Power Injection With Buck Converters

J

jbair

Supporting Member
This will be the first time using buck converters and I just wanted to make sure that I have got this straight. Hopefully you can figure out my drawing.

Thanks for any help.
 

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Yes, your diagram is good.

Buck converters work alright. I use them for 12v to 5v on some props.
A few people on AusChirstmasLighting forum use 24v to 5v or 12v for their props. Having a 24v PSU in the garage and low voltage cabling around the garden.

The downside is buying cheap buck converters. One of the Aus forum members used cheap quality converters and it blew their P10 panels they had connected.
 
I use 24v to 5v bucks. I use the cheap ebay bucks (under usd 1.50). I have started to replace the older (5+ seasons) because the voltage has started to drift down causing the white to get pink. some of my usd 2.00 bucks are stil going strong. Moral of the story: there is a downside to going too cheap.
 
jbair said:
This will be the first time using buck converters and I just wanted to make sure that I have got this straight. Hopefully you can figure out my drawing.

Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...
Your drawing looks fine. I used a LOT of DC/DC converters in my display and they work fine as long as you don't use them wrong. Somewhere here the should be a white paper I wrote many years ago on the subject. Some of it is outdated by now I'm sure but there is still a lot of good info in there... at least that is how I remember it.. ha ha.
 
FYI: I glue a super cheap heatsink (I bought 50 for 2 USD to the active element (it gets hot) just because I do things like that. It seems to have helped extend the lifetime of the bucks. The ones with heatsinks are not yet drifting and the ones without heatsinks (ok I got lazy) are becoming unstable. It is possible that this is what broke the other users lights. if the bucks drift above 7v for 5v pixels, they damage the pixel. I would think that greater than 15v would cause 12v pixels to have issues. Luckily mine are drifting down so they are not at risk of damaging anything.
 
plasmadrive said:
Your drawing looks fine. I used a LOT of DC/DC converters in my display and they work fine as long as you don't use them wrong. Somewhere here the should be a white paper I wrote many years ago on the subject. Some of it is outdated by now I'm sure but there is still a lot of good info in there... at least that is how I remember it.. ha ha.
Click to expand...
I tried to download the pdf but it's not there anymore. https://www.dropbox.com/s/5yxqw7q2p7ygp27/DC to DC rev 1.pdf

That was a long time ago.
 
I understand fusing works off of amperage, but is there a way to in essence fuse the line after a buck converter in case it fails and the voltage jumps?
 
 
jbair said:
I tried to download the pdf but it's not there anymore. https://www.dropbox.com/s/5yxqw7q2p7ygp27/DC to DC rev 1.pdf

That was a long time ago.
Click to expand...
Yeah, good ole dropbox. Not sure why it's gone but I couldn't find it either..
So I personally like to use converters that are already potted and waterproof. That way you can put them almost anywhere. Something similar to these. https://www.prodctodc.com/dc-step-d...roof-car-power-supply-p-123.html#.U7ADFLHzKos They cost a bit more but well worth it to get the potted ones IMO.

I have a ton of 12v ones still and doubt I will ever use them since I don't do a display anymore, which tells you they last, and since they are potted they are not fragile.
 
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