Mr16

[jmccoh]

After hours of searching and reading, I found some great threads, discussions and development ideas on this LED spot. However, I have not been able figure out how anyone is successfully using these in their display.

Anybody willing to share how they are controlling these? Just on - off? Is dimming an option? Specific hardware you are using - Non-Lynx (sorry RJ but DMX is not an option for me at this time) - and the results.

Thanks,
Jim

[P. Short]

On-off is easy, just use a Grinch/595, feed the SSR with 12VAC, and maybe change the gate resistor to a smaller value (from 180 Ohm down to perhaps 18 or 22 Ohm). All of the AC/DC MR16 lights should be controllable this way.

For dimming, most MR16 LEDs can be controlled the same way. Use Lynx or Renard, change the SSR voltage to 12VAC, and perhaps change the gate resistor in the same way as described above. There are additional techniques that can be used, but this is the most straightforward.

There are some MR16 lights out there that are more difficult to dim, such as those from the second WireKat group buy over on PC (first and third buys are/will be of the easy-to-control variety). There are techniques for dimming these as well, but those can be discussed some other time/place if desired.

--

Phil

[mrpackethead]

There are some MR16 lights out there that are more difficult to dim, such as those from the second WireKat group buy over on PC (first and third buys are/will be of the easy-to-control variety). There are techniques for dimming these as well, but those can be discussed some other time/place if desired.
Phil

It all depends on what the drive circuitry is for the MR16.. Some include a cap on the input effectively smoothing out any dimming you do.. Some don't..

[jmccoh]

Thanks guys, I probably should have been more specific meaning MR16's from Wirekat's current group buy. Noticed today at Home Depot and Lowes that I can get from a 100 watt to a 600 watt landscape lighting transformer right off the shelf so there has to be plenty of options for the power source.

So I'll just buy them and then hit you guys up for more advice as this December draws near.

[P. Short]

Waiting until December draws near might not be a good idea. The sooner the better, especially if there are any difficulties that need attention.

--

Phil

[klanger]

isn't december drawing near already.lol

[crazylightlady]

I've used the MR-16 LED spots to color wash the facade of my house for the past two years. I use the D-Light DC boards with no problems in relation to fading, twinkle, shimmer or whatever. My first buy was from BestHongKong and athough the blue and green worked great, the reds and yellows were configured for AC. Since they're shipping charges were outlandish, I broke open the bulbs and rewired them for DC.

I will be looking at other controller options for my display this year as I'm 100% LED and they have quirks that need to be addressed before use.

[tconley]

Rj has been doing some testing with the Lynx board for dimming the MR-16's. His tests were promising. He was work on the issue of rangebecause there dimming range is much narrower. The lynx was capable of handeling this better because of the way he implement pwm. According to the post

http://www.doityourselfchristmas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1925

[rstehle]

On-off is easy, just use a Grinch/595, feed the SSR with 12VAC, and maybe change the gate resistor to a smaller value (from 180 Ohm down to perhaps 18 or 22 Ohm). All of the AC/DC MR16 lights should be controllable this way.

For dimming, most MR16 LEDs can be controlled the same way. Use Lynx or Renard, change the SSR voltage to 12VAC, and perhaps change the gate resistor in the same way as described above. There are additional techniques that can be used, but this is the most straightforward.

There are some MR16 lights out there that are more difficult to dim, such as those from the second WireKat group buy over on PC (first and third buys are/will be of the easy-to-control variety). There are techniques for dimming these as well, but those can be discussed some other time/place if desired.

--

Phil

Phil,
Just how would one go about using a ren 16 or ren 24 to control some of the MR16 LED spots? They are such low wattage that a bunch of them could be driven off of one channel, is there a way to have say 3 or 6 channels of a ren 16 output 12v?

[P. Short]

That should work, but try it and see. There is so much variation from lamp to lamp that it is hard to generalize right now.

--

Phil

[Macrosill]

I ran 21 MR16 led floods from the MR16 group buy off of my Ren-64s and standard relays. I did not change any hardware on the controllers or relays, left them as is. All I did was supply the relays with 24vac from a landscape lighting transformer instead of the usual 120vac. You can see their use in my Christmas Canon video (http://www.doityourselfchristmas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2190). Now the dimming range was narrow and there was some flicker at the lower levels. This can be overcome by swapping out the triacs to more sensitive ones. I have some testing data from last year and can provide that in a day or 2.