Answered E1.31 control of 31Vac 2 wire led light strings (kMart - bigW)

Hi All,
I am planning my first synchronised display with a few thousand 2811/2812/APA102 pixels, several ESPixelSticks (home made using ESP-12 modules) and Vixen 3. Will also be experimenting with a homebrew controller(Arduino Due with FastLED or OctoWS2811, using an ESP-12 or W5500 ethernet interface). Hopefully be able to control a truckload of pixels)
Anyway, I also have a ton of 31V AC lights (the ones with only 2 wires from the controller/plugpack) I bought in the post christmas sales last year (around 4000 leds). I was thinking of building the above controller fitted with several H-bridges (L298N - control up to 36V) to be able to switch polarity and have PWM dimming to get full functionality of the stings - but synchronised to my display.
Has there been any prior work on a similar project, or am I pioneering here? Will be happy to share my experiences here if this is a new idea.
Thanks guys...

Hi Bryon, welcome to ACL!
2 channel DC strings have been tackled before, as it became an issue a few seasons ago. There are already some controllers available (an example is here: http://www.hansonelectronics.com.au/product/dmx2-18/ ) but you may be able to build your own a little cheaper if you have the skills to pay the bills.
Sounds like you already have the know-how on it, but there is some info in the Wiki here: https://auschristmaslighting.com/wiki/LED-String-Wiring

Thanks a lot for the quick reply! This is exactly what I am chasing. While it's a shame that I'm not the first person to think of this solution, it is nice to see that someone else has already done the hard work and has something I can just buy and not spend multiple weekens tinkering with. Nice use of a WS2803 - I would never have thought along those lines...

my little innovation to controlling those 31V lights was to grab one of hansons 2811 dimmers

http://www.hansonelectronics.com.au/product/2811dc30/

and just feed it via an espixelstick! 30 channels of wireless pwm control without too much effort at all