Jessie Posted March 14, 2011 Posted March 14, 2011 my light fixture has 8 Blue LED moonlights that are sharing the power supply from my actinics. This poses an obvious issue with my timer. I would like to pick up a power supply with the proper voltage and resistor, but dont know where or what exactly Im looking for. I believe each LED requires 4-6 volts, I could be wrong, and a resistor to drop voltage??? Quote
DaJMasta Posted March 20, 2011 Posted March 20, 2011 What kind of moonlight LEDs are we talking? If you're thinking high powered ones like Crees, you'll need a constant current driver, there's a number of them out there, but they essentially provide the required voltage to run a string of LEDs in series (so the voltage drop over each is correct) at a high current. If they're just regular old LEDs then just giving them the correct supply voltage should be fine, but if you're going for high intensity in a string, there is no easy way to do that except with a driver. If they're commercial moonlights, you can look at what the company sells for them and just go buy DIY parts accordingly. LED Drivers are generally easy to DIY as well, but it may be difficult to find the ones you need at frys (haven't been to see their LED selection recently...). Quote
Jessie Posted March 20, 2011 Author Posted March 20, 2011 What kind of moonlight LEDs are we talking? If you're thinking high powered ones like Crees, you'll need a constant current driver, there's a number of them out there, but they essentially provide the required voltage to run a string of LEDs in series (so the voltage drop over each is correct) at a high current. If they're just regular old LEDs then just giving them the correct supply voltage should be fine, but if you're going for high intensity in a string, there is no easy way to do that except with a driver. If they're commercial moonlights, you can look at what the company sells for them and just go buy DIY parts accordingly. LED Drivers are generally easy to DIY as well, but it may be difficult to find the ones you need at frys (haven't been to see their LED selection recently...). before opening my light fixture I assumed I would need a power supply with the correct voltage, amperage and resistors. I picked up one from Frys that was adjustable. However upon opening the fixture I noticed the 120V was wired to a switch and then directly to what was labeled "LED Pack" and then everything in series after that. After confirming 120V going into the LED Pack with my volt meter I just soldered a extension cord bypassing the switch and wala! everything works like a charm. While I had it open I wired the fans to turn on with the Actinics also instead of being on a switch. Quote
JDC1111 Posted August 11, 2011 Posted August 11, 2011 I got a power supply for my old moonlight from a consignment store down off Manchaca and 290, they sell old cell phone chargers etc for $0.99. You have to root through them and get lucky to find the right voltage/current but it's a cheap way to go for next time around. Glad it ended up being an easy fix for you. Quote
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