jerl77
Valuable Member
making and led fixure for my 40 breeder looking to dim them i have 45 leds twopower supllies i dont want to add 80 buckpuck drivers is there a way to dim them with just the power supplies and the leds?
how to dim leds?
- Thread starter jerl77
- Start date
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There is no way to dim them using just the power supply. You could assemble an adjustable voltage regulator for around $20 or less in parts. This would require a little electrical knowledge, but wouldn't be that hard. Depending on how many Amps your LEDs consume you could use something like a LM317 adjustable voltage regulator. These are built into a TO-220 package and would require minimal additional parts.
You could add a potentiometer in series with the LEDs and dim them. Make sure it is rated for the same amount of power as the supply is capable of putting out You can buy them from any electronics supply stores.
Harry_Y
Valuable Member
The best way to dim LEDs is using PWM (Pulse Width Modulation)
I did one up with an Atmel Microcontroller driving an transistor
In PWM you are turning the LED on and off at a high
rate of speed to dim it you vary the on to off ratio.
It should give you a nice 0-100% dimming range
I did one up with an Atmel Microcontroller driving an transistor
In PWM you are turning the LED on and off at a high
rate of speed to dim it you vary the on to off ratio.
It should give you a nice 0-100% dimming range
Dimming LED's in series with a pot is NOT recommended. Unless you are using a very heavy duty pot then the potentiometer will fail. When the pot is turned almost to max brightness, a tiny portion of its resistance will be very hot. It is too small to dissipate the heat and will fail. It is True that PWM is the best way to dim an LED, but for a beginner it is overly complicated. Google 'LED dimmer circuit' thousands of results guaranteed. I recommend one that you feel comfortable with building. If you have questions about how to adapt a schematic to your project just post them here.
wld1783
Well-Known Member
What type of power supply. If you just want it dimmer you could pull one power supply, and connect the series strings of LEDs in a parallel configuration. Just make sure that you unplug the drivers first.
