AliExpress A8SE Reef Light

[KoenE]

I've some news, because I'm able to tell all of you where the temperature reading in the app should be coming from (my new light came in so I could check out the circuit of the led cluster).
Therefore I could conclude that the temperature sensor isn't on the led cluster, but it should be U8 on the main PCB, which means it measures the temperature next to the ESP (the used ESP version doesn't have an build-in temperature sensor). Which type of sensor U8 is exactly, is still unknown, I will have to see if I can find out using an oscilloscope, my current guesses are a one-wire type like ds18b20 or an i2c type.
In the part in the housing where the mainboard is located, there also is no airflow, so the temperature difference won't be as big as on the led cluster or heatsink.
Therefore, in my opinion, the only way to make sure if adding thermal paste works, is measure the temperature of the cluster before and after pasting using an IR thermometer/camera (or stick another temperature sensor on there).

hey, this is really good news and im wondering if you have also the schematic diagram of the led bead board specifically. A8Se Blue cause the technician couldnt find one online and were trying to fix the board cause apparently most of the a8se have manufacturing problems one would be the poor soldering of the led beads thats why some of the channels or leds fail. This would mean a lot if you can make one thank you

The schematic of the led board is pretty easy. There are literally only LED and SMD-resistors on there. No fancy stuff, so if there's an issue with the board it should be easy to find.

 

[ReefTimReef]

maybe you can

The schematic of the led board is pretty easy. There are literally only LED and SMD-resistors on there. No fancy stuff, so if there's an issue with the board it should be easy to find.

give a detailed schematic diagram. the lines of each led beads going to the other is pretty light and its time consuming

 

[ReefTimReef]

the other cluster of blue leds are not working and we tested each led and its working fine and also we resoldered some of the led beads that was removed but still the problem is still there maybe you can help so we can see if theres a. trace missing

 

[KoenE]

maybe you can

The schematic of the led board is pretty easy. There are literally only LED and SMD-resistors on there. No fancy stuff, so if there's an issue with the board it should be easy to find.

give a detailed schematic diagram. the lines of each led beads going to the other is pretty light and its time consuming

I'm on holiday, and don't have the blue. As it's easy, I would say, try it yourself. I don't need it for my purpose of reprogramming the light. So for me it would be a waste of time to do it as well.

 

[Kodski]

I only have a couple of complaints about these lights (I have the A8 PRO II Max). I have to reboot my router frequently, and the lights don't reconnect unless I power cycle them. Anyone else have this issue or solutions?

if you are running a separate 2.4ghz band but its still disconnecting it could be a few things. The most likely issue is that the IP lease is expiring. Typically routers are set to a 12hr or 24hr IP lease. This means that after the set time, the IP address given to the device by the router is taken away and if the device is still active a new IP address will be assigned. This causes issues sometimes because after the router reassigns a new IP address to the device the device may not recognize this new IP address without a power cycle. Which in turn causes a disconnect of sorts. Sometimes you'll see that the device is still connected to the wifi but without internet. Most "dumb" smart devices though, will just simply say "not connected." The simplest way to avoid this is to static the IP address of the device. I'm guessing there is no way to do this with the device itself, so you'll have to do this through the router. The method of doing this will vary depending on your specific router. Some you can just simply reserve the IP address to the devices mac address. Other times its a bit more in depth.

The other issue could be that the device is operating on a certain wifi channel and another device or even the router itself is operating on the same channel. Much more complicated of a problem to correct but also a lot less likely to happen than the first issue I talked about.


Edit: if anyone would like further explanation on the issues above or about wifi and how it operates I would be happy to help. Just ask.

 

[ReefTimReef]

Does anybody know if the A8pro blue led board would be compatible with the a8se blue. i know its a different arrangement but it would still work right?

 

[xavier-France]

Hello.

Are the A8 led more silent than radion G5 or G6 please, at 100% intensity ?

thanks

Best regards,

Xavier

 

[4age]

sorry if this has been asked already but which version comes with cree leds and the meanwell driver..i found two sellers on alibaba but the units only have cree leds and do not come with meanwell drivers. Are meanwell drivers a deal breaker or do the black box drivers work fine?

 

[Mortis]

Is there a freshwater version of this light available ? Can I customize the Reef version to one more suitable to Freshwater ? I would mainly just reduce the blues, add some whites and other colours to balance it out to make a WRGB light.

Also, I would ideally like to use Bridgelux LEDs because I can get all the various colours I need and have matching chips. Would the SE version be more suitable to make such a swap ? Im open to replacing ALL the LEDs instead of just some of them if thats what is needed

 

[Kodski]

Is there a freshwater version of this light available ? Can I customize the Reef version to one more suitable to Freshwater ? I would mainly just reduce the blues, add some whites and other colours to balance it out to make a WRGB light.

Also, I would ideally like to use Bridgelux LEDs because I can get all the various colours I need and have matching chips. Would the SE version be more suitable to make such a swap ? Im open to replacing ALL the LEDs instead of just some of them if thats what is needed

There are knockoff Kessil's if you look. I'm sure they would have the freshwater version in those since those are actually produced with a freshwater version LED chip set.

 

[bradreef]

https://www.alibaba.com/x/B0DU8D?ck=pdp

 

[Mortis]

There are knockoff Kessil's if you look. I'm sure they would have the freshwater version in those since those are actually produced with a freshwater version LED chip set.

Im not a fan of spots. Im afraid. At least not on smaller tanks

 

[LittleMaui]

if you are running a separate 2.4ghz band but its still disconnecting it could be a few things. The most likely issue is that the IP lease is expiring. Typically routers are set to a 12hr or 24hr IP lease. This means that after the set time, the IP address given to the device by the router is taken away and if the device is still active a new IP address will be assigned. This causes issues sometimes because after the router reassigns a new IP address to the device the device may not recognize this new IP address without a power cycle. Which in turn causes a disconnect of sorts. Sometimes you'll see that the device is still connected to the wifi but without internet. Most "dumb" smart devices though, will just simply say "not connected." The simplest way to avoid this is to static the IP address of the device. I'm guessing there is no way to do this with the device itself, so you'll have to do this through the router. The method of doing this will vary depending on your specific router. Some you can just simply reserve the IP address to the devices mac address. Other times its a bit more in depth.

The other issue could be that the device is operating on a certain wifi channel and another device or even the router itself is operating on the same channel. Much more complicated of a problem to correct but also a lot less likely to happen than the first issue I talked about.


Edit: if anyone would like further explanation on the issues above or about wifi and how it operates I would be happy to help. Just ask.

Perhaps I'll assign each of the lights a static IP in my router. Any idea who I can ID the IP or MAC? I don't see it on the light app and I have 120 devices on my home network. Perhaps if someone can tell me what name it's broadcasting.

 

[LittleMaui]

I’m using an asus router, this is the configuration I’m using, since i did this it has never failed, notice that I’m using wpa/wpa2 probably this has something to do about it

Thanks for the suggestions. I too run my lights on a 2.4ghz channel, but only have WPA2-Personal. I'll give this a try. I know it's less secure, but I only have IOT devices on the channel.

 

[fufoow]

if you are running a separate 2.4ghz band but its still disconnecting it could be a few things. The most likely issue is that the IP lease is expiring. Typically routers are set to a 12hr or 24hr IP lease. This means that after the set time, the IP address given to the device by the router is taken away and if the device is still active a new IP address will be assigned. This causes issues sometimes because after the router reassigns a new IP address to the device the device may not recognize this new IP address without a power cycle. Which in turn causes a disconnect of sorts. Sometimes you'll see that the device is still connected to the wifi but without internet. Most "dumb" smart devices though, will just simply say "not connected." The simplest way to avoid this is to static the IP address of the device. I'm guessing there is no way to do this with the device itself, so you'll have to do this through the router. The method of doing this will vary depending on your specific router. Some you can just simply reserve the IP address to the devices mac address. Other times its a bit more in depth.

The other issue could be that the device is operating on a certain wifi channel and another device or even the router itself is operating on the same channel. Much more complicated of a problem to correct but also a lot less likely to happen than the first issue I talked about.


Edit: if anyone would like further explanation on the issues above or about wifi and how it operates I would be happy to help. Just ask.

Perhaps I'll assign each of the lights a static IP in my router. Any idea who I can ID the IP or MAC? I don't see it on the light app and I have 120 devices on my home network. Perhaps if someone can tell me what name it's broadcasting.

Just the last 2 numberes are missing, I don’t know how safe is posting the entire address this is the mac of my A8SE II 5C:01:3B:E2:C2:

 

[Kodski]

Just the last 2 numberes are missing, I don’t know how safe is posting the entire address this is the mac of my A8SE II 5C:01:3B:E2:C2:

It is not safe posting IP or Mac addresses.

Mac address is like a phone number, each one is unique to that specific device. So posting yours doesn't necessarily mean another will be similar.

Perhaps I'll assign each of the lights a static IP in my router. Any idea who I can ID the IP or MAC? I don't see it on the light app and I have 120 devices on my home network. Perhaps if someone can tell me what name it's broadcasting.

You can download scanner apps on your phone which should help ID the lights. They also have some for the computer which are a lot better if you're able to. I use "Wire Shark" at work all the time and it's a pretty good software, just not as easy to use as some of the phone apps. The issue with the phone apps is that the free versions usually only let you scan a network once in 24 hrs. Some router's software isn't always helpful in labeling them. Otherwise Simply make note of the IP addresses that are online, take the lights offline and you'll find them that way. IP addresses are usually leased to a device for a few hours, so if you unplug and then plug them back in, they should have the same IP address.

 

[TriGa22]

I ordered one to use on a 25gallon Lagoon. 24 wide by 12 deep. What intensity should I use? Across within top 6” of water column.

 

[Aaron75]

I ordered one to use on a 25gallon Lagoon. 24 wide by 12 deep. What intensity should I use? Across within top 6” of water column.

You're going to want a par meter to be sure. How high above your tank it is and what program you run will effect par.

 

[penfold2]

I ordered one to use on a 25gallon Lagoon. 24 wide by 12 deep. What intensity should I use? Across within top 6” of water column.

That's the same tank I have and I'm running mine at 67 watts 8" above the water. I measure 250-300 par in the middle of the tank using the Photone app, but I'm not sure how accurate it is. Montipora and LPS are growing well, but I'm still struggling with Acros (probably due to water quality and tank maturity rather than light).

 

[TriGa22]

That's the same tank I have and I'm running mine at 67 watts 8" above the water. I measure 250-300 par in the middle of the tank using the Photone app, but I'm not sure how accurate it is. Montipora and LPS are growing well, but I'm still struggling with Acros (probably due to water quality and tank maturity rather than light).

So you select the wattage intensity separately from the percentage of color? Interesting. I’ll need to read up on the programming lol