Update Oct 3: PD68 TripleDown/TripleStack - Tri-Channel Driver

Izombie · July 6, 2016, 1:03pm

Sorry for the basic question,

Is there a driver that has a PWM above 8 kilohertz? I would like to shoot video with flashlights, but the pwm flicker isn’t good. Thanks.

LightRider · July 6, 2016, 1:54pm

Like this? NLITE, a free firmware for NANJG drivers

ToyKeeper · July 7, 2016, 1:29am

Nearly every firmware in the repository has PWM above 8 kHz. Click the link in my signature for more information.

finges · July 17, 2016, 5:59pm

Thanks to HarleyQuins SRK driver I now have a working e-switch firmware for this driver

github.com

HarleyQuin/Flashlight-Firmware/blob/master/STAR_momentary_BLF_SRK_16.c

// Three-Channel Momentary Firmware for ATtiny13A
// based on STAR Momentary by JohnnyC v.1.6 (Feb 2016)
// this firmware is provided as-is with no warranty whatsoever and
// without even the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose

 /*                             -----
 *                      Reset -|1   8|- VCC
 *  (Mom.Switch) (Star 4) PB3 -|2   7|- PB2 (Voltage ADC)
 *  (Triple-PWM) (Star 3) PB4 -|3   6|- PB1 (PWM)
 *                        GND -|4   5|- PB0 (Star 2) (Alt-PWM)
 *                              -----
 * FUSES
 *		Low:  0x75	(4.8MHz :1)		0x6a  (9.6MHz :8)
 *		High: 0xff
 * VOLTAGE
 *		Resistor values for voltage divider (reference BLF-VLD README for more info)
 *		Reference voltage can be anywhere from 1.0 to 1.2, so this cannot be all that accurate
 *           VCC
 *            |
 *           Vd (~.25 v drop from protection diode)

This file has been truncated. show original

LightRider · July 21, 2016, 12:44am

I have the 20mm Rev2z board. If I am using a single cell, do I need to populate the zener pad?

LightRider · July 21, 2016, 4:24pm

Anyone know? I didn’t think it needed the zener if using with one cell. But I see that the new blf fet+1 includes a zener even when used with one cell. So IDK?

LightRider · July 21, 2016, 5:05pm

Never mind. I determined I don’t need it.

LightRider · July 21, 2016, 8:00pm

Well I build my first driver for good or for worst… Now I’m trying to sort through bistro triple down so I can flash it to this driver. This is the version optimized for two less, but I’m going to use all three channels on one xpl hi.

pilotdog68 · July 21, 2016, 8:38pm

I know it’s late but none of my driver boards should need the Zener for single-cell.

I hope it works out for you!

LightRider · July 21, 2016, 9:24pm

Pilotdog68, under the 7135 on the top of the board is the trace that can be cut to separate the 7135s on the back from the fet on the front. The trace is small, would that small trace carry the current ok? It’s probably common, but I never thought about how much current goes through these traces til now.

LightRider · July 21, 2016, 10:34pm

Ahh man… This is hard! I have so many questions :confounded:
I just realized I need to change the pin layout in tks bistro tripledown firmware. The layouts between board versions are a bit different. Do I just start changing pin labels in the attiny.h file?

ToyKeeper · July 21, 2016, 10:52pm

You would probably need to change a few lines in tk-attiny.h in the section about “TRIPLEDOWN_LAYOUT”.

It may help to have the attiny reference manual open, to see which pins have which internal names.

Also note that the PWM on pins 5/6 works a bit differently than on pins 2/3, so you may also need to edit the first page of main() if you move any parts from one of those groups to the other.

LightRider · July 21, 2016, 11:48pm

Ok. I wil give it a try. Thanks!

LightRider · July 22, 2016, 12:23am

So… In the attiny.h file do I need to mess with the output compare register if I change the pins? All three pins need changing. FET is on pin6, 8x7135s on pin5, and 1x7135 is on pin3.

And also, In the .c file, do I need to mess with the PWM counter in some way?

ToyKeeper · July 23, 2016, 7:14am

Let’s see… I think you can just rotate the assignment of names to values like this…

#define PWM_PIN     PB0     // pin 5, 6x7135 PWM
#define PWM_LVL     OCR0A   // OCR0B is the output compare register for PB0
#define ALT_PWM_PIN PB4     // pin 3, 1x7135 PWM
#define ALT_PWM_LVL OCR1B   // OCR0A is the output compare register for PB4
#define FET_PWM_PIN PB1     // pin 6
#define FET_PWM_LVL OCR0B   // output compare register for PB1

… and then I think it should work. But with 1x7135 on pin 3 (second PWM counter), your moon mode is probably going to suck. IIRC, that channel is locked at 31 kHz but moon usually needs to be significantly slower than that. If the lowest PWM level is too low, you’ll need to recalculate the ramps. And the lowest levels will probably still be more voltage-sensitive due to the short pulse time.

LightRider · July 23, 2016, 1:15pm

Thank you TK! I will give it a try.

pilotdog68 · August 19, 2016, 5:24am

Introducing the TripleStack.

I am getting tired of springs not fitting on the little pad in the middle of the 17mm drivers, so I’m going to give this a try.

It’s basically a TripleDown Rev1 with some of the parts/configuration added that DEL has found give greater stability. It’s also only 15.5mm wide, which should fit inside the pill of a light that takes a 17mm driver (as long as the pill is tall enough too). The idea is that you then use a 17mm contact board, which is also linked below, allowing a normal sized spring to be used. Building it will be tight, but I was able to keep the components as all 0805 size. You should order the driver board in the 2oz/0.8mm option.

I’m also copying the info for my X2R adaptation from the other thread:

Alright, I’m about ready to place the first order as long as nobody finds any errors. It’s wired mostly the same as a TripleDown so it will work with the same firmware as the other TripleDown and Texas Avenger boards. The only differences are the addition of R3, which DEL found to greatly help stability, and the smaller LFPAK33 FET. The third pin on the X2R isn’t needed so I omitted it to save space. I am relying on the 2 other pins to carry all of the Batt+ and GND current, which is not ideal but I think will be fine for single emitters. I couldn’t see any way to fit bypass holes. The large exposed pad on the bottom is directly above where the micro-usb port is on the charger; the thought is that we might get a bit lower resistance by using that as an extra ground point.

Oshpark Order Link
I highly recommend ordering with the 0.8mm thickness option.

Texas_Ace · August 19, 2016, 10:55am

Interesting idea. I have had some slave boards for awhile that I have considered using in place of the backside 7135’s but never actually tried it yet.

Tom_E · August 19, 2016, 12:49pm

Nice PD68!! Soon to be ordered

pilotdog68 · August 19, 2016, 1:16pm

I should add, there are non-ground pads very close to the edge, so before inserting in a pill you will probably want to wrap some kapton around the circumference