Just looking for some help.
Im thinking of adding a resistor to the driver of my Archon M30A but not sure if it will work.
Please see the picture of the driver.
Do you think if I add another resistor next to the R200 (next to the letters R4)
Bumpity, I can't tell but I will bump this to the front page so it gets answered. :)
Look on the other side of the pcb, if it is connected one isde to the other like existing resistor then it will allow more current to flow by adding another resistor.
See what the led can be driven at, what your supply is etc and go from there.
It looks to have one resistor space for the very purpose.
BUMP!!!
Short Answer:
Yes, it looks like R4 and R5 are in parallel, so adding another resistor will increase current.
Medium Answer:
Adding another R200 (200 milliOhm) would double whatever current it is now putting out. Adding an R400 (400 milliOhm) would add 50% more current. The pattern continues.
Long Answer:
Adding resistors to increase current on that driver doesn’t look to be a super great idea. That’s a very small inductor and SS14 diodes are only rated for 1.0 Amp of current. I see lots of parts on that board that probably can’t handle much more current than they’re currently dealing with. Such is the problem with resistor mods - Just because current can be increased doesn’t mean that current can be safely increased.
You can give this a try, but I think it’s fairly likely that the driver will cook itself to death if you do.
PPtk
Thanks for the bump guys.
That’s a shame! I thought that it would be a cheap and useful mod.
But I trust pptk, and will not double the current.
Thread closed
PPtk is the man! Good call on that one. If it were mine, I probably would've fried the driver by now.
Next obvious question: Would it be possible to replace the inductor and SS14 diode to something that could handle more current?
Those magnetic ring control lights are nice, problem is doing driver swaps is really impossible.
I guess you could run a resistor directly from the battery to the LED which will spare the driver and lessen its control range but will shorten the life of the LED. The extra brightness might be worth it to you.
The brightness/life tradeoff for LEDs is probably on the Net somewhere as a PDF file. I know for wire insulation the life is halved by each 10C increase in temperature.
BTW, the datasheet for this Cree LED does not show life vs. LED temperature so I’m curious where the 100,000 hr life came from.
From
“The shelf life of LED in sealed bag is 12 months.” but heating apparently prolongs this life.
I’d have to see much better pictures of the driver in order to give any reasonable answer to this. The inductor and SS14 were just two examples - there are yet other parts to think about - the MosFet(s) being highest on the list.
PPtk