Lamp controler board, second try
Today I have rebuilt the lamp controller board taking care of placing high current lines far from low current lines in order to avoid induced currents. But that did not solve the issue.
The new board is a complete 4x4 matrix controller. It was considerably faster to build this one. I am getting used to it, it is becoming easier to build :-)
Here is a video of the current status of the project, and a question for the electronics geeks:
Posts
I'd like to help.
ReplyDeleteCan you post a full schematic of your matrix controller? What are the voltage and current ratings of your power supply? What are the voltage and current ratings for your lamps? How do you plan to use the controller? For example, Do you plan on only using one lamp at a time, do you want to turn all of them on, or do you want to dim the lights?
Do you have access to an electronic multimeter?
Yes, I have access to a multimeter.
ReplyDeleteRead my new post on the blog. It answers part of your questions, but also brings a new issue to be solved.
After watching the new video, please post a comment in case you need further info. Thanks for offering me some help :-)
How did you find this blog?
I think you are tackling too many problems at once. The first thing to do is make sure your power supply is strong enough to run the lamps.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you built the matrix controller, so it is difficult to suggest changes.
In one of your posts, I saw a prototype 2x2 matrix using BD140 transistors and LEDs. I can understand how that could work with LEDs, but I would be really surprised if it worked with incandescent lamps. It may be that the lamp dimming is due to a problem in the circuit design.
It is not obvious that more lamps result in dimmer lamps. If the power supply is sized properly and the matrix is designed properly, the lamps should work fine.
In order to really help, I need to see the matrix schematic, the specifications for the power supply and the specifications for the lamps. If the answer to any of my previous questions is "I don't know," that is fine. I just need to know where to start.
I found this blog by looking at an article on using SVG to cut custom shapes in acrylic. I saw that you where having problems with the lamps and realized that the problem could be more subtle than you thought. So, I'm here to help.