"Arfa Daily" wrote in
:


"Lostgallifreyan" wrote in message
...
"Arfa Daily" wrote in
:

I really
think that I'm going to have to buy one, and attack it with the
Dremmel

Set to with zeal, my son. If I had a dremel, I would. Probably.

Did find this though:
http://www.claremicronix.com/datashe...ata%20Sheet%20
Rev05 3107.pdf
Again, clickable: http://tinyurl.com/2kf3jv

That's interesting because it shows 90% efficiency as I hoped might
be had, from a circuit with no large smoothing capacitor. It's just
one tiny IC driving a MOSFET and using an inductor. I don't know how
big that inductor is, but not very, I imagine. Maybe similar to the
one on the module on the eBay page I linked to earlier. A series
chain of three or four LED's might well be driven directly from the
mains, and all fitted inside one of those small lamp capsules. Heat
dispersal might be tight, but
doable, especially in those lamps with the fine louvre shells to
allow convection to get in amongst the doings.

Well, that's not strictly true. The issue of where the input voltage
comes from, is carefully avoided in the data sheet. It only shows that
the chip can operate from a DC input range of 8 to 450v. To get the DC
input from the mains, would still require a bridge and smoothing cap.
However, looks like a useful chip, and a good candidate for the back
end processing. It claims that it can drive "hundreds" of LEDs in
series / parallel strings. Still reserving judgement at this time ...

Arfa




Hmm. Last post after a long day, that was. Should have seen that it
needed DC.