as my little living room can get. Strangely, the camera shows the tip to be brighter than the base... :confused: ... still, it's dang bright. :cool:

http://s306.photobucket.com/albums/nn260/eastern57/LED%20String/?action=view&current=MOV04205.flv

Jedi-Diah
12-05-2008, 05:48 PM
Hi Erv,

If you build a led strip version of CF, will it have different output settings? I assume it would for different led strip configurations (partial series/parallel or all parallel). Any chance you could have a max output of 2000 mA (for parallel setup)?

Thanks!



that will be a specific board, ledstrip driving differs to luxeon driver (which has a true current regulation)
Erv'

Matt Thorn
05-29-2011, 04:33 AM
Apologies for the necroposting, but since this is even more relevant now than it was in 2008, and Erv's LED-Strip board is close to completion, I would like to ask if anyone has done any more experimenting with using a MR/Hasbro LED PCB as a frame for a high-brightness LED strip. I'm sure we all have dozens of those MR/Hasbro LED strips lying around, waiting to be put to some meaningful use.

Azmaria Dei
05-30-2011, 04:26 AM
well, i'm not a fan of string blades, but i've actually started considering it, if there's a good solution from Erv... bridging the resistors is a definite must with these though, either way.

and the string blade i would have to build is a golden string... >_> and maybe a double spaced string of cool white for FoC... so unless there's a yellow MR blade already out there... yeah...

Matt Thorn
05-30-2011, 07:00 AM
well, i'm not a fan of string blades, but i've actually started considering it, if there's a good solution from Erv... bridging the resistors is a definite must with these though, either way.

and the string blade i would have to build is a golden string... >_> and maybe a double spaced string of cool white for FoC... so unless there's a yellow MR blade already out there... yeah...
Thanks, Azmaria. One aspect I'm particularly interested in is the possibility using high-brightness LEDs with a Force FX board. In other words, just replacing the LEDs (and, presumably, removing the resistors).

Azmaria Dei
05-30-2011, 07:30 AM
with how they're wired in, i don't think just replacing the LEDs will be too easy... i might be wrong though.

Skottsaber
05-30-2011, 08:34 AM
If you get some solder tweezers like are used for reworking SMD components, you might be able to melt both sides at once and pull em off.

Azmaria Dei
05-30-2011, 08:45 AM
or you could just solder over the resistor and bridge it that way.

Skottsaber
05-30-2011, 08:46 AM
I meant for desoldering the LEDs....

Azmaria Dei
05-30-2011, 08:47 AM
ah yeah. are they soldered in where you can get to them though?

Matt Thorn
05-30-2011, 05:42 PM
ah yeah. are they soldered in where you can get to them though?
Yes. One leg on each side of the strip. I don't think you need anything fancy to get them off and put new LEDs on.
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