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The Soundlab Dimmers Using L.V. Transformer Lighting

Last post 03-02-2008 9:55 PM by simon.willet. 2 replies.
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  • 02-06-2008 1:20 PM

    The Soundlab Dimmers Using L.V. Transformer Lighting

    Hi all

    Just wondering if there are any fix's or known isues with the soundlab 4ch dimmer packs,

    the problem is that after installing 10 of these babies into my hous and controling them with several brick is working firne but after explaining to my supplier that every light fitting in the hous has to be capable of dimming, and him coming back to me with the correct items i.e.L.V. Light fittings with eithe built in transformer or installing downlighters with trailing transformer of which are all branded by the manufacturer as ¨dimmable¨. The problem occours when the L.V. Lights are dimmed to anything other than 100% then a slight flicker appears and the transformers buz (Not the dimmers) strange. I was just wondering if there is a certain type of transformer that must be used or chokes,regulators or some kind need to be added into the circuit. I have spoke to Soundlab ( a subsidary of Electrovision) and they could not give me a true and straight answer they just explained that the dimmers work by altering the current and not the voltage?? Dont realy understand maybe you guys can shed some light on it.

     

     

    Alex

  • 02-06-2008 3:55 PM In reply to

    Re: The Soundlab Dimmers Using L.V. Transformer Lighting

    We've had problems with these. Most of which are quite quickly solved by replacing them with the NJD 10000 dimmer pack. Sorry I cant explain why as I'm not extirely sure myself. I would also like to know, so if anyone has an answer..... 

  • 03-02-2008 9:55 PM In reply to

    Re: The Soundlab Dimmers Using L.V. Transformer Lighting

    Very difficult to say exactly without knowing something of the switching topologies used but the price bracket indicates triac choppers generating all kinds of harmonics and horrible noise on the line with low grade output filters in the soundlabs.

    The switching supplies generating your LV are designed (at the outset) to work on full line voltage and as such the input filters on the switching section is designed for that (bare minimum) senario, when the line waveform is chopped by the dimmer pack the input filters do not store enough energy to holdup the input supply to the switching section of the transformer and discontinuous operation in the output filters is the result. This is because the inductors and capacitors in the filters are probably the most expensive components in the whole assembly and are value engineered to the knuckle. The fact that the whole thing seems to be dimmable is just a (un)happy accident masked by the thermal inertia of a regular tungsten lamp.

    You can try different combinations of electronic transformer - price is as Andy has said before irrelevant, or a copper and iron 50Hz transformer, that will stop the flicker but will be phsically noisy at low dim and need to be oversized to cope with the thermal problems associated with the dimmer harmonics.

    NJD have always been technically excellant with some very cunning designs (look at an early IQ250 waggly mirror!!) but they are built to a strict price (not quite the lowest) Richard is probably seeing the results of careful optimisation of where the money goes.

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