Types:
Buck: Driver uses an inductor to decrease the voltage, input current is less than output current.
Boost: Driver uses an inductor to increase the voltage, input current is larger than output current.
Linear: Driver uses a linear chip (like 7135) to reduce the voltage, input current is the same as output current*.
Direct: No current regulation (except resistance) is present, input current is the same as output current*.
All driver types can use pwm for brightness regulation, the first 3 can also use linear regulation.
*Except for current for the control circuit.
It is possible to copy the table to a spreadsheet and sort on different columns.
Any comments?
Great work, very interesting, thank you. Is there a way to monitor the driver temperature during testing? I would be interested to see what performance drop there would be due to high temps, also the performance gains when heatsinked well. Or maybe point out which drivers are more temperature sensitive than others.
Now I am just waiting for the drivers to arrive, the led test modules are ready:
The wires and current test resistor adds about 11mOhm resistance, i.e. at 3A I will have an error of 0.033 volt. I expect there are more variations between leds than that.
Oohh. and please publish the KK 4200 battery review before you get your hands full with all these drivers. Im into buying some cells sooner than I though. Would be nice to see a review before I pull the trigger!
BTW, really looking forward to see these driver circuit reviews! So in advance, thank you for doing them! :)
Btw, what kind of emitters will you be testing them with?
Test the 3-18V driver. Its got very slow mode change. You will probably notice it out.. With a normally fast 5 mode, you could get to the mode you wanted way faster, and without any pause. I just remember the driver as being very slow. I don't have it any longer. Not that tempted to buy it either due to the slowness and PWM whine.
Not only is it on the list, but its also on the picture.
Considering that is just another nanjg 7135 based driver its probably no surprises to be found in terms of efficiency and such. The Nanjg 105C from FT have already been tested, and the driver HKJ tested looked like it had 380mA regulators. Whatever it had, expect same efficiency.
Slight PWM on high have been measured by some on the Qlite, so output might be around 1% lower on high? In real life its the same, only nicer due to programming. :) Best single cell driver out there for the price. Only little complaint is the mode memory, which seems to be momorized after around 2+ seconds of on time. Im not sure if that is just the way all those nanjg 105C type drivers have to work, or if it can be optimized through software.
Personally, I prefer a mode memory that sets almost instantly after being off.
HKJ, would be nice if you tested how mode-memory worked on the different drivers. Does it memorize the mode after being on for a certain time, or off? How much time does it take to save the mode to the memory?
In general, would be nice to know exactly how the low voltage warning works on drivers with that feature. :)
Providing pictures to a driver, will make it easier for me to check if it is included. I have not tested any driver called "Q-Lite 3.04A", but I have one in queue called "Qlite Rev.A 7135x8 Multiple Modes"
I am checking that, but I will not be measuring it in seconds, only stuff like: fast or slow.
Any step down feature will be clearly visible in the curves, but the curves might miss fast flashes with some time between. If the description of the driver includes information about it, I will check for it.
It is still ok to post wishes for other drivers to test, but it will be some time before I will get to them. The best way to ask for a test, is to post a link to the driver in a shop.