LED Garden Light X2

[CPM169]

Hey everyone!

This will be my second project.

I would like to combine two LED garden lights. I want it so that I have two solar panels, two batteries, and two LED's but only one circuit.

The solar panels are 3.3V (and 18mA measured straight to my VA meter) in full sun.
The batteries are standard AA rechargeable, and I probably will replace them with a more reliable brand and possibly larger power if needed.
The LED's will be forward voltage of 3.2V-3.4V and forward current of 20mA.

One of the garden lights has only a 4-pin ANA608 IC/chip, a 220mH inductor, and an N5819 diode as the controller. Very nice and neat! Searches for the ANA608 found that they are not readily available. However, I think I can successfully harvest this one.

I have seen other garden light circuits with a great deal of complexity. I would like to keep this on the simple side if possible.

If someone would make a schematic for me I would really appreciate it!

Thanks!

 

[alec_t]

I want it so that I have two solar panels, two batteries, and two LED's but only one circuit.

I'm curious as to why?

Searches for the ANA608 found that they are not readily available. However, I think I can successfully harvest this one.

Unless that chip has the output capability to drive two LEDs it won't be usable in your project.

 

[4pyros]

Some info on the chip;
**broken link removed**
But I can not find any data sheets. I dont know if it can take the current of the panles or two LEDs.

 

[audioguru]

My cheap Chinese solar garden lights have solar panels that become sunburned (no kidding!), they have an IC or transistors and LEDs with iron leads that rust away in 6 months and have very cheap Ni-Cad battery cells and battery contacts that also rust away in 6 months. If there is an on-off switch then it also rusts away in 6 months.

I replace the battery cell, remove the switch and try to seal it away from moisture then it lasts a couple of years. Every year I polish the solar panel with VIM.

 

[CPM169]

This project is for a light that sits on the inside of a window. It won't be exposed to the elements. The idea was to make it so that the LED's came on and went off at the same time.

The garden lights I have are already starting to rust from the weather so I was just going to make one from scratch.

4pyros, that schematic for the ZE002 garden light is very close to what I have except that I have a photo-resistor somewhere in the circuit which, I assume, turns on the LED's when it gets dark, as opposed to when the PV output drops to a certain level. One schematic that is very close can be found at:
**broken link removed**


I have seen some garden light circuits that use 3 transistors, and the whole circuit runs 2 LED's. I would like to use two solar cells just to make sure the batteries have a good opportunity to charge. I live in a place where we have many cloudy days.

 

[audioguru]

Your link to a schematic does not work.
Please copy the schematic as a PNG file type and attach it HERE to your reply.

 

[4pyros]

Someone fould a chinese data sheet;

升壓驅動控制電路（ZE002，ANA608） Boost-driven control circuit (ZE002, ANA608)

升壓驅動控制電路（ZE002，ANA608） Boost-driven control circuit (ZE002, ANA608)
產品簡介» Overview »

供應升壓驅動控制電路係列，大量應用於草坪燈，手電筒等。 Boost the supply-driven control circuit series, a lot for Caoping Deng, flashlight, etc.. 電路性價比高，工作穩定，0.3V以下啟動。 Circuit cost-effective, work stability, 0.3 V the following start. IC本身的功耗非常小，與分離器件的電路相比，效率提高20％以上。 IC's own power is very small, and separation of the circuit devices compared to improve the efficiency of more than 20 percent. 太陽能電池電壓降到0.3V以下時啟動。 Solar battery voltage down to 0.3 V below start. 工作電壓範圍：0.9－2.6V（1-2節充電電池）。 Operating voltage range :0.9-2 .6 V (1-2 section rechargeable batteries). 可在5--100mA的範圍內調整工作電流，誤差10％以內。 In 5 - 100 mA within the scope of adjustment of the current, less than 10 percent error.

Looks like the chip is good up to 100ma.
The solar cell should be about 2 volts at 30ma max.
So you should be fine with 2 solar cells.
Andy

 

[CPM169]

Oh, hey thanks people!!

audioguru: That link must have gone down right after I posted it because I can no longer access it either. I have the PDF file so I'll post it.

4pyros: Thank you so much for the info! That is exactly what I need. I get about 3V full sun with my solar cells (each) so I plan on using them in parallel. Should I set up the batteries in series? I'll set up something on my breadboard and see what happens. We'll see how long I have to wait for a sunny day again.

 

[4pyros]

Should I set up the batteries in series?

This is designed to charge a single cell. You may not have enough voltage to charge two in series, and the charging may not be equal in parallel, but you can try it. You will need two batterys that are vary close to the same capacity other wise one will steal all the charge. The proper way to charge two batterys in parallel would be to isolate them with diodes but that might interfear with the circuit but you can try it. Andy

 

[mds504]

ANA608 ic

This is my first post, please bare with me. I have purched 100ea of an ANA608 ic chip from China. I have made two led circuits with this ic. I also purchased some other led drivers from the same source in China. Why, because they do not make or sell them in the USA. the led lights I am reparing do not have a lot of room So I did hours of searching to find the circuits and where to buy them. Without having to buy them in 1000 or more lots. I also bought the chokes that I needed for the ic chip. If it is not against the rules, I can post the web site and the name of the person I had contact with. You will have to work out your own terms. The cost of shipping thru DHL Is unrealisit. DHL calls you before they deliver. You have to sign for the package. PS. the package has been inspected by DHL for no-no products. I also bought the chokes that I needed. I have made circuits also from an CL0116 ic. and an XY3688E ic. I have circuits for some

 

[audioguru]

Why not buy cheap solar garden lights that are already made?
They last for almost one year before their cheap Chinese parts rust away and the cheap solar panels get sunburned.

 

[colin55]

<mod edit: self promotion deleted. If you have content to share, please post directly to ETO. Do not link to your own personal website>

 

[audioguru]

Is it darker in Australia at night than in Canada?
Your solar garden lights cost twice as much as the ones here and use a puny 1/3rd AA Ni-Cad cell that I have never seen with a capacity of only 130mAh which is almost nothing. For it to light the garden light for 10 hours then a white LED has a current of only (130/10) x (1.2V/3.3V)= 4.7mA which is not bright.

In Canada, the Ni-Cad battery cell is a whole AA size with a capacity of 600mAh then the white or coloured LED has a current of 22mA so it is nice and bright all night long following a sunny day.

 

[Nozapo]

Here's a project using two solar lights: http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/SolarLight/Solar5vSupply.html

Great article, thanks for the reference. Can the same circuit be used with 8v ~380mA PV, 6v Ni-MH battery pack, and drive 20 - 25 leds in parallel that is each has own resistor 220ohms. ? what mods would be required? values?

Thanks

 

[audioguru]

The circuit has an output current of only 10mA which lights ONE LED enough to see it when it is dark.
Most LEDs are bright when they have 20mA of current and you want 20 to 25 of them?
Then you need a huge solar panel and a pretty big battery. The current at 5V will be huge.

Why bother stepping up the voltage?
You might as well use a 12V solar panel designed for charging a car battery. Use a 12V battery.
Then some of the LEDs can be connected in series and in series with a current-limiting resistor.

 

[Nozapo]

Well...If a bicycle light with 5 leds will stay lit (and very bright) for around 100 hours on 4 1.2v (or 1.5v) AA batteries (superbright leds not cree) on full charge, They are in parallel config. Series isn`t my cup of tea figuratively speaking, the Christmas light scenario ( one blows they all go out ) comes to mind, I know, it shouldn`t really pose a problem, however, just personal preference I guess.

So my so called "logic" is if one doubles or triples or quadruples the number of leds , then the result "should be" the same just with less time eg: 50hrs , 25 hrs, 12hrs etc. A max of around 12hrs possibly a little longer for winter is all that would be required for the "high powered" night light/path light/garden light.

There are some Chinese made items available from 2 upto 25 or so leds using only 2 1.2v batteries but they don`t last long enough, and associated issues as read in previous posts, threads and some forums,.. so to extend the time somewhat......and if it was possible to utilize the aforementioned circuit (http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/SolarLight/PowerSupply5vSolar-2.html) by Colin55 with perhaps a zener diode for overcharge protection of the battery pack (5 1.2v NiMH in series x 3 parallel) as mentioned the PV/Solar panel is around 8 v, 368mA(4 x 4 strings of 2v at 92mA). (368mA x ~6hrs daylight = 2208mA for charging, should suit).

Why not a car battery or 12v, size constraints, weight, etc.

I had tried one of the other circuits from elsewhere, with LDR etc, and ended up with a novel joke, a glorified torch that works during the day. almost as funny as the "whatever the denomination/ethnicity" match tester.

So yes it`s basically a glorified solar charged torch with auto off/on and overcharge protection

Thanks for the input.

 

[Thomo1]

Awsome, thanks Colin,
I have been playing with Leds trying to utilise old solar garden lights which had the two 1.2v batteries in them to power 4 leds.
What I love doing is using trash to create new things.
My project started with Hard drives out of computers,I found the bearings too good to throw out after I had grabbed the magnets out of them,(best magnets I have found )
Anyway I reversed the bearing so it was on the outside of the case and mounted it on a wooden helicopter cutout using the disc as a base for the blades.
Works extemely well,freewheels a charm.
So now I had the copter working,I wanted to utilise leds and a lot of 1.2v batteries out of power packs for walkie talkies which I had been given.these batteries are great for these types of projects and better than the batteries in solar lights.
So I came up with placing a solar light unit on the top of the fulcrum of the blades.
Using one led it worked great,effective little light whizzing around and around,but I now want to have different coloured lights on the tips of each blade,and being only a dabbler and not electronic taught,I need help.
The solar unit produces about 2.5v but most of the leds I have are 3v?
can I place them in series and still get enough light to run 4?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks, Thomo

 

[audioguru]

The sun rises over here and it sets over there. Outdoors with no trees or other things blocking the sunshine then a solar panel works fairly well.

But in a window the solar panel gets sunshine for only half the time of outdoors if you are lucky.

Also you will be surprized at the reduction of light that double-glazed window glass causes. A window screen also reduces the amount of light.

 

[Gordon Rowe]

i was wondering when your garden led's decide not to go off.... and it has the ana608 ic in it.. what is actually causing it not to go off?

 

[Rush Fanatic]

I started one of these conversion projects a couple weeks ago, wired the garden light's circuit board to a prototype board for testing. playing with various battery and LED configurations, as well as solar panels for recharging the batteries. Other than removing the LED and the photosensor(actually replaced) from the circuit board, I've not made any other changes to the circuit board circuit itself. Pretty sure we're using the same Chinese made $2.99 garden light special. I've actually got several still going into their second winter season in NH. Solar panel is as others described, burnt but still charging the batteries(well, my better replacement battery).

The original circuit had only one 1.2v/480ma real cheap AA battery driving a single diode.

Here's what I've done so far, battery and LED wise.

Single AA, 1.2v/1900ma powering a single 3.3v/25ma(Radio Shack) LED.
Two AA 1.2v/1900ma powering 1, 2, and 3 of said LEDs in series.
Two AAA 1.2v/1000 powering 1, 2, and 3 of said LEDs in series. After 3, the circuit lacks the current needed to drive a 4th LED.
Two AAA 1.2v/1000 powering 1,2,3,4 of said LEDs in parallel.

I have also swapped in a Jumbo 3.5v/20ma LED, also Radio Shack without issues.

Still tinkering around with the right solar panel configurations to recharge which ever battery configuration I'm going to settle on. I know the typical solar recharge requirement is more voltage than the batteries being charged, at no more than 10% of the battery's AMP capacity. So for a single 1.2v/1900ma battery, at least 1.5v, but most "model" panels are at least 3v. Which is what I'm using, 3v/25ma, so theoretically I need 190ma, so I could probably get away with 8 panels in parallel, 200ma. Theory, without knowledge of the limits of that Chinese circuit board. No worries, all the components will come off and onto the prototype board eventually. It's just two diodes, two resistors, a cap and the NPN, LED already off circuit, as is the photosensor.

More to come