What controller to use??

[MSL]

Hi All,

I got into the ACL Strobe Light Group Buy. The strobes use 5vdc. I am using LOR and Lynx Express equipment that puts out 120 volts (ac) (I am in the US).

I looked out on the Wiki for controllers that put out 5vdc. The only 5vdc controller listed is LOR's CMB-16D.

Is that the only controller that can be used?

I saw a post that a "Grinch" was used. The only "Grinch" I know of is on DIY Light Animation. I don't think they sell the PCB's anymore.

What controller is everyone going to be (or has been) using to run the ACL Strobe Light and where can I find it?

Mark

 

[fasteddy]

The simple and cheap solution is to just use a 120v relay from any of your controllers and just use the one channel as you dont need dimming so its only an on and off you require which is the way I did mine last year.
The strobes have a trigger circuit so in reality you could have well over a 1000 of them running from one channel through a relay. So you dont need a relay with a high current rating.

 

[Bird]

Eddy .. thats a good idea .. I knew we kept you around here for a reason

 

[Skunberg]

I'm using the Ren48LSD. This board is from DIYC for support and development info. For sale as a kit from DIY LED Express. It can be programed as Renard or DMX.

Brian

 

[budude]

Well - - I'm biased, but I also use the Ren48LSD. I use the hard-wired trigger version of the ACL strobe and just supply the power on/off. Worst case they draw up to 100mA (assuming all flash at full power at exactly the same time which is unlikely) each so I use a piece of Cat5 and use a twisted pair to a single strobe but tie up the other end together - so basically a 1 to 4 setup and use a maximum of 400mA (again worst case...). I then bundle four of these together to a single RJ45 to the Ren48LSD so I get 16 strobes per RJ45 port. You could add more but I had plenty of ports to use. I ended up with 96 strobes on 6 of the ports and then used the other 6 ports for some floods at 12v (it supports two different supply voltages). I plan to use the same setup this year.

 

[fasteddy]

Unless you are wanting to run other DC controlled gear then i wouldnt waste your money on any controller if its just the strobes you plan to run in DC. i would just use the relay method from your existing Ac controller as i mentioned earlier.
Now if you were wanting to also run other DC lighting or seperatly control sections of strobes then depending on what else you want to run would help determine the best DC controller choice for you

 

[MSL]

Thanks to all who responded. I think I will be using the relay as it seems to be the simplest.

Any ideas on a power supply for the strobes?

Mark

 

[fasteddy]

I just used a cheap simple 100 watt 5vdc power supply from Ray Wu

http://www.aliexpress.com/fm-store/701799/209855560-289599786/100W-Dual-Output-Switching-Power-Supply-88-264VAC-input-5V-100W-output-CE-and-ROHS-approved.html