DIY Dimmable RapidLED Kit - Converting from MH's

Discussion in 'I made this!' started by evolved, Sep 27, 2010.

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  1. SkyFire

    SkyFire Clown Trigger

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    Sounds like a cool build. Will be tagging along.
    Love the anodized aluminum.
     
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  3. evolved

    evolved Wrasse Freak

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    Order placed at RapidLED, the real build should begin this weekend. Current total, for those wondering, is about $910. I do have a few small parts to go; I anticipate a grand total right at $950. I'll do a full price break down when I'm done.
     
  4. Broaner

    Broaner Feather Duster

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    Absolutely subcribing to see the finished result.
     
  5. evolved

    evolved Wrasse Freak

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    Well, progress continues here, just wanted to give a picture update. Once I'm done, I'll post a better instructional and a cost breakdown. I'm running a little over my projected cost, but I won't exceed $1100 at the very worst. However, this is accounting for a few things I didn't have which I needed (tools, various components), and some of you may already have them.

    At current, I have one RB string complete and the driver dialed in (sorry, no pictures of it lit up). Another RB string is glued down and ready for soldering. All the drivers have been prep'd and are ready for LED strings. My dimmer box is complete and assembled. I can dim the RB's, CW's, and WW's seperately. The rest should come together quickly now.

    RB stars placed on the heat sink, prior to gluing (driver mess in the background):
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    Glued in place, using a minimal amount of glue:
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    Close up of the business end of the driver outputs. The blue/white wires are the dimming signal. All of those run to my dimmer box and potentiometers. The red/blacks are the +/- for the LEDs. The white thingy on the red wire is my inline fuse holders. The XR-E drivers are paired with 1A fast acting fuses, and the XP-G drivers are paried with 1.5A fast acting fuses. The fuses provide piece of mind that you won't fry your LED's by accident. And yes, I'm aware the Meanwelll isn't "supposed" to provide more than 1.3A. ;) Again, piece of mind for the paranoid.
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    Finally, here's a close up of my dimmer box. This is assembled purely from radio shack parts. The enclosure is a project box. The 9V DC signal comes from the pictured adapter. All three pots run in parallel from it.
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    Last edited: May 24, 2011
  6. evolved

    evolved Wrasse Freak

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    So I'm finally finished. I have lots of hours in this, but I definitely took my time and did it right and to my liking.

    I'll track the build progress here a bit first, then give a teaser pic over the tank. I will get some more pictures of the end product over the tank this evening, and I'll have the full instructional write up here sometime in the next week. Onward....

    Soldered up LEDs:
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    Completed RB string:
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    Completed XP-G CW string, fired up, lowest possible power, no optics:
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    Full power:
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    All LED's on, 60deg optics, lowest possible power (next two pics):
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    Here I have the WW string brought up to full power, note the different whites:
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    And finally all strings at full power (with lots of camera lens scatter :) )
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    Here's a few shots of the nearly completed product:
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    I incorporated an R2 moonlight into each array, as promised:
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    And here's my clever way of covering the array. This piece of angle is attached as you see, and a piece of clear lexan has been cut to slide into place. The lexan was put in place once the arrays where hung.
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    And the shot you're all waiting for (almost); hung over the tank, but only RB's are on and taken with a crappy camera :D I'll get something better tonight.
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    Last edited: May 24, 2011
    1 person likes this.
  7. ingtar_shinowa

    ingtar_shinowa Giant Squid

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  8. Click Here!

  9. evolved

    evolved Wrasse Freak

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    Thank you sir. More pictures on there way in a few minutes. :)
     
  10. evolved

    evolved Wrasse Freak

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    Sorry for the delay. My ISP saw me say "a few minutes" last night, and decided that'd be a good time for maintenance. ::)

    But as promised, here's lots of pictures! ;D I have not edited these in any way, I only set the white balance on my camera.

    The first group here is ~70% RB's, ~40% CW's, ~90% WW's:

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    And now, this is "during sunset", ~70% RB's only:

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    Last edited: May 24, 2011
    3 people like this.
  11. jkat21

    jkat21 Bangghai Cardinal

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    Very very nice job..looks realy great..keep us posted once a month on how they are growing..
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2010
  12. crank2211

    crank2211 Purple Spiny Lobster

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    Great job, evolved. The build looks great and the anodizing was a nice touch.

    I'm curious about your hanging hardware. I've got a similar hanging kit that came with my ATI fixture but I haven't seen them sold separately anywhere. Mind sharing where you sourced yours from?