Dimming Icecap 660 Ballast.....

[mzbwlk]

Hi,
I have 2 Icecap 660 ballast that I would like to dim with my Profilux Plus II EX.
I read somewhere that this can't be done and Icecap won't help. I am dimming
them with the Solar 1000 dimmer. I've pulled both the Solar 1000 & the Icecap 660
apart and have pictures of the boards. I did notice that inside the Solar 1000 there
is a terminal that's marked PWM. If someone is interested in trying to make this work with the Profilux
I could post some pictures.:D

[Matthias]

can you give me some technical details/photos? interface?

[mzbwlk]

Hi,
Here are some pictures of the Solar 1000 and Icecap 660. I have also added a pcb file of the Solar 1000 and pdf files for the IC chips that are in the Solar 1000 and Icecap 660. I am still working on the pcb file for the Icecap 660. Hopefully someone with electrical knowledge can come up with a Interface board for the Icecap 660 so we can use it with the Profilux!

[mzbwlk]

Here are some more.... I hope this helps.
The program I used for the pcb board is from pcb123.com and it is FREE!!!

[Matthias]

isn't there just a description/specifiaction of the interface?

e.g. "1-10V, 1mA" or something like that?

At the moment I have not the time to analyse schematics.

[mzbwlk]

No.
The only thing I could find is next to PIN 8 of the Solar 1000.It has PWM
printed. Thats when I took some voltage readings off of it in manual dimming mode. I got 4.14v to 6.63v A/C.

[aqua_digital]

The PRF stands for pulse recurring frequency.

The PWM stands for pulse width modulation - if you are getting an AC voltage off of this then the likely hood is the unit is driven by a low range AC curve through this line

I think the devise is controlled by the varying frequency of the AC voltage over these lines, and if this is the case then NO GHL cant control it, they would have to build a seperate module of their own

[Antipodes]

No.
The only thing I could find is next to PIN 8 of the Solar 1000.It has PWM
printed. Thats when I took some voltage readings off of it in manual dimming mode. I got 4.14v to 6.63v A/C.

If you are electronically inclined, go to nano-reef.com and this thread in particular they looked at dimming LED fittings using a PWM they built themselves.
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=186982
I think they controlled the input to the PWM with a potentiometer. Not sure if you can use the reference voltage/current from the Profilux to drive this.
This thread is very long and will take some reading and I can't guarantee I have remembered 100%.

Paul

[aqua_digital]

If that is the case then the unit as suspected is dimming the AC voltage but keeping the frequency stable.

GHL do the power bar 2 dim but that is already dimming the AC line.

[mzbwlk]

Here is the PCB of the Icecap 660, picture of the Icecap 660 Ballast board front,
and how the Solar 1000 is wired to the ballast and lights. Hopefully this
helps,but from reading the last few reply's there might not be a easy solution.:mad:

[aqua_digital]

It is using voltage/frequency modulation to achieve dimming, something that GHL would have to build there own expansion for, which would not be cheap I am sure.

With the advant of LED and T5 being way more in demand than HQi now, I would assume this would not be in GHL's interest, but maybe I am wrong on that! Only Matthias can answer that question.

[mzbwlk]

Looks like I'll be getting rid of the Solar 1000 and both of my Icecap 660's.
I'm converting my 180 gal Reef to LED's anyhow but was hoping for an easy
fix on the lighting in the meantime.