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Power distribution schemes / tips — Parallax Forums

Power distribution schemes / tips

edited 2009-10-14 15:38 in Propeller 1
Does anyone have any tips for power distribution?· If I put two leds in a row, it seems like the first one is brighter.·· Is it any different for combining numbers of circuits?

It is the same thing which happens in my car.· I'm stopped at the Red light and when I touch the power windows, the headlights dim.

If I want to go from two leds to a whole board with projects, what would you suggest?· Just use a parallel wiring scheme?· Something else?
·

Comments

  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2009-10-14 03:32
    To some extent what is needed depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you are dealing with high currents you may need heavier traces or wires, or a beefier power supply. If the currents are fairly low and drawn in short bursts it may require filter capacitors near the loads.
  • StefanL38StefanL38 Posts: 2,292
    edited 2009-10-14 04:50
    Hello Chuck,

    with the LEDs I guess one of them is less bright or the supplyng voltage is not high enough.

    What happens if you change the order of the LEDs ?

    Whenever you have multiple loads that are REALLY THE SAME, you can connect them in serial and you have to increase the supplyvoltage

    Example light-bulbs: let's assume they have 6V 1A

    If you put three of them in sequence you need to supply them by 18V 1A

    If you put three of them parallel you need to supply them by 6V 3A

    Whenever you want to supply DIFFERENT loads with the same voltage the only way to go is to supply them parallel
    example:
    one light-bulb 6V 1A
    one light-bulb 6V 0.3A
    three light-bulbs 6V 1.5A

    the only way you can supply them is to connect them parallel to a 6V powersupply which can deliver 1A + 0.3 + 3*1.5A = 5.8A

    best regards

    Stefan
  • MagIO2MagIO2 Posts: 2,243
    edited 2009-10-14 11:49
    StefanL38 said...
    What happens if you change the order of the LEDs ?
    Just out of curiosity ... what do you expect? Parasite flow of currency in the PCB?

    @Chukz:
    How big is the difference? In case it is big you might have mixed LEDs of different type. There are low currency (~3mA)·types and the normal types (~10mA).
    Do you mix LEDs from different manufacturers? Even if they have the same nominal currency the light they emit can be different.
    Do you mix LEDs that have a different color? They emit a different 'amount' of light. You can see that in the specs of the LEDs, where it says how many mcd the LED emits.

    Is the difference small? That's normal deviation of the nominal brightness. Each electronic component has a deviation of·it's given value (resistance, capacity ...). If you need the LEDs to be really equal in brightness, you can test several LEDs and find those that match best or drive each LED with it's own current.·
  • heaterheater Posts: 3,370
    edited 2009-10-14 12:23
    StefanL38 said..."What happens if you change the order of the LEDs ?"

    MagicIO2 said..."Just out of curiosity ... what do you expect? Parasite flow of currency in the PCB?"

    In the context here it seems like a good question to me. Even if only to get Chckz thinking about what is going on here.

    I can imagine that two LEDs in series are quite likely to have different brightnesses depending on the variation between the LEDs. But the statement was "...it seems like the first one is brighter.". Well which is the first one? The one nearest the negative supply or the one nearest the positive. How would each LED possibly know what position it is in such that it would get dimmer or brighter?

    A challenge: Is there any such serially connected circuit where swapping the components around cause the components to behave differently?

    Chukz: Pick up a beginners electronics book or two or have a search around the net. A million years ago I found exactly playing around with 6v bulbs, motors, wires, and batteries to be most informative about such things. Even before I knew what voltage, current and resistance were. Stay away from LEDS at the start, they confuse the issues.

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  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2009-10-14 12:49
    Generally speaking, it might help to learn a little bit about Ohm's Law and circuit analysis. This would help you learn how to divide up the flow of your current and estimate power requirements.

    See, for example, the section in the following guide that deals with Loop Equations. (I'm sure other forum members can direct you to better links, too.)

    hss.energy.gov/nuclearsafety/ns/techstds/standard/hdbk1011/h1011v1.pdf

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltage_divider
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_divider

    hope that helps,
    Mark

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  • photomankcphotomankc Posts: 943
    edited 2009-10-14 15:38
    With LEDs in series wouldn't one LED drop the voltage availible to the next LED? Each LED in series would lower the voltage by it's forward-voltage requirement.
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