Some questions about the Shark driver

[TranquillityBase]

So far so good 5 volts, 3.5 amps...that's the ticket, as I wouldn't run my cells below 2.5 volts.

It has been running for a good five minutes and the amperage is rock solid at 3.5 range :twothumbs

 

[yellow]

Wouldn't a 4 die Ostar 13.2/4 = 3.3 Vf per chip equal four Lux III's (1), Seoul (2) or Cree (3) LED's?...

(1): yes,
(2): no
(3): no
... because the emitter inside the osram is about the same type of Lux III (and that only if You got a very good one, which is totally unsure. What mark was on the label?),
but Seoul (P4) and Cree (XR-E) are about double efficient ...
... and then there is the new XP-G

PS: use that osram for testing and learning, but for the light use a Seoul MC-E, wired in series.
Is about the same difference - nearly double output at same power

 

[richardcpf]

I have a question for you pros:

I'm builing a 12x XPG spotlight, 2 sets of 6 leds in series, each powered by a blue shark.

The battery is a 2x 7 Cell 8.4v Nimh connected in series, totalling 16.8v. When the batteries are fully charged, the Vout is only around 1 volt above the Vin, is this ok??

Or should I change the battery to a 6+6 cells, 14.4v instead?

Thanks.

 

[cmacclel]

I have a question for you pros:

I'm builing a 12x XPG spotlight, 2 sets of 6 leds in series, each powered by a blue shark.

The battery is a 2x 7 Cell 8.4v Nimh connected in series, totalling 16.8v. When the batteries are fully charged, the Vout is only around 1 volt above the Vin, is this ok??

Or should I change the battery to a 6+6 cells, 14.4v instead?

Thanks.

Your input voltage needs to be *below* the VF of the LED's at all times. Also if your planning on using a remora to have 3 levels of brightness you may even want to have a lower voltage input.



Mac

 

[richardcpf]

Your input voltage needs to be *below* the VF of the LED's at all times. Also if your planning on using a remora to have 3 levels of brightness you may even want to have a lower voltage input.
Mac

Then it doesn't matter if it is lower by only 1 volt? What happens if this Vin is higher than the leds combined Vf?

I'm not going to use remora, just blueshark adjusted for 980mA output.

 

[cmacclel]

Then it doesn't matter if it is lower by only 1 volt? What happens if this Vin is higher than the leds combined Vf?

I'm not going to use remora, just blueshark adjusted for 980mA output.

You can't use 14 cells in series with 6 led's. 14 cells hot off the charger can be up to 20v. Figure 3.0v per led to be safe = 18v. Use 2, 6 cells packs for 12 cells in series.

Mac

 

[richardcpf]

You can't use 14 cells in series with 6 led's. 14 cells hot off the charger can be up to 20v. Figure 3.0v per led to be safe = 18v. Use 2, 6 cells packs for 12 cells in series.

Mac

Thanks!!

 

[alpg88]

sorry if i missed something, but is shark 3amp is still awailable, i,d like to get few, also will it fit into c mag tube???

 

[dat2zip]

Yes, the Shark 3A is still available here.

Yes, it will fit in a mag C.

Wayne

 

[richardcpf]

Can I adjust the onboard trimpot on the fly? (while it is ON)

 

[dat2zip]

Can I adjust the onboard trimpot on the fly? (while it is ON)

Yes, you can. You can adjust it from almost off to full on. If you need to do this more than once you need to use an external pot as the on-board trim pot is only rated for 20 usages or turning. An external pot will allow you to adjust it all the time and will not wear out like the onboard trim pot.

The on-board trim pot is there to set it to a desired level and not touched again.

Wayne

 

[Justin Case]

The Vin through hole on my Blue Shark is partially blocked by the inductor. I'd prefer not to have to scrape away some of the mask to solder my wire connection on the top side. Can I use TP7 instead if I'm not using a Remora? Or is there an issue with this approach? If I do use the normal Vin through hole, is there an issue if the solder connection touches the inductor? About half of the Vin through hole is covered/overlapped by the inductor right now.

 

[dat2zip]

The main VIN and GND pad and the LED holes have the capability of large currents. The other holes are not wired to carry large currents. I would not recommend using any other hole for VIN. You risk burning out the copper foil on the PCB to those other holes.

The wire touching the inductor does not conduct or make the circuit invalid. If the inductor covers too much of the hole and you feel this is unacceptable we will send you a replacement. I'd prefer a picture to verify this is abnormal. There are ones with the inductor slightly overlapping the hole. This is normal and acceptable in most cases as the wire will still fit in the hole and can be soldered.

Wayne

 

[vestureofblood]

Hi all,


I just purchase 2 blue shark boost converters. I am still very confused about how to use this board.

I want do drive 6 leds in series off of 3 li-ion and I have tried hooking this up both with and with out J1 jumpered. The result is the same with either Vin=Vout.

What am I doing wrong????

 

[vestureofblood]

Hi I found this post in another thread, but it looks like no one is following that thread anymore. Could someone please help?

I kind of thought !

first SHARK with bridge, second SHARK without bridge, ...


Mono

I'm still a bit confused on how to do this.

I still remove the trimpot from both sharks and bridge the gap of the to 2 pads correct?

Led + and LED - from both boards wired together to the LEDs?

Vin and Vout from battery connect to both boards?

And the ONLY connection I need between remora and the SECOND blue shark is PWM?

 

[dat2zip]

Hi I found this post in another thread, but it looks like no one is following that thread anymore. Could someone please help?



I'm still a bit confused on how to do this.

I still remove the trimpot from both sharks and bridge the gap of the to 2 pads correct?

Led + and LED - from both boards wired together to the LEDs?

Vin and Vout from battery connect to both boards?

And the ONLY connection I need between remora and the SECOND blue shark is PWM?

You assembled the first Shark with Remora normally. One the 2nd and other slaves you remove the trim pot, but, no jumper on the trim pot. Wire as shown in the picture.

What you drive with the two converters is up to you. Both could drive the same LEDs or each converter could drive different LEDs.

Power should be wired to both converter boards.

Wayne

 

[vestureofblood]

So I only wire remora V+ from remora to the first shark correct?

What would happen if there was a jumper on the slaves trimpot?

 

[dat2zip]

So I only wire remora V+ from remora to the first shark correct?

What would happen if there was a jumper on the slaves trimpot?

Wire it as shown in the picture. I don't know what your first question is, but, there is only one Remora on the master configuration. I don't know what V+ you are referring to.

Don't do anything not shown. Don't jumper the 2nd or additional slaves trim pot. Is your question saying you did it already and are wondering if you damaged anything? Things won't work right if you did. You shouldn't have damage anything if you did.

Wayne

 

[vestureofblood]

Ok sorry I should have been more clear. What I meant was the little red wire show going from the top of remora to the 1st shark underneath it, that wire goes only to one shark.

As for my other question. Yes I did wire my sharks this way. They do seem to have the correct output, and nothing is damaged and it seems to be working fine. The reason I asked is because the light does have 3 levels but "LOW" doesnt really seem all that low. It is definitely lower than high but its still like 600 lumens. I am driving 5x XMLs in series with the pair of boards so I just figured thats how it is. What I was wandering is if maybe the extra jumper was somehow causing one of my sharks not to step down.

I'm running the 5 leds off 2 26650s. From the tail end ( the head is sealed and I dont want to take it apart unless I need to) I'm getting 4.5A high 1.73A med and .98 on low.

 

[vestureofblood]

Hey Wayne,

I have a couple more questions if you don't mind. I did like you said and removed the jumper from the other shark. I am still getting the same result. They are working and I do have 3 modes, but I would like to have a lower low and still maintain the super high.

If I replaced the remora with an external potentiometer would I be able to get a wider range of brightness? Would I still use a 20K pot as suggested on your site for a single shark? And how would I attach it, by using the 3 spots from the old trim pot? Would I hook it to both sharks?

Thanks