LEDengin 5w and 10W info and wiring guide....for noobs

[The Yin]

alright, that's easy enough. I was thinking it to be more complicated, or possible incompatible.

[Rjoker]

Hey guys, I'm going to wire up one of the 10W GGGG for a stunt saber.

I'm probably going with the serialell setup.
I have no problems squeezing in 3-4 of 3.7v cells to get enough voltage.

In addition I'm going to use this driver from the tcss shop:
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Co...iver-P609.aspx

I want to know how much current do I need to drive the LEDs so I could choose the proper output on the driver.
After reading the posts, I think that with just 1000mA, the LEDs in would get only half the current in serialell which would be 500mA each pair.

So I should choose the 2000mA option?

[Silver Serpent]

Correct. For a seriallel setup, 2000mA will give each die 1000mA.

[Rjoker]

Thanks.

Now at least I didn't make a mistake of choosing the 1000mA version.

[ScopesMapeo]

First post, 100% rookie.

I have been agonizing over this for at least a week, but I feel like I need some sage advice from the smart people on this forum. I am planning a LEDengin 10W GGGG stunt saber (wired per Fenders advice), supplied via 2 x buck pucks at 1000ma (wired up seiriallel style). From everything I've read that seems like a doable option. Though I am a little lost in the sauce when it comes to the batteries...how many volts do I pump into those buck pucks...so on and so on. From what I read, it seems that 2 x 18650s Li-ions or 3 x 14650s Li-ions is the solution. Is that accurate? Is that enough juice? Or should I go back to the drawing board?

[GFJedi]

First post, 100% rookie.

I have been agonizing over this for at least a week, but I feel like I need some sage advice from the smart people on this forum. I am planning a LEDengin 10W GGGG stunt saber (wired per Fenders advice), supplied via 2 x buck pucks at 1000ma (wired up seiriallel style). From everything I've read that seems like a doable option. Though I am a little lost in the sauce when it comes to the batteries...how many volts do I pump into those buck pucks...so on and so on. From what I read, it seems that 2 x 18650s Li-ions or 3 x 14650s Li-ions is the solution. Is that accurate? Is that enough juice? Or should I go back to the drawing board?

I know I have seen JayGonJinn use a 7.4v Li-Ion pack to drive a GGGG, in a 2x2 series/parallel setup, but he was driving it off a PC or a CF board. IIRC each pair was driven at 1A, so it should be do-able in your case to run 2 die in series off a 1000mA buckpuck, and the other 2 die in series off a 2nd 1000mA buckpuck, using the highest mAh rated 7.4v battery pack you can get (probably the 7.4v 18650 2600mAh in the store here until we see a panasonic pack available). No idea how much runtime you will actually get, as the voltage requirements on the LED are pretty beefy on the green ones, but it should get you up and running.

[ScopesMapeo]

Awesome! Thanks for the feedback, I will get down to the business of ordering parts to get it wired up! Thanks again.

[Onli-Won Kanomi]

A useful thing to remember in this hobby is that serial wiring DIVIDES VOLTAGE and parallel wiring DIVIDES CURRENT [Amperage] so when using 2 series pair in parallel which divides BOTH you need a battery pack that provides double the normal voltage [thus a 7.4V pack] and [unless you are making a strictly-display-only saber that will only be ignited briefly on occasion] you probably also want one with as much battery capacity in milliamp/hours [mAh] as possible so that the parallel circuit doesn't drain current so quickly that your saber would have a very low runtime. Thus the 2x18650 2600mAh 7.4V pack provides good runtime, and each die of the GGGG will get enough voltage and 1000 mA current with a 2 Amp driver [or in your case two 1 Amp pucks one for each series pair].

[Sunrider]

2 18650s can provide plenty of power for that led. You need to spend more than a week planning your electronic setup. It sounds like you are going for brightness. So are you flashing 2 dies or running all four. Also when running those green dies realize that the vf is about 4v per die. 2 in series is an 8v vf. you wont be able to fully drive that vf with a 7.4v pack. Pack voltage drops under heavy load and buck drivers need .5v overhead as well. This can work but it would be properly driven by the use of a soundboard with several channels. Running each die on different channels or running then all in parallel together. I dont know if anyone has tried that. That would be a good question for Erv. "can I connect 3 output channels together for 5 amps or whatever." Also when you hit the 4 amp blade mark you start having heat issues. Also make sure you can find a good optic for that led. It can make a big difference.

[ScopesMapeo]

I appreciate the pointers and the insight! I am putting some money aside for the PC. Like you have all said, I feel like that is the only way to really run that LEDengin properly, plus adding sound at a later date! It will be worth the wait.