LSD Power Drivers

ichabod crane

Well-Known Member
I have a friend who wants to use 2 cobs at 1.4A in a small cabinet but he needs them dimmable. He wants the multiple points of light from two cobs but does not need more than two cobs at a time running.
 

Growmau5

Well-Known Member
1050ma for 61% with 3590 CD bin. it has taken me a while, but I have come to realize : for a personal garden of any decent size 100sqft ++ going 700ma to gain that extra 3% just isnt worth it for the majority of us paying 15 cents per KWH. Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, sure go 700ma. But I dont think many people are going 700ma anymore, especially with Realstyles & SupraSPL not actively posting and promoting the drive current.

900ma / 1100ma are more interesting to me.

The issue with most of Meanwells 1050ma offerings is the extra voltage that goes un-used in 9 out of 10 configurations.
hlg185 1050: 190v runs 5.5 cxb
hlg240 1050: 238v runs 6.9 cxb (best example, driver may or may not fire the 7th cob @34.5v)
hlg320 1050: 305v runs 8.8 cxb ( but not 9. I tried. )

their entire 1050 cc line has too much voltage for max driver efficiency cxb setups. This is a worthy issue that custom drive current LSD drivers could solve.
-Give me a 1150ma LSD driver that runs 5 cxb @ 34.5v and 99% utilization.
 

Atulip

Well-Known Member
Alright so I'm trying to understand voltage dimming. If I just want about 75% power all the time. Can I just wire 5 AA batters in series through the dim leads?


Or am I too high?
 

Atulip

Well-Known Member
I've read the voltage dimming there, what I don't want is to invest more money into a defect driver, or invest more time learning what I don't need to. I've got my drivers, I've got my resistors, I've got no dimming.
 

Atulip

Well-Known Member
0-10V dimming is spec'd at 2mA per unit so this little (85mA) Mean Well $5 unit can provide enough juice to dim 40 power supplies!
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/IRM-01-12/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMuWiaalG5TUgO6fhgi59iJoYR4FH4stG3M5nBBGPjnlgA==
its not in stock but this bigger (250mA) one is
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/IRM-03-12S/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMuWiaalG5TUgO8rUjGa1nRmf6aS0if2uAeOhAw3SHRtWg==
both output 12V but plugging that into the following circuit (2 resistors and a pot) will give about 1-11 VDC for dimming.

this is a voltage divider, described here:
http://www.ohmslawcalculator.com/voltage-divider-calculator

with 12v input (at V+/V-), the following values
R1= 470
R2=47
R3=5k
gives an output of 1-11V, and 0.5W resistors and pot would be enough current for many PSs
If you have to have the 0V dimming a DPST switch on the output or a SPST switch on the input of the 12V PS would do it.

Alright so that calculator was actually pretty nice. What I want to know is if I can run a setup like this. I've got 9v batteries, spare battery clips, and a handfull of 10k resistors. And would last 1k+ hours before needing a battery change?(with some acceptable v loss over time)

IMAG2037.jpg
Edit that should be .31Ah or 310mAh


Does the driver dimming pull ampers from this circuit? Or is my only loss to resistors?
 
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Bill Lidgate

Active Member
Alright so that calculator was actually pretty nice. What I want to know is if I can run a setup like this. I've got 9v batteries, spare battery clips, and a handfull of 10k resistors. And would last 1k+ hours before needing a battery change?(with some acceptable v loss over time)

View attachment 3701097
Edit that should be .31Ah or 310mAh


Does the driver dimming pull ampers from this circuit? Or is my only loss to resistors?
as I said the spec for lighting industry 0-10V dimming is a tiny 2 mA! you'd have resistor losses but a smoke alarm 9V could last a good long time, of course the little Mean Well 12v supply is only $5 and you can just forget about it...
 

Atulip

Well-Known Member
Oh I completely missed that lol. Thank you, 310mAh only gets 155 hours then. I wonder how much juice I got on some old car batteries. Bet I could see a year outta one of those. :D

So I've gotta find an old 12v charger and Jerry rig the setup with like a 75k and 125k (12-7.5v)?

You know I read through dimming threads trying to figure this shit out and that calculator has helped more than anything lol.
 

Greengenes707

Well-Known Member
Dimming issue update:
I talked with LSD and they are taking care of issue and will replace all the drivers and covering all the cost. The issue seems to be with the programming of the dimming chips and/or the integration with the rest of the driver. They are going to be rebuilding the whole dimming circuits and programming from the ground up.
The timeline is ~30 days unfortunately. I am truly sorry for this issue. I know that everyone who bought them, did it on my recommendation and I am sorry we didn't catch this sooner. We are working our hardest to push for sooner and will ship things out as the are ready.
Do not worry about returning the drivers you have. I hope you can find a use for them somewhere. We will keep everyone notified on the progress and any changes via the email they used with their orders, and announcements here.


1050ma for 61% with 3590 CD bin. it has taken me a while, but I have come to realize : for a personal garden of any decent size 100sqft ++ going 700ma to gain that extra 3% just isnt worth it for the majority of us paying 15 cents per KWH. Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, sure go 700ma. But I dont think many people are going 700ma anymore, especially with Realstyles & SupraSPL not actively posting and promoting the drive current.

900ma / 1100ma are more interesting to me.

The issue with most of Meanwells 1050ma offerings is the extra voltage that goes un-used in 9 out of 10 configurations.
hlg185 1050: 190v runs 5.5 cxb
hlg240 1050: 238v runs 6.9 cxb (best example, driver may or may not fire the 7th cob @34.5v)
hlg320 1050: 305v runs 8.8 cxb ( but not 9. I tried. )

their entire 1050 cc line has too much voltage for max driver efficiency cxb setups. This is a worthy issue that custom drive current LSD drivers could solve.
-Give me a 1150ma LSD driver that runs 5 cxb @ 34.5v and 99% utilization.
It's the never ending dilemma of just 3%...just 3%...just 3%... Just $5, Just $5...then you have a a big home depot/amazon receipt for a simple build.

Your point about voltage use is one of the things that drew me to LSD years ago when 72 CXA3590 were the only option. They were the only one with driver options.
That's why 700 and 900 are good options, great use of the whole driver.

Here's a list of options for ≤1400ma...
Screen Shot 2016-06-06 at 10.30.10 AM.jpg

The 1.2 would be really close(needs ~1v more) if staring up real cold conditions under 25c, but once they are running and Tc gets up a tad, they would be a literal perfect fit. Based on all the testing, the LSD's handle the little extra volts needed on a string no problem.
The 1.1 would be an easy fit, and use ~92% of the driver's capabilities. Similar to meanwell situation.
I'll talk with my guy and see if they can drop a couple ma's and gain a couple volts to make a 1150ma version that would fit with no exceptions.

My issue is that 1.4 is right there basically... so is it more of an efficient options...or a use of 5 cobs options at that point. Almost want to ask about a 950ma version more now that I'm typing all this out.

For a commercial grower, getting commercial units, 1.4a-1.8a is the sweet spot of cost:effective/output. For a DIY'er, that point just under 1000ma(using ~36v cobs) IMO. I pay 31-35¢ per KwH...PG&E and Edison have my balls in a firm grip.

Mine and your gardens both walk the line on, let's call them very productive DIY sized...and could go either way on what side of the cost : output line we want to walk.
I've read the voltage dimming there, what I don't want is to invest more money into a defect driver, or invest more time learning what I don't need to. I've got my drivers, I've got my resistors, I've got no dimming.
I'll take care of you and get you going on time, check your PM
 
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Fastslappy

Well-Known Member
seems from posts in this sub forum that 1.4 is popular with the active but efficient crowd
as well the bigger grows, so stock all the wattages that run 1 - 2 cobs & up ?
1.4 here @ casa Slappy
where that attention is now on my Greenhouse ATM gonna do far red sunrise/sunsetters
Great thread GG , i got some of those smaller non dimming LSD's Nice units for sure
 

Atulip

Well-Known Member
$.35/kWh? A glass roof might be a better choice in your case. :bigjoint:

And you quoted my grumpy response to GM5 after I had been sitting through the cluster of dimming info scattered around this subforum all morning. :wall:

Just needed a lil more medicine to keep my assholitis at bay @Growmau5 I still love what you do, bringing information to the laymans like me. :weed:
 

Evil-Mobo

Well-Known Member
$.35/kWh? A glass roof might be a better choice in your case. :bigjoint:

And you quoted my grumpy response to GM5 after I had been sitting through the cluster of dimming info scattered around this subforum all morning. :wall:

Just needed a lil more medicine to keep my assholitis at bay @Growmau5 I still love what you do, bringing information to the laymans like me. :weed:
Was that you in the live stream that GM5 wrote assholitis for lol..........
 
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