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How to know if LED driver is potentiometer dimmable?

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    How to know if LED driver is potentiometer dimmable?

    Hi!

    I am looking to dimm 230V AC -> 12 DC LED driver with potentiometer. How do I know if I can dimm LED driver with potentiometer? I found from internet that 0-10V dimmable drivers can also be controlled with potentiometer. Is it so with every driver that says it is 0-10V dimmable? Or how do I know which are and which are not?

    #2
    Re: How to know if LED driver is potentiometer dimmable?

    answer is: the driver's specs will tell you.

    You typically cannot dim with a potentiometer due to the losses involved in it when passing current unless it has a special connector for a dimmer potentiometer.

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      #3
      Re: How to know if LED driver is potentiometer dimmable?

      How does it look like in specs? Do I need to read entire manual or does it say it plainly in specs? I cant find this anywhere when I look at products. I am currently trying to figure out if shops in my area just dont list this in specs or if I just dont know what to look for.

      Comment


        #4
        Re: How to know if LED driver is potentiometer dimmable?

        What drivers are you looking at or what LEDs are you trying to drive ?
        You can use any 12v power supply along with a PWM controller to limit current. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32843955706.html

        Comment


          #5
          Re: How to know if LED driver is potentiometer dimmable?

          Originally posted by diif View Post
          What drivers are you looking at or what LEDs are you trying to drive ?
          You can use any 12v power supply along with a PWM controller to limit current. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32843955706.html
          Thank you for posting this item I have been looking for something that would go up to 60 volts
          9 PC LCD Monitor
          6 LCD Flat Screen TV
          30 Desk Top Switching Power Supply
          10 Battery Charger Switching Power Supply for Power Tool
          6 18v Lithium Battery Power Boards for Tool Battery Packs
          1 XBox 360 Switching Power Supply and M Board
          25 Servo Drives 220/460 3 Phase
          6 De-soldering Station Switching Power Supply 1 Power Supply
          1 Dell Mother Board
          15 Computer Power Supply
          1 HP Printer Supply & Control Board * lighting finished it *


          These two repairs where found with a ESR meter...> Temp at 50*F then at 90*F the ESR reading more than 10%

          1 Over Head Crane Current Sensing Board ( VFD Failure Five Years Later )
          2 Hem Saw Computer Stack Board

          All of these had CAPs POOF
          All of the mosfet that are taken out by bad caps

          Comment


            #6
            Re: How to know if LED driver is potentiometer dimmable?

            One more question, if I want to use led powersupply/driver with actual dimmer instead of potentiometer as asked earler? Does every model support it or should I assume that if specs dont mention dimming then it does not work with dimmer?

            What drivers are you looking at or what LEDs are you trying to drive ?
            LED strips.

            You can use any 12v power supply along with a PWM controller to limit current. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32843955706.html
            How does it exactly work? It says it's for motors.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: How to know if LED driver is potentiometer dimmable?

              Originally posted by LearningToRepair View Post
              One more question, if I want to use led powersupply/driver with actual dimmer instead of potentiometer as asked earler? Does every model support it or should I assume that if specs dont mention dimming then it does not work with dimmer?


              LED strips.


              How does it exactly work? It says it's for motors.
              It just a current controller, which is what you want to control the brightness of LEDs, ideally you want to use a clamp meter to measure the current so their power rating isn't exceeded.

              When you say LED strips do you mean the 5m rolls of white or coloured LEDs ? They are powered with a generic wall power supply and have a controller that plugs into that that does the dimming/colour change, controlled via a remote or phone app.

              Comment


                #8
                Re: How to know if LED driver is potentiometer dimmable?

                Yes, 5m rolls.

                But how does this aliexpress controller work that was linked above? Does it go between power supply and LED strip? Or do I have to open power supply and somehow modify it so that IC would get it's feedback from that instead of voltage divider resistor or what? It's kinda confusing me. I mean most of general purpose power supplies dont have sockets for external current controllers.

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                  #9
                  Re: How to know if LED driver is potentiometer dimmable?

                  It would be much easier for you to get a kit from Ali with the power supply, controller and remote. Just put in LED strip controller into their search.

                  My previous link is a cheap way to drive larger panels.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: How to know if LED driver is potentiometer dimmable?

                    Originally posted by diif View Post
                    It would be much easier for you to get a kit from Ali with the power supply, controller and remote. Just put in LED strip controller into their search.

                    My previous link is a cheap way to drive larger panels.
                    Since you mentioned a new way that I have not heard before I wanted to know how it works from technical side. Whether or not I use is not important. Just wanna know how it works. Does it replace IC? Does it inject some code modifications to IC? Does it require led driver to have special connector to talk to it or how does it work?

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                      #11
                      Re: How to know if LED driver is potentiometer dimmable?

                      The inputs connect to the + and - of a power supply and the outputs go to the LED.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: How to know if LED driver is potentiometer dimmable?

                        Ah ok tnx. Then it's basically a step down converter? Or what's the exact difference? Why is it sold under speed control name instead of step down? And if for example I had motor and I used step down instead of this speed controller, would there be any difference? Just trying to understand how it works and how it is different from other similar stuff.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: How to know if LED driver is potentiometer dimmable?

                          No, it doesn't step down the voltage it controls the current.
                          The step down modules have crappy little multi turn potentiometers, they can be used but are fiddly and not easily adjusted. The current controllers have a decent sized single turn pot.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: How to know if LED driver is potentiometer dimmable?

                            But output is still smooth DC? So basically step-down with single turn current control potentiometers?

                            Also how does this thing work? https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32873844140.html Is there any technical difference compared to speed control? searching for it the internet seems to reveal that it has no capacitors so I guess it's quite bad? Basically an other version of step-down but this time just without capacitors?

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: How to know if LED driver is potentiometer dimmable?

                              No, not basically step down. It does not alter the voltage. Step up and step down refer to the voltage being either stepped up or down.

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