Sold/Expired Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - New and Improved!

[DIWdiver]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

Just curious, would it be a bad idea to use one of these in a hotwire mod? Say something like an Mag85?

The IS1006 would work as well with incancescent load as with LED, but as Al Combs points out, there are better options for many applications. Incans are very tolerant of high voltage spikes, as long as the average is within reason. That allows a PWM driver like those he suggests to work really well.

LEDs would under such treatment. They want strictly limited current (which means you can't simply turn a high voltage on and off, like you can with an incan). This is why the IS1006 was developed. But in addressing the limitations of LEDs, it ignores one of the biggest strengths of incans.

Depending on your goals, the IS1006 could be either a clever or very foolish choice for a hotwire. Perhaps if you tell us what attracted you to this driver, we could help you decide which it is for you.

D

 

[DIWdiver]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

Got my IS1006-1025 in the mail today. That's great service, thanks.

Looking it over I have a question. I was thinking about using something like this for a heat sink in my MagLite. I noticed the ground of the TO-220 FET package is actually common to L- and not B- on the board. Not sure why I thought it would be the other way around. But if the anodizing on the inside of the battery tube is thin, wouldn't my 4*NiMH battery pack will fry the LED? Do I need to use a mica shim to insulate it from the heatsink because it might be grounded? Just want to make sure the extra precaution is necessary. Or did I just misunderstand the situation? Hey I figure better safe than sorry...

Thanks

You are correct that the metal tab of the FET is connected to L-, not to B-. If the heatsink is connected to B-, then the FET should be electrically isolated from the heatsink.

This is discussed in the Assembly section of the datasheet, and was discussed in another thread, but apparently never in this thread. Thanks for getting it into the conversation here!

If you were to connect L- to the heatsink, which was connected to B- through the body, you would not damage the driver, but you would put the full battery voltage across the LED. Depending on your batteries and your LED, that could be REALLY bad, really fast.

If, on the other hand, the heatsink (and thus L-) were connected to B+, this would effectively short the LED. That wouldn't hurt the LED, but it wouldn't light up and you would have the full battery voltage across the driver. With really good heatsinking the driver could survive this indefinitely, but if the heatsink or the bond from the FET to the heatsink were less than optimal, the FET would eventually fail. With little or no heatsinking, this could occur within a few seconds.

D

 

[DIWdiver]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

Parts are in for the next 14 boards!!

D

 

[Delphinus]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

Parts are in for the next 14 boards!!

D

Can I use the circuit to drive 2 led's in parallel, for example using one of 10A to feed 5A to each?

 

[DIWdiver]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

Can I use the circuit to drive 2 led's in parallel, for example using one of 10A to feed 5A to each?

Well, yes and no. I guess that means maybe.

If the LEDs are different, like a red and a green, then definitely NOT. They will have such different forward voltages that one would draw most of the current.

But you are probably talking about white LEDs (SST-50's?). The forward voltages are more similar among whites, but you may still need to be careful. If pushing the LEDs near their limits, you want them to carry equal current, so you want the forward voltages to be nearly the same. That means getting not only the same model numbers, but parts from the same voltage bin.

The good news is that if you buy all the LEDs at the same place and at the same time, there is a very good chance they will all come from the same bin, and so they would share pretty well.

D

 

[kris23]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

hey DIWdiver, i have a little problem with the driver...

with 4 NI-MH F cells, apparently the vdrop at 10A is so low that the driver puts out so much heat that it begins to melt the flux and solder on the board...

what do you recommend as a heatsink for it?

 

[DIWdiver]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

hey DIWdiver, i have a little problem with the driver...

with 4 NI-MH F cells, apparently the vdrop at 10A is so low that the driver puts out so much heat that it begins to melt the flux and solder on the board...

what do you recommend as a heatsink for it?

Most of these go in aluminum body lights. I would sink it to the body of the light, the way the LEDs are usually done. I did a light with a similar problem, and there is an aluminum wall behind the LEDs. The LEDs are attached to the front, and the driver to the back of this wall. Since this wall is part of the body of the light, there is excellent conduction of heat from the electronics to the body. With your setup the LEDs should generate 3-5x as much heat as the driver, so it should be easier to keep the driver cool than the LEDs.

Something to keep in mind, as Al Combs pointed out, you may have to electrically isolate the driver from the heatsink. The thermal tab of the driver is connected to L-, so if the heatsink is attached to some other voltage (often the body is connected to B-), you will have to isolate the driver. There are many ways to do this, but I'll mention two:
1. Anodize the heatsink and glue the driver to it with non-conductive thermal adhesive (Arctic Alumina ADHESIVE is a good one).
2. Get a thermal pad, a screw insulator, and some thermal compound (Arctic Alumina COMPOUND is a good one), and screw the driver to the heatsink with a #4-40 or 2.5mm screw.

Let me know if you need more help on this. There are many others around who can help as well. I can recommend or even give you some thermal pads and screw insulators.

D

 

[kris23]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

i thought about this, but when i received the heatsink, Britelumens sink for SST-90, the holes for wires come out right in the center of the sink....

no way for the driver to contact the surface of the heatsink. however, given the amount of heat put out by the SST-90 at the full 10A, the driver seems to need something isolated from the main LED heatsink....

im hoping that i can find something that can accomplish this, what have you used as a heatsink?

 

[DIWdiver]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

i thought about this, but when i received the heatsink, Britelumens sink for SST-90, the holes for wires come out right in the center of the sink....

no way for the driver to contact the surface of the heatsink. however, given the amount of heat put out by the SST-90 at the full 10A, the driver seems to need something isolated from the main LED heatsink....

im hoping that i can find something that can accomplish this, what have you used as a heatsink?

Can you provide any information on your build, i.e. what the head looks like? We could provide more targeted advice if we knew what the target was!

D

 

[Aircraft800]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

i thought about this, but when i received the heatsink, Britelumens sink for SST-90, the holes for wires come out right in the center of the sink....

no way for the driver to contact the surface of the heatsink. however, given the amount of heat put out by the SST-90 at the full 10A, the driver seems to need something isolated from the main LED heatsink....

im hoping that i can find something that can accomplish this, what have you used as a heatsink?

I used the same BL heatsink as you, and came up with this screw on heatsink for the driver. It gives me just enough room to pass the wires threw.

 

[kris23]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

i found a solution to this problem, the aluminum adapter that comes with kiu sockets fits perfectly inbetween the britelumens heatsink and mag switch.

it is substantial in mass and connects perfectly to the mag body so i now have no problems running the light for long periods of time.... it gets the whole mag HOT though but everything works great now...

 

[COAST]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

I'd be interested in another run!!

 

[DIWdiver]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

I'd be interested in another run!!

There are actually still 14 units left from the first run. I'll make another run when necessary!

D

 

[Radagast_2010]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

I would like to purchase one IS1006-1025 +$4.95 for now. You seem to have the only driver board for the SST-90 that can drive it at 10 Amps
thanks.:laughing:

 

[vambo1980]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

Hi i would like to try out your
IS1006-1025
&
IS1006-0512

Postage to uk

Regards,

Vambo1980

 

[DIWdiver]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

I would like to purchase one IS1006-1025 +$4.95 for now. You seem to have the only driver board for the SST-90 that can drive it at 10 Amps
thanks.:laughing:

Sorry if you were waiting for me, as I was waiting for a payment from you. I have stock to build this driver for you, and can ship 24-48 hours after receipt of payment. Payment instructions are in the first post in this thread.

D

 

[LHolden]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

I would like to get 1-IS1006-0820

 

[KillingTime]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

Hello,

Will this fit in a MagC, and how would you haetsink it in there?

Thanks.

 

[DIWdiver]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

I would like to get 1-IS1006-0820

Payment received. I will build over the weekend and ship Monday. Thanks!

D

 

[DIWdiver]

Re: Adjustable 10A linear LED driver - limited quantities

Hello,

Will this fit in a MagC, and how would you haetsink it in there?

Thanks.

I'm not really a modder, so I'm not the best one to answer this, but the diameter of the driver is the same as a C cell, which was done so it would fit in a MagC. For heatsinking, you need a good thermal connection to the light body. You need a flat spot you can attach the driver to, which is part of or thermally bonded to the body. I would turn to the real modders to find the best way to do that.

D