12v 350ma driver, Cheap?

[Mike M]

I'm looking to mod some of the interior lights of my vehicle with red cree stars and am looking for a driver. In one vehicle I have Q5's run at 700ma and they are nice and bright. I'd like the map lights to be red and found that they can be run up to about 350 ma.

My simple circuit will be ~11-14VDC input, driver and one red star. What driver can I use without breaking the bank. To the easiest would be a buck toot but at $10 it's a bit much. Is there anything out there cheaper that would fit the bill?

Thanks in advance,
Mike

 

[TorchBoy]

A red map light at 350 mA would be horrendous. :duck: Probably way too bright, and I much prefer a broader colour range for reading maps more easily. But your clearly stated requirements show something does match your needs. You could also tweak higher output drivers down a bit.

http://www.videofoundry.co.nz/ianma...=300&i_out_max=400&modes=any&order=drivername

 

[Mike M]

I've never messed around with the red crees so this is a first. All of my projects have been with white emitters at 700 and 1000ma. I figured the red at 350 will be useable but again I want to experiment first. It's not so much for reading maps as it is a cabin light for night and being able to retain nightvision. As it is the lens on my map light is heavy diffused and figured it wouldn't be too bright. Maybe I should experiemnt with some 5mm leds first and go from there.

 

[Mike M]

http://www.videofoundry.co.nz/ianman...der=drivername

Thanks for the link. I did find those 2 drivers from DX but they seemed iffy. In the reviews for one of them they said the current is actually around 860ma which is too high for the led I wanted to use. I don't want to over drive the light and would like to keep the heat down.

 

[TorchBoy]

Thanks for the link. I did find those 2 drivers from DX but they seemed iffy. In the reviews for one of them they said the current is actually around 860ma which is too high for the led I wanted to use. I don't want to over drive the light and would like to keep the heat down.

Do you mean 680 mA? Yes, that figure is mentioned in the review for the 3 W driver - the title of that driver mentions the wrong current figure - but you want the 1 W version. If you want to run it at a lower current you just need to replace the surface mount resistor with a higher value.

If it's bright enough, any colour of light, even if it's red, will destroy your night vision. Happy experimenting, but please don't endanger yourself or other road users.

 

[Carbon2010]

A LM317 regulator is gonna be your best-friend here. there quite cheep (1$) You can build a simple current regulator. Pair it with a proper resistor for your 3v (in this case you need a 9v drop) and you should be all set with a nice constant current of 3v at whatever mA rating you wish.

Downside - the Lm317 gets hot, as your cree will as well. Mount both on a nice sized heat sink and it should solve all your issues.