© 2011 NuLEDs Inc.
Rev: 1.0
NuLEDs SPECTRADRIVE16 Operatio s Ma ual
Page 4
1 Introduction
Co gratulatio s o your purchase of the NuLEDs SPECTRADRIVE16 LED Co troller. The SPECTRADRIVE16
was desig ed to provide i te sity co trol of LED lighti g i architectural spaces. The SPECTRADRIVE16 ca
co trol 3 separate si gle color, co sta t voltage, LED lighti g zo es (e.g. LumiFlex™ or Mi iCa s™)
simulta eously. It will also co trol all NuLEDs RGB LED (SpectraFlex™, SpectraChips™) lighti g compo e ts
a d ma y other commo a ode RGB compo e ts with regulated i put voltages betwee 6 a d 24 volts.
The SPECTRADRIVE16 is specifically desig ed to co trol co sta t‐voltage LED. This docume t covers
co sta t voltage usage. With some modificatio at the factory, the SPECTRADRIVE16 ca also be supplied
as a logic level PFM co troller to co trol power supplies a d drivers with a PWM i put. Results will vary with
the ability of the supply or driver to respo d to the sig al.
The SPECTRADRIVE16 will not work o i tegrated lamp replaceme ts with built‐i AC to DC power
co versio .
1.1 Technology
The SPECTRADRIVE16 utilizes Pulse Freque cy Modulatio (PFM) to create smooth, flicker free, sce e fades
a d a special logarithmic algorithm for more accurate color matchi g of eight‐bit (256 level) RGB values.
Sce e defi itio a d co trol are easily accomplished by i terfaci g with a y computer or automatio system
that ca ge erate ASCII code packets at 9600 baud through a RS232 serial port. Up to 15 SPECTRADRIVE16
co trollers ca be daisy‐chai ed o a si gle RS232 li e. The SPECTRADRIVE16 is a receive‐o ly device.
There is o feedback to the computer or automatio system.
The tech ology of the SPECTRADRIVE16 represe ts a departure from the LED lighti g co trols systems such
as DMX where large volumes of streami g data at very high baud rates are used. I stead, much of the
processi g power is delegated to the SPECTRADRIVE16 a d simple, u itary comma d stri gs from a
automatio system ca create complex lighti g sce es over stable, low‐baud‐rate etworks.
1.2 Features
Each SPECTRADRIVE16 comes with a predefi ed loopi g color seque ce that is i voked a d operated
ma ually by butto s or by serial stri g. The SPECRADRIVE16 has a series of 8 dipswitches. The first 4
determi e the address of the co troller, 5 a d 6 determi e the mode (sta dard color cha gi g, sll
white, su rise/su set, or color morphi g) switch 7 determi es if the lights come o whe
powered up, a d switch 8 is the termi ator for the e d device o a ba k of co trollers. The loopi g
color seque ce is i stalled at the factory a d ca ot be cha ged i the field. Note: Colors defi ed i the
table have bee tested with NuLEDs SpectraFlex a d SpectraChip RGB compo e ts. Other RGB compo e ts
may have u expected color respo se due to differe ces i their LEDs a d co structio .
The SPECTRADRIVE16 is i te ded to be wall mou ted a d ca be i stalled i a sta dard si gle‐ga g low‐
voltage electrical box (separate from a y AC li e voltage wiri g) a d is operated with o ly two butto s or
serial co ectio . The power supply is separate a d should be specifically matched to the LED system it is
drivi g. NuLEDs ca provide the proper power supply a d co trol for just about a y o ‐i tegral LED system.
