Using one is very important in preventing damage to your LEDs as the forward voltage (Vf) of a high-power LED changes with temperature. Forward Voltage is the amount of volts the light emitting diode requires to conduct electricity and light up. As temperature increases, the forward voltage of the LED decreases, causing the LED to draw more current. The LED will continue to get hotter and draw more current until the LED burns itself out, this is also known as Thermal Runaway. The LED driver is a self-contained power supply which has outputs that are matched to the electrical characteristics of the LED(s). This helps avoid thermal runaway as the constant current LED driver compensates for the changes in the forward voltage while delivering a constant current to the LED.
110 volt 3 way flasher
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There are two main types of drivers, those that use low voltage DC input power (generally 5-36VDC) and those that use high voltage AC input power (generally 90-277VAC). LED drivers that use high-voltage AC power are called Off-Line drivers, or AC LED drivers. In most applications using a low voltage DC input LED driver is recommended. Even if your input is high voltage AC, using an additional switching power supply will make it possible to use a DC input driver. Low voltage DC drivers are recommended as they are extremely efficient and reliable. For smaller applications there are more dimming and output options available compared to high voltage AC drivers so you have more to work with in your application. If you have a large general lighting project for residential or commercial lighting, however, you should see how AC drivers might be better for this type of job.
For high voltage AC power drivers there are a couple options for dimming as well depending on your driver. Many AC driver work with 0-10V dimming, like we went over above. We also carry Mean Well and Phihong LED Drivers that offer TRIAC dimming so they work with many leading-edge and trailing-edge dimmers. This is helpful as it allows LEDs to work with very popular residential dimming systems like Lutron and Leviton.
The maximum number of LEDs you can run from a single driver is determined by dividing the maximum output voltage of the driver by the forward voltage of your LED(s). When using LuxDrive drivers, you determine the maximum output voltage by subtracting 2 volts from your input voltage. This is needed because the drivers need a 2 volt overhead to power the internal circuitry. For example, using the Wired 1000mA BuckPuck driver with a 24 volt input, you would have a maximum output voltage of 22 volts.
This leads us to finding what input voltage we need for our LEDs. Input voltage, after all, equals our maximum output voltage for our driver after we take into account the driver circuit overhead voltage. Make sure you know the minimum and maximum input voltages for your LED drivers. For an example we will stick with the Wired 1000mA BuckPuck, which can take input voltages from 7-32VDC. In finding what your input voltage should be for an application you can use this simple formula.
The FlexBlock LED drivers are boost drivers which means they can output a higher voltage than what is supplied to them. This allows you to power more LEDs in-series with a single LED driver. This is extremely helpful in applications where your input voltage is limited and you need to get
more power to the LEDs. As with the BuckPuck driver, the maximum number of LEDs you can power with a single driver in-series is determined by dividing the maximum output voltage of the driver by the forward voltage of your LEDs. The FlexBlock can be connected in two different configurations and varies when it comes to input voltage. In Buck-Boost (standard) mode the FlexBlock can handle LED loads that are above, below, or equal to the voltage of the power-supply. You find the maximum output voltage of the driver in this mode with this formula:
So when using a 12VDC power supply and the XPG2 LEDs from above how many could we run with the 700mA FlexBlock? Your max output voltage is 36VDC (48-12) and the forward voltage of the XPG2 running at 700mA is 2.9 so by dividing 36VDC by this we see that this driver could power 12 LEDs. In Boost-Only Mode the FlexBlock can output up to 48VDC from as little as 10VDC. So if you were in Boost-Only mode you could power up to 16 LEDs (48/2.9). Here we go over using a FlexBlock boosting driver to power your LEDs in depth.
NOTE: It is important to consider the minimum output voltage of off-line drivers when designing your application. For instance, the driver above has a minimum output of 15 volts. Since the minimum output voltage is greater than that of our single XPG2 LED (2.9V), you would need to connect at least 6 of these together in-series to work with this particular driver.
I know there is a lot to this, first problem and the biggest is the voltage drop being 70 total /24v(power supply)= 3 power supplies just for this one string, correct? and will hooking up multiple power supplies damage the DMX decoder?Decoder Max Load is 3A per channel which I am well under, the Max output power is 1728Watts again well under.
What do you do when you plug in a set of miniature lights and one of the strings, orthe entire set, doesn't light?There are several causes for this: Several bulbs may have burned out at once, the result of vibration from handling.A bulb may have shattered, or the lead wire at the base of the bulb may be broken.Just follow these instructions to get the set tolight again.First, check the fuses. If any of the bulbs light up, then the fuses are good.If no bulbs light up, remove the fuses and test. Or, plug a known good mini set intothe END connector, if there is one. If that set lights, the fuses are good. Modernsets of the 1990s and later have replaceable fuses. Sets made in the late 1970s to1990 had fixed ,non replaceable fuses, and sets made before 1977 had no fuses.Next, check the flasher bulbs.Some mini sets use special flasher bulbs to makethe string twinkle. Each string will have a flasher, and they are either clear, or red-tipped.Aflasher bulb has an extra flat metal strip, called the Bi-metal strip, that makes itflash. Eventually you'll learn to recognize them.Remove these bulbs, test andreplace as needed. If the set now lights, that was the problem.Now check the remaining bulbs.For this task you'll need a proximity tester, adevice that senses A.C. Voltage in the wires. An example of one is shown below.Startingwith the first bulb in the string, place the probe next to the socket. The L.E.D willeither light, (showing voltage is present), or not light.Continue down the stringuntil you find the place where the L.E.D. goes out (or comes on) this is where thebad bulb is.Remove both adjacent bulbs and test and replace as needed. You mayfind several bulbs burned out.You may even find that all of the bulbs are burned out.This is known as a cascade failure and is the ultimate result of not replacing burnedout bulbs promptly!Obviously you'll need to replace all of the bulbs in thatstring. This is what after-Christmas sales are for!
Updated You can't mix old and new bulbs! That's because they each have different current ratings, and in a series wired string, current is important. To understand why, some basic electronic theory is needed. : "The current in a series circuit is the same at any point in the circuit" For example, you have a 50 light mini string that uses bulbs rated 2.5 volts, 200 milliamps, typical of the 1990s. One of the bulbs burns out, and you replace it with one rated 2.5 volts, 170 milliamps, because that is the only type available now. Well, that bulb will have 200 milliamps of current rammed through it, and it will not like that at all. The bulb will burn out very quickly!Heres another example. you have another 50 light string but this one uses bulbs rated 2.5 volts 100 milliamps, typical of a modern set. One of the bulbs burns out, and again, you replace it with one rated 2.5 volts, 170 milliamps. This time, that bulb will only get 100 milliamps of current, so it will light very dimly! If you mix both types in the same string, the bulb with the lower current rating will burn out quickly. In some cases it will burn out in a brief flash! That's why the bulbs have to be a matched set. So you can either search for old stock bulbs, or replace all the bulbs with modern ones.Always replace burned out bulbs promptly to prolong the life of the remaining bulbs.Updated -Here is why. In a series string, the voltage across any one bulb is the input voltage (Vin) divided by the number of bulbs in the string (N). For a 20 light string powered by 120 Volts, this is 120/20 = 6.0 volts. Now one bulb burns out, and the shunt is activated. Now that bulb becomes a short circuit, so it is like having one less bulb in the string. 120/19 = 6.3 volts. A 5% increase from just one bulb out! Remember, the life of an incandescent bulb gets shorter as the voltage increases. If 2 more burn out, it's 120/17 = 7.1 volts. Eventually the voltage becomes so high you get what's known as a cascade failure, when all the bulbs burn out! Now you have to replace all the bulbs instead of just one or two. To determine the bulb voltage, first check the instructions on the back of the box, if you still have it. Then check any tags that may be attached to the string. Here's a trick you can try. Remove one bulb from a working section of the set and then count how many bulbs go out. If 50 bulbs go out, then you need 2.5 volt bulbs. If 35 bulbs, it's 3.5 volt. If 20 bulbs, it's 6 volt. If 10 to 12 bulbs, you need 12 volt.When you install a replacement bulb, connect the set to a light dimmer and bring the voltage up slowly. The new bulb should light with about the same brightnessas the other bulbs in the string. If the new bulb is much brighter, STOP! you have the wrong bulb. Try another one. If the bulb is dimmer it is not a big deal but that may affect the life of the other bulbs. You may need to try different brands of bulbs to get the best match in brightness. If you find more than half of the bulbs in a string are burned out, you should replaceall of the bulbs as the remaining good bulbs will be severely stressed and willonly last a short time anyway. (known as re-lamping)If you are re-lamping a set try to use all of the same brand of bulbs as differentbrands often have slightly different voltage/current ratings. This could causeone brand to burn out faster than the other.Old sets may use bulbs which are now obsolete. The only option is to replace all bulbswith modern equivalents. Just be sure to use bulbs with the same or higher voltage rating.On sets used outdoors, the fine pigtail leads of the bulbs sometimes break due tovibration and/or corrosion. This will cause the entire string to go out. 2ff7e9595c
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