EE question - Computer-controlled potentiometer?

[Byrthnoth]

For the sake of science, I'm making a LED platform. It's a bunch of high power LEDs connected to a power supply. Currently I have it and it works, but I want to be able to blink it.

I have this power supply:
http://www.environmentallights.com/14375-60w12vdim.html

Driving a roll of these:
http://www.environmentallights.com/1...0-10-reel.html


I have an old DAQ board with +/- 6V output ports (digital or analog). Ideally I would use this DAQ board to vary the resistance of something I could put in line with the lights. I feel this thing I'm looking for should be fairly easy to find, but I just lack the vocabulary to google for it.

[Senji]

You have different options depending on what you to do, amount of control, or complicated you want to get. Easiest and right now you can just step down the voltage until they blink.

[Byrthnoth]

Wouldn't stepping down the voltage just make them dimmer? I need something that's going to chop it to make them blink, don't I?

[Senji]

Yeah, those will dim to nothing. I only read the name. Non dimmable leds if you step to a certain point they will blink.

[Byrthnoth]

If I just want blinking, one option would be to short out the power supply with a TTL switch, right? So I have my LEDs powered off the power supply, but I bridge positive and negative with a TTL-controlled switch. Will a switch take 60 Watts like that?

[Byrthnoth]

I gave up on making it analog and am planning to use a relay to switch the DC current on/off. Called the company and they said that it would work for this application.

[Stromgarde]

Have you done anything with 555 timer circuits? They're pretty great for this sort of application.