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Thanks @DirtRunner. I haven't picked a driver yet; when I do I'll certainly look carefully at its specs. Slowly catching on -- I'm not going to be able to switch them on and off individually if I run them in parallel -- if I did the current would split across them, and when I switched one off...

Ahhh -- got it! Thanks -- I had completely forgotten about the output voltage range of the driver, which is the key.

That should be "...and add switched circuits..." (can't make the edit feature work for some reason).

Hi All -- Got too busy to look at this for a while, but I'm back to obsessing... Suppose I go for overkill, and put more strips than I really need on my fixture, and pick an appropriate constant current driver that can power them all at some reasonable current -- say 700mA, just for argument...

Definitely making it myself -- why let someone else have the fun...

Thank you both -- it is starting to sound like a plan....!

Thanks. I know I have to start thinking about drivers, but I've been trying to start by focusing on the LEDs -- figure I'll figure out what I want, then start worrying about how to power them (probably in about a day or so...). But I appreciate the info a whole lot. As far as gripes go, just...

Thanks. I am in organic soil with no CO2 as well, and pretty much a newbie -- just finished my first grow, and starting my second. Probably I don't need overkill, but I'd rather build it in in case I want it than find myself dissatisfied with the results -- perpetual grow sounds better to me...

Funny, I've been working my way through that thread all day, and I was about 10 posts shy of number 321... Thanks.

Just to make sure I'm clear: 12 of the 22 inch strips at 650mA each should suffice for a 2ft x 4ft tent? Does that sound right? (I was getting ready to guess at 18 or 20...)

For what it's worth, Arrow is selling the Samsung H series (22 inch, 3500K) strips for $12.90 (compared to Digi-Key's $15.52 -- both prices assuming you buy at least 10), which reduces the price for 10,000 lumens I gave above from $79.00 to $66.00. Still more than twice the price of the...

Apologies for my ignorance -- first build, still trying to figure out what to do -- does "at test" mean at their "nominal current" of 700mA (for the 22" or 44" strips), so that "1.5 times test" would be in the neighborhood of 1000mA? Still deciphering, by "3k" you're talking about the 3000K...

Top of the list at the moment are the Bridgelux EB strips -- reasonable prices, available, pretty good efficiency (about 156 lm/w), and they don't need heat sinks. And the strip configuration is appealing for getting an even spread.

Hey. (@Serva: hope you're not asking me, that would be crazy...) I did some number crunching: To generate 10,000 lumens with 560mm (22 inch) strips, using 3500K LEDs: Bridgelux EB: $31.00, using 64W. Samsung H-series: $79.00, using 55W. Samsung F-series, single row: $31.50, using 59W...

Thanks; guess I should have been more specific about what I want to do. I'm planning a DIY light build, and I'm looking to measure how much light the plants are receiving at the canopy, to compare it to whatever I can find about optimum or maximum light levels. (So far all that I've found is a...

I've read that you can't use a lux meter with LEDs, which made sense thinking about the "blurple" LEDs. But I don't see why it wouldn't be useful with COBs and other white light LEDs. (I know that a PAR meter would be better, but I'm looking for a relatively cheap way to gauge how much light...

Thanks for the heads up about the F-series -- sounds very promising. I guess it's a moving target these days -- whatever I choose will undoubtedly be outdated by the time I harvest my first crop... Regarding color temperatures, yes, I have been considering separate veg and flower tents, so I...

I just looked farther down in the Bridgelux data sheet and it seems that I was mistaken to match their "nominal" current with their "typical" efficacy. In their "Product Performance at Commonly Used Drive Currents" table they give the efficacy as 156 lm/W at 350mA (not 700 mA). The efficacy at...

I have a 2ft x 4ft tent and I'm thinking of building 4 lights: Two 2x2 veg lights and two 2x2 flower lights. I was looking at COBs, but I like the LED strips for their evenly spread out coverage and their thermal properties -- no heat sinks needed. I'm aware of two options, the Bridgelux EB...

Any other opinions out there? Getting ready to replace the carbon in my filter, and if it will last longer, I'll get pricier stuff... Thanks.