QuinLED An-Penta-Plus Buck Converter terminal
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The QuinLED An-Penta-Plus has a function where it can take the incoming power and using an external buck-converter, convert it to a different voltage to connect different voltage addressable LED strips. The main idea behind this is that if you are using 24v Analog strips you might not want to use 24v digital strips but maybe 12v or 5v, the terminals add a bit of convenience connecting this up.
[photo of orange and blue terminals]
The terminals are located on the board here and they comprise of the following:
Orange terminals
- Output of board main VCC
- GND
- GND
- Input of converted voltage back into the board
- Max 24v!
Blue terminals
- Converted VCC
- Data
- GND
The LED data signal on the data pin is level-shifted to 5v and has a 33R serial resistor.
Once the converted power comes back into the board it’s run through a large 680uF 35v rated capacitor before going to the 3p Blue terminals to output to a digitally addressable strip.
Power available
The Orange board VCC output is internally fused with a 5A fuse. Next to that it’s also limited in what it can handle by the MOSFET the power is run through as a relay function.
Built-in Relay function
The QuinLED An-Penta-Plus comes equipped with a built-in relay function and thus the output to the Orange “output of board main VCC” can be switched on and off. The reasoning behind this is that although Analog/PWM LEDs don’t use any power while they are off, digitally addressable LEDs do and the external buck-converter might also. Using this relay feature you can turn that part of the board off, effectively cutting the idle usage to nothing for those components.
If you do not configure this relay function, you will not get output on the terminal! If this feature is more of a bother, there is an override jumper on the board that can be shorted to make the output always enabled.
[photo of override jumper]
But I do want native voltage
No problem! Two ways to go about it.
- Use the Orange board VCC output terminal directly
- Put a loop cable in between the Orange terminal output and input port
Both ways will get you the current power supply voltage to the LED strips.
Note: If the main power supply is above 24v, do not use the loop cable method since the capacitor inside is only rated for 35v max!
Where to get the buck-converter
You can use any buck-converter that is suited for the voltages involved and of course the current you are expecting to run. I have good experience with the following:
12v/24v main power supply
48v main power supply
Conclusion
The QuinLED An-Penta-Plus is the first dual Analog+Digital LED controller in the line-up of controllers and boards I have available. It will make running dual strips that have both Digital RGB and Analog W on there easier and can also help in setups where you want to use addressable RGB but Analog PWM for their higher output and quality options.
One note to add is that Analog PWM and Digital LED data signals don’t always mix. Especially when running long digital LED data wires next to the PWM wires this can cause the digital LED signal to corrupt. Please take this into account when designing your setup.