HELP!! Which cables do I need? (+ A diagram)

Joshaaye

Joshaaye

Hoping that everything still works..
Joined
Nov 1, 2020
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Hervey Bay
G'day everyone. I'm starting to get to the pointy end of things with my build. I've tried watching videos and stuff like that but I'm just struggling a little bit so figured I'd do up a diagram and bring it to you guys for help.

Below is a digram of how I believe everything needs to be wired up. So first, please tell me if I'm wrong. I've tried to even draw the cables coming out of their correct slots on each board. That way if I'm doing something wrong in that department, you'll be able to let me know.

Basically my main things I want to know is what cable do I use for the Green & Orange cables in my diagram. Are they the same cable?
I've been told this morning to use This Cable which is much cheaper than extension cable from bunnings. Will that do the trick for both the green & Orange cables or is it just one of those and I need another type of cable to?

Any Australian links would be greatly appreciated please. I went to both electrical wholesalers in town this morning and none of them wanted to help me in the slightest.

Thank you :)

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I buy wire for the orange lines from whoever I am currently buying pixels from. I can't help much with Australian links, but here's a US one, for instance: https://www.wiredwatts.com/3c18kd-bulk
As far as the connection from the power supply to the boards (green wire) any automotive shop should carry wire that will serve this purpose. If you are running less than 3 ft, then a 14 AWG wire should suffice. That's 2.5 mm2 for those of you who use measurements that make sense. I run 10 AWG (6.0 mm2) for that because I had a bunch of it left over after I built my son an electric go-kart.
 
security cable is NO good for the green (power) cable. The power cable from the power supply to the board (and/or lights if power injecting) needs to be 2 core 12AWG (4.0mm), 14AWG (2.5mm) or 16AWG (1.5mm), I think most go for 14 AWG, but whichever fits the connections best.

Personally not a fan of the security cable, a good 3 core 18AWG cable is usually sufficient. However 20m might be too far, but an f-amp or one of Alan's null pixel buffers will help (he has ready to go ones with pigtails)
 
The linked cable is fine to use from controller to pixels (orange), and I use the 4 core version from PSU to power inject along the strings as required.
However the wires from PSU to controllers (green) should be a larger gauge to handle the higher power demands.
 
Sweet as. Thank you @djgra79 @OzAz @CargoLights .
So I should use This Cable as the orange cable (I have pigtails on their way already as was also suggested).
For my longer runs use A Null Buffer - I've gotta place a small order with him already anyway.

Now just the green cable. Would Something like This do the job? I assume I don't need much because it's only gotta reach from PSU to Controller/Reciever in the box. If I was to order 10 or 30metres of 2mm?
Or I could get 15m of 4mm Here

Or am I looking at the wrong thing?
 
For the Orange cable, many of us build our own extensions using 25m Extension Cords from Bunnings. Cores of each cable is only 1.0mm but suffices for short-medium Controller > Pixel runs as you wouldn't typically be passing >5A through those and voltage drop for 12v isn't as pronounced. Cores may be a bit small for longer runs of 20m due to voltage drop.

Quick tip: Keep 2-3m of cable attached to the Male end of the extension cord, and use that as a power supply lead.

www.bunnings.com.au

Click 25m 250V 10A Heavy Duty Extension Lead

Find Click 25m 250V 10A Heavy Duty Extension Lead at Bunnings. Visit your local store for the widest range of products.
www.bunnings.com.au www.bunnings.com.au
 
I don't like using extension cables like that because it could be easy to confuse which lead is actually a 240v plug and which is being used for your low voltage stuff. That's just me though, each to their own, so long as you are comfortable and confident you can tell the difference.
 
Alright:

So my plan is:
- Already got some pigtails on the way - so might as well just make my own extensions
- Will buy 80m or so of This Cable (Orange Cable in Diagram) and cut where needed, attach pigtails to the end
- Have a few Null Buffers handy for some of the longer runs
- Stop in at Jaycar on the way home from work and buy A few meters of this (Green cable in diagram)

I think?? That's everything sorted then?


My bunnings is out of stock of that cable @Nojoy and my power supplies are already wired up with 15m cables :)
 
Looks good to me, pretty sure I used that jaycar cable also. Just be wary of what size cable crimps/bootlace ferrules etc you use also, to make sure there are no stray strands.
 
Perfect! @djgra79 yeah I'll probably get the guys at Jaycar to help me pick the right ones. I rather pay a little more for the peace of mind rather than sourcing my own online.
 
6 core security cable is among the best choices for cable for pixel wiring and it's also quite good for power injection wiring. It does need to be the 14/0.2 cable and not 7/0.2. That's 14 strands of 0.2mm diameter copper per core. Each core works out to 0.44mm2. When using for pixels wiring and using 3 for 0V, 2 for +ve and 1 for data you end up with 1.32mm2, 0.88mm2 and 0.44mm2. This is actually heavier duty than using standard duty 10A rated extension leads and it's a heap lighter as it doesn't have the 240V rated thick insulation on it.
 
HI watch this it may help.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpr0NX9HaPQ
. i use the 1mm2 extension cord wire from bunnings
i use it for power injection and for long pigtails. every opinion is different and give different answers my resistance on all of mine are between 0.7-0.9 ohms. The 0.9 ohms is on a 20mtr run. hope this helps.
 
AAH said:
6 core security cable is among the best choices for cable for pixel wiring and it's also quite good for power injection wiring. It does need to be the 14/0.2 cable and not 7/0.2. That's 14 strands of 0.2mm diameter copper per core. Each core works out to 0.44mm2. When using for pixels wiring and using 3 for 0V, 2 for +ve and 1 for data you end up with 1.32mm2, 0.88mm2 and 0.44mm2. This is actually heavier duty than using standard duty 10A rated extension leads and it's a heap lighter as it doesn't have the 240V rated thick insulation on it.
Click to expand...
So are you saying I should consider using This cable as the orange cable in my diagram, rather than something like This as performance can actually be much better?
 
It's your choice that is what I use for my runs from the controller to the props and have no issues yet fingers crossed 😃 I do also use some of Alans null buffers. And that depends on how many pixels in the run . I have a 1200 ish pixel matrix 5v with two power injection cables and two cables from the controller with no issues.
 
Alright, sweet as. Cheers for all the help. And yep I'll be picking up some of Alans Null buffers just incase
 
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