# LED driver - where to buy



## kamal (Apr 21, 2009)

Hi All, 

I ordered some 10 x 3w leds from ebay as a test case but now I need to buy the other equipment 

Where is the cheapest place to buy the additional equipment? This does not need to be a dimmable setup as I want to do it on the cheap. 

Heat sink
driver

Thanks y'all


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

I got all my LED stuff from eBay.

heatsinks: http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120966811361#ht_5711wt_952

Cheap driver: http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251123517135#ht_2729wt_952

manual dimmer: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/200771826699?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_5405wt_1186


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## kamal (Apr 21, 2009)

50seven said:


> I got all my LED stuff from eBay.
> 
> heatsinks: http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120966811361#ht_5711wt_952
> 
> ...


that's a result! thankyou Sir


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

kamal said:


> that's a result! thankyou Sir


 That's why the forum is here...

Have fun!!!


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## gtafragger (Jul 27, 2012)

Personally I would go on the safe side and get them from rapidled.com That would be your best bet as far as quality because they also have a warranty!


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## msobon (Dec 7, 2011)

kamal said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I ordered some 10 x 3w leds from ebay as a test case but now I need to buy the other equipment
> 
> ...


You may want to give a little more info on the LEDs, each LED has specific voltage range/ Max Amperage

The links that someone posted on ebay are for a 12v, 5A if those LEDs are Cree, you will need to get a different drver unless you plan to do some fancy parallel runs which are a lot more work IMO


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

msobon said:


> You may want to give a little more info on the LEDs, each LED has specific voltage range/ Max Amperage
> 
> The links that someone posted on ebay are for a 12v, 5A if those LEDs are Cree, you will need to get a different drver unless you plan to do some fancy parallel runs which are a lot more work IMO


What he said.

If you haven't worked with LED's or basic electronic circuit wiring, be prepared to pop a few LED's while you ramp up on the learning curve.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

50seven's links are interesting. I need to look into those.

In the past I used this place for one stop source for all LED DIY needs - http://www.aquastyleonline.com/

I would say worth checking out.


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## kamal (Apr 21, 2009)

Ok well I hope I didnt throw a couple of dollars (read $4) down the toilet lol 

Forward voltage: 3.2-3.6V

Forward current: 750mA

Would the driver in the link be appropriate? I would rather learn on the board first before i then pop some led's


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

kamal said:


> Ok well I hope I didnt throw a couple of dollars (read $4) down the toilet lol
> 
> Forward voltage: 3.2-3.6V
> 
> ...


You'd need 4 of the LEDs in series as the driver supplies constant 12VDC, otherwise the LED could burn out as the driver can supply up to 5A.


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

conix67 said:


> You'd need 4 of the LEDs in series as the driver supplies constant 12VDC, otherwise the LED could burn out as the driver can supply up to 5A.


I actually find that they run better on parallel loops of 3 bulbs each; the brightness isn't quite there all the way with a string of 4. There drivers, which are actually designed more for the strip LED lights, have a small potentiometer that will allow you to adjust the output voltage from around 11 volts to 13 volts


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

50seven said:


> I actually find that they run better on parallel loops of 3 bulbs each; the brightness isn't quite there all the way with a string of 4. There drivers, which are actually designed more for the strip LED lights, have a small potentiometer that will allow you to adjust the output voltage from around 11 volts to 13 volts


You mean 3 LEDs in parallel with each with its own resistor to limit current?

Actually I forgot to mention, most LED drivers act as a current source, which means limiting the current going through each LED is what's critical. You can determine correct resistor based on supply voltage and number of LEDs you have in series.

It's usually just easier and safer to find a good matching driver.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Just do it the easy way.

http://www.rapidled.com/0-10v-dimmable-nano-driver/

I own one of these and live by it, and the company!
Words cannot describe their customer service, and the driver I bought is fairly small and well built. I'm running one of these now as a supplement light for my 20g in a series of 8 LED's [email protected] and it works with no fuss.


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## kamal (Apr 21, 2009)

conix67 said:


> You mean 3 LEDs in parallel with each with its own resistor to limit current?
> 
> Actually I forgot to mention, most LED drivers act as a current source, which means limiting the current going through each LED is what's critical. You can determine correct resistor based on supply voltage and number of LEDs you have in series.
> 
> It's usually just easier and safer to find a good matching driver.


Thank you for the input. So if I am running 10 of the leds as I described earlier what what define a good match for a driver?

Apologies for the laymans terms I am a newbie to DIY led's


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

kamal said:


> Thank you for the input. So if I am running 10 of the leds as I described earlier what what define a good match for a driver?
> 
> Apologies for the laymans terms I am a newbie to DIY led's


If you get what Altcharater posted your problem is solved as it can drive up to 10 LEDs.


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