I know of the buckblocks/buckpuck, taskled, and the shark boards, but those are all over $20 a pop.
looking for a cc driver , prefer a wide input/output voltage for future projects, and can dim via potentiometer.
extremely simplified schematic:
spelling intentional.
Voltage? Current?
simple answer: one or more xmls, so min 3v out, 3amp. for xml color one amp. any input voltage will work. I am not picky.
I was thinking running an xml(s) or xml color(s) as a semi- portable room flooder.
with the xml color, i need one driver for each die, at about one amp. I may want to daisy-chain more of them together for more brighness (max ~4, so about 3-14v out).
same for regular xml except 3 amps. I would Ideally like to be able to run the whole setup from whatever voltage is available, or a battery pack.
a preemptive thank you is in order.
I have one of these modules for charging 4.35V batteries.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-DC-DC-Buck-Converter-Module-LM2596-Constant-Current-Voltage-Adjustable-Module-/221360386719?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item338a1b729f
There is also a thread here which is about using it as a liion charger.
Never tried to power a led with it but it immidiately came to my mind. it is cheap, constant current wide input range and comes with a pot.
Are you set against using PWM and a potentiometer for variable brightness?
I would much prefer not, because I want to crank it down to sub lumen levels, and don’t want to see any pwm at all. even if it is a high frequency. (just my nitpicking). I also want the option of using flex sensors, photoresistors, temp sensors, and the like to control it should I want to.
on the flipside, if I decide to ever control any rgbw project with a microcontroller, I might be able to use the pwm output with a big enough capacitor to smooth it out to a sudo-analog level, giving me more control over the color mixing.
I don’t know of any right off hand. You might have to make your own or try the options you listed above?
https://www.google.com/search?q=analog+potentiometer+variable+current&biw=1366&bih=683&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=iP_8Up6yFO6uyAHa-4DICA&ved=0CCQQsAQ
will start my search anew, focusing on which chip can do what, will report back for future reference.