diy apex lunar string

[jjoos99]

I was given an old legacy lunar sim and am trying to make my own string of leds? Ive got all the items I need. Has anyone built their own string? I wired the leds like my other tank lighting leds. They are wired in series but wouldnt work with the lunar sim. Does anyone know if they should be wired in series or parallel? Does the the lunar sim use pwm to control the lighting strength?
thanks for any advise
Jeff

[mcgyvr]

Got a voltmeter?
measure the no load output of it to start..


If I had to guess I'd bet you simply need to put up to 5 LEDs in parallel each with its own current limiting resistor..
And those would be small indicator LEDs of like 20mA or so if that..
I'd start with them at 10mA set by the resistors..

[jjoos99]

I found an old post on neptune's site that linked to some leds that work out but didnt mention about a resistor. They are 20mA so what size resistor would I use to get it down to the 10mA you mentioned?
thanks
Jeff

[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by jjoos99

I found an old post on neptune's site that linked to some leds that work out but didnt mention about a resistor. They are 20mA so what size resistor would I use to get it down to the 10mA you mentioned?
thanks
Jeff

I'd need to know how much voltage the led drops (its Vf) and what the source voltage is to do the normal calculations for sizing a resistor for an LED..
But the formula is here..http://www.ohmslawcalculator.com/led...tor-calculator

I'm not sure if that LED simulator is just a outputting 10v PWM or something like that in relation to its lunar cycle...

[oreo57]

https://lighthouseleds.com/5mm-flat-...0-000-mcd.html

Diode data is here

Resistor depends on th supply voltage.
Guessing it would be either 3.3 or 5v..????

[jjoos99]

These are the leds that I have.
https://www.rapidled.com/royal-blue-moonlight-led/
do you think these would work with the lunar sim? would I still need to use resistors with these leds? The power supply that plugs into the sim module is 9v.
thanks
Jeff

[oreo57]

Originally Posted by jjoos99

These are the leds that I have.
https://www.rapidled.com/royal-blue-moonlight-led/
do you think these would work with the lunar sim? would I still need to use resistors with these leds? The power supply that plugs into the sim module is 9v.
thanks
Jeff

Well you have 2 issues sort of
1)is the 9v what you get out to the diodes? What goes in is somewhat irrelevant.
2)do you have enough "headroom" to drive 350mA? (or 350mA x "x" units)
WHAT is the output amps (or watt) rating of the power supply?

since the orig array limits at 5 (5 x20mA = 100mA = .1A )
you may light a 350mA diode but at what brightness?

You want to try one at 20mA..
330Ohms.. 1/4 watt..

Suggest testing it using a 9v DC wall wart b4 adding it to the Neptune unit..

Put an amp meter in line to check actual current..

Solution 0: 1 x 1 array uses 1 LEDs exactly
+9V
+ -|>|- -/\/\/\- + R = 330 ohms
The wizard says: In solution 0:

each 330 ohm resistor dissipates 132 mW
the wizard thinks 1/4W resistors are fine for your application Help
together, all resistors dissipate 132 mW
together, the diodes dissipate 66 mW
total power dissipated by the array is 198 mW
the array draws current of 20 mA from the source.

[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by jjoos99

These are the leds that I have.
https://www.rapidled.com/royal-blue-moonlight-led/
do you think these would work with the lunar sim? would I still need to use resistors with these leds? The power supply that plugs into the sim module is 9v.
thanks
Jeff

Yes they can work but their typical drive currents (350ma) is WAY..WAY too muc for a moonlight unless you have a very large tank..

And all LEDs need some form of current limiting.. The one to use in this application is a resistor..

You still need to measure the output of the lunar module before you do anything else..

Then plug that value into the formula to choose the proper resistor..

[jjoos99]

I set the apex to manual on for the lunar sim and checked the voltage. Wow it was 26v. I did find that I had the polarity reversed on the plug. I will rewire the plug and try it again.
thanks
Jeff

[jjoos99]

success, after reversing the wiring on the plug it worked fine. I assumed that the center of the plug was positive and the exposed outside was the negative. Not sure if the lsm modules are adjustable for brightness but the legacy sim is adjustable so if it is too bright I will be able to turn it down.
thanks for the help
Jeff

[ca1ore]

I would love to be able to redo the LED string that plugs into the LSM module, I just don't have the necessary knowledge. It has been a constant, albeit minor, source of irritation to me for years that neptune uses blue diodes. News flash: the moon ain't blue. Every night dive I ever did it was a cool white on the reef.

[oreo57]

https://lighthouseleds.com/led-compo...-flat-top.html

Pick one.. cheap to experiment with..
Hard part is taking one apart to see whats inside..

[ca1ore]

I have a string at home that got damaged and I don't use. Popped the cover on the led 'boxes'. There's nothing in there other than the wire soldered to the diode. No resistor, capacitor ...... nothing. Oh, and they're wired in series.

Ok, so I'm ordering a bunch of the cool white diodes. Even though I am the worlds worst solderer, I think even I cannot screw this up

[oreo57]

Cool.. Prob any equiv diode would work..
I was expecting at least a resistor..

Series huh.. unexpected.. 2,3,4 strands would have different voltage needs..

So possibly a constant current driver inside the base unit..

[jjoos99]

Originally Posted by ca1ore

I have a string at home that got damaged and I don't use. Popped the cover on the led 'boxes'. There's nothing in there other than the wire soldered to the diode. No resistor, capacitor ...... nothing. Oh, and they're wired in series.

Ok, so I'm ordering a bunch of the cool white diodes. Even though I am the worlds worst solderer, I think even I cannot screw this up

just tin your wiring and leds first and they will solder up fine. just keep the parts clean and they will take solder good. The string I made is in series and I do believe the voltage is different for the different stages of the moon.
Jeff

[ca1ore]

I popped open all five of the boxes, no resistor. I wonder if the shorter strings have a resistor to make them equivalent? Jeff, how many LEDs in the string you made?

[jjoos99]

I made a string of 4 leds, no resistors, but I used some moonlight led pucks that I had laying around that I used. dont know if that type would make a difference.
Jeff

[ca1ore]

OK, wired up three cool white LEDs, plopped them back into the little black boxes (hides my crappy soldering efforts) and ..... voila .... worked like a charm. Thx for the idea chaps.

[jjoos99]

Originally Posted by ca1ore

OK, wired up three cool white LEDs, plopped them back into the little black boxes (hides my crappy soldering efforts) and ..... voila .... worked like a charm. Thx for the idea chaps.

did you install any resistors? I finally installed mine into my canopy last night. According to the moon cycle they didnt come on till somewhere around 1:30 or so in the mourning. Mine were the blue leds but mounted close to 2 ft above the water and I really couldnt tell what color they were, although they were pretty dim. Will the lsm module allow you to dim the leds? I have an old lunar sim that allows me to change the intensity of the leds.
Jeff

[ca1ore]

No, I just removed the blue ones and soldered in the white ones. The LSM module does dim them based on the seasonal table setting in apex, so we shall see if it works as before.

[Member No. 1]

Just a FYI...
If you want your moon lights to be on every night at the same time and at a predetermined intensity, you can do it with virtual outlets and profiles. That's how I have mine set up. This will ramp the lights up or down and control brightness.
You don't have to use the Moon program.

[jjoos99]

Originally Posted by Member No. 1

Just a FYI...
If you want your moon lights to be on every night at the same time and at a predetermined intensity, you can do it with virtual outlets and profiles. That's how I have mine set up. This will ramp the lights up or down and control brightness.
You don't have to use the Moon program.

How is this done? Im not good with my programming within apex.
thanks
Jeff

[Member No. 1]

Originally Posted by jjoos99

How is this done? Im not good with my programming within apex.
thanks
Jeff

PM Sent

[Member No. 1]

To do this you will need 2 profiles.
This can be done in Fusion
Profile 1
This will ramp the moon lights down from a start percentage to a finish percentage over a fixed time.
1. Go to the profile tab, (looks like a file folder) then select an unused profile.
2. In the Name box, call it Lunar_Down
3. In the Type box, select Ramp
4. Set Ramp Time to 30
5. Set Start Intensity to 100
6. Set End Intensity to 10
Then click the save button.

Profile 2
This will maintain the moon light intensity at your predetermined setting.
1. Same as above if your'e not already in the profile page.
2. Name this one Lunar
3. Select Ramp
4. Set Ramp Time to 1
5. Set Start Intensity to 1
6. Set End Intensity to 1
Then click save.

You can adjust all these settings later to your personal liking.

Now go to your Lunar Outlet and click on Advance type.
Under configuration copy and paste this code.

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 21:59 to 22:29 Then Lunar_Down
If Time 22:29 to 01:00 Then Lunar

My Atinics go off at 22:00 (10:00pm) so I wanted my moon lights on before they went off.
So what the above coding does is it turns my moon lights on 2 minutes before my antinics go off and at 100% intensity. Then it ramps the moon lights down to 1% over the course of 30 minutes. Then they stay at that intensity until 1:00 am
then shut off.

Hope that helps.

[jjoos99]

Thanks I just installed the coding. Is it possible instead of having it set to 1% to have it follow the actual moon phases as in brightness? I like the idea of having the moonlights on for the timing that I want but would be nice to vary the brightness according to the moon cycle.
thanks
jeff