First timer from SE-Melbourne

One thing i've noticed with the limited options of ready to run is you most likly end up paying more for the conenience.
Its about weighing up time, budget and willingness to learn new skills I guess, and everyone will have different preferences on this.
 
Skymaster said:
I believe @AAH is looking at some RTR versions of his controllers, but I have no idea on ETA though
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I made up the first RTR DMX2-24 build today. It turned out pretty sweet. Still battling a bug or 2 so it's not sealed up yet.
Next RTR version will be a HE123-RX2. Then the HE123D. The HE123Mk2 gets a bit more complicated due to 5V and 12 and needing ventilation.
 
I run two he123mk2.
Easy to get from Alan Hanson

Plus a heap of us around Casey have them and spares, so backup is plentiful.

Also helps with getting local support.

It's modular and expandable so will do your show this year and expand each year with its sub boards.
 
thewanderingpine said:
For strip — I think it’s really good in situations where it’s permanently affixed and not able to flex/move/etc. if you want to put it up temporarily and then take it down every year - you might want to look at strands of bullet pixels
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I'm thinking of leaving them up permanently as they'll be discreet enough.

The he123mk2 looks great. And a meanwell power supply looks to be the main one used?
Any pointers on where to research if I need 12 or 5v, or is that purely based on the specific lights I'm running?
 
chee5eburger said:
I'm thinking of leaving them up permanently as they'll be discreet enough.

The he123mk2 looks great. And a meanwell power supply looks to be the main one used?
Any pointers on where to research if I need 12 or 5v, or is that purely based on the specific lights I'm running?
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I run 12v and use hp power supplys.

I know Graham runs 5v.

12v is easier to get power supplys for....that's the only thing I can say.
 
Some scatttered thoughts on LED strip:
You can get IP67 which means it’s slightly more waterproof (against directed streams of water I think) and it will be encased in a clear silicon tube. You then need to work out how to stick it up.

You can also get ip65 strip, which has a silicon cover over the electronics, and is (not very) sticky on the back.

You can also get ip30 strip - but that isn’t waterproof and not great for outside.

There’s a newish option now, LED neon strips. These are encased in an opaque silicon tube and look much more like a neon tube - continuous light instead of points.

With the ip65 strips - you have the option of installing them in a diffuser - aluminium channel with a plastic covering — that helps spread the light and stop it looking like individual points.

Personally - I have ip65 in a diffuser, but I’d be tempted to use the neon stuff these days


Next, let’s talk about density. There’s 2 (related) pieces of density to consider. How many LEDs per metre. And how many individually controllable sections per metre.

So LEDs per metre. Often this is 30. (Which is decent spacing for house outlines - I have 30). You can go to 60, but it has trade offs with power, etc. The further back your House is from the viewers - the better 30 is.
For controllable segments - sometimes (especially with 12v strip) - every 3 LEDs is controllable instead of each one.

Another thing with newer LED strip is you can get duplicate data channels. In theory - this should mean it keeps working even if an LED dies. I don’t have that on mine (it’s been 2.5 years and still ok) but I wish I did.
 
12v vs 5v is one of those loaded questions. Each has its pros & cons.
My advise would be choose one voltage for your display and try to stick to it. If you must have both voltages (which many controllers can support) just make sure to be vigilant and take measures to both identify what are 5v and 12v leads and use different connectors for both to prevent accidental 12v into 5v issues.
For what it's worth, I was 12v at first as I thought it was "easier" (less power injection) but once I was advised of the wasted power of 12v and wasn't scared of power injection, i've been switching over to 5v for the last few years with minimal 12v remaining in the display.
 
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I really appreciate all of the advice and stuff everyone.
I've been reading up and just want to make sure I'm on the right page with everything before I buy the wrong things (aware I'm leaving it pretty late).

As I understand it, the ecosystem is something along the lines of
[ psu ] -> [ computer / pi / bbb / etc ] -> [ controller ]
software will dump either a file or an image that i'll chuck on the
the the lights will have one end on the controller and one end into the PSU (unless I get a controller that can also power them)

I'm completely lost when it comes to wiring electronics and stuff, so this is going to be fun.

If I need a long string of lights, I can just daisy chain multiple strings together until I hit the pixel limit of the controller output right?

And I'm planning two sets of lights about 5m apart. Is it recommended to get two boards and sync them somehow, or can I just run a stupidly long length of wires to the far-away set (sub-question, is that where null pixels would come in), and then factor in ohms law and maybe get a larger power supply to handle the drop over distance?

Hopefully these questions make sense!
 
Most controllers have power inputs on them to power the pixels
However depending on how far the controller is from the pixel you may need to inject power, ie the power source near the pixel.
I generally inject every 200 pixels in my 12v setup. I run at 30% brightness and could run longer.

If I was to run 100% I can light up 150-200 easy.

There are ways to overcome this.
Have a controller that has local pixel ports as well as differential outputs ie network ports.

You then run a sub box that has a network cable to it from the controller, a seperate power supply in that and then plug into your nearest 240v outlet and run your pixels for that section from the receiver/ "sub control box".
The receiver's are effectively just extra ports run from your controller sending the pixel output data over Ethernet cable.
These need to be a direct connection and not run thru a network switch.

The he123mk2 offers this functionality.
You can have up to 48 pixel ports on it with a mix of physical ports as well as differential receivers and transmitters
 
And yes your ecosystem is pretty correct.

If you want to come past I'm in brookland greens.
Could even look at hiring a room for a 3977 mini at the Cranbourne west community centre for a few hours and making a mini mini for next month.
 
@chee5eburger - the system is more:

XLights models your house and all your lights
XLights generates a sequence file (music + what lights to turn on when)
XLights uploads that to your show player

your show player is the pi/pc/bbb.
it is connected to your network.
Also connected to your network is your controller.

so your controller has:
PSU->controller->lights
(But also has an incoming network connection)

this design allows you to have multiple different controllers - all synced to the show player.

It’s worth noting that some controllers also run as a show player to potentially consolidate this architecture - but consider them seperate for now.
 
Snicko said:
And yes your ecosystem is pretty correct.

If you want to come past I'm in brookland greens.
Could even look at hiring a room for a 3977 mini at the Cranbourne west community centre for a few hours and making a mini mini for next month.
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The Sydney guys held a “build party” recently. But whatever we call it - I’d be keen to come along.

(Fallback plan - I’ll fire up the smoker and invite you all round for some brisket.)
 
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