RGB Lighting

[csf]

Okay so just when I think I have this I am left with a new set of questions

I came across these power supplies

http://www.circuitspecialists.com/level.itml/icOid/8518

They look good except for one problem the inrush is 20A

Will that be enough to trip a 15A breaker? Or is it quick enough not to be an issue?

While I am at it I have two other questions.

Has any one else used these power supplies?

If it says it pulls 150Watt 12V/12.5A does that mean it will always pull 12.5A or only if its powering 150W will it pull 12.5A? Basically if I only use 75W of the available 150W am I wasting power?

Ps. If I can get this all figured out I plan on trying the wall washers.

[huskernut]

CSF, The power supply you quoted will supply 12.5 amps at 12 volts. According to Greg the RWR runs at .08 amps with all LEDS on. If I did my math correctly your power supply could drive over 150 of these devices.

The LOR DC controller states that it consumes 450 mW for the logic at 12 volts or 38 ma (.038 amps )

10 RWR and the controller with all LEDS on would run .08 X 10 = .8 amps plus .038 amps for the controller = .838 amps. a wall wart such as this


http://www.powerstream.com/ac-1225.htm

is spec'd out at 2.5 amps could in theory run 20 + RWR and wouldnt have the in rush issues.

Ahh, the beauty of the LED, or did I move a decimal point the wrong way? Someone please check my math.

[Ponddude]

csf...what power supply are you looking at exactly? What is the model number, I would like to look at it.

I have a bunch of power supplies from Circuit Specialist and they work great. It is how I power my DC controllers and a bunch of other DC things in my display. The 150 watts at 12 volts is 12.5 amps. That is the maximum amount of amps the power supply can put out. Just like on the LOR controllers you can not go over a certain amount of amps per channel and per bank, this is the same. All the things connected two it can not add up to more than 12.5amps. I also keep less than that to be safe.

[csf]

Ponddude wrote:

csf...what power supply are you looking at exactly? What is the model number, I would like to look at it.

I have a bunch of power supplies from Circuit Specialist and they work great. It is how I power my DC controllers and a bunch of other DC things in my display. The 150 watts at 12 volts is 12.5 amps. That is the maximum amount of amps the power supply can put out. Just like on the LOR controllers you can not go over a certain amount of amps per channel and per bank, this is the same. All the things connected two it can not add up to more than 12.5amps. I also keep less than that to be safe.

This was the power supply I was thinking of getting.
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/8514

I figured it would only use the power needed, but I wanted to make sure. I have to watch how I use power, since there is no way I can turn on all my lights at one time.

I do realize 150W is more power then I need for a few wall washes, but I am thinking about experimenting with led lights, so I figure having more power available can't hurt.

[Ponddude]

I have 4 of those transformers and have never once had an issue with them tripping the breakers. You should be fine on a 15 amp circuit as that is all that I have in my house.

[csf]

Thank you!

Ponddude do you have any suggestions as to what type of soldering irons work best with your boards?

[Ponddude]

Well that is not the easiest question to answer. It all depends on your budget and what else you are going to be soldering with. If you are just building the stuff I offer than a very simply soldering iron you can pcik up at Radio Shack will work. You can pick up a 40-watt iron for around 9 bucks there...

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062738

...the iron will work just fine but as you get into more advanced electronics will spade plugs and things that require more heat/temperature, you will need something a little more powerful.

I personally use a Weller soldering station with a digitial control. I have used it for years and have build many electronics with it. It works fantastic and you can set the temperature you are looking for...

http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WESD51-Digital-Soldering-Station/dp/B000ARU9PO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1267998463&sr=8-3

Now that is certainly more expensive. There is also an analog one which does not give you a read out on the temperature...

http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WES51-Analog-Soldering-Station/dp/B000BRC2XU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1267998463&sr=8-1

So back to my original statement...it all depends on what you are going to build. If you plan on soldering a lot of stuff over the years and want something very reliable I would strongly recommend a soldering station. Weller is an extremely popular and well known manufacturer, but there are certainly others out there. However, if you are going to build a few RWR's and a Blizzard unit or two, you certainly will be fine with the cheap Rat-Shack version.

There are probably a lot of posts here on these forums about this question (probably in the DIY section) and I know for a fact there are a ton over at DIYC. Just do a search and see what other people are saying.

[csf]

Thanks, I have read a few other topics on the subject, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask you since you have been so helpfully with my other questions.

I think my plan is going to be, by this power supply, http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/8514, getting a soldering iron, and getting two of the wall washers.

Test it out if all goes well buy the DC boards, and a bunch more wall washers.

[csf]

^ posted twice.