[PSUBS-MAILIST] Islamorada Trip Report

Sat Aug 26 21:48:29 EDT 2017

Alan, this is the correct unit.  The driver is set up for a constant
current output of 1.2A, 30V and consumes 37W to get 5000 lumen.  Below is
the wiring diagram.  Don't remember saying it was 50W.

[image: Inline image 1]
Regards

Cliff

On Sat, Aug 26, 2017 at 8:27 PM, Alan via Personal_Submersibles <
personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:

> Cliff,
> that link is to a buck converter 31V output, 37W.
> Presume this is the wrong unit as you said you ran
> the light at 50W.
> Alan
>
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On 27/08/2017, at 10:53 AM, Cliff Redus via Personal_Submersibles <
> personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
>
> The LED driver I am using https://www.digikey.com/
> product-detail/en/recom-power/RCD-24-1.20-W/945-1133-ND/2256313   It
> combines both buck boost converter switching and pulse width dimming
> switching in the same enclosure.  Not sure which part is causing the noise.
>
> Cliff
>
> On Sat, Aug 26, 2017 at 5:02 PM, River Dolfi via Personal_Submersibles <
> personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
>
>> I'm curious whether the noise is coming from the buck boost converter
>> switching, or the pulse width dimming switching. When I was designing a PWM
>> dimming driver I had the switching frequency as high as I could get it,
>> trying to get it above the auditory frequency range of dolphins.
>>
>> River J Dolfi
>> Rdolfi7 at gmail.com
>> 412-997-2526 <(412)%20997-2526>
>>
>> On Aug 26, 2017 5:40 PM, "via Personal_Submersibles" <
>> personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
>>
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>>    1. Re: Islamorada Trip Report... (Alan via Personal_Submersibles)
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 1
>> Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2017 09:39:10 +1200
>> From: Alan via Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles at psubs.org>
>> To: Personal Submersibles General Discussion
>>         <personal_submersibles at psubs.org>
>> Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Islamorada Trip Report...
>> Message-ID: <85DB48D2-EF52-4624-9257-7786F10B799D at yahoo.com>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>
>> Cliff,
>> didn't know the electronics were in the light.
>> Another experiment, if the suppressor doesn't work could be to put
>> electronics in the hull.
>> Have some other ideas, but see how you go!
>> Alan
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>> > On 27/08/2017, at 8:57 AM, Cliff Redus via Personal_Submersibles <
>> personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
>> >
>> > Alan, let me do some playing with the LED drivers I have installed.  As
>> I have my drivers installed in the body of the LED lights, and body is
>> quite small with a custom PCB, I would not have room for a larger driver.
>> Let me see how this noise suppressor works first.
>> >
>> > Best Regards
>> >
>> > Cliff
>> >
>> >> On Sat, Aug 26, 2017 at 3:44 PM, Alan via Personal_Submersibles <
>> personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
>> >> Cliff,
>> >> my original buck / boost LED drivers made audible noise at certain
>> >> settings. I mentioned this to an electronics friend, who said that
>> >> it was to do with the tuning of the unit.
>> >> I had 10 new units made up for me in China, at a factory that seems
>> >> to produce a lot of these buck / boost DC drivers. I made mention
>> >> of the noise problem & was specific that I wanted a 36V fixed output,
>> >> along with dimming & on off switch.
>> >> These new units are a lot audibly quieter. I am guessing they can
>> achieve
>> >> this easier by not having to also cater for the wide output range.
>> >> They can operate from about 12V through to 54V. I am now wondering
>> >> whether having a narrower input power band would help even more.
>> >> Whether the audible noise corresponds to electrical noise in the
>> frequency
>> >> that interferes with your coms, I do not know.
>> >> I can send you one of these drivers for testing if you like, as this
>> is a problem
>> >> I will be encountering. Just send me your address.
>> >> alanlindsayjames at yahoo.com
>> >> The units are designed to output 75W, but this can be dialled down on
>> >> the dimming pot, or buy a more suitable pot. Again, if the unit ( in
>> your case)
>> >> was designed to output at 50 W then possibly there would be less noise.
>> >> It would be interesting to see if dimming them increased the noise.
>> >> Alan
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Sent from my iPad
>> >>
>> >>> On 27/08/2017, at 7:25 AM, Cliff Redus via Personal_Submersibles <
>> personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
>> >>>
>> >>> That is an interesting point about the even with your OTS SSB-2010
>> unit running off AA batteries, you hear noise when the DC-DC converter is
>> on.  I was hoping this noise filter I ordered would do the trick but it
>> sounds like maybe , maybe not.  I have a friend that works for ATT and he
>> also thinks it noise coming in on the power to the OTS unit.  What I am
>> hoping it is not is acoustic coupling.  My transducer is mounted to the FRP
>> shell behind the pilot.  I am hoping it is not picking up this noise
>> through vibrations through the FRP shell.
>> >>>
>> >>> I well let you know what I learn from the test.
>> >>>
>> >>> Cliff
>> >>>
>> >>>> On Sat, Aug 26, 2017 at 11:40 AM, Alec Smyth via
>> Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
>> >>>> Hi Cliff,
>> >>>>
>> >>>> I'll be following that with interest! In Shackleton I have a DC-DC
>> converter to step down the 36 volts to 12 for hotel loads. The 12V
>> converter output is connected in parallel to a small 12V battery and to
>> hotel loads, the idea being that I charge the 12V battery pre-dive and
>> switch off the converter while diving to avoid interference. The OTS unit I
>> use in native mode, on separate AA batteries to avoid electrical noise, but
>> despite this if the DC-DC converter is running it interferes with the comms
>> to the point of rendering them useless. If the noise filter is successful
>> it would let me charge the hotel battery from the big banks while diving,
>> or use the converter as backup, without losing comms.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Best,
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Alec
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>>> On Sat, Aug 26, 2017 at 11:11 AM, Cliff Redus via
>> Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
>> >>>>> As a lot of you use the OTS underwater comes on your boats so I
>> thought I would share with you an issue that came up on the Islamorada
>> trip.  When I tried to use the OTS comms with my new  LED lights on, I
>> noticed a loud hum in the OTS headset.  When we got the boat back on the
>> dock, we did some testing plugging and unplugging the Subcon disconnects to
>> each of the four lights.  What we found was a cumulative affect, each light
>> adding to the noise.  These lights use a switching LED driver.  There
>> seemed to be the same noise level when the lights were on submerged as on
>> the surface so think the noise is electrically coupled not acoustically.
>> On my boat to keep from changing out AA batteries in the OTS SSB-2010 unit,
>> I removed the battery pack and replace it with an circular electrical
>> disconnect that brings in 12VDC from boat bus.  I use a DC-DC converter to
>> power this bus.  I am thinking this is a non isolated converter.   I spoke
>> with the OTS engineers and they said i!
>>  t was a common problem when folks that make this change  and the
>> solution was to use a DC noise filter on the power supplied to the unit
>> that isolates both the positive and negative power feeds going into the
>> unit.  They also suggested using an isolated DC power supply.  To test this
>> I ordered a Palomar Engineers RFI-DC-30 which is a common mode noise filter
>> http://palomar-engineers.com/rfi-kits/home-alarm-system-rfi-
>> kit#!/DC-Voltage-Common-Mode-Noise-Filter/p/74356250.
>> >>>>> Also I hear the thrusters as well as the emergency pinger in the
>> OTS gear.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> In the next couple of weeks I plan on doing a shop test to see if
>> this works.  I will report on what I find.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> Regards
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> Cliff
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>> On Mon, Aug 7, 2017 at 6:26 PM, Cliff Redus <
>> cliffordredus at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>> Big thanks Doug for posting dive report and for you and your mom
>> and dad for hosting us last week. You guys  did a magnificent job. This was
>> the best sub trip of my life!
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> I spend the day organizing the video and pictures from the trip
>> and mailed them to Alec who has graciously agree to edit into a video of
>> the 2017 Psub Regatta.
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> I still need to review the data I logged from the trips but the
>> key points were the first ocean side dive was to the coral heads which is
>> 3.9 miles from Doug's house so 7.8 miles total tow with average cabin temp
>> of 93F and RH of 80%.  Average speed was about 4.5 MPH.  As long as we ran
>> partially submerged to was hot but fine.  This was a test dive to see if we
>> could get out deeper.  Water was not clear at this location. The deeper
>> dive on Aug 3rd was out to the edge of the deep water.  The 7.8 miles from
>> Doug's house (bay side) to the dive site was smooth and we ran submerged so
>> even thought the cabin temp and RH were high, it was not bad at all as it
>> was a smooth tow and there were thinks to see on way out. At the second
>> dive site the water was 100 ft deep and very clear with 4-6 ft swells.
>> Could see the sub on the bottom from the Boston Whaler.  The tow back was
>> rough.  With 4-6 ft following seas, it was like being on a roller coaster
>> both in the boat and in the s!
>>  ub. Second dive had a total of 15.6 miles of towing at 4.5 MPH, 94F and
>> 84% RH and hatch closed time of around 5 hours.  I did not loose my cookies
>> but it was close.
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> As Doug noted, the consensus of all was that we need a tender
>> vessel with launch capability to get the subs out to the dive sites without
>> towing.  Towing subs sucks.  All survived but I used up all my on board
>> water and upon making it back to the beach, consumed several gallon of
>> water.  We were all pretty whipped.  All  in all, it was quite an adventure.
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> More latter.
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> Cliff
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> On Mon, Aug 7, 2017 at 4:53 PM, Douglas Suhr via
>> Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
>> >>>>>>> Greetings PSUBS group, Douglas Suhr here to share my take on the
>> 4-day
>> >>>>>>> sub operation we just completed in Islamorada, FL (July 31st,
>> August
>> >>>>>>> 1-3).
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> Wow, what a whirlwind! So July 31st was really an arrival / setup
>> day
>> >>>>>>> with August 1-3 being true operational days. Though it was
>> unfortunate
>> >>>>>>> that Alec wasn't able to make it with Shackleton, we had our hands
>> >>>>>>> full with Cliff's R-300. Without Shackleton, we also had enough
>> time
>> >>>>>>> to get Snoopy set up and lowered into the canal for some basic
>> diving.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> List of Crew: Dan Lance, Steve McQueen, Cliff Redus, Rick Maxwell,
>> >>>>>>> River Dolfi, Mike Patterson, Doug, Sarah, Douglas Suhr.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> This was my first time meeting Dan Lance, a (retired) saturation
>> diver
>> >>>>>>> and commercial welder. What a pleasure to have him join us on this
>> >>>>>>> operation. Dan is modest, but most willing to share his knowledge
>> and
>> >>>>>>> extensive experience with a newbie like me. So pleased to have
>> chatted
>> >>>>>>> with him in the Keys. During the towing of the R-300, Dan manned
>> the
>> >>>>>>> tow line and helped with comms.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> Steve McQueen and River Dolfi did awesome jobs as our frog men.
>> >>>>>>> Filming, attaching / detaching davit and tow lines, etc. they were
>> >>>>>>> both in and out of the water quite a bit (especially Steve). I
>> think
>> >>>>>>> River took a little jelly sting for the team. What troopers!
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> Cliff and his assistant Rick are such a joy be around. Rick is
>> one of
>> >>>>>>> the friendliest people you'll ever meet (and even brought a gift
>> for
>> >>>>>>> the group: a watermelon, straight from Texas!). Cliff is always
>> >>>>>>> willing to share his expertise (and sub, too) with anyone who'd
>> like
>> >>>>>>> to learn more. I know that between Dan Lance and Cliff, I learned
>> more
>> >>>>>>> than I can remember last week.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> Mike Patterson, mom, dad and myself were all just providing
>> whatever
>> >>>>>>> kind of "troop support" we could to Cliff and the R-300.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> River, Steve and Myself got in some dive time on Snoopy in the
>> canal
>> >>>>>>> (which was great), but I think the biggest accomplishment was
>> getting
>> >>>>>>> the R-300 out a ways into the ocean.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> Our Boston Whaler (a 25' boat with a single 250hp Yamaha) was
>> able to
>> >>>>>>> tow the R-300 out about 5 miles into the ocean (at about 4mph). We
>> >>>>>>> were in radio communication with Cliff most of the time, though
>> we did
>> >>>>>>> suffer a few intermittent losses in comms. When we got to a spot
>> about
>> >>>>>>> 100 feet deep, we started to slow down a bit and at that point
>> the tow
>> >>>>>>> line hook (an admittedly cheap thing) let loose(!) so we decided
>> that
>> >>>>>>> we had reached our dive location. We switched from marine radio
>> to OTS
>> >>>>>>> and Cliff started down. Visibility was supurb! As Cliff neared the
>> >>>>>>> bottom at 100 ? 110 feet, he was still quite visible from the
>> Whaler!
>> >>>>>>> His 18 foot long R-300 looked to be about 3 inches long, but wow
>> did
>> >>>>>>> it ever stand out from the rest of the sandy bottom. Cliff spent
>> about
>> >>>>>>> an hour "flying" his sub, surfacing, diving and maneuvering about,
>> >>>>>>> testing systems and observing the ocean around him. By the time
>> Cliff
>> >>>>>>> surfaced and we towed back to port Antigua, elapsed time stood at
>> 4.5
>> >>>>>>> / 5 hours (estimate). Cliff said that he stayed cool by the water
>> >>>>>>> flowing over the sub's dome hatch while in tow. Upon returning I
>> think
>> >>>>>>> we were all ready to take a break, but everyone felt great
>> >>>>>>> accomplishment with the mission.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> A couple of lessons I took away from the tow out: We need better
>> tow
>> >>>>>>> equipment (better line, hardware and maybe a quick release). Our
>> boat
>> >>>>>>> REALLY needs a GPS (still don't have one). Towing into waves
>> isn't so
>> >>>>>>> much a problem, but when towing with the waves, our tow line
>> needs to
>> >>>>>>> be measured so as to sustain the proper distance between tow
>> vessel
>> >>>>>>> and sub (otherwise the sub and boat are constantly slacking and
>> then
>> >>>>>>> jerking, stressing the tow line and making it difficult for boat
>> and
>> >>>>>>> sub to track straight).
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> The devotion of our crew was amazing, even in the heat and the
>> waves
>> >>>>>>> everyone did their jobs. Managing even a small sub operation like
>> this
>> >>>>>>> is more work / effort than meets the eye, that's for sure. At
>> dinner,
>> >>>>>>> one of the main discussions revolved around a support vessel that
>> can
>> >>>>>>> carry a sub or two on board, eliminating the slow, time consuming
>> tow
>> >>>>>>> out to an ocean dive site. Dan Lance shared details on his support
>> >>>>>>> vessel project, which is no doubt going to be a dream in terms of
>> >>>>>>> logistics. Hopefully when said vessel is ready to sail, Dan will
>> lend
>> >>>>>>> its services to host a diving event! ~ Douglas S.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>> >>>>>>> Personal_Submersibles mailing list
>> >>>>>>> Personal_Submersibles at psubs.org
>> >>>>>>> http://www.psubs.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/personal_submersibles
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> _______________________________________________
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>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>> _______________________________________________
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