What are the best driver boards?

KDOG3

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I'm looking to get a 700-800mah driver board to run a SSCp4. I want to find the best driver board for this project. Suggestions?
 

Bullzeyebill

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KDOG3, you have been around for awhile so you must know about the driver boards sold by Wayne at the Sandwich Shoppe, some of the best in the world. Also Georges80, at taskled.com Do a little research.
Bill
 

Bogus1

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What voltage are you going to run and what features do you want in a board of what size? Without answers to these questions it's hard to recommend something. In addition to Bill's suggestions Goldserve makes great drivers and we sell them on our TnC store although we are currently out of stock.
 

TorchBoy

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Well, since you don't mention any supply voltage all I can suggest is KENNAN... except it's not from "wayne and taskled". :faint:
 

yellow

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number of leds (possibly 1)?
number of cells?
what cell chemistry?
Runtime vs. output?
level choice?

that said, I just recently built a tri-Cree mod thus far, it can be fired on and absolutely hate the Shark/Remora combination I had stored around there for it for such a long time. Next mod will see a taskled driver.

btw: if Your goal is a one led - one Li-Ion light, a Flupic is the way to go - but beware: maybe its my main light (Cree, Flupic, 18650) that makes any other thing "bad" in comparison. This driver ofers sooo much freedom for the user, nothing else can stand a chance.
 

Spypro

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Hi !
I'm planning to do something like KDOG3.
I want to run a SSC P4 with 4 x AA NiMH.
I'm looking for a board with a voltage input of at least 6V and I would like it to be in the 900-1000mah range.
Is there something out there ? I took a look on DX, KD and SS and I've found nothing.

Thanks !
 

kavvika

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DX #3256 should work nicely for you. In fact, I placed an order for a pack of them on Sunday to use in a Mag 2C 2x18650 Seoul mod.

They're the most efficient of the "cheap" buck circuits, other than the out-of-stock KD Kennar board.
 

Spypro

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Ok thank !
Is there something better that sku.3256 ?
I want to have the brightest output possible.

Thanks !
 

kavvika

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Since you plan on using 4x AA cells, you need a buck circuit to bring the voltage down, rather than boosting it. I take it you're only doing a single LED mod, so you won't need a Shark driver. My only other suggestion from DX is #7425

This one from KD shows some promise, and as long as you don't go over 6V, this one could work as well
 

Ty_Bower

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I've often wondered what is the preferred driver for lighting a single Cree or Luxeon emitter powered by a single unprotected li-ion cell. I'd like to get some decent time in regulation, but I also want it to shutdown before over discharge occurs.
 

TorchBoy

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The more threads like this one I see, the more I think I really should metaphorically get off my backside and spend more time on my backside and type a list of drivers, what voltages they accept, what current they output, suitability for various jobs, etc.
 

Spypro

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+1 for that idea.

It could really help.
Also it will be nice to "teach" those who don't know about vI, Vo, vF, mah, and more.
 

Spypro

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A quick question here: If i use for an example this board. How do I have to solder the wires ? The way I want to do my mod is to solder the wires from the board to the star and then link the board to the switch. The switch is connected to a plastic holder that holds the 4 x AA.
 

TorchBoy

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Those boards appear to use linear voltage regulators. If so don't they waste power by dissipating the difference as heat?
Yes, but I don't know about "waste" since you're getting what you want out of them, so it's more a necessary cost. Whether it's more, less, or just the same efficiency as a buck or boost board will depend on input voltage.
 

Spypro

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Looks like the batteries connect to the underside of the board that looks like a "bullseye" and the wires connect to the LED. Yes?

I have two wires coming from the battery pack: the red and black one. I don't know where to solder them on the board. I know that I have to solder the wires of the board (that are already on the board) to the LED.
 

Mr Happy

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I have two wires coming from the battery pack: the red and black one. I don't know where to solder them on the board.
At a rough guess, the positive wire (red) goes to the center of the bullseye and the negative to the outer ring. The instructions that come with it will confirm, or someone here who already owns one...
 
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