Any interest in RGB spots with DMX (E1. 31) over PLC (power line Ethernet)?

jwilkcox767

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Sep 1, 2022
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Hello, long time Christmas light decorator here, new to this forum though. I have retrofitted a number of DMX RGB spots to actually communicate over PLC (powerline ethernet adapter inside the light housing) using E1.31. Also converted dumb white floods to use this as well. What this has allowed me to do is:
1) get rid of DMX cables - all comms go over the power cable and I can put them anywhere
2) get rid of DMX universes - each spot is treated like a pixel
3) get rid of unreliable/range-limited wifi DMX nodes
4) get notifcation of any failed nodes

I'm trying to gauge interest in producing these for sale to home users. Has anyone seen this done before or have interest in using such converted spots?
 

Katekate

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Jan 1, 2020
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Portland, Vic
Depends what kind of light fixture it is.

EoP seems like a lot of extra stuff to deal with when they could just be pixels.

if they were moving heads of some kind that might be more interesting.
 
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jwilkcox767

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Sep 1, 2022
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Depends what kind of light fixture it is.

EoP seems like a lot of extra stuff to deal with when they could just be pixels.

if they were moving heads of some kind that might be more interesting.
Ok, interesting take. I mainly had my retrofit in mind for outdoor usage and didn't consider the moving heads since none really exist for outdoor use. EoP certainly is "extra", but for me it solves a bunch of headaches. Thanks for the feedback!
 

jwilkcox767

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I'd be interested to see how it works!
If you're talking about how it was retrofitted, it's pretty straightforward:
-Gut some PLC adapters
-Flash the Nano with a unique IP
-Cut out the old power/DMX cables and mount/wire in the PLC
-Wire up Nano with a Max485 board, Ethernet board, and power supply board (to use the 24V DMX supply)
-Stuff everything in neatly and close up the light

If you want more details I'm happy to share.
 

tooms

12v4life
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Yes, this sounds really cool, I'd be interested to see what the cost is I'm assuming because of IP / Ethernet, they don't need to be daisy chained and one could effectively just plug them into a power outlet anywhere.
 

jwilkcox767

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Sep 1, 2022
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Yes, this sounds really cool, I'd be interested to see what the cost is I'm assuming because of IP / Ethernet, they don't need to be daisy chained and one could effectively just plug them into a power outlet anywhere.
Yep, 100%, plug it in anywhere. The cost breakdown:
Nano: $8
Max485 board: $2
W5500 board: $5
Buck converter: $2
PLC adapter: $10-25

So if you picked a lower bandwidth PLC (~600mbps instead of 2000mbps) you could do it for $27 and a little labor.
 
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