Question.. LS direct drive 4AA ok?

[yclo]

I realise that with all them 3AA's and 3C's and of course 3D direct drives as long as they're heatsinked properly it's alright.

What about with 4AA's?

Cause I just got a really nice heatsink..

YC

 

[Slick]

I think that would be WAY pushing it. Even it it lived, I think it would degrade rapidly. Remember - 3AA is actually pushing the outer limits.

But hey, someone has to try it.. Be sure to report back with your results if you do. We're all eager to know too.

 

[vcal]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by yclo:
I realise that with all them 3AA's and 3C's and of course 3D direct drives as long as they're heatsinked properly it's alright.

What about with 4AA's?

Cause I just got a really nice heatsink..

YC<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

If you don't actually "blow" it, after a few minutes of operation, it'll probably start pulsating, and it's life at a given level of brightness will be diminished

-I'm guessing that @ 6v. you'll be pushing about 2+ Amps thru that poor little Luxeon

 

[Orion]

Hey, Slick and/or mr. glow, if 3AA cells are pushing the envelope for the LS, what resistor is commonly used to make it last, have decent brightness, and produce less heat? . . . . . . or is that a 'tall order to fill'?

 

[Slick]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Orion:
Hey, Slick and/or mr. glow, if 3AA cells are pushing the envelope for the LS, what resistor is commonly used to make it last, have decent brightness, and produce less heat? . . . . . . or is that a 'tall order to fill'?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

1,2,or 3 ohms are what seem to be popular. You'll need to take power consumption readings to get what you want because of the variation in individual LS's.

 

[Orion]

Unfortunately, I'll be 'flying by the seat of my pants' because I have absolutely no measuring equipment. I'm sure they aren't that cheap either.

I'll probably go a more conservative route and do a 3 ohm.

I can't stop saying thanks to you guys!

 

[kalieaire]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Orion:
kalieaire, how so? Mind you, I'm not well versed in electronics.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

ok i checked w/ my friend. this is how you do it.

you'll most likely need one or a few transistors, and one or more capacitors, depending on how smooth a dc current you want. You might want to use an inline fuse somewhere between the bulb and the battery to save the transistor when you're running low on voltage.


so here we go.

here's the current closed circuit sequentially as if we were following the flow of current.


power source - light - power source.


now with the regulation mod.

power source - fuse - transistor 1 (or more) - capacitor(s) - light - power source.

a transistor will turn on and off at a specified frequency from its specifications.

This acts as a resistor, not by converting electrical current into heat, but rather stopping it for 1/30th of a second or whatever the rated transistor is spec'd at.

it's like this, compare a transistor to slowing down traffic by using traffic lights.

compare a resistor to slowing down traffic by merging lanes, which would you rather have?

one has less friction, one has more.

the capacitor in line does this.

A capacitor is basically two plates held parallel and one side holds electrons, this causes potential difference because the capacitor wants to flow to the other side to even out the electron charge.

so a capacitor acts like a water tower, water flows into it when there's plenty of water, and water flows out of it when there's a water shortage.

when electricity is plenty from when the transistor gate is open, electricity flows into the capacitor, and extra electricity flows by, when the gate closes and electricity doesn't flow, the capacitor flows its stored current.

this way with a transistor it doesn't flash.

the question is finding a combination of transistors or a single right transistor.

transistors will create heat, but less heat.

too many amps can kill a transistor not designed for a certain amount of current flow.

you guys are using 5 watt luxeons?

you need 6 volts at 833mah current flow.

hey, where can i buy some luxeons?

i didn't know anything about these lambertian radiation patterened led's until yesterday.

 

[kalieaire]

okay, i lied, i didn't know anything about luxeons until i almost finished the last post. :P

 

[kalieaire]

couldn't you guys use capacitors to regulate the voltage?

 

[Orion]

kalieaire, how so? Mind you, I'm not well versed in electronics.

 

[Slick]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Orion:
Unfortunately, I'll be 'flying by the seat of my pants' because I have absolutely no measuring equipment. I'm sure they aren't that cheap either.

I'll probably go a more conservative route and do a 3 ohm.

I can't stop saying thanks to you guys!

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You really should pony up the cash for a DECENT DVOM. It will save you more money than it costs in the long run. Trust me, I know.

I only paid $50 for my Wavetek DVOM (that handles up to 10 amps), so buy a quality unit so you won't have to do it over again later. A quality unit will serve you a lifetime, and will enable you to troubleshoot electronic problems in many different applications..