I was wondering if there is a device that could control a light, turning on the light with a timer and then when the current starts increasing the voltage from nothing to the lights proper working voltage. if the timer could have multi timer that would be a bonus. Is there a commercial device or plans to build one, I would be willing to look at a computer controlled device if there isn't an electrical device.
I was wondering if there is a device that could control a light, turning on the light with a timer and then when the current starts increasing the voltage from nothing to the lights proper working voltage. if the timer could have multi timer that would be a bonus. Is there a commercial device or plans to build one, I would be willing to look at a computer controlled device if there isn't an electrical device.
I am not sure exactly what you want. However, if you mean slowly over a timed period increase the voltage to an incandescent 120 or 220 VAC lamp then yes, there are several ways to go about it. For example a kit like this one could be used to ramp the voltage up to the bulb. The input of 0 to 10 volts could come from a D to A converter.
That depends on what the OP means by "turning on the light with a timer and then when the current starts increasing the voltage from nothing to the lights proper working voltage" If he wants a slowly brightening light ( like sun rising in the morning ), then I don't think "soft start" is the solution. AFAIK, "soft start" still happens pretty fast. It produces working light right away, and gets slightly brighter over time.
That depends on what the OP means by "turning on the light with a timer and then when the current starts increasing the voltage from nothing to the lights proper working voltage" If he wants a slowly brightening light ( like sun rising in the morning ), then I don't think "soft start" is the solution. AFAIK, "soft start" still happens pretty fast. It produces working light right away, and gets slightly brighter over time.
Hi guys, I'm sorry that I didn't make my self clear but what I meant by "Turning on the light with a timer and then when the current starts increasing the voltage from nothing to the lights proper working voltage." Brown out is right I want the light source to increase slowly like the sun rise over maybe 5 minuets.
Depending on your skill level the kit I suggested would work. How you choose to drive it with a slowly increasing analog voltage is your call. One example would be a programmed PIC chip or micro-controller solution as can be seen here in a U Tube video. There are several videos out there using a uC chip. Using discreet components you could likely use a simple D/A converter scheme. Most any solution will depend on how comfortable you are building circuits and understanding what they do. It could be as simple as charging a capacitor through a resistor and the slowly increasing voltage across the capacitor used to drive a kit like I linked to. Matter of how accurate you want the timing. Maybe BrownOut has some other thoughts. There are likely several ways to go about doing it.