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- PicoBuck LED Driver
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Description: The PicoBuck LED Driver is an economical and easy to use driver that will allow you to control and blend three different LEDs on three different channels. By default, each channel is driven at 330mA; that current can be reduced by either presenting an analog voltage or a PWM signal to the board. Version 12 of the board adds a solderable jumper that can be closed to increase the maximum current to 660mA. The new voltage regulator also increased the voltage rating on the various components on the board, allowing it to be used up to the full 36V rating of the AL8805 part.
Three signal inputs are provided for dimming control. You can use the PWM signal from an Arduino or your favorite microcontroller to dim each channel individually, or you can tie them all to the same PWM for simultaneous dimming. Dimming can be done by an analog voltage (20%-100% of max current by varying voltage from .5V-2.5V) or by PWM (so long as PWM minimum voltage is less than .4V and maximum voltage is more than 2.4V) for a full 0-100% range. A small jumper is provided for each channel to allow you to increase the drive strength from 330mA to 660mA. Two mounting holes for 4-40 or M3 screws are provided on either side of the board. They are perforated so they can be easily snapped off with a pair of pliers, if a smaller footprint is desired.
Note: If you’re going to use screw terminals, this board uses two different sizes. Check the related products for both sizes you’ll need.
Note: The PicoBuck LED Driver was made in collaboration with Ethan Zonca. A portion of each sale is given back to him.
Documents:
- Schematic
- Eagle Files
- Datasheet (AL8805W5)
- Hookup Guide
- Protofusion Page
- GitHub
Customer Reviews
5 out of 5
Based on 2 ratings:
Exactly what I need
I take old outdoor lighting that ran on AC and convert it to solar powered decorative yard/garden lights. I have a big project and the PicoBuck LED Driver is what I need to control the lighting.
Have you thought of releasing a 4 channel version for the many high power RGBW/A LEDs out there?
i have several of your 3w leds i would like to get running. is this the driver being used for these or is it the femtobuck. is there a difference between the pico and the femtobuck. pico looks like 3 femtos on one unit. if they are the same it makes more sense dollar wise to buy the pico. are the 3 on the pico isolated so they can be cut apart? seems odd there is such a price difference so just clarifying so i get the correct item. Thank you in advance.
The three units on the PicoBuck are isolated, but cutting them apart probably won’t work, because the data and power pins aren’t separated on a per-channel basis. You won’t get your full 3W out of the LEDs with either of them; depending on the forward voltage, you’ll probably only get 1-2W.
Is the current produced by this device purely DC or just 330mA PWM’d to a lower average voltage? Wondering if it can be used to drive LEDs with max. forward current lower than 330mA…
Also: Could you use this device to dim a LED down below its forward current(current needed for the LED to light up at all).
Hi! I have Cree RGBW led chip and cant find driver for it! Can I use that item? thank you
You didnt put a pulldown on the CTRL pin. Even a weak one or just unpopulated pads for resistors woulda been great. My AL8805 board flashes when turned on (till the uC goes low), and will turn on full power if it gets disconnected. 4x10W leds get hot quick.
I think you guys got the price wrong. It seems to be 14950000000000 times too high (before taxes and shipping).
Can’t view the schematic, it keeps returning an Error 403.Fixed now.try this one https://cdn.sparkfun.com/assets/learn_tutorials/4/4/3/PicoBuckV12Schematic.pdf
So I literally purchased the previous version to this product last week and was wondering how to boost the current to above 330mA…. sigh.
It’s not a terribly difficult modification to procure another SMD resistor (Digi-Key is a good source) and either replace the one on the board, or stack the new one on top of the existing one. The formula for the resistor size is on the schematic.
Thanks i did just that! Hardest part was the soldering since i never did SMD but I did it.