# Help wiring 10w led chips



## Desolation91 (Dec 5, 2015)

Hi all
I'm making a distraction device for use in airsoft. 

I want to have a 11.1v lipo powered unit that has about 9 or 12 10w led chips on it. And id also like it remote controlled. 






Its all going to be fitted in here. 

I've looked at a few tutorials some people use drivers and some just resistors but I need something that's specific to my needs. 

I was going to make a cuboid with heat sink and mount the chips to that and have an exhaust fan at the bottom to vent hest away. 

I'll draw up some plans of what I want to give you guys an idea. 
Cheers


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## Desolation91 (Dec 5, 2015)

Will also have the battery located in the middle of the heat sinks


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## Steve K (Dec 6, 2015)

how is air going to flow past the heatsinks? It looks like the container is closed at the top and bottom.


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## Desolation91 (Dec 6, 2015)

Yeah im going to put holes in the top and a bigger hole in the bottom with a fan mounted at the bottom

Also found this. How many of the 10w chips will this power? 





* Dynamic mode: 8 modes*
* Dynamic speed level: 10 levels*
* Lighting brightness level : 10 levels*
* PWM grade: 256 grades*
* Smooth dimmer effect: Yes*
* Working voltage: DC 12~24V*
* Output current : peak 12A*
* Remote control mode: RF Wireless*
* Remote frequency: 433.92MHz*
* Remote distance : >30m at open area


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## Steve K (Dec 6, 2015)

do you have a datasheet for your 10W LEDs? i.e. how much current is it supposed to draw and what is the voltage across the LED at that current?

Any plans for what sort of driver or current control you want to use?

edit: I see that the module adjacent to the RF controller says it is a LED controller. Does it do current control? It does seem to imply that you just need to connect the LEDs.


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## Desolation91 (Dec 6, 2015)

Is that above not a driver/controller? 

I'll get the info for the led chips now
Specifications

10W 900LM White/Warm White High Power Super Bright LED Light Lamp Chip DC 9-12V

TypeLight ChipLight Color**********************Warm White / Pure WhiteColor Temperature (K)3000-3500* /* 6000-6500Wattage (W)10Voltage (V)DC 9-12Forward Current1050 mALuminous Flux (lm)900Dimension(mm)20mm x 14mmPackage Included1 X Light Chip********


Note:*suit for 3*3W Power Supply


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## Desolation91 (Dec 6, 2015)

Do you mind if I send you a pm to that control so you can see the item please.


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## Steve K (Dec 6, 2015)

Desolation91 said:


> Is that above not a driver/controller?



beats me... does the manufacturer say that it is? 
Honestly, this has the feel of the stuff that people buy off of ebay and is generally pretty poorly made and designed. 
As a rule of thumb, if the manufacturer doesn't tell you what you need to use their product, you probably shouldn't use it.



Desolation91 said:


> I'll get the info for the led chips now
> Specifications
> 
> 10W 900LM White/Warm White High Power Super Bright LED Light Lamp Chip DC 9-12V
> ...



okay.... it needs 12V at 1A. 
If you are using a 11V battery, it's very possible that you won't be able to drive the LED at 1A.


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## DIWdiver (Dec 7, 2015)

As a "distraction" device, is this going to be lit up only briefly, every once in a while? If so, there's little concern for air flow and ventilation. The thermal mass of the heatsink should be enough to keep the LEDs cool for seconds. If you have minutes to dissipate that heat, you may not need fans and vent holes.


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## DIWdiver (Dec 7, 2015)

Steve K said:


> okay.... it needs 12V at 1A.
> If you are using a 11V battery, it's very possible that you won't be able to drive the LED at 1A.



Actually the post says it needs 9-12V at 1A. And an 11V LiPo is a 3-cell battery, which means about 12.0V under load at full charge, and you could say 9.0V would be pretty well discharged. This means it's likely you could get full output when the batteries are fully charged, and very unlikely you could get it when the batteries are discharged. The point where it would switch from full output to decreasing output is not at all predictable without a lot more information, which might vary from unit to unit.

I agree with Steve's general assessment that (not in so many words) you probably won't get the results you want. 

His assessment of eBay stuff is pretty sound too.


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## lucca brassi (Dec 8, 2015)

ah...... no need just screwdriver through lipo and throw :devil:


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## Desolation91 (Dec 8, 2015)

DIWdiver said:


> As a "distraction" device, is this going to be lit up only briefly, every once in a while? If so, there's little concern for air flow and ventilation. The thermal mass of the heatsink should be enough to keep the LEDs cool for seconds. If you have minutes to dissipate that heat, you may not need fans and vent holes.


Yeah it's only going to be used for a few minutes at a time. 

I know it can be done as someone has already made one at my airsoft site but he is going through a tough time at the moment and its hard to contact him.


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## Desolation91 (Dec 11, 2015)

Bump please
Is it going to be better wire in series or parallel? Or do 1 heat sink at a time? 











Very crude drawing lol


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## DIWdiver (Dec 11, 2015)

Looking back at the picture of the controller you posted, it looks to me like that is not a driver, just an on/off switch with PWM. I can't believe you could build a 12A driver in that size package. I imagine that was intended for the 12V or 24V strings that have resistors so don't need drivers.

You will definitely need a driver, which complicates things somewhat. I don't think you can run the driver after the controller unless you only use on and off, no PWM dimming. If you run the controller after the driver, using PWM may or may not conflict with the driver. In general, I would say that's not a good idea. You might be able to use the controller to drive a dimming input to a driver that has one. That's probably the only way to use dimming reliably without knowing the guts of the driver.

Since the battery voltage may be above or below Vf of the LEDs and may even cross from above to below during operation, the best way to run them off that battery is to use a boost driver and several LEDs in series. That way you can guarantee the string Vf will be higher than the battery voltage, and a boost regulator can work properly.

To answer your question, you can wire it either way, or in some other ways as well. The correct wiring depends on the driver you choose, and vice-versa. If you wire them all in series (aka 12S1P, your fist pic) you'd need a driver capable of 108-144V, 1A output. If you had a driver capable of 50V, you'd need to keep your strings to no more than 4 LEDs (aka 3S4P, your second pic). You could run 2S6P on a 24V driver.

The Hyperboost driver from Taskled has an 80V/3.2A max output. This would run a 4S3P or 6S2P configuration (I'd recommend the former, as it's likely more efficient). It also has a PWM input, so might be compatible with your controller. Unfortunately it has a 7A max input (6A recommended) so it can't run the string to full power. You'd have to dial back to about 50-55W total, or use two drivers. Two drivers each running 2S3P would be ideal.

There are also some CVCC boost regulators available on fleabay and other bargain sites that might do well at prices lower than Taskled, but they would not be compatible with PWM.


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## Steve K (Dec 11, 2015)

DIWdiver said:


> Looking back at the picture of the controller you posted, it looks to me like that is not a driver, just an on/off switch with PWM. I can't believe you could build a 12A driver in that size package. I imagine that was intended for the 12V or 24V strings that have resistors so don't need drivers.



and that was the conclusion that I provided to the OP in a PM a few days ago. ..at least I believe it was this OP, since it was the same driver. 
Or did I get my threads confused?
Either way, that device looks like it is much too small to do more than just switch power.


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## Desolation91 (Dec 12, 2015)

Could I not just add resistors before each led chip and not use a driver?

How about this? 
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=262179283652&alt=web


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## Steve K (Dec 12, 2015)

Desolation91 said:


> Could I not just add resistors before each led chip and not use a driver?
> 
> How about this?
> http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=262179283652&alt=web



adding a series resistor will produce voltage drop across the resistor. You've already got a LED that might require 12V to make it conduct the rated current and only a 11V battery to power it with. That doesn't leave much voltage to dedicate to a series resistor... it seems to be about -1V at this point.

The ebay power converter is a boost converter. This means that the output voltage will be higher than the input voltage. 
How were you planning to use it?


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## Desolation91 (Dec 13, 2015)

Battery - the original controller I found - then that booster (I just searched 50v controller and that was the smallest)

would you do me a quick search to the right driver i need for wiring in 4 x 3 led chips

or what about this? to do 2s6p
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-batte...889351?hash=item4ae5514887:g:gVMAAOSwKrhVW8LA

or would this be better and have battery-this-then LED in 2S6P
http://www.banggood.com/8A-DC12-24V...Controller-With-Wireless-Remote-p-987970.html


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## Steve K (Dec 13, 2015)

I don't have any experience selecting drivers. I typically design my own electronics.

For your application, I'd be inclined to recommend buying 3 watt LEDs mounted on stars, and making each of the four strings of LEDs with three LEDs and a series resistor. The resistor would be selected to limit the current to a safe level for the LED chosen, and sized to handle the resultant power dissipation. This would require the ability to solder, though.


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## Desolation91 (Dec 22, 2015)

Chips have finally come! Here are the results. 

1st test 1 led https://youtu.be/cnD8KSMyg3Q
Worked great there all there is is a resistor on +. 

2nd test 5 led chips https://youtu.be/4A4GXtwpR9A

Working great, I am using the cheap 12v 12a remote led controller off ebay and the setting on there are fantastic. Can't wait for the rest of the components to come so i can start the actual build!


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## Desolation91 (Jan 4, 2016)

Finished and works a treat! Also all fits in the box! Hehe


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## Steve K (Jan 4, 2016)

congrats! Glad that everything worked out. Looks like a fine job of assembly, and at least as good as the stuff I do (which is not very sophisticated, but does the job).

I was certainly worried about heat build up, but as long as it's not powered long, should be fine.

Have all of your friends been suitably impressed?


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