Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff
Testing LED light strip
ozcar:
You have mentioned "driver" several times in this thread. I hope you mean "12V power supply", and not something that can flash or dim the LEDs.
--- Quote from: DW1961 on August 09, 2020, 08:58:10 pm ---
So I have to measure the RGB all together to get max amps. Otherwise, it would just be one color at a time.
--- End quote ---
The manual I could find for your motherboard simply says "2A". If I had written something like that, I would have made it 100% clear whether that was 2A in total, or 2A per channel. In absence of something more definitive, I would take it as meaning 2/3A max for each individual channel (which is more strict than saying 2A in total).
So, while you are about it, check the total and each individual channel. Not that I really expect there to be a big difference between the channels, but a little bit of sanity checking is not a bad thing. The total should be the sum of the three individual readings (provided your power supply keeps the voltage constant).
At one point you mentioned using only 2.5ft of strip, which you said was 36 LEDs. That does not add up, as the strip you got has 60 LEDs per meter, so 2.5ft of it would be 45 LEDs, but either way that should be less than 1A total.
--- Quote from: DW1961 on August 09, 2020, 08:58:10 pm ---
12+ RGB strip"
+ driver---DMM--12+ strip --->
- driver<-- (together, with 3 wires)--RGB side of strip<--
--- End quote ---
??? ?
To get the LEDs to light up, the positive side of the power supply has to go to the common 12+ on the strip, and the negative side of the power supply has to go to the R, G, and B lines on the strip (clearly, if you want only one colour to light up, only connect that one line, if you want all three to light up, connect all three of them together and to the power supply negative.
Once you can do that, then all you have to do is break one of the connections to the power supply, as Zero999 said either the negative or the positive, and insert your meter in series in that wire.
DW1961:
--- Quote from: Zero999 on August 09, 2020, 09:21:49 pm ---It doesn't matter whether you measure the current of all of them separately and add the currents together, or all simultaneously.
--- End quote ---
It would matter for total current because if I measured, for instance, 12+ and the green only circuit, that would not draw full power. They would all (RG&B) have to be on. At least, that's how I understand it.
DW1961:
--- Quote from: ozcar on August 09, 2020, 10:06:05 pm ---You have mentioned "driver" several times in this thread. I hope you mean "12V power supply", and not something that can flash or dim the LEDs.
--- Quote from: DW1961 on August 09, 2020, 08:58:10 pm ---
So I have to measure the RGB all together to get max amps. Otherwise, it would just be one color at a time.
--- End quote ---
The manual I could find for your motherboard simply says "2A". If I had written something like that, I would have made it 100% clear whether that was 2A in total, or 2A per channel. In absence of something more definitive, I would take it as meaning 2/3A max for each individual channel (which is more strict than saying 2A in total).
So, while you are about it, check the total and each individual channel. Not that I really expect there to be a big difference between the channels, but a little bit of sanity checking is not a bad thing. The total should be the sum of the three individual readings (provided your power supply keeps the voltage constant).
At one point you mentioned using only 2.5ft of strip, which you said was 36 LEDs. That does not add up, as the strip you got has 60 LEDs per meter, so 2.5ft of it would be 45 LEDs, but either way that should be less than 1A total.
--- Quote from: DW1961 on August 09, 2020, 08:58:10 pm ---
12+ RGB strip"
+ driver---DMM--12+ strip --->
- driver<-- (together, with 3 wires)--RGB side of strip<--
--- End quote ---
??? ?
To get the LEDs to light up, the positive side of the power supply has to go to the common 12+ on the strip, and the negative side of the power supply has to go to the R, G, and B lines on the strip (clearly, if you want only one colour to light up, only connect that one line, if you want all three to light up, connect all three of them together and to the power supply negative.
Once you can do that, then all you have to do is break one of the connections to the power supply, as Zero999 said either the negative or the positive, and insert your meter in series in that wire.
--- End quote ---
Yes Driver = 12V PSU
It's 2Amps total. I contact Gigabyte.
It was more like 2' but maximum I was going to use was 2.5'. So, between 36 and 45 5050 SMDs.
Yep, got that on the current test. Probably going to set that all up tonight and then start cutting and soldering. My motherboard was lost by UPS in transit back to the repair facility and they are now trying too find it. Hopefully they can't find it and will just cut me a check so I can get my F-ing rig back together. In the mean time, I might as well make my strips again, and test them before installation.
ozcar:
--- Quote from: DW1961 on August 09, 2020, 11:17:28 pm ---
It's 2Amps total. I contact Gigabyte.
--- End quote ---
So it is OK to draw 2A from the first channel, as long as you draw 0A from the other two?
I know that is not your intention - I'm just saying that "2A total" still leaves some doubt as to exactly what it means.
DW1961:
--- Quote from: ozcar on August 09, 2020, 11:33:02 pm ---
--- Quote from: DW1961 on August 09, 2020, 11:17:28 pm ---
It's 2Amps total. I contact Gigabyte.
--- End quote ---
So it is OK to draw 2A from the first channel, as long as you draw 0A from the other two?
I know that is not your intention - I'm just saying that "2A total" still leaves some doubt as to exactly what it means.
--- End quote ---
Point well taken. lol. That's probably why it has a length restriction too. I'm also assuming that the 12v+ side is out toward the edge of the board, but they don't specify that.
The length restriction is "maximum of 2 meters." Using a 5050 watts of .21 each max and 300 5050SMDs per 5 meters, 2 meters is right at 2 Amps. So, if you ran all blue, it would be farr below 2 amps for that one channel. I think B and G take less at full power, and R takes a little more more power.
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