Hi guys,
I am trying to control a tungston halogen bulb (6V, 20W) using a PIC. I want to ramp up the current gradually till its fully on - then when switching it off, ramp down the current again in a controlled manner.
Now, the first design that came to my mind is to use a transistor and to control it with a PWM signal. However I am worried about the bulb life in this design - the PWM will continusously switch the bulb on and off right?
Does anyone know of a better way to acheive this?
The reason I want to ramp the current up and down is to ensure the bulb doesnt heat up unnecessarily and to not introduce sudden currents. The bulb will be on for maybe a minute before being switched off again.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thank you!
I am trying to control a tungston halogen bulb (6V, 20W) using a PIC. I want to ramp up the current gradually till its fully on - then when switching it off, ramp down the current again in a controlled manner.
Now, the first design that came to my mind is to use a transistor and to control it with a PWM signal. However I am worried about the bulb life in this design - the PWM will continusously switch the bulb on and off right?
Does anyone know of a better way to acheive this?
The reason I want to ramp the current up and down is to ensure the bulb doesnt heat up unnecessarily and to not introduce sudden currents. The bulb will be on for maybe a minute before being switched off again.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thank you!