After 1/2 year of loathing & denial, a dedicated $25 15V 220W supply arrived.

Not described on the internet was that it had no IEC manes connector, no fan, no soft switch. It really was just a bare board with screw mounts.

Most of the board was empty, thus giving a very empty space in need of an enclosure. There was a trimpot for adjusting the voltage. The range was 13.5-18V. Fortunately, there was a spare manes connector from the dead 250 watter with ancient style screw holes.

After a day of fabricating, it had been enclosed in tupperware.



The screw mount was modified for easier cable routing. Be sure neutral & GND aren't shorted, live & neutral aren't reversed, the chassis is GND, & your manes are heat shrinked. Test without a load to adjust the pot.

After 6 months, the LEDs were back. They couldn't get as bright as before, because experimenting with PWM over drove them. You can't drive LEDs with PWM & get the same brightness as a DC voltage.
They were nowhere nearly as bright as a pair of 60W fluorescents, but the fluorescents drove PG&E from $100 to $130/month. Brighter results with LED strips would cost a lot more than edison mounted bulbs of any kind. The power supply is going to be expensive & maxed out.
Discussions
Become a Hackaday.io Member
Create an account to leave a comment. Already have an account? Log In.