Juiceman Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 I just got my BuildMyLED order and I'm trying to ramp them up and down, on and off with the apex V1/V2 etc variable ports. I have everything hooked up with Cat5 cables and named on the Profiles on the Apex for the Variable Outlets. But when I switch the "LED Outlet" on or off, it has no effect on the LED's themselves. I do see that the green light on the APEX Module is turning on and off with the programming. Did I miss a step somewhere? They are APEX dimmer module ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Rory, you need to set up ramp profiles, then program the variable outlets to use them, eg: Fallback OFF Set OFF If Time 07:00 to 08:00 Then SunriseB If Time 08:00 to 20:00 Then MiddayB If Time 20:00 to 21:00 Then SunsetB If Temp > 80.0 Then OFF Where SunriseB profile is: Ramp time: 60 Start intensity: 10 End intensity: 70 MiddayB profile is: Ramp time: 0 Start intensity: 70 End intensity: 70 And SunsetB profile is: Ramp time: 60 Start intensity: 70 End intensity: 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Also, you have to set the var outlet as Auto. If you are trying to test and ensure things are working, simply create profiles with shorter ramp times intensity etc and program the var outlet to Set <ramp profile name>. I hope this makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 did you try testing your dimming cable if you built it yourself? turn the war1 and war 2 on then plug in LED, if light is on turn the var 1 and var 2 off, light should tturn off.... if this does not happen your diy cable is wrong. I had this problem at the start, but this test allowed me to ge the right wires and run it. then you need the profiles like mitch said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted November 15, 2012 Author Share Posted November 15, 2012 I already have the profiles and outlets set. They just have no effect on the lights. I used regular cat5 cables. Is that the issue? did you try testing your dimming cable if you built it yourself? turn the war1 and war 2 on then plug in LED, if light is on turn the var 1 and var 2 off, light should tturn off.... if this does not happen your diy cable is wrong. I had this problem at the start, but this test allowed me to ge the right wires and run it. then you need the profiles like mitch said. Also, you have to set the var outlet as Auto. If you are trying to test and ensure things are working, simply create profiles with shorter ramp times intensity etc and program the var outlet to Set <ramp profile name>. I hope this makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Can you measure the wires from the cat5 while its connected to measure the voltage ? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted November 15, 2012 Author Share Posted November 15, 2012 How do I do that? or rather, I dont have a way to do that Can you measure the wires from the cat5 while its connected to measure the voltage ? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 what i suspect the issue is, that you have selected the incorrect wires from the cat5 wire bundle. here is the pinout for a standard cat5 cable: I'm going to assume you're using the 1/2 (white/orange and orange). If not, you should be. This cable should be plugged into the V1/V2 cable and you should be using V2 to create your LED outlet. It's kind of confusing that they don't use pin 1 for V1. look on page 60 of the official APEX guide here to see which pins correspond to which v/1/2/3/4 outlets: http://www.neptunesystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Comprehensive-Reference-Manual-v1_0.pdf Let us know how this works and we'll keep troubleshooting. You should also just test your fixture in case. use a 9v battery to the dimmer terminals, and it should be pretty dang bright (90% brightness). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 How do I do that? or rather, I dont have a way to do that Can you measure the wires from the cat5 while its connected to measure the voltage ? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk you take a voltmeter and put it at the ends of the wire you made and the voltage should correspond to whatever percentage you have set by the apex (i.e., 10% ramp should show 1v, 90% should show 9v). If you dont have a voltage showing, then you either have the wires mapped to the wrong Vx (specifically i think youre probably mapping to v1 instead of v2), or the wires aren't correctly connected inside the cat5 cable. After going through exactly what you are, next time i would just buy the dang cables from apex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Ian he is using build my led its not bare wires it's cat5 plug to cat5 plug. I thought the same as you till I remembered they have the outlet not bare wires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Ill go test my fixture. Hopefully they aren't wiring the outlet wrong at bml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 oh ok, well then which pins are BMLED using for control is the operative question. also check your PMs chris, business proposition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 I need a GIF here that expresses my lack of comprehension of Apex programming lingo. Victoly.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 i think its probably the v1/v2 issue i talked about. everyone assumes v1 should correspond to p1, but thats just not the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Why would v1 be p1 that's just silly!! I gotta get outta bed and go test my light Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 just tested my light.... something is weird. I should be able to turn the LED on/off with variable speed by the 10v signal. When I turn the 10 volt signal on and off the LED doesnt change. Also when no cable is hooked intot he LED it is on full blast which with my DIY when nothing is hooked in they are off because no input signal. I'm sending nick and email to figure this out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted November 15, 2012 Author Share Posted November 15, 2012 Yeah, I called him last night, and they have an APEX in the office and are supposed to be doing some testing on their end too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 well thanks for finding this before my build is done I can have something to play with while silicone dries! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Is it possible That they have the voltages reversed. For instance it's on 100% at 0 V and then off at 10 V? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 No because at on or off there isn't an intensity change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 WEIRD. the drivers aren't PWM are they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted November 15, 2012 Author Share Posted November 15, 2012 PWM? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerrickH Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Pulse width modulated. Non PWM drivers just use 0-10v where as the pwm uses a pulsed signal. Faster the pulse, the higher the output of the driver. The VDM and VS ports on the APEX are 0-10v Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 what drivers does BMLED use? their website specifies: 0-10V Dimming Compatible Driver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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