Apex Ramp Programming for LEDs

C

coralreefer

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Okay I have the full Apex and the Neptune cables for dimming 0-10v.

Here is what I have. 2 meanwell dimmable ballasts, one hooked to blue and the other white. They are both powered by the same outlet (cannot separate the power supply).

I know how to hook up the cables to the meanwells and will plug them into the first port (from left to right) on the Apex. My question is how the heck do I program them. I have tried to look at other posts and examples on the net but don't have a clue. As far as I can tell I already set up a rampup and rampdn profile but don't know how to program it the light outlet to use the profile.

Right now the LEDs come on at 1030 and turn off at 2100.

Can I change program the blues and have the whites different even though they are on the same outlet?

How do I run the blues a little more strong than the whites?

Thanks for all help. This controller and functionality is awesome.
 
Google unofficial Neptune's apex user manual you will find the info there


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
you haave to set up three things

the power on off for the 110 outlet and yes you can have two ballast on them. then you set up a variable speed outlet for the 0-10v ramp timing and you set up two profiles for the ramp parameters - one for up and the other for down



for the power outlet select a light type and set your parameters (time on, time off, temp off etc)

for the var speed outlet (base VAR1,Base Var2 ect are the names of your 0-10v Cat5 outlets)I have the following program for one of my LED sets (this controls the 0-10v)
Set OFF
If Time 11:00 to 13:00 Then L_ramp_u
If Time 13:00 to 21:00 Then ON
If Time 21:00 to 23:00 Then L_ramp_d

the L_ramp_up and L_ramp_d are thetwo profiles

for the profile select the type "ramp"
then fill in your starting power and end power and durations. it's pretty straight forward once you get into the screen
 
I am interested in what you are doing. I haven't seen one of these drivers except in the stock photo. Do they have a wall plug or will I need to splice it into my current power supply. What about the line out to the lights? How did you connect this? Any pics would be appreciated. Mark
 
The LED drivers have a 110v plug on one end and 4 wires coming out of the other end (black, red, white, blue). Black red power the LEDs +- and the blue white power the dimmer +-. That's it. Right now I have the blue white on the rapid led dimming kit but want to control that with my Apex so that is the programming I'm looking for.


Pete- how does the VAR1 outlet tie into the programming? Don't I have to tell it somewhere that the RampUp/RampDn profile needs to use say VAR1 or VAR2 outlet?
 
Kuyatwo you were right on...

Okay I went back and read Apex for Dummies and now understand. The Variable speed outlet is programmed separate from the EB8 outlet and as long as the eb8 is on in the programming at the times the var1 is trying to ramp, it will ramp.
 
you got it

the eb8 needs a program for just on/off and has to be on to provide power to the ballast when dimming or in full on mode etc


the VAR 1 (or VAR2) is like another outlet but it's programable to be 0-10v dc. it can be on or off or a set power or be given a profile that varies the output power. You can even set the power to say 10% for moonlights late at night if desired but a variable setting needs a profile

the VAR1-2 outlets are configured in the same pull down screen as the EB8. Once there you select which VAR you want. There are 4 with the base unit named base VAR1, base Var2, etc.


the profiles are made in another pull down screen under configure/proflies. once there you name one and then program it. the program can be simple using the predetermined screens or user defined. Select the ramp profile and enter a starting power like 0, 10 % etc. Then select the ending profile like 70% 100% etc and a duration in minutes, I happen to use 120 (or 2 hours). Then save the profile and remember what you named it as you will need to refer to it in the program for the VAR outlet.
 
Okay so here is what i decided to do and wanted to post it for future readers of this thread.

I bought a Neptune 2 channel dimming cable, but it was too short and rather than splicing in another wire, i just bought a longer CAT5 cable and wired it up myself (using the Neptune cable, Apex for Dummies instructions and my multimeter.

Programmed these 4 profiles, a separate ramp up and ramp down for the blue AND white LEDs.

[WH_RampU
ramp
rampTime 60
startIntensity 0
endIntensity 50

WH_RampD
ramp
rampTime 60
startIntensity 50
endIntensity 0

BL_RampU
ramp
rampTime 60
startIntensity 0
endIntensity 60

BL_RampD
ramp
rampTime 60
startIntensity 60
endIntensity 0]

Then programmed my VAR1 and VAR2 outlets:

[WH_Var1 (base_Var1)
Set OFF
If Time 10:30 to 20:30 Then WH_RampU
If Time 20:30 to 21:30 Then WH_RampD

BL_Var2 (base_Var2)
Set OFF
If Time 10:30 to 20:30 Then BL_RampU
If Time 20:30 to 21:30 Then BL_RampD]

And finally the EB8 outlet that controls the two Meanwells:

[LED (3_1)
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 10:30 to 21:30 Then ON
If Temp > 82.0 Then OFF
Min Time 030:00 Then OFF]

I used two separate ramps for the blues and whites so that I could have the blues on a little more than the whites - i like the color better. I will experiment with the times and intensities, but can now do that from the comfort of the couch. If only the Neptune Apex app allowed programming!
 
the light programs may just hold the last ramp setting but you may find you need to do the following to the VAR programs

1) change the VAR programs so the time duration is the same as the ramp duration (profile ramp = 60 and your time is 2 hours). Im not sure how it will work but may go through 2 ramps

2) add a time for the LEDs to be on in between the up and dwon ramp like "If Time 11:30 to 20:30 Then ON (or you can add another profile at a set power rating - like a WH_50) - but it may hold the last setting at 50%

3) my LED's don't turn on/off at 0% they hit around 10% so if you see a delay in the start that may be why.
 
@psteeleb wrote:
the light programs may just hold the last ramp setting but you may find you need to do the following to the VAR programs. said:
According to the unofficial guide, it will just hold the blues at 60% and whites at 50% until 8:30PM then begin to ramp them down. It seemed to work when they started up, waiting for 8:30 to see if it works coming down!

If not I'll make a new profile and set them at that between ramps instead of being on full blast.
Click to expand...
 
As far as I could tell it worked. Slowly dimmed until 21:21 and the LEDs cut out (~1v). Awesome! I could theoretically plug the Meanwells into a normal outlet and free up the controllable eb8 outlet if needed.
 
I know this is an older thread but it showed me how to program my new Apex to handle my blue and white led's. The only problem I'm having is that my LEDs never go out completely until the power shuts off. Thanks much to everyone involved.
 
@mwilk19 wrote:
I know this is an older thread but it showed me how to program my new Apex to handle my blue and white led's. The only problem I'm having is that my LEDs never go out completely until the power shuts off. Thanks much to everyone involved. said:
two things I can think of that may cause that depending on your ballast and the number of LED's installed
1) not enought LED's per the ballast specs, or,
2) the low end dimmer pot (if it has one) needs to be turned down
Click to expand...
 
Also to update: I noticed that when I would turn the lights off during the middle of the light cycle (for say bulb replacement) the LEDs would not come back on. So I indeed had to make a separate profile for the LEDs to follow that was between the ramp up and ramp down. Now it works fine.

I also noticed I get a quick flash at the end of the cycle right when the meanwell turns itself completely off. According the RC this has something to do with the older meanwell drivers and it doesn't happen with the newer ones.
 
@mwilk19 wrote:
Coral reefer said:
Just make both intensities match the ending intensity of the ramp up. My whites ramp from 0-50% so I made the new profile start and stop at 50%.

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alt="">
Click to expand...
 
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