need input on where to solder (pic)
- Thread starter reneki
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Tekno_Cowboy
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I think that pic is too big for forum rules.
It looks like your jumpers are all connected, maybe something is fried?
It looks like your jumpers are all connected, maybe something is fried?
I've fixed the image, do i need to have both + from the same side or could i have the LED connected to one board +, and the Battery to the other board +?
I'll add the LED side of the board here as well:
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Tekno_Cowboy
Flashlight Enthusiast
One thing, that looks like way too much solder.
I run the battery pos lead from one side, and the LED pos lead from the other, through the same hole in the center.
I run the battery pos lead from one side, and the LED pos lead from the other, through the same hole in the center.
I figured out my problem, turns out the Multimeter wires were no good, using thicker ones, i was able to get 3A direct drive from the LED, so it's good now.
I'm wondering if it's possible to connect the LED- and the Bat- at the same spot from the driver as shown in pic?
Is this driver, LED, and Bat all in parallel?
I'm wondering if it's possible to connect the LED- and the Bat- at the same spot from the driver as shown in pic?
Is this driver, LED, and Bat all in parallel?
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Reneki, your first post image is using the "PNG" format (instead of JPG). As a result, that one photo is 2.7 MB's that people have to slowly download. It would be great if you fixed that first image file type.
Thanks
Thanks
No that would be direct drive.
Norm
ok, ill try out the outer part as shown in first image
my bad, should be good now
Very nice of you to fix that. Thank you sir!
Justin Case
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Your first wiring configuration is correct. The second one is not. See the AMC7135 datasheet, which tells you what the pinouts are and provides a sample application circuit. The OUT pin, which goes to LED-, is not the same as the GND pin.
TorchBoy
Flashlight Enthusiast
Are you using a single 18650 with it? What's its voltage under load? What's the Vf of the LED?
ah man, i should have used a cheaper flashlgiht for my first mod. It feels like it's going to fall apart at any second, i broke off completely the two negative points on the LED :mecry: , i had to cut into the LED plastic to find a spot to connect solder to...and im pretty sure it's still in direct drive somehow, so i'm going to confirm that and might switch it back to DD after a second mod attempt.
It's a single, haven't tested other two, it's more of a experiment, might not be very efficient with a single cell and not pairing it with a specific LED, but i'd like to at least see it work.
edit: it was still DD, i'm reverting it back to DD for good and putting the board in storage for another time, thanks for all those who helped. :thanks:
It's a single, haven't tested other two, it's more of a experiment, might not be very efficient with a single cell and not pairing it with a specific LED, but i'd like to at least see it work.
edit: it was still DD, i'm reverting it back to DD for good and putting the board in storage for another time, thanks for all those who helped. :thanks:
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Justin Case
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The way these boards work is that you connect the AMC chips all in parallel so that the drive current for each chip is additive.
Do you have a multimeter to check continuity? I assume so since you've measured current draw. You can check that all of the Vdd legs are electrically connected and that all of the OUT legs are electrically connected. Check that each of the 8 AMC chips have their GND pin (or the big tab at the top of the IC) connected to ground (the outer, gold trace on the board).
To hook up the two boards, you wire them in parallel as well. Thus, LED+ from board 1 goes to LED+ on board 2.Thus, there should be some sort of conductor that connects the center solder point of the two boards. Similarly, there should be a conductor connecting LED- (the solder pad near the OUT pin for Q2) for board 1 to LED- for board 2. Finally, ground for board 1 connects to ground for board 2. Since LED+ shares the same solder location as Vin, the Vin parallel connection is already made.
In your first photo, there is a hole drilled through the board near Q2, which should allow a wire to connect LED- on board 1 with LED- on board 2. I don't see the wire, though. I just see the hole. Check if the wire is there. You need it for the parallel connection of the two boards.
How are you measuring your current draw?
Do you have a multimeter to check continuity? I assume so since you've measured current draw. You can check that all of the Vdd legs are electrically connected and that all of the OUT legs are electrically connected. Check that each of the 8 AMC chips have their GND pin (or the big tab at the top of the IC) connected to ground (the outer, gold trace on the board).
To hook up the two boards, you wire them in parallel as well. Thus, LED+ from board 1 goes to LED+ on board 2.Thus, there should be some sort of conductor that connects the center solder point of the two boards. Similarly, there should be a conductor connecting LED- (the solder pad near the OUT pin for Q2) for board 1 to LED- for board 2. Finally, ground for board 1 connects to ground for board 2. Since LED+ shares the same solder location as Vin, the Vin parallel connection is already made.
In your first photo, there is a hole drilled through the board near Q2, which should allow a wire to connect LED- on board 1 with LED- on board 2. I don't see the wire, though. I just see the hole. Check if the wire is there. You need it for the parallel connection of the two boards.
How are you measuring your current draw?
I was wondering if there was a way to check the boards connections, nice of you to bring it to my attention
All 8 chips GRD pins are connected to the outer layer and show continuity, all OUT legs are connected to the LED- spot on either board, so the two LED- points are connected to each other. There is continuity between both LED- points, and LED+ points as well as both grounds, so the two boards should be in parallel.
I'm measuring current from the tail cap when the light is assembled, otherwise i just throw it in series usually at the battery. The cell is fully charged (4.2V), it's in DD:
Justin Case
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For completeness, I suppose you could also test the diodes.
For the P7, what is the voltage bin, or even better the actual Vf when you've DD'ed it at 2.9A-3.0A? What brand of 18650s do you have?
For the P7, what is the voltage bin, or even better the actual Vf when you've DD'ed it at 2.9A-3.0A? What brand of 18650s do you have?
It's a C bin Seoul SSC P7 chip, the actual VF starts @ 3.45V than settles to 3.3V within a minute on a fresh cell. I've read a lower VF makes it more efficient, would this VF make it possible to use this board? I'm not looking for long run time so much.
The 18650 are Trustfire protected 2600ma capacity.
TorchBoy
Flashlight Enthusiast
I've read heat drops the Vf, and I've read heat makes an LED less efficient. But that Vf should make it pretty easy to use the board.
Justin Case
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A lower Vf LED is more efficient that an otherwise identical LED with higher Vf. But saying that a given LED becomes more efficient as its Vf drops because of junction heating seems questionable to me. The Vf drops because an LED is a negative thermal coefficient device. But the junction heatup also reduces the relative luminosity factor, which drops output.
I'm still thinking there may be something wrong with some of the board connections, all the Vdd legs are connected to each other, but should they also be connected to the Vin/LED+ point? because there is no connection between them and that point. To test the diodes, what points would i need to check?
Justin Case
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Look at my post with the figure for the sample application circuit. Vdd is connected to Vin/LED+. On the board, that occurs right in the middle of the board where the diodes are.
Check your DMM manual on how to use it to test a diode. In one polarity, you should get infinite resistance. In the other, you should get about 0.6 ohms.
Check your DMM manual on how to use it to test a diode. In one polarity, you should get infinite resistance. In the other, you should get about 0.6 ohms.
