DIY LED lights

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I'm highly interested in this as well. After I've done some research I'll likely chalk it up as costing too much. LOL

But I will regardless. I need LEDs capable of plant growth so that's a priority. But cost comes first.
 
Google CREE for intensity moduals, there are others as many are entering the game, but thats as good a place as any to start.

Normal (run of the mill) off the shelf diodes are more for aesthetics in my opinion.
Not to mention greater numbers are needed & hence complexity when making choices between wiring types - series and parallel.
It starts getting further complicated if you work out parallel-series & spread your total heatsinking for redundancy.

Nothing to discourage though, cause its all fun stuff.
If its not a challange or a decent head scratching moment, your not pushing yourself enough in my book!!
 
I didn't know Sideshow B:headshakeb was a DIYer!!!

Yup, as you've seen, a few ingredients and some spare time, and its literally that easy.

A materials close-up showing specifics would have been superior in explaining it, however a decent job non the less. You can never trump anyone's DIY practices, even under the banner of advisement, cause their out there giving it a go - and to a DIYer, that's all that matters.

Ok so close up of the diode he was mentioning followed by a simplistic power clipping redundant single circuit.

When building, my natural sway is to generally factor the load evenly in line with typical redundancy. I personally feel it prevents issues long term, or it could be an 'ism', haven't worked that out yet..:popcorn:

However from a resistance point of view, it matters not where in the circuit its placed as it impedes just the same. To explain that in simple terms, (you being the current) its like your on a go cart track, if there is a slower driver holding you up, your speed on that circuit will be slowed regardless.
The same principles he was referring to regarding the power rails exist within this board structure also. Its just imprinted.

P1030737.jpg


Note the anode & cathode differences on the interior. If all else fails, that is your sure fire way of knowing the polarity at a glance.

P1030746.jpg


Disco....now where did i leave my Corona!
P1030807.jpg




The beauty of doing your own is you can make it as simple or as complicated as you like. Once you tinker for awhile to grasp the concepts, I found the natural progression was to seek out intensity modulus and factor them into your designs. Thrice the output @ half the effort.

Myself personally, im somewhat drifting away from LED lighting, & once hobby finances pick me back up again, I plan to pick up where i left off - Superside Light Fiber Optics. That my friend, is where the future of common lighting will take over. It used to be 90% transference point to point, now with the help of research, its side wall transference has those numbers. Singular light sources can extend up to 8mt in lengths. So anyone with an ounce of creativity can run amuck!

Have fun bud

V-out!
 
[QUOTE='vspec';436185;9]I didn't know Sideshow B:headshakeb was a DIYer!!!

Yup, as you've seen, a few ingredients and some spare time, and its literally that easy.

A materials close-up showing specifics would have been superior in explaining it, however a decent job non the less. You can never trump anyone's DIY practices, even under the banner of advisement, cause their out there giving it a go - and to a DIYer, that's all that matters.

Ok so close up of the diode he was mentioning followed by a simplistic power clipping redundant single circuit.

When building, my natural sway is to generally factor the load evenly in line with typical redundancy. I personally feel it prevents issues long term, or it could be an 'ism', haven't worked that out yet..:popcorn:

However from a resistance point of view, it matters not where in the circuit its placed as it impedes just the same. To explain that in simple terms, (you being the current) its like your on a go cart track, if there is a slower driver holding you up, your speed on that circuit will be slowed regardless.
The same principles he was referring to regarding the power rails exist within this board structure also. Its just imprinted.

P1030737.jpg


Note the anode & cathode differences on the interior. If all else fails, that is your sure fire way of knowing the polarity at a glance.

P1030746.jpg


Disco....now where did i leave my Corona!
P1030807.jpg




The beauty of doing your own is you can make it as simple or as complicated as you like. Once you tinker for awhile to grasp the concepts, I found the natural progression was to seek out intensity modulus and factor them into your designs. Thrice the output @ half the effort.

Myself personally, im somewhat drifting away from LED lighting, & once hobby finances pick me back up again, I plan to pick up where i left off - Superside Light Fiber Optics. That my friend, is where the future of common lighting will take over. It used to be 90% transference point to point, now with the help of research, its side wall transference has those numbers. Singular light sources can extend up to 8mt in lengths. So anyone with an ounce of creativity can run amuck!

Have fun bud

V-out![/QUOTE]

wow, man, this is really much more understandable that those i've seen on the web....this is really much much helpful for me...

thank you!!!...appreciate it!
 
well, im alittle rusty due to some inactivity, however I & others are more than happy to help if assistance is needed. When occasion's call for it, it helps having it in a language thats easier to understand, as some of the concepts can boggle you at times if your starting out.
 
This is my first post, but I can bring some experience with the topic of LED lighting to the table. I recently converted my tank from 780 watts worth of power compact bulbs to approximately 180 watts of high power LEDs. My tank is a 225 gallon "plant tank" that used to house Arowanas but now contains Discus and tetras. I did a lot of research online before jumping in to the LED lighting scene. I've had my new DIY lighting system up and running since May of this year and am very happy with the performance so far.
DIY LED lighting is still a new trend among aquarists and is open to creative ideas from those inclined to ive it a try. I decided for my system that it would be modular in design for maximum flexibilty and expandability. All LED lighting systems need a proper heatsink for cooling the LEDs, they do run hot, and will burn out prematurely if not cooled effectively. My system consists of 3 identical SONY car amplifier chassis that I gutted to re-task as "modules" for the LEDs. Each module contains 30 Cree XRE Q5 LEDs being driven at 700 ma each by a 24 vdc 6.5 amp supply. I designed the modules to be as "plug & play" as possible so the only external connections needed are the 24 volt supply and a 5 volt control signal routed through DC barrel connectors. The LEDs are epoxied to the heatsinks and wired to constant current/ dimmable drivers that I constructed on PCBs ( etched and soldered in my kitchen ) and mounted inside each module.The modules are mounted in the canopy approximately 10" above the tank in a fan cooled enclosure with their respective power supplies.
I have the lighting schedule programmed into an Arduino microcontroller that simulates sunrise and sunset everyday. I will add more functions as time goes on ( still learning code writing ).
I am new on this forum and am not up to speed on how to post photos yet, but I'll try to, if anyone is interested.

Thanks,

O2Surplus
 
O2surplus;4365480; said:
I am new on this forum and am not up to speed on how to post photos yet, but I'll try to, if anyone is interested.

Thanks,

O2Surplus
Click to expand...

Very interested in this. Easiest way to post pics is to have an online picture hosting account like Photobucket.

Then all you do is come here and provide us with the link to the pics you upload.

PM if you need further help with picture posting. :) Thanks!
 
O2, thats a great way to quick off the first post bud.
welcome to the mix.

Yup, id agree with your outlines, equally impressed you pushed it even further by doing your own boards & delving into MC configuation - kudos.

Photobucket is quite generous, they give massive storage ability (ive not even scratched the surface), & once you reach that they ask for a yearly $25 to upspec your hosting ability. Cheapskates aside, thats a pretty good deal in my eyes if your constantly uploading content without the costs of your own server
 
WOW, thanks for the responses. I'll have to get a photobucket account so that i can show everyone some pictures.
 
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