3-up XPG board advice needed pls

[PapaLumen]

Hi i have a couple of 3-up xpg boards for a bike light project.
I assumed i would receive the normal series boards with just one + and - pad but i got the individually addressable ones..

Could somebody possibly point out exactly what i need to do to make them in series. I guess i just need to solder bridges but not sure exactly where. i will also be running both boards in series and im ok on that bit.

Can you take a look at the pic and advise please. I assume i have the incoming led + and - correct?
Many thanks in advance.

 

[Mettee]

From what you show, you are correct. You will have to have a bridge between the two boards if you are wanting all six leds in series. And you will have to conect the power wires, one on each board. Positive on one and the neg on the other, if that is what you want to do.

As you show it, you will have two separate boards wired in series.

 

[PapaLumen]

Thanks, yep im ok with connecting the two boards in series, just need to know how to make each boards leds in series. I showed the incoming + and - just on one board, but i know it will go to + on one board and - on the other with all connected in series.

I just checked continuity on my MM and it seems i would only have to solder over the tiny squares next to the larger pads and not over the whole pads as ive ringed in the right hand pic?

Damn these things are tiny, i cant believe it. I wouldnt want to try and work with an xpg not on a board..., i thought the XR-E was small!! :duh2:

Thanks for any further advice.

 

[PapaLumen]

So all in series should look like this?

Thanks.

 

[LumenHound]

Damn these things are tiny, i cant believe it. I wouldnt want to try and work with an xpg not on a board..., i thought the XR-E was small!! :duh2:

Try soldering 28 gauge wire onto the two itty-bitty top surface corner pads sometime, Fun-o-rama. :devil:

An adjustable workbench light with a four inch wide magnifier lens comes in handy during soldering jobs like yours.

 

[PapaLumen]

Yeh i bet thats pretty tricky! I have a helping hands thing with mag glass which helps a bit, but keeping a steady hand is the hard bit. Easy peasy with them on boards though thank god.

 

[Mettee]

That is the correct wiring. Looks good, that sucker is going to be bright!

 

[PapaLumen]

Thanks.
Hope so, they are going in this - GenIII

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=258699

I have the maxflex and optics too. Just have to wait for this host now, and get a battery...

 

[HarryN]

There is a good chance that the existing solder for those boards is lead free, meaning it has a fairly high melting point. That is a good reason to attempt your bridge with lead based solder, which will melt at a lower temp.

Worst case, you can try to get some In based solder, which melts even lower, but might be hard to find in hobby qty.

I assume that those are metal core board based stars, so ideally, you will want to heat them up to at least 150 C from the bottom, prior to attempting the solder job. If you can do it, get ahold of some lead based solder paste, and do most of the heating from underneath.

 

[Mettee]

frying pan works well

 

[LV426]

PapaLumen, where did you get the board with separate connections? All I can find are of the "other" type (9V and in series)...

 

[PapaLumen]

Hi, i got it from http://www.dstar-led.com/ in the UK. Very limited stock, not sure if they still have any.

I think they source them from cutters. (Aus) - click on xpg on mcpcb at the top, its Cutter-XPGMR8IAD board.

http://www.cutter.com.au/proddetail.php?prod=cut937

 

[LV426]

Thanks a lot!

 

[soundman98]

i understand this is a older thread-- i was linked to it to figure out how they made the led's work... (long time lurker, first time poster-- no real reason, searching seems to answer everything until now)

i'm a little confused. the mcpcb used in the first image is definitely a 3-chip rebel board, with 3 xp-g's mounted to it, but there's no mention of how it was electrically connected, as the discussion just goes over how to connect the solder pads of the mcpcb.

were the cathode and anode pads ground off on the underside of each xp-g, and then hand-soldered to the top cathode/anode connections?

 

[VegasF6]

Soundman, what leads you to believe that the MCPCB is designed for Luxeon Rebel leds? If I had to guess I would assume you are influenced by the design of the LXB-RT20B Saber boards that are for Rebels.
Incidently Led Supply sells a 3 up Indus star designed for the Cree XP series.
The OP states these are XP(g) boards but the original source is no longer to confirm. However these are almost certainly the GK Technik boards designed to fit Cree XP, Rebel, Nichia 119/219 etc.
http://ledsmagazine.com/products/17359