Dimmer board for hand held lamp.

One shot on kill

Well guys.

I've a hand held light which has a dimmer switch 1 button for up and 1 button for down it obviously has an on off switch aswell.

Problem is the board where this all happens is not working does any key know where I can get a replacement board in any electrical suppliers or Internet or anything.

Thanks guys.

wait4me

We are a little in the dark here . Any chance of a pic that will show the size of lamp/switch etc?

One shot on kill

No pun intended I suppose.

Ye ill stick a picture up this evening. Sorry.

One shot on kill

The 2 black wires are from the battery.
The 2 red wires are going to the bulb.

Then there is 6 other ports there
Left 2 are to turn the dimmer up
Right 2 are to turn the dimmer down
And the center two are power on/off.

One shot on kill

Sorry fir bringing up d tread again guys.
But does someone in the know. Know if this switch will work my light force variable lf170. My battery is 12v and I think 17amp.


http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/171181862290?cmd=VIDESC

Thanks lad.

17 Amp-hour battery?
100w Xenon bulb? ...you could dim that with a variable voltage supply rated for >9 Amps continuous. What you posted does not look like it'll take that sort of heat nor does it have a current rating.

You could alternatively use PWM
http://www.abeltronics.co.uk/products/led-dimmer-dual-switch-controlled-pwm-12v-24v-10a-low-voltage/dim13

One shot on kill

Cheers Liam that would be the job. The only problem is its a little big to fit in the lamp.

A 10 amp unit isn't likely to be smaller and as safe.

Possible solutions:
Fit it outside the lamp.
Void the warranty and cut it out of the potting and case and just use the PCB if you can fit it inside the torch.

Have the old one fixed...could be as simple as a lose switch or bulging capacitor.

Use a ≤ 80 watt bulb and one of these with or without casing (minimum order with radionics is €20 iirc) there's cheaper versions of same on flea bay.

Take your chances with some cheap Chinese kit

One shot on kill

Sound sr liamsalot thanks.

Bruthal

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

You could alternatively use PWM
http://www.abeltronics.co.uk/products/led-dimmer-dual-switch-controlled-pwm-12v-24v-10a-low-voltage/dim13

Interesting,
I dabble in the electronics a small bit, and made up one or 2 pwm circuits before. Not much time lately to be doing much of it now though. But one I had on the prototype board is still on it from a year ago. This was actually for a LED camping lantern which only required a small transistor for switching, but I put a mosfet onto the circuit this morning, which was still on the prototype board as I had not got around to making up the PCB for the lantern. Mosfet to control a car headlamp.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXVwQ38oYAo

The camera auto adjusts which keeps the bulb brightness more stable, which can be seen from the overall image darkening, so its hard to see the dimming accurately. I setup the microcontroller to only need a single button to dim up or down.

As liam said, removing the circuit from a controller casing might work out.

They're handy little things. Much more efficient than a linear resistor setup and doesn't get so hot either.

They can get a little noisy when you scale them up on a induction based power supply from stray EMI, so LC filters and/or soundproofing are advised if you're noise sensitive for high power applications. Battery based power won't create hum, it's usually just inductor/transformer hum.

Bruthal

Yea I did them with 555 chips as well. Use the PIC chips now as changing pwm width and overall frequency can be done then in programming real quick.

I'm only a dabbler myself. I must get into these Arduino style project kits, from all reports it seems quite versatile and easy to pick up. I'm often finding myself looking for unconventional control systems and solutions.
Being able to service and build electronics saves a fortune. Usually a €1 repair will save a €200 replace. Or looking at a device in component cost is often a fifth the retail. Mostly it's the warranty and infrastructure you're paying for, I usually have my warranty voided within an hour of purchase.
It does make me appreciate the items that are worth spending top dosh on too.

One shot on kill

Guys I got a dimmer switch from the house took it apart but doesn't seem to work. Is there a reason or am I just been dumb with the wire.

2011

A dimmer for a house is designed to dim 230VAC lighting.
Whereas you have a 12VDC power supply.
So this dimmer is not suitable for your application.

Bruthal's arrangement would work.
You need something like he has made up onto a small PCB in a waterproof enclosure. Off hand I can't think of where you could buy one.