12v pebble lights - order from Australia or overseas

dannyp

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I’m looking at getting my first lot of pebble lights and was wondering what the standard spacing is between the pixel? I use bullets for a mega tree at 5cm and probably want something denser (say 2,5cm) and in 12v. I have had a look at some Australian vendors and don’t know if this is a standard spacing and if they can come in xconnect ends. I’ve seen a few people talking about ordering from Ray Wu, but would like to know what others have done and if there is an Aus vendor that they recommend.
 
I wouldn't buy 2.5cm seed pixels, go a minimum of 5cm. Otherwise it's a hassle to solder.
The only Aussie vendor of pebble pixels is Minleon Australia [Link] . Seed pixels can be bought from Light it Up LEDs & Hanson Electronics, or Chinese vendors.
 
I beg to differ. Pebbles are larger. Pebbles originally got their name because they were about the size of pebble rocks. Seeds aren't much wider than the wires they are connected to.

Like a lot of terminology that is spread around our hobby, we need a compendium with a big section on terms.
Even the sales centers don't get it right a lot of the time.

Now - both of them are great additions to our hobby - for sure.
 
So I think that I have confused myself. Are seed pixels the same as Pebble?
No, two very different styles, sizes, current draw and protocol of pixels.
Pebble pixels can be multiple LEDs per pixel, e.g. two on the front, or one on each side. Voltage ranges can be a lot higher and the dimmer bit rate is better than WS2811 protocol. But they will not work with our Kulp/Falcon controllers like WS2811 protocol.

AliExpress vendors started all the naming confusion and others have copied. The spiral downwards continues.
 
With regards to small seed spacing making it hard to connect pigtails, there are a few options which may or may not work depending on your specific application:
1. The use of a crimp on connector (e.g. 4p4c style) - can be difficult to get the wire inserted prior to crimping, may not work as well with 3 wire vs the 4 wire. Several of us have gone down this path for megatrees, matrices, and icicles. Whilst we've gotten there in the end, I suspect we'd all like to see a similar but less finicky solution
2. Use an alternate node configuration so you effectively get twice the amount of wire (fine for MT, etc, no so useful for props)
3. Order custom strings with extended lead in and out wires. Whilst I haven't ordered any personally, I've confirmed with Knowshine that at least they offer this. The only caveat is you get a bonus 'fake led' which is basically an extra glob of resin with no LED under it.
Image_20250107125628.jpgImage_20250107125611.jpg
 
Thank you. So i had seed pixels in mind and will now use that terminology. I also intend to run them from the Falcon, so need them to be compatible
 
I beg to differ. Pebbles are larger. Pebbles originally got their name because they were about the size of pebble rocks. Seeds aren't much wider than the wires they are connected to.

Like a lot of terminology that is spread around our hobby, we need a compendium with a big section on terms.
Even the sales centers don't get it right a lot of the time.

Now - both of them are great additions to our hobby - for sure.
Ah, see you need to take into account the context of this port. Ray Wu calls his seeds pebbles and so its obvious what the OP is wanting to know about. You and Mark are the only ones talking about the original pebbles, everyone else is talking about new style pebbles aka seed pixels.
 
No, two very different styles, sizes, current draw and protocol of pixels.
Pebble pixels can be multiple LEDs per pixel, e.g. two on the front, or one on each side. Voltage ranges can be a lot higher and the dimmer bit rate is better than WS2811 protocol. But they will not work with our Kulp/Falcon controllers like WS2811 protocol.

AliExpress vendors started all the naming confusion and others have copied. The spiral downwards continues.
Maybe time to give up and just go with the flow?
 
Ah, see you need to take into account the context of this port. Ray Wu calls his seeds pebbles and so its obvious what the OP is wanting to know about. You and Mark are the only ones talking about the original pebbles, everyone else is talking about new style pebbles aka seed pixels.
You think about it, all this naming confusion has come from Ray Wu and other vendors following suit.

Maybe time to give up and just go with the flow?
I get that there are doubters like yourself, but it's important people in the community know the actual differences.
 
You think about it, all this naming confusion has come from Ray Wu and other vendors following suit.


I get that there are doubters like yourself, but it's important people in the community know the actual differences.
Why is it important given approximately 0% of the community is going to ever use or even accidentally buy these 'real' pebbles pixels? You seem very fixated with this, but you do you :)
 
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