Wire orientation for Ray Wu 5V seed pixels - which wire is V+, Gnd, Data?

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RolyT

Apprentice elf
Generous elf
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Oct 8, 2021
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Hi all,

Is there a way to identify/double check which wire is +,G and D? I have just got some 5v Ray Wu so have worked on the basis they are wired as per the picture in @thedoctor903's seed pixel comparison thread. On testing them, I have only the first pixel lighting up.

20240912_135702.jpg
Google says this may be an incorrect wiring issue so I am now wondering:
  • How I can verify the wiring on the pixels
  • If JST connectors are also wired a certain way (-/+/D) or as long as I match them up on both sides it doesn't matter?
  • If my first attempt at soldering was inadequate?

Also, any tips on how to solder pigtails on these? Have seen a great video on joining them but seems easier with similar gauge wire but attaching this thin wire to thicker pigtail is seeming very hard..
 
RolyT said:
Hi all,

Is there a way to identify/double check which wire is +,G and D? I have just got some 5v Ray Wu so have worked on the basis they are wired as per the picture in post #1 above. On testing them, I have only the first pixel lighting up.

Google says this may be an incorrect wiring issue so I am now wondering:
  • How I can verify the wiring on the pixels
  • If JST connectors are also wired a certain way (-/+/D) or as long as I match them up on both sides it doesn't matter?
  • If my first attempt at soldering was inadequate?

Also, any tips on how to solder pigtails on these? Have seen a great video on joining them but seems easier with similar gauge wire but attaching this thin wire to thicker pigtail is seeming very hard..
Click to expand...
I wouldn't trust the diagram, make one sacrificial pixel and hook it up to a pigtail and a tester. I use alligator clips to try them out without soldering, the issue you might have, is if the seeds are wired different to the diagram you have potentially killed the whole string. I had pixels which said the red colour ting was positive but it ended up being negative.
 
JacksonHo said:
I wouldn't trust the diagram, make one sacrificial pixel and hook it up to a pigtail and a tester. I use alligator clips to try them out without soldering, the issue you might have, is if the seeds are wired different to the diagram you have potentially killed the whole string. I had pixels which said the red colour ting was positive but it ended up being negative.
Click to expand...
Thanks @JacksonHo. I have just done similar. Found my data line using a multimeter and turns out my data line was in the middle. Set up alligator clips and ran a test pattern fine. Turned it off and on and now only have a single blue pixel..🤷‍♂️

20240913_155512.jpg20240913_160019.jpg

Based on that test I have the top wire as +, middle as D and bottom as - but looks like will need to test further... lucky I bought an extra 1000 of these stupid things... 🤬
 
RolyT said:
Thanks @JacksonHo. I have just done similar. Found my data line using a multimeter and turns out my data line was in the middle. Set up alligator clips and ran a test pattern fine. Turned it off and on and now only have a single blue pixel..🤷‍♂️

View attachment 27030View attachment 27032

Based on that test I have the top wire as +, middle as D and bottom as - but looks like will need to test further... lucky I bought an extra 1000 of these stupid things... 🤬
Click to expand...
Look closely at one of the wires, some of them have a single coppery-coloured strand, that will be V+. The other wire that has continuity all the way down the line will be negative, and that leaves data as the last identified.
 
Notenoughlights said:
Look closely at one of the wires, some of them have a single coppery-coloured strand, that will be V+. The other wire that has continuity all the way down the line will be negative, and that leaves data as the last identified.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I have found the data via continuity and the wire I think is V+ has marking on the insulation as below
Capture3.JPG

Think I just have to do the same test a few more times and hope that I eventually get a usable string... The wire is so thin and difficult to handle and I (foolishly) only got 3cm spacing..
 
Notenoughlights said:
Look closely at one of the wires, some of them have a single coppery-coloured strand, that will be V+. The other wire that has continuity all the way down the line will be negative, and that leaves data as the last identified.
Click to expand...
That is what I thought with mine from Ray Wu this time last year, however it actually was the coloured strand negative.
 
On mine, the three different brands have three different markings.

First is Data, Positive, Ground, with the data wire having a bigger gap of insulation separating it away to compared to the POS/Gnd.
Second and third are both Pos, Data,Gnd.
One has the insulation marking as above, which is negative.
The other has silver conductors in all three wires, but the positive has one of two copper coloured stands. There's no easy way of telling from the outside until you strip the wire back.
 
I think I've found the 'official' wiring diagram on aliexpress and think I had it right... looks like I got 24awg and most other seeds are 20awg or below. .. will it be noticeably easier to join 20awg than 24... 24 seems like a few strands....
 
Ignore anything related to AWG and pixels. It's all bullcrap dodgy chinese marketing. The 18AWG that most bullets are advertised with is actually around 22 real AWG. I like to use the term CWG- China Wire Gauge - which is about AWG minus 4 - so 18CWG = 22AWG :)

Seeds have around 24AWG wire on them (similar to CAT5e conductors).
 
I've heard similar from lots of posts online.. So there's no point going for a bigger seed gap (30mm to 50mm) to try and get a thicker gauge (24awg to 20 awg)?
 
Well looks like I haven't ruined the whole string and have identified the wiring 😃... now just have to cross fingers that I can solder pigtails on multiple strip's.. 🤞

1000009094.jpg
 
I use solder sleeves on my seed pixels, they are super cheap through Temu.

How many seeds are you pushing there off without injection?
 
JacksonHo said:
I use solder sleeves on my seed pixels, they are super cheap through Temu.

How many seeds are you pushing there off without injection?
Click to expand...
Yeah I'm going to go back to the sleeves today although not sure how they'll cope with attaching think seed to thicker pigtail..

That's a roll of 900 5v seeds but will be used for 3 trees/ stars of 150 each.. was planning PI but will see how I go without
 
RolyT said:
Yeah I'm going to go back to the sleeves today although not sure how they'll cope with attaching think seed to thicker pigtail..

That's a roll of 900 5v seeds but will be used for 3 trees/ stars of 150 each.. was planning PI but will see how I go without
Click to expand...
Having a nightmare. 3cm spacing is too small for solder sleeves and is not a good place to learn actual soldering... I'll spend some time trying to learn to solder on spare wire (can't even get solder to melt currently or it just balls up and solidifies) and see how I go otherwise might need to get a bigger spacing... only wasted 50 seeds so far so a few hundred to go
 
RolyT said:
Having a nightmare. 3cm spacing is too small for solder sleeves and is not a good place to learn actual soldering... I'll spend some time trying to learn to solder on spare wire (can't even get solder to melt currently or it just balls up and solidifies) and see how I go otherwise might need to get a bigger spacing... only wasted 50 seeds so far so a few hundred to go
Click to expand...
Sounds like you might need some flux on the wires so the solder flows properly or you could have a dirty soldering tip.
 
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