CREE XLED & LED Drivers Questions???

DeathWish302 · 09/15/2008, 11:22 AM

Has anyone located an inexpensive, Waterproof LED Driver capable of driving the CREE XLED's? I'm looking for a complete ballast, due to not wanting this to turn into a 6 month electronics project right now. If so, can you supply the link? I know Luke (liveforphysics) has some HongKong units, but I'm not certain of where he located those.

Also, www.Superbrightleds.com is the cheapest site i've found for the CREE XLED @ ~$11/pc for blue. Is there any cheaper sites? I only would like to experiment with3-6 at first, so Digikey is out for me as I saw their min. order was like 250.

Thanks for any insight.

DW302

stugray · 09/15/2008, 11:45 AM

Try:

http://www.etgtech.com

I am about to place an order for the 3W Cree XLEDs pre mounted to the "stars".

Already mounted they are $10.

They also provided me with a CC driver that works great & is only ~$30 if I remember right.

I have also built my own ethernet controlled LED dimmer, but havent mounted it in a case yet.

Stu

evilc66 · 09/16/2008, 09:19 AM

Superbrightleds is not a good place for XR-E's. The units they have there are only 1W LEDs.

ETG is the cheapest place in the US to get them, but DealExtreme and Kaidomain are the cheapest overall, provided you can wait 3-4 weeks for it to ship (free shipping though!)

Is there a real need for a waterproof driver? Why not remote mount it in an enclosure to protect it? If you can, the Luxdrive Buckpucks are a good solution as they have dimming capabilities. There is also the Xitanium line of drivers too.

DeathWish302 · 09/16/2008, 11:15 AM

evilc66:

Thank You for the links!!!

Well, I was about to dive into a standard 5mm LED setup, but after viewing the CREE blues on www.dealextreme.com I'm going the CREE route. The below link will show why....

OMG!!!!! Click on Either Pic to the Left of this Link!

So, now that I know what setup I'm planning to use I have a few questions.

1) With a Oceanic 58gal (36"Lx18"Wx21"H) how many would I need to have an adequate "full-moon" moonlight look? I'm thinking I will order 10 and can always throttle back later if needed. Any input to intensity through 21" of H2O?

2) Since the dealextreme site does not describe the CREE lot number, is there any other way to find the no. other than applying 350ma across the LED and measuring Vf? This would be a big factor in ordering the buckpuck.....

I'm not so worried about the driving being waterproof. I'm just cautious in the event of a project case/outlet enclosure housing the electronics getting splashed and POOF goes the moonlights.

Awesome Site, Awesome Price, Awesome to have the vast knowledge of so many RCers'!!!

stugray · 09/16/2008, 11:30 AM

DeathWish302

"how many would I need to have an adequate "full-moon" moonlight look?" ..."thinking I will order 10 "

Holy COW!

I have been playing with just one of the 3 watt units & it is literally blinding @ 750mA!

I plan on trying my 125 Gal with just 2 and expect to need to throttle them down.

Just remember, most large tank owners use 3-4 of the OLD Led moonlights. These are Not the old low power LEDs.

Stu

DarkDevil · 09/16/2008, 11:41 AM

Check out here

Just choose the right Wattage and Voltage, wire it up and that's it, simple.

DeathWish302 · 09/16/2008, 01:47 PM

Stu,

Well you definitely have brought it to my attention. I have seen the 5mm LEDs in a 2" spacing across an entire tank and was not impressed unless the room was pitch black. Since these CREE bad boys sound like they are easily brighter than my 12x1W 5mm LED flashlight, I agree only a couple for my tank.

Have you noticed any dimming effects in your tank as the depth increases? I have viewed liveforphysics tank pic (Luke, I hope you don't mind).

I'm a little concerned by his image, as he is using MULTIPLE CREE LEDs'. I just didn't want it to be too dim, that's why I chose a round number of 10.

If I only need 2, maybe 3, the buckpuck is definitely the way to go.....

Thanks all for the input.

DW302

stugray · 09/16/2008, 02:23 PM

DeathWish302,

I have not tried the lights on my tank yet.

I ordered 5 so I can upgrade from 2 if I need to.

From the pic of Luke's tank, it looks like he is using the collimating lenses which turns the LEDs into more of a spotlight.

I intend to use the Crees without the lenses. Their viewing angle is 90 degrees, so two should illuminate the whole tank.

I can try it tonight with the one cree I do have.

Stu

DeathWish302 · 09/16/2008, 03:08 PM

Thanks Stu!

I'll stay tuned for your response on the observation of one LED............

DeathWish302 · 09/17/2008, 10:18 AM

Any others have experience with BLUE XR-E LEDS? If so, describe output (a pic is even better), exact BIN No. of LEDS & Qty.

Thanks!

DW302

MJDiP · 09/17/2008, 01:53 PM

Today's news regarding CREE LEDs:

http://compoundsemiconductor.net/blo...tribution.html

GAWnCA · 09/18/2008, 07:25 AM

Another source for CREE LEDs.
http://www.besthongkong.com/index.php?cPath=19_53

liveforphysics · 09/18/2008, 08:19 AM

You are more than welcome to use my photos.

To take that photo, I kept stepping down the shutter speed to darken the picture until you could clearly see the beams penetrating down into the water. If you take a photo at a normal shutter speed, it looks like a very bright and very blue tank.

Half of my CREE led's are fitted with optics to narrow the angle of the beam, and half are not. I run a mix of 395nm UV leds and 460nm Cree LEDs.

The LED's I first used were purchased from Deal extreme. They are Cree LED's but they are NOT the XR-E bin blue LEDs. They are a bin with <15lm@350mA. By buying a high bin of Cree XR-E series LED, you can cut the number of LEDs you need in half! This means only half the power draw and half the heat sinks and half the controlled current supplies, and the same amount of light generated.

My new favorite place to buy Cree LED's is based in Australia, but they have fast economical shipping to the states. It's called Cutter electronics. Unlike other retailers, he sells the cutting edge premium efficiency bins of LED, generally the same day they release from Cree, and he doesn't have a whole lot of markup on them.

http://www.cutter.com.au/products.php?cat=48

Best Wishes,
-Luke

GAWnCA · 09/18/2008, 09:13 AM

Luke, What is the complete configuration of your lighting system and what parts did you order from your favorite place? Would you mind taking some photos and displaying them for us to see how you made up your lighting system? I play around with electronics to some extent and LEDs really interest me, even for overall lighting. Thyanks

Greg

DeathWish302 · 09/18/2008, 10:37 AM

Luke,

Thanks for letting me know you stepped down the shutter speed. That would definitely change my view on how many are needed to light my tank.

I viewed the Cutter site, but since I'm only ordering a small qty. at first the S/H isn't quite as low as I would like. I think www.ledsupply.com is where I'll pick up the Buckpuck and 2 XRE blues and 2 UV LEDs.

I'll maybe give the dealextreme blues a try and see how they hold up to the 700mA Buckpuck. This is really the experimentation phase anyway, as my lighting is always a work in progress.

On a side note, awesome tank setup Luke. Love the tank (especially the ballistics barrier liner), and the VFD is an amazing idea. This will definitely be a model for my next build when I find a more secure career than the automotive industry.

Thanks!

Frank

GAWnCA · 09/18/2008, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DeathWish302
Luke,

Thanks for letting me know you stepped down the shutter speed. That would definitely change my view on how many are needed to light my tank.

I viewed the Cutter site, but since I'm only ordering a small qty. at first the S/H isn't quite as low as I would like. I think www.ledsupply.com is where I'll pick up the Buckpuck and 2 XRE blues and 2 UV LEDs.

I'll maybe give the dealextreme blues a try and see how they hold up to the 700mA Buckpuck. This is really the experimentation phase anyway, as my lighting is always a work in progress.

On a side note, awesome tank setup Luke. Love the tank (especially the ballistics barrier liner), and the VFD is an amazing idea. This will definitely be a model for my next build when I find a more secure career than the automotive industry.

Thanks!

Frank

Hi Frank, Show us your LED build when you get started. As for a more stable career, don't look to the computer industry. My good paying network job went to India. ANd those jobs they can't export, they are importing workers.

Greg

SeanT · 09/20/2008, 02:29 PM

Are any of these LED's able to be focused in a tight enough beam to create shimmer lines in the water like halides?

evilc66 · 09/23/2008, 07:51 PM

You don't need to focus the light to get shimmer lines. LEDs are a point source and will create the shimmer, no matter what angle they are focused to.

DaveBien · 09/23/2008, 08:16 PM

I'm watching this tread, but I am totally LED clueless. And I mean TOTALLY.

DeathWish302 · 09/24/2008, 11:01 AM

My build is pending component arrival and final decision-making on witing orientation.

DW302

09/15/2008, 11:22 AM	#1
DeathWish302 Clown Hoarder Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Wixom, MI Posts: 1,603	CREE XLED & LED Drivers Questions??? Has anyone located an inexpensive, Waterproof LED Driver capable of driving the CREE XLED's? I'm looking for a complete ballast, due to not wanting this to turn into a 6 month electronics project right now. If so, can you supply the link? I know Luke (liveforphysics) has some HongKong units, but I'm not certain of where he located those. Also, www.Superbrightleds.com is the cheapest site i've found for the CREE XLED @ ~$11/pc for blue. Is there any cheaper sites? I only would like to experiment with3-6 at first, so Digikey is out for me as I saw their min. order was like 250. Thanks for any insight. DW302

09/15/2008, 11:45 AM	#2
stugray Premium Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Longmont, Co Posts: 4,566	Try: http://www.etgtech.com I am about to place an order for the 3W Cree XLEDs pre mounted to the "stars". Already mounted they are $10. They also provided me with a CC driver that works great & is only ~$30 if I remember right. I have also built my own ethernet controlled LED dimmer, but havent mounted it in a case yet. Stu __________________ Some people think that I have Attention Deficit Disorder. They just dont understand that........ Hey! Look a chicken! Well, We KNOW GOD exists, but for US to exist without a GOD is preposterous….Umm wait a minute…. Sounds a bit circular to me… Current Tank Info: 125 Gal. display w/80 gal mud/caulerpa sump. Basement sump w/ LED Grow Light,Gravity fed Reeflo200 skimmer w/ ORCA Recirc, DIY calc reactor & kalk stirrer. Inline plumbed 75 Gal frag/settling tank.

09/16/2008, 11:30 AM	#5
stugray Premium Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Longmont, Co Posts: 4,566	DeathWish302 "how many would I need to have an adequate "full-moon" moonlight look?" ..."thinking I will order 10 " Holy COW! I have been playing with just one of the 3 watt units & it is literally blinding @ 750mA! I plan on trying my 125 Gal with just 2 and expect to need to throttle them down. Just remember, most large tank owners use 3-4 of the OLD Led moonlights. These are Not the old low power LEDs. Stu __________________ Some people think that I have Attention Deficit Disorder. They just dont understand that........ Hey! Look a chicken! Well, We KNOW GOD exists, but for US to exist without a GOD is preposterous….Umm wait a minute…. Sounds a bit circular to me… Current Tank Info: 125 Gal. display w/80 gal mud/caulerpa sump. Basement sump w/ LED Grow Light,Gravity fed Reeflo200 skimmer w/ ORCA Recirc, DIY calc reactor & kalk stirrer. Inline plumbed 75 Gal frag/settling tank.

09/16/2008, 02:23 PM	#8
stugray Premium Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Longmont, Co Posts: 4,566	DeathWish302, I have not tried the lights on my tank yet. I ordered 5 so I can upgrade from 2 if I need to. From the pic of Luke's tank, it looks like he is using the collimating lenses which turns the LEDs into more of a spotlight. I intend to use the Crees without the lenses. Their viewing angle is 90 degrees, so two should illuminate the whole tank. I can try it tonight with the one cree I do have. Stu __________________ Some people think that I have Attention Deficit Disorder. They just dont understand that........ Hey! Look a chicken! Well, We KNOW GOD exists, but for US to exist without a GOD is preposterous….Umm wait a minute…. Sounds a bit circular to me… Current Tank Info: 125 Gal. display w/80 gal mud/caulerpa sump. Basement sump w/ LED Grow Light,Gravity fed Reeflo200 skimmer w/ ORCA Recirc, DIY calc reactor & kalk stirrer. Inline plumbed 75 Gal frag/settling tank.

09/18/2008, 08:19 AM	#13
liveforphysics Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: seattle WA Posts: 541	You are more than welcome to use my photos. To take that photo, I kept stepping down the shutter speed to darken the picture until you could clearly see the beams penetrating down into the water. If you take a photo at a normal shutter speed, it looks like a very bright and very blue tank. Half of my CREE led's are fitted with optics to narrow the angle of the beam, and half are not. I run a mix of 395nm UV leds and 460nm Cree LEDs. The LED's I first used were purchased from Deal extreme. They are Cree LED's but they are NOT the XR-E bin blue LEDs. They are a bin with <15lm@350mA. By buying a high bin of Cree XR-E series LED, you can cut the number of LEDs you need in half! This means only half the power draw and half the heat sinks and half the controlled current supplies, and the same amount of light generated. My new favorite place to buy Cree LED's is based in Australia, but they have fast economical shipping to the states. It's called Cutter electronics. Unlike other retailers, he sells the cutting edge premium efficiency bins of LED, generally the same day they release from Cree, and he doesn't have a whole lot of markup on them. http://www.cutter.com.au/products.php?cat=48 Best Wishes, -Luke __________________ Beauty and less nagging. The all natural Viagra alternative. :) Current Tank Info: 310gal SPS and others.

09/16/2008, 09:19 AM	#3
evilc66 Registered Member. Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 245	Superbrightleds is not a good place for XR-E's. The units they have there are only 1W LEDs. ETG is the cheapest place in the US to get them, but DealExtreme and Kaidomain are the cheapest overall, provided you can wait 3-4 weeks for it to ship (free shipping though!) Is there a real need for a waterproof driver? Why not remote mount it in an enclosure to protect it? If you can, the Luxdrive Buckpucks are a good solution as they have dimming capabilities. There is also the Xitanium line of drivers too.

09/16/2008, 11:15 AM	#4
DeathWish302 Clown Hoarder Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Wixom, MI Posts: 1,603	evilc66: Thank You for the links!!! Well, I was about to dive into a standard 5mm LED setup, but after viewing the CREE blues on www.dealextreme.com I'm going the CREE route. The below link will show why.... OMG!!!!! Click on Either Pic to the Left of this Link! So, now that I know what setup I'm planning to use I have a few questions. 1) With a Oceanic 58gal (36"Lx18"Wx21"H) how many would I need to have an adequate "full-moon" moonlight look? I'm thinking I will order 10 and can always throttle back later if needed. Any input to intensity through 21" of H2O? 2) Since the dealextreme site does not describe the CREE lot number, is there any other way to find the no. other than applying 350ma across the LED and measuring Vf? This would be a big factor in ordering the buckpuck..... I'm not so worried about the driving being waterproof. I'm just cautious in the event of a project case/outlet enclosure housing the electronics getting splashed and POOF goes the moonlights. Awesome Site, Awesome Price, Awesome to have the vast knowledge of so many RCers'!!!

09/16/2008, 11:41 AM	#6
DarkDevil Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Vacaville, CA Posts: 278	Check out here Just choose the right Wattage and Voltage, wire it up and that's it, simple.

09/16/2008, 01:47 PM	#7
DeathWish302 Clown Hoarder Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Wixom, MI Posts: 1,603	Stu, Well you definitely have brought it to my attention. I have seen the 5mm LEDs in a 2" spacing across an entire tank and was not impressed unless the room was pitch black. Since these CREE bad boys sound like they are easily brighter than my 12x1W 5mm LED flashlight, I agree only a couple for my tank. Have you noticed any dimming effects in your tank as the depth increases? I have viewed liveforphysics tank pic (Luke, I hope you don't mind). I'm a little concerned by his image, as he is using MULTIPLE CREE LEDs'. I just didn't want it to be too dim, that's why I chose a round number of 10. If I only need 2, maybe 3, the buckpuck is definitely the way to go..... Thanks all for the input. DW302

09/16/2008, 03:08 PM	#9
DeathWish302 Clown Hoarder Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Wixom, MI Posts: 1,603	Thanks Stu! I'll stay tuned for your response on the observation of one LED............

09/17/2008, 10:18 AM	#10
DeathWish302 Clown Hoarder Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Wixom, MI Posts: 1,603	Any others have experience with BLUE XR-E LEDS? If so, describe output (a pic is even better), exact BIN No. of LEDS & Qty. Thanks! DW302

09/17/2008, 01:53 PM	#11
MJDiP Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA (Buckhead) Posts: 175	Today's news regarding CREE LEDs: http://compoundsemiconductor.net/blo...tribution.html

09/18/2008, 07:25 AM	#12
GAWnCA Moved On Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 10	Another source for CREE LEDs. http://www.besthongkong.com/index.php?cPath=19_53

09/18/2008, 09:13 AM	#14
GAWnCA Moved On Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 10	Luke, What is the complete configuration of your lighting system and what parts did you order from your favorite place? Would you mind taking some photos and displaying them for us to see how you made up your lighting system? I play around with electronics to some extent and LEDs really interest me, even for overall lighting. Thyanks Greg

09/18/2008, 10:37 AM	#15
DeathWish302 Clown Hoarder Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Wixom, MI Posts: 1,603	Luke, Thanks for letting me know you stepped down the shutter speed. That would definitely change my view on how many are needed to light my tank. I viewed the Cutter site, but since I'm only ordering a small qty. at first the S/H isn't quite as low as I would like. I think www.ledsupply.com is where I'll pick up the Buckpuck and 2 XRE blues and 2 UV LEDs. I'll maybe give the dealextreme blues a try and see how they hold up to the 700mA Buckpuck. This is really the experimentation phase anyway, as my lighting is always a work in progress. On a side note, awesome tank setup Luke. Love the tank (especially the ballistics barrier liner), and the VFD is an amazing idea. This will definitely be a model for my next build when I find a more secure career than the automotive industry. Thanks! Frank

09/20/2008, 02:29 PM	#17
SeanT Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Wilmington, North Carolina Posts: 13,860	Are any of these LED's able to be focused in a tight enough beam to create shimmer lines in the water like halides? __________________ My tank was cool. Current Tank Info: Barebottom (the tank not me...at least not at the moment).

09/23/2008, 07:51 PM	#18
evilc66 Registered Member. Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 245	You don't need to focus the light to get shimmer lines. LEDs are a point source and will create the shimmer, no matter what angle they are focused to.

09/23/2008, 08:16 PM	#19
DaveBien Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Chicago area / DuPage Co Posts: 1,596	I'm watching this tread, but I am totally LED clueless. And I mean TOTALLY. __________________ Never wrestle with a pig, you'll just get muddy and besides the pig likes it !!! Recently retired aberrant antisocial behavior modificationist. Current Tank Info: Help the helpless, not the clueless. And yes that is a political opinion.

09/24/2008, 11:01 AM	#20
DeathWish302 Clown Hoarder Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Wixom, MI Posts: 1,603	My build is pending component arrival and final decision-making on witing orientation. DW302 __________________ -Frank Save 'Wild' Nemo and his Nem.! Would you transplant a Redwood b/c it looks good with birds in the backyard??? Buy CB fish and Captive-Cloned nems. Current Tank Info: 175gal. 3-tier Reef, 400W/250W Radiums, LED/CFL Par38 Mangrove Lagoon 12g Aquapod GBTA 'sterile' tank w/ DIY LED Lighting