Hello it's my first post and i'm a newbie on the LED field (and electronics in general). I've watched LEDGardener's videos on youtube and have some newbie questions, especially about the drivers.
I somewhat know how the drivers operate now, but have hard time choosing which driver type i should buy for my quantum board setup. I looked all the available options and started wondering about the type AB drivers, why people aren't using them more and how they actually differ from both A and B types.
I don't remember LEDGardener showing or mentioning type AB drivers in his "The LEDG Guide to Mean Well HLG Drivers" series or in any other video either. It's actually really hard to find any info on the type AB drivers online at all. No videos no nothing. The only information i could find was on the Mean Well's own website and i had to search the datasheets to find out what's going on.
Let's take the HLG-240H-C series as an example, i already know what all the numbers and letters stand for, there's constant current drivers like 2100(mA), and "on the other side" thers's contant voltage + constant current drivers like 48(V) without mentioning the type. Then both sides have their own AB type drivers
On CC drivers:
A: Current adjustable through built-in potentiometer
B: 3 in 1 dimming function (1~10VDC, 10V PWM signal and resistance)
AB: Both above
On CC+CV drivers:
A: Current and voltage adjustable through built-in potentiometer
B: 3 in 1 dimming function (1~10VDC, 10V PWM signal and resistance)
AB: Both above
So isn't AB the "best" version of both worlds, so you can choose between the different "adjustment systems", or you could perhaps use them both at the same time? What am i missing here? Why is no one talking about AB drivers?
The mystery of the Mean Well type AB driver models?
AB do have the best of both worlds, not many people understand how they work, they are basically the same as an A driver but with the option to dim externally.
Most people do not understand how to use an A driver correctly so placing another letter in front of it just confuses people more.
A lot of guys that are doing DIY really have no idea about electricity and it's often thier first build so it's kept simple to not confuse.
If you know what you are doing then go for the AB drivers.
Most people do not understand how to use an A driver correctly so placing another letter in front of it just confuses people more.
A lot of guys that are doing DIY really have no idea about electricity and it's often thier first build so it's kept simple to not confuse.
If you know what you are doing then go for the AB drivers.
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I want to know can you adjust the AB type driver the same way as a "A type" driver, and use an external dimmer at the same time with it? Does the situation change in any way if you use a CC or CV+CC driver?TEKNIK wrote: ↑Tue Jul 02, 2019 10:43 pmAB do have the best of both worlds, not many people understand how they work, they are basically the same as an A driver but with the option to dim externally.
Most people do not understand how to use an A driver correctly so placing another letter in front of it just confuses people more.
A lot of guys that are doing DIY really have no idea about electricity and it's often thier first build so it's kept simple to not confuse.
If you know what you are doing then go for the AB drivers.
Constant voltage and constant current drivers both are available in type AB, you could've easily checked this from google. Unless Mean Well has some kind of conspiracy going on together with the suppliers and some customers
The current adjustment screw terminal on the driver overrides the POT. Once current is set by the screw you can dim them as per normal.
The way I would use these in a parallel build is to set the maximum voltage to the output of your boards. This way if a board fails or something goes wrong it will voltage out the rest of the boards so they could not take anymore current.
It is a good fail safe that would work perfectly.
The way I would use these in a parallel build is to set the maximum voltage to the output of your boards. This way if a board fails or something goes wrong it will voltage out the rest of the boards so they could not take anymore current.
It is a good fail safe that would work perfectly.
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I went though the specs, not all drivers have AB listed, but...
(Double checking)
Well that's weird, the specs are inconsistent.
HLG-600H specs says its available in AB.
HLG-4800H specs say AB is not available but octoparts lists a 480H-24AB.
320H specs don't list AB but they exist, same for -C
Mean well needs to update their specs.
(Double checking)
Well that's weird, the specs are inconsistent.
HLG-600H specs says its available in AB.
HLG-4800H specs say AB is not available but octoparts lists a 480H-24AB.
320H specs don't list AB but they exist, same for -C
Mean well needs to update their specs.
You mean this? https://www.meanwell-web.com/en-gb/ac-d ... 480h--24abShimbob wrote: ↑Wed Jul 03, 2019 1:37 pmI went though the specs, not all drivers have AB listed, but...
(Double checking)
Well that's weird, the specs are inconsistent.
HLG-600H specs says its available in AB.
HLG-4800H specs say AB is not available but octoparts lists a 480H-24AB.
320H specs don't list AB but they exist, same for -C
Mean well needs to update their specs.
All of them should be listed there, i checked and didn't seem to miss anything. Some websites/shops don't even have half of them listed, where are you looking from?
This is from my copy of the hlg-320H-c-spec.PDF which I had downloaded from meanwell.com, along with every other spec for every other driver as well. But notice the date in the lower right corner, it's old, and indeed meanwell has since then updated their specs to include AB.
So, yeah, mea culpa, specs used to be inconsistent, but now they ain't and I gotta delete my local copies and download them all again.
So, yeah, mea culpa, specs used to be inconsistent, but now they ain't and I gotta delete my local copies and download them all again.
Not sure what you mean by "it will voltage out the rest of the boards so they could not take anymore current"?TEKNIK wrote: ↑Wed Jul 03, 2019 10:40 amThe current adjustment screw terminal on the driver overrides the POT. Once current is set by the screw you can dim them as per normal.
The way I would use these in a parallel build is to set the maximum voltage to the output of your boards. This way if a board fails or something goes wrong it will voltage out the rest of the boards so they could not take anymore current.
It is a good fail safe that would work perfectly.