Buck driver for P7

[Offroad'Bent]

I have a lamp with a P7, currently running with a 1000ma Buckpuck driver.
I would like a more powerful driver, and am looking for suggestions.
I like the closed buckpuck format, rather than a driver board that needs housing.

Thanks in advance

 

[Al Combs]

You've been on the forum for a while, so I'm guessing you've heard of the SharkBuck from the Shoppe and TaskLED's hipCC and hipFlex. Each of these high power buck regulators only runs at about 80% efficiency on a single P7. They would definitely need to be coupled to a proper heat sink.

I looked in the LuxDrive documentation. Although the BuckPuck doesn't specifically say so, you should be able to run 3 of them in parallel to get 3 amps. Or even better, get another 3023-D-N-1000mA and a single 3023-D-N-700mA for a total output of 2.7 amps. That will prevent you from over driving your P7.

Considering you already own one, buying two more is only a little more expensive than a single integrated regulator. It's not as ridiculous as it might sound. You didn't say what exactly what it was for, so you may not have that much room.

 

[Offroad'Bent]

Huh, I never thought of doing that. I actually have another 750ma buckpuck. Can I just wire it on top of the other one in parallel? 1750ma should do for me. It's a lamp for a microscope.

If not, I'd probably look at the HipFlex. I did get a little lost in the 200+ postings on the thread about it.
Do either of the TaskLED drivers have multiple power settings? The Shark driver looks like it might be less reliable.

I looked in the LuxDrive documentation. Although the BuckPuck doesn't specifically say so, you should be able to run 3 of them in parallel to get 3 amps. Or even better, get another 3023-D-N-1000mA and a single 3023-D-N-700mA for a total output of 2.7 amps. That will prevent you from over driving your P7.

Considering you already own one, buying two more is only a little more expensive than a single integrated regulator. It's not as ridiculous as it might sound. You didn't say what exactly what it was for, so you may not have that much room.

 

[Al Combs]

Voltage is the same in a parallel circuit while current varies. Since the regulator is controlling the current while the voltage slaves to the Vf of the LED, a 700ma driver should work fine with a 1,000ma unit in parallel. I have seen a couple of examples of this technique. Here's member StefanFS's P7-MagLite tutorial. While not this exact case, here's an interesting example of 3 series LEDs and only one controlled by a regulator.

Take a look at the last few pages of LuxDrive's MicroPuck manual. It shows parallel hookup for both Boost and Buck/Boost. My reader says the authoring date for the BuckPuck manual is Nov. 2006. That's back before the P7 or the MC-E existed. Perhaps it's just a circumstance they never foresaw. You could ask LEDDynamics Tech Support just to be 100% safe.

 

[Offroad'Bent]

Voltage is the same in a parallel circuit while current varies. Since the regulator is controlling the current while the voltage slaves to the Vf of the LED, a 700ma driver should work fine with a 1,000ma unit in parallel. I have seen a couple of examples of this technique. Here's member StefanFS's P7-MagLite tutorial. While not this exact case, here's an interesting example of 3 series LEDs and only one controlled by a regulator.

Take a look at the last few pages of LuxDrive's MicroPuck manual. It shows parallel hookup for both Boost and Buck/Boost. My reader says the authoring date for the BuckPuck manual is Nov. 2006. That's back before the P7 or the MC-E existed. Perhaps it's just a circumstance they never foresaw. You could ask LEDDynamics Tech Support just to be 100% safe.

I took a look at the manual, but didn't see the parallel hookup.
I just assume I'd solder red to red, black to black, white to white and blue to blue on both pucks,no?

If not, looks like the Hipflex will do all I need.

 

[Al Combs]

For free is always better. But if not, the hipFlex has an adjustable output while the hipCC can with the addition of TaskLED's d2Flex. You can download their respective pdf's here to read about them. There is a high speed pwm flicker with the hipCC/d2Flex combo. You can't see it, but if you do high speed photography it might be an issue. Is there such a thing as high speed micro photography?

Huh, I never thought of doing that. I actually have another 750ma buckpuck. Can I just wire it on top of the other one in parallel? 1750ma should do for me. It's a lamp for a microscope.

If not, I'd probably look at the HipFlex. I did get a little lost in the 200+ postings on the thread about it.
Do either of the TaskLED drivers have multiple power settings? The Shark driver looks like it might be less reliable.

 

[Al Combs]

There wasn't a parallel example in the BuckPuck manual. Which doesn't mean it it's not capable of working that way. There was however a parallel example in the MicroPuck manual. I just mentioned it for the sake of the concept.

As far as wiring, that's the idea. Just twist together all similar colors. Both battery positives become a pair, both LED positives are a pair...

I took a look at the manual, but didn't see the parallel hookup.
I just assume I'd solder red to red, black to black, white to white and blue to blue on both pucks,no?

If not, looks like the Hipflex will do all I need.

 

[Offroad'Bent]

There wasn't a parallel example in the BuckPuck manual. Which doesn't mean it it's not capable of working that way. There was however a parallel example in the MicroPuck manual. I just mentioned it for the sake of the concept.

As far as wiring, that's the idea. Just twist together all similar colors. Both battery positives become a pair, both LED positives are a pair...

Excellent! I will be doing this for sure, and then if I want to get fancy I'll look into a HipFlex. The flicker won't be an issue as I use a different system for photography. Thanks for your suggestion.

 

[Al Combs]

Glad to be of help. :wave: