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parallel drivers

denton808

denton808

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if i wanted 1400ma couldn't i just run 2 700ma micro flex in parallel?

could i run a rock star@400ma and a microflex at 1000ma. of course i would use separate battery since the rockstar requires more voltage.

would these things work or would the current regulator in them recognize the combined current and glitch out? i know basic electronics, just not so much the nature of "constant current" drivers.

if this question was asked before, my bad.
 





lasersbee

lasersbee

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Simple Answer......................NO
and you can't parallel a Boost Driver and a Linear Driver...

IIRC...
I read somewhere that you can run a FlexDrive at 1200mA..

Jerry
 
Last edited:
BShanahan14rulz

BShanahan14rulz

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You need to ask Dr. Lava about running drivers in parallel. It can be done, but I can't remember if it was the microboost or the microflex.
 
denton808

denton808

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lasersbee dam that sucks D: LOL eh well.... i guess i will invest in higher current drivers.


and bshan... is it like some sort of complicated set up? if it is, i don't want to bother him with my question cuz i'll end up getting lost.
 
kiwi

kiwi

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lasersbee said:
Simple Answer......................NO
and you can't parallel a Boost Driver and a Linear Driver...

IIRC...
I read somewhere that you can run a FlexDrive at 1200mA..

Jerry
Click to expand...

The FlexDrive V5 is good up to 1500mA (1,5A) :yh:
 
BShanahan14rulz

BShanahan14rulz

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drlava said:
I saw some confusion earlier.. the upgrade that the MicroBoost gives over the FlexDrive V5 is 1) higher output voltage for blu rays >6V and 2) also higher output power.

Note that two flexdrives or 2 boost drives can be operated in parallel!

For high power applications like this, an 18650 host is highly reccomended.
Click to expand...

It can be done, and it is probably pretty easy. I just don't know if there are any stipulations like if each driver must have its own battery or if they can use the same battery, or if any blocking diodes are needed. I'm thinking, though, that it's probably just as easy as it sounds.

Edit: again, though, I'd recommend PMing drlava.
 
drlava

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YES!

I just did a test tonight.. I set two MicroBoost drives to 800 mA and wired them on top of each other with 4 wires going through both holes of each driver:+/- batt, +/- diode.
The result was: 1595mA out! So it can work if the drivers are the same type and are set exactly the same.

No, it's not reccommended with various other combinations like a linear and a MicroBoost.
 
millirad

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That's awesome. That will be one mighty hand-held/pointer running at ~1400mw. It would need a large copper heat sink to run for more than a few seconds. I'm guessing that parallel DDL drivers could push some labbies into new territory.
 
lasersbee

lasersbee

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drlava said:
YES!

I just did a test tonight.. I set two MicroBoost drives to 800 mA and wired them on top of each other with 4 wires going through both holes of each driver:+/- batt, +/- diode.
The result was: 1595mA out! So it can work if the drivers are the same type and are set exactly the same.
No, it's not reccommended with various other combinations like a linear and a MicroBoost.
Click to expand...

That is good to know... but I imagine if you don't set both drives
at the same current that one driver would want to pump the other's
output...
Could you confirm if that is the case...:thinking:

Jerry
 
drlava

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the drivers can't be set identically, there will always be one driver set just a tiny bit higher than the other. So what happens with the MicroBoosts is the driver that is set higher ramps up to is full capacity (which isn't enough to satisfy the total current requirement) and the other driver then fills in the rest.
 
lasersbee

lasersbee

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Thanks.... so there is no interaction between the drivers only
the load..

Jerry
 
LaserCo

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Not related but similar!:
You can parallel stack Laser Drive HeNe supplies to get larger HeNe's running.
 
Pontiacg5

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I was under the impression that one would run full throttle till it shut off then the other would run full throttle till it also shut off.

Also, from my research of switchmode drivers, don't the switches need to be synced? I guess I could see it working, but with a lot lower efficiency? Do they just start synced because they both get power at the same time?

Damn things are 100x more complicated than I could have imagined, I give you mad props for cramming a circuit like that on a board that small.
 
AdamCaudill

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drlava said:
YES!

I just did a test tonight.. I set two MicroBoost drives to 800 mA and wired them on top of each other with 4 wires going through both holes of each driver:+/- batt, +/- diode.
The result was: 1595mA out! So it can work if the drivers are the same type and are set exactly the same.

No, it's not reccommended with various other combinations like a linear and a MicroBoost.
Click to expand...

What would be the appropriate way to power such a setup? Would a single 18650 provide the power needed to pull it off?
 
S

SpyderFire

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drlava said:
YES!

I just did a test tonight.. I set two MicroBoost drives to 800 mA and wired them on top of each other with 4 wires going through both holes of each driver:+/- batt, +/- diode.
The result was: 1595mA out! So it can work if the drivers are the same type and are set exactly the same.

No, it's not reccommended with various other combinations like a linear and a MicroBoost.
Click to expand...

could someone please post a picture of what this would look like?


i cant get it straight in my head


+ and - fom batt to first driver , then diode out from first driver to + and - of the second microboost, then + and - from the second microboost to the diode?
 
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