LEDgardener

Please help me clarify something so I can finally convince my friend to order some parts!

The drivers listed as required for each build differ between the DIY strip build guide and the Parallel strip build calculator. for instance using 8 x LT-FB22B strips the calculator suggests using a 600H-48 driver while the DIY strip build guide suggests using a 480H-48.
We would like to build a unit for each of us but he will not order anything until he is 110% sure I have the information correct, which is fair.

We want to use the Q series LT-QB22A strips, the DIY guide states that 14 of these can be run off a 480H-48A, is this correct?

Sorry to bother you again with newb questions

The calculator automatically picks the next driver up if you are at a limit. It's a great tool, but I did feel I got much more out of it once i started understanding how to pick drivers. Could say the calculator is a great employee but a bad manager.

Are you getting a good deal on the Q-series strips? I was looking at them a year back and while the individual strip was pretty cheap, they started looking expensive once I was calculating how many lumens I would be getting per $.

The 480-48 driver would work, its probably what I would choose in your situation. I think the Seoul Semiconductor industrial line puts out 2-3x more light at similar efficiencies, and costs the same per strip. The 4 foot HE line strip puts out 195lm/w @ 3000k, is a little more powerful and about 25% cheaper per unit.

The efficiency of the Q-series will drop fast once you go over the nominal current.

Hey mate, thanks for your reply and info regarding the other strips. As it turns out basically everything is expensive asf by the time you get it to where I live, I will look into the cheaper strips and see if its possible to get them here cheaper, thanks again!

astro wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 11, 2019 11:50 pm

Hey mate, thanks for your reply and info regarding the other strips. As it turns out basically everything is expensive asf by the time you get it to where I live, I will look into the cheaper strips and see if its possible to get them here cheaper, thanks again!

Is it a question of shipping or tax? I spent quite some time exploring cost saving avenues, so if you ever want to rant on them just holla!

I live in New Zealand so the shipping is usually rather prohibitive on a lot of things, I truly don't know if we have to pay tax on importing things, I'm sure we don't but I may be wrong. I'm slowly figuring out the build process on these rigs - It has meant a lot of reading and re-reading...it is a fair bit to take in for a beginner, and my build partner/fund manager is essentially retarded when it comes to anything other than growing Chili's - LOL. One quick question I have for you, if you wouldn't mind shedding some light on for me is this:

For the 4 foot Q series strips (LT-QB22A) the data sheet states that the max current is 900mA, while the DIY guide states that the operating current is 1000mA - 16 diodes in series with 5 groups in parallel - which makes sense because the data sheet for the lm310b diode itself - not the strips states that the FORWARD current is 200mA [200mA x 5 = 1000mA] is the FORWARD current different somehow to the max/operating current? - I realize this is all probably unimportant in regards to the build in question as the strips are going to be run at less that max current; I simply want to understand with certainty what I am doing.

/rant, my apologies

do you get hit with a bunch of taxes/tariffs and shipping in NZ, if you order from AU?

https://www.cutter.com.au is a Aussie based company.. just throwing this out there to look over, just in case shipping and tariffs kill the price of diy for you.

Hey cheers for that. cutter.com.au is essentially HIV in a website, god it is awful. Once my eyes have stopped bleeding from the initial shock I will see if they have what me and my buddy are after

I must admit its a lot for me to swallow, even though I spent a while interested in this stuff.

Its a good problem though, too much cool stuff to choose from.