PWM Regulator for Lantern bodies, JM-PhD-X1

Starlight said:
Jimmy,
I want 2 for sure and I may buy a third. What does an additional drive section do for me?
Click to expand...
The additional drive section is for people that want to drive a 2nd filamant at different voltages that the "main". The processor can do it without a problem and it doesn't take more than a couple of additional board traces. So it's a no-cost capability. If you DO want to add a second lamp, just wire on the additional board.
 
petrev said:
Hi Jimmy

That is a lovely looking board you got there - Super Nice.

I will have 1 for definite - people this side of the pond don't seem to want to spend any money on my big lights - so I will just make a super 1000W light for me and see if there is any respose when it's done . . .

You should run through the major options available with your super expandable and customisable outputs and inputs. It would be good to know what you have managed to incorporate from the long list that has appeared all over this thread ! I'm just not technical enough to be able to work out all that can be programmed in and added on ?

Cheers
Pete
Click to expand...
Dual 75V FETs on detachable drive section - You can remotely mount the drive section if you want.

Additional drive section can be purchased if desired to regulate voltage to a second lamp.

Heatsinks on output FETs - Increase current carrying capability.

2 on/off FET switched ground auxiliary outputs (1A each) - You can turn on/off secondary devices. Fans, LEDs, etc

2 PWM FET switched outputs (480Hz)(1A each) - Varying brightness, power to LEDs, Fans, etc.

3 defined button inputs - You only need one to operate the regulator. But you can use these for additional buttons switches to control whatever you want.

2 auxiliary A/D inputs - External thermal sensors.

Sample divider disconnect - Reduces parasitic power drain while off.

4 unused I/O pins brought out to pads - Anything you want.

Mounting position for customer installed switching regulator with power output pads. You can power auxiliary devices from a battery up to 60V. Fans, LEDs, LCDs, etc.

Diagnostic I/O pin. For testing purposes. If you're doing so much that you need an addition I/O pin you can use this one. Otherwise it's for development and program timing output.

I can't list everything that can be done with this because it's basically unlimited. You could program this thing to literally play Greensleeves with the filament's magnetostriction. It's a microcontroller. You can program it to do almost anything. I've got the basics already written. But the details aren't all worked out yet. So a lot is still flexible.
 
I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to design out all of the extra crap and see how small, simple, cheap I can make it and still hit all of the design requirements. Those requirements are high voltage, high current regulation and programmability. I won't throw away this design, just design a variant that's simpler/smaller/cheaper.
Let me come up with something and see what you guys think.
 
JimmyM said:
I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to design out all of the extra crap and see how small, simple, cheap I can make it and still hit all of the design requirements.
Click to expand...
Well... crap. :sigh: Speaking for myself, I'm gonna' have to give a thumbs up to this idea, as it speaks exactly to my recent thoughts.

Any number of reasons are putting on hold my envisioned, über tech, township-wide-advertisement-of-my-nerdiness, gigantic, expensive light cannon. Wouldn't even know where to store it, much less use it around here. Money's also an issue. :shakehead

For now, it's home made, sheet metal housing, one of those cheap V/I/W LCD meters for cool looks, and sealed beams ranging from PAR36 - 56. Won't come anywhere close to pushing the driver's limits, but this solves a number of problems for me, while still allowing me to build a real scorcher. If I can reasonably get into programming the thing, I've got incredible platform versatility as well.

Looking forward to what ya' come up with, Jimmy. I'm definitely in! :thumbsup:
 
Last edited:
JimmyM said:
I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to design out all of the extra crap and see how small, simple, cheap I can make it and still hit all of the design requirements. Those requirements are high voltage, high current regulation and programmability. I won't throw away this design, just design a variant that's simpler/smaller/cheaper.
Let me come up with something and see what you guys think.
Click to expand...

Hi Jimmy

Sounds good - From my point of view (400W-1100W)

Not sure how slimmed down you are going ? I like the idea of "in the field" swaps of bulb so need to be able to change max power setting without re-prog (Change profile ?! or some such) I also would like to be able to add the driver thingys for a 12V fan and 5V meters as needed if that is still an option ? Status LEDs for LOW-BATT etc. would still be a nice option.

Not sure which things are cost/complexity extras and which are just pad programming extensions . . .

Sorry if this is all gibberish to people who know what they a are talking about !

Keep up the good work
Cheers
Pete
 
petrev said:
Hi Jimmy

Sounds good - From my point of view (400W-1100W)

Not sure how slimmed down you are going ? I like the idea of "in the field" swaps of bulb so need to be able to change max power setting without re-prog (Change profile ?! or some such) I also would like to be able to add the driver thingys for a 12V fan and 5V meters as needed if that is still an option ? Status LEDs for LOW-BATT etc. would still be a nice option.

Not sure which things are cost/complexity extras and which are just pad programming extensions . . .

Sorry if this is all gibberish to people who know what they a are talking about !

Keep up the good work
Cheers
Pete
Click to expand...

Hell, the D1 could just maybe do 400W. The X1 should handle 1100W without issue. I've done some work on the design. I changed microcontrollers. Tiny84 instead of the Mega88 and removed all of the auxiliary output stuff. I was able to remove ~3/4" from the board. But there's room for a couple of outputs, without increasing board size or changing chips. I'll add a couple. But as far as the add-on regulator to drive accessories, that WILL increase the size of the board back to where it was.
 
JimmyM said:
I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to design out all of the extra crap and see how small, simple, cheap I can make it and still hit all of the design requirements. Those requirements are high voltage, high current regulation and programmability. I won't throw away this design, just design a variant that's simpler/smaller/cheaper.
Let me come up with something and see what you guys think.
Click to expand...

High voltage (40v-60v), High current (25A-40A), and programmability. That's exactly what I have been talking about! Go Jimmy, GO!
 
Sorry for the lack of presence here. I've had other things to do.
I have a smaller simpler design worked out in software (smaller and cheaper), but still capable of the same voltage and current. I have to make some changes to the prototype software. I've also stared, but not completed, testing of the primary regulator section. I built a prototype board for the high voltage section but have not proceeded with testing. My biggest concern was heat, but I may also have another solution. I've found a small, cheaper than the previous model, switching regulator that is good from 17V to 72V. I may re-design the board to accommodate this new module. It will add somewhat to the cost, but only about $7-$9 per board. Also, I need to build the BOM to properly estimate costs. I envision only building 25 of these as I don't predict demand will be as great as it was for the JM-PhD-D1.
 
OK. I've redesigned the board to use the Tiny84 as stated before. I'm going to use the switching power supply (DC-DC converter) for all models. That allows you 12V at 500mA including onboard usage which is <10mA. So that should drive a small fan. It should also power a meter display if you use a small 5V regulator from the 12V aux output. I was able to retain 2 of the auxiliary outputs that can use PWM to vary power to auxiliary devices like LED indicators, Fans, etc, or just ON/OFF if you want. It can be done in programming. There is a DIP switch on the board for user settings like voltage ranges, etc.

I've built a BOM for the redesign. It's more expensive than I would have thought. Since I'm only building 25, the boards, regulators, and FETs make up the bulk of the parts cost. There's nothing I can really do about that. Redesigning won't remove those items.
So... the answer to the big question. How much will it cost? $100USD
 
A bit of a setback. My bench PC died. It won't get past the Compaq logo. No BIOS edit options are shown. Tried swapping out RAM, etc. To no avail. It was working just earlier this week. So have to get a new (at least new to me) computer.
 
Ah man! That sucks. The same happen to me during the development of the PhD-M6. Luckily I had backed prior to the failure, but it still sucks having to install everything again 🙁
 
wquiles said:
Ah man! That sucks. The same happen to me during the development of the PhD-M6. Luckily I had backed prior to the failure, but it still sucks having to install everything again 🙁
Click to expand...
Yeah. Backups aren't a problem. But a new machine is a HUGE PITA!!!
 
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