First build - HDPE arches

[slw2206]

Hey guys,

First time builder here, and all of the options available on the market kind of puts me into overload. Looking for some guidance on what "appropriate" gear I should get for this project.

I'll be making 10 2" HDPE arches to line my driveway (5 on each side). Each arch will house 150 (I think 12V WS2815 IP65 strips). After that I know I need a controller, power supply, and a wireless network controller; but there are so many options I'm not sure which type would be "best".

I will be expanding my display beyond these arches and in close proximity so I'd like to have something that has extra capacity for future projects.

Given those parameters (and if I missed anything jist let me know) what should I be looking at for hardware?

I have 25,000 traditional LED lights all over my 5 acre farm so I'm not a stranger to lighting projects, but addressable LEDs opens up a Pandoras box. Appreciate any help!

 

[merryoncherry]

Yeah, strips or seed pixels in HDPE or PEX is popular for arches, mine are much smaller than 2" (and PEX) because they were brighter, and strip because seeds weren't available yet when I made them. Try it on a small amount of the pipe before you get a whole spool.

 

[Indigogyre]

I always had an issue with the connections on my custom strips when I cut and soldiered them. I switched over from strip in pex to just bullets in coro to make my life easier.

If you are using strip, design the arches around the length of strip you are using. It might not be a bad thing to order custom lengths of strip for it.

Also, decide if you are going to use 12v or 5v for your show and design the entire show to use the same voltage. You can mix and match but then it just added extra complexity to the situation.

 

[slw2206]

Well... I guess we're about to jump into this head first!

Just ordered a Falcon 16v5, 600w PSU, Raspberry Pi 4, and all the wires + accessories that will be needed. Since I know that arches will just be the first of many light projects, might as well get something that can handle a decent amount and is expandable.

Tuesday should be a fun day when all this stuff arrives

 

[harpster]

Falcon F16Vx is a great controller. Key things for successful pixel is power injection and dimming to keep voltage loss to a minimum. Pixels set to white draw the most current and will look pink if set to full brightness and power to pixels is only at one end (first arch).

You will probably want to supply power to arches at beginning, middle and end on each side of driveway and then experiment with a dimming curve to make the max intensity somewhere from 30% to 70%. I’m running some pixel strips at 40% and that’s plenty bright enough.

 

[merryoncherry]

Key things for successful pixel is power injection and dimming to keep voltage loss to a minimum. Pixels set to white draw the most current and will look pink if set to full brightness and power to pixels is only at one end (first arch).

You will probably want to supply power to arches at beginning, middle and end on each side of driveway and then experiment with a dimming curve to make the max intensity somewhere from 30% to 70%. I’m running some pixel strips at 40% and that’s plenty bright enough.

It's early in the season, plenty of time to get samples of the lights you want to use and try them. You will quickly learn that a few volts of drop is fine (no need to "minimize", just keep at "acceptable" levels as defined by your pixels and tastes) and that the 12V pixels and strips do not in fact look pink when there is voltage drop, and even that some pixels do not draw the most when on full white (single color draw is higher by a slim margin, but still). My small 2m arches are powered from 1 end at 100% and all I need is a data amp if they are 20' or more from the controller. The 5m arches, I do regret not being able to power from both ends as they are only able to do 50% from 1 end even though they are attached directly to the controller pigtails.