Reef Discussion

[DavidS]

Looking for expressions of interest at this stage. If this were to go ahead it would probably need to be January.

The Typhon is an arduino based LED controller board. I wrote a review about the original release of the board here www.thereefuge.com.au/threads/typhon-led-controller-review.1295/ back in 2011.
They are reasonably programmable with maximum intensity and 4 channel light ramping, etc. They are a PWM dimming controller, so your drivers need to support PWM.
http://shop.stevesleds.com/Typhon-Typhoon-LED-Controller-Typhon.htm

These are a really functional and easy to use controller, and would be a great addition to use with the DIY driver boards that a number of people have been building.

I've been in contact with StevesLEDs as these guys make their own enclosures for this board as well, so buying from these guys seems more logical this time around. Anyone who has previous experience with a Typhon and trying to build functional enclosures knows why this is a good idea ;)

I have suggested that we could do without the 12v power supply as those US power supplies become a bit messy with adaptors, and they never seem to hold on as well as they could. You can buy suitable power supplies on eBay or from an electronics shop for a bit over $10. A good adaptor costs as much as a the power supply should. If there's enough interest in making that part of the GB (I doubt it, but worth asking), I can see if I can source them as well.

Pricing:
Typhon - US$47.99 - we can get a 20% discount if we can order 20+ of these units. So that would make them US$38.40
Enclousures - US$27.99 - over 5 units will be US$24.99 each. They don't discount these hard as they hand build the enclosures.
Sub total: US$66.39 for a typhon + enclosure (US$11.59 cheaper than their site pricing).

Landing them is the real saving here - we can get all of it for US$60, so this can be split over the number of units. We'll need to see final numbers to work this out.
Distribution here - we may be able to work out a couple of collection points for Vic folk, or otherwise we'll just use Aussie Post 500g satchels for $8.25.

 

[DavidS]

To start this off, I need 2 controllers + enclosures.

 

[Sam Parker]

I'll take 2 controllers and 3 enclosures.
Sam

P.S. Thanks David for setting this up and doing the leg work - appreciate it mate!

 

[Buddy]

I'll grab 1 enclosure Thanks.

 

[Sam Parker]

Also - I would be interested in grabbing a handfull of LED's, a couple of CC's of thermal adhesive and lenses too whilst the order is being made. (if possible?)

 

[DavidS]

Also - I would be interested in grabbing a handfull of LED's, a couple of CC's of thermal adhesive and lenses too whilst the order is being made. (if possible?)

Should be achievable.

 

[DavidS]

Assuming we don't get the numbers that we need - I'll go back to them with whatever numbers we get and see what kind of deal we can actually get.
We probably need to come up with a cutoff date here - I'm thinking either 9th Jan or 23rd Jan if that would better suit everyone to get past the money pit that is Christmas. Thoughts?

 

[Synodontis]

Controllers, enclosures & now off to check out the site :)

 

[Sam Parker]

lets not wait that long? Another week or so?

 

[DavidS]

lets not wait that long? Another week or so?

With international post that close to Christmas & new year, I'm not sure it's going to make much difference waiting till January.
...and it may not be a great time to be trying a rushed GB when most peoples finances are likely to be tied up with Christmas.

 

[Sam Parker]

fair enough :)

 

[holly]

Forgive my durp question, but where in the chain of lights to power supply would these go? Could I rig one up between a LED light strip and the power supply?

If this is still on I'd be potentially keen on two + enclosures.

 

[DavidS]

Forgive my durp question, but where in the chain of lights to power supply would these go? Could I rig one up between a LED light strip and the power supply?

If this is still on I'd be potentially keen on two + enclosures.

Not a derp question - far more an electronics one :p

Basically, you need to have a "driver" to drive LEDs. These require a PWM driver (pulse wave modulation) instead of a regular driver that can use a couple of knobs to achieve the same result.

Regular DIY drivers have a set of wires that run to the light controller, and another set that run to the LEDs.. if you use a traditional driver set up.
If you use one of these new fangled DIY driver boards that have been mentioned more recently in the DIY thread, then there are pins on the board that the control unit connects directly to and is soooo much cheaper and less space consuming that how we used to build them, though I have no idea how they work with a Typhon yet as I haven't finished building a light rig that uses both :P

 

[holly]

okay, so at the moment I have a manual dimmer on my LED rig (or soon to be). One side goes to the LEDs and one to the power supply. Here's a pic:

This is for whites only, there's a separate thingy for the coloured LEDS:

No idea if the typhon would be useful to rig both up to as separate channels

 

[Sam Parker]

thinking it might not be, this looks like it adjusts voltage rather than doing a PWM

 

[DavidS]

thinking it might not be, this looks like it adjusts voltage rather than doing a PWM

^^^this.

The controllers have to tell the dimmer how to behave rather than being something that sits directly inline between the power and the LEDs. I suspect you'd need to have a different driver set up.

 

[holly]

boo. Might give it a miss then :)

 

[grimnir]

Put me down for 2 controllers & housings.
Need something to tide me over till I get an uber "magic" reef controller

 

[Sam Parker]

Looks as if we will have enough now, so I'll dial my order back to one controller and 2 cases. If the extra is needed to claim a discount for everyone - I'll grab the extra as a spare though.
Sam

 

[Synodontis]

If we can get the Typhon to 20 units, put me down for..
8x Typhon's
10x Enclosure's

:)