replacement dimmer switches for black box LED?

[EMeyer]

I have a black box on which the dimmer switch died long ago. I want to replace it and this should be easy enough if only I could find the part!

It is has a 4 pin connection. I could photograph it if that's useful but based on opening a couple different boxes they appear to be pretty standard. Anyone know where to find these?

Thanks!

 

[Flippers4pups]

I have a black box on which the dimmer switch died long ago. I want to replace it and this should be easy enough if only I could find the part!

It is has a 4 pin connection. I could photograph it if that's useful but based on opening a couple different boxes they appear to be pretty standard. Anyone know where to find these?

Thanks!

Not sure, would have to research some to find out.

Could ask the members on here:

The Modified Black Box Thread

So, over the past year I've been changing LEDs and lenses to find a good spectrum, light dispersment, limited shimmer and most importantly less "disco" effect, on my 165w wifi black box. I think I've found a combination. I decided to keep the 120° lenses and mixed 90° beaded and not beaded...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Katrina71]

@reeferfoxx any ideas?

 

[oreo54]

Sorry, nothing really standard about it...

Walk through for modified Chinese black box for running on Apex - Reef Central Online Community

Walk through for modified Chinese black box for running on Apex Do It Yourself

www.reefcentral.com

and there are a few types also.. PWM or 0-10v.

One type..

 

[EMeyer]

Here is my switch, does this help identify the kind thats needed? Unfortunately this thing has almost no writing on it.

The weird thing is its not just that I cant find my switch, I cant find any. I must be using the wrong term. Are these not called dimmer switches? I have tried with and without PWM, LED, black box, etc., and I find nothing like these for sale.

Thanks!

 

[EMeyer]

I can also say, the following switch does not work. although it has 4 pins, no matter how I wire it the light is either on or off, there is no dimming.

LDK-8A 12~24 Volt DC Single Color LED Dimmer | Super Bright LEDs

Universal single color LED dimmer can dim most 12VDC or 24VDC LED products from 0 to 100% using Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) circuit knob control. Maximum load is 8 Amps. Screw terminal connect for power in and out connections. Price for each.

www.superbrightleds.com

 

[Michael Lane]

That's the 0-10 version. I haven't really seen any for sale anywhere.
I've modified all my Mars Aqua lights to be controlled by reef-pi, so I have a couple of these. I can send a couple to you if you want to pay for shipping. PM me your address if you are interested.

 

[Flippers4pups]

I'm just going to throw this out there for what it's worth, sub component parts for these, if they were readily available to buy which aren't or not easy to find, would be in the long run more expensive as a whole than just buying a used black box and just cannibalizing those parts for repair.

Just saying if the dimmer was available at $25 new that you needed and you found a used box for $50 or $60 dollars, you could cannibalize that old box for the part you needed and still would have 1 dimmer, 2 fans, 2 drivers and a PCB board that could be used later if needed.

The cost of a new black box, around $90 dollars, would be more cost effective, even if you had modded the diodes to your spectrum layout on your older box and just pulled the new PCB board out and replaced it with yours.

Demand drives availability and if that was the case, parts would be easily available as opposed to just buying a new unit.

 

[EMeyer]

I'm just going to throw this out there for what it's worth, sub component parts for these, if they were readily available to buy which aren't or not easy to find, would be in the long run more expensive as a whole than just buying a used black box and just cannibalizing those parts for repair.

Just saying if the dimmer was available at $25 new that you needed and you found a used box for $50 or $60 dollars, you could cannibalize that old box for the part you needed and still would have 1 dimmer, 2 fans, 2 drivers and a PCB board that could be used later if needed.

The cost of a new black box, around $90 dollars, would be more cost effective, even if you had modded the diodes to your spectrum layout on your older box and just pulled the new PCB board out and replaced it with yours.

Demand drives availability and if that was the case, parts would be easily available as opposed to just buying a new unit.

I see your point from a pragmatic standpoint. But the comparable switches are ~$3-$10, which would make the math a little harder to justify if they were actually available somewhere. Since they are apparently not (except from generous fellow hobbyists on forums), you are probably right!

 

[oreo54]

Yea, really can't find exact replacement switches but the orig has been fairly worked out as to how it works..

The stock pot is a 500k Ohm pot with a little board on it with a transistor and a few tapering resistors on it to make the dimming more linear as you turn the pot. The board has a 4-pin connector with 4 wires going to it from inside the driver.

Interested in Apex/RK controlled d120's?

wamas.org

 

[Flippers4pups]

Yea, really can't find exact replacement switches but the orig has been fairly worked out as to how it works..

Interested in Apex/RK controlled d120's?

wamas.org

How hard would be to build? Cost?

 

[oreo54]

Cost is minimal afaict..
Exactly how to build it is beyond my pay grade..
The answer is in the link posted but........


Parts of the board are cheap.. pot, resistors, one transistor ..done..
apparently 1,2 are just on/off so one can jumper that but
3,4 is just a resistor controlled voltage ..The supporting circuitry is designed so the voltage doesn't go too low and cause flickering.
At least as I understand it.. for whatever that is worth..

Believe there is also a trim pot inside the driver as well but all this gets very "fiddly"..

Here. I tried to annotate my sketch a bit better. I drew in the header and labelled the pins. Pins 1-2 go to the two sides of the switch built into the pot and don't connect to the dimming circuit at all.

The driver supplies 10V on pins 3-4 and I can dim the lights by putting a 20k pot across pins 3-4 to drop that 10V. Max current across there is around 2.3mA at low resistance. I posted the curve of what that looks like up higher in the thread.

Been awhile since I looked at that thread. They were trying to dim w/ APEX not replace the board but did a lot of good work figuring out how it worked..

http://www.potentiometers.com/pdf/ptr90.pdf

pot w/ switch might be $4 though..

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/ptr901-2015f-a103/bourns?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8PKz7_j54wIVi4zICh2ugQfIEAYYAiABEgIV2vD_BwE

IF one wanted to duplicate it exactly..though not sure it's necessary..
One could use other than SMD components and Frankenstein solder it together..

I "believe" one could just use this
PTR901-2015F-A103
solder 1,2 to switch and 3,4 to pot/wiper and be done w/ it..
Just don't dim it too low..
Not exactly sure on pot size but 20K seems common..

 

[oreo54]

Just for fun.. a "before" shot..(pot removed)

AFTER..

 

[oreo54]

Going WAY outside the box..

Mars Aqua Chinese black box PWM Converter

The Mars Aqua lights have been out for a pretty long time, and there are already plenty of examples of modding them to be controlled with 0-10v analog or pwm. They usually seem to be destructive and still require a timer to actually turn the lights on and off. I came up with the following...

www.reef2reef.com

Not sure it is finalized but using one of those boards and a cheap PWM dimmer (a few bucks) or a modified
tc-420(421) restores or betters the box..

Brightness PWM Switch Controller Dimmer for LED Strip Light 12v to 24v 8a 96w for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Brightness PWM Switch Controller Dimmer for LED Strip Light 12v to 24v 8a 96w at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[EMeyer]

Just wanted to come back to this with an update. The part Michael sent me worked perfectly, and the light is back in business. Thanks again, Michael!

... then a week later the dimmer went on one of my other boxes! Apparently 5-6 years is how long these last