> Alternatively I could use PWM and some sort of home built driver. The
> circuit here: http://www.solorb.com/elect/solarcirc/pwm1/ suggests the
> use of a FET. Having never controlled this large a DC load before, I
> have no idea if this is a good or bad idea. Any thoughts?

Hi Josh. Controlling a light bulb of that wattage is pretty straight-forward.
Much less problematic than a DC motor of that size for example (resistive
vs inductive load). The only consideration of the above circuit might be
whether the FET is turned on and off quickly enough to avoid unnecessary
heating. It's not hard to find or design a simple gate driver though, which
should include gate protection. AIUI the gate is what often fails. Usually a
small (10 ohm) series resistor and zener is OK

-- 
http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist