Flickering 2811 strips.

[cdjazman]

question on 2811 strips - changed from P12R to pixlite 16 long range. Now have flickering strips.......... After researching I am still unclear on the issue...... Any help would be appreciated.

https://youtu.be/5YgWZLPaO1k

 

[Beacy]

I have this issue with 2811's ....dont use them ... I would suggest it is a power issue try moving a PSU closer as you may be getting voltage drop if that fixes it heavier gauge c=power cable may fix it.....at least that's my guess

 

[i13]

You've probably already tried this but is the speed/clock setting and string type the same for both controllers? 2811 is less tolerant than 2801 but in some ways it's still a better deal because of the lower price and simpler wiring. It'll work fine once you get this little issue sorted.

How are they wired up? Are the pixels closest to the controller working the best or is there one particular controller output that has the problem? Are you powering the pixels through the controller?

 

[ShellNZ]

Yep, have a play with the speed, my best is 2440, the further away from power it is the further you go down.

 

[AAH]

In my opinion the best check for voltage related issues is to use da_e131 and fade everything up to full white. IF there is no pink towards the end of the pixel run (or anywhere in fact) then that is a fair indication that you are getting sufficient voltage to the pixels. If you do have voltage issues it is quite possible that you will get pixels at the end that will latch on and they won't respond until you cycle the power or alternately they will flicker or do strange things.
Running a sequence that starts with white at 1 end and gradually turns all the pixels on white is also a good test for power.
The alternative to power issues (voltage drop) is that you are getting interference in the wiring. With potentially 20A or higher current pulses down the power wiring you can induce some nasties into things.

Clock speed for 2811 should not ever really need adjusting. There is a speed that the pixels are designed to run at and technically if the 1st pixel works at a given clock rate then every pixel should work at that clock rate.

 

[cdjazman]

Thanks for the help. Awesome as usual.

Ran some tests and yes I do get the pink with the lights staying on.

Setup is as follows;
Power supply 1 - Advatek long range controller and power injection
Power supply 2 - Power injection
Power supply 3 - 2 x Long range receivers with all four outputs used.

The tree is 20 x 3.3 mtrs 2811 strips.

Not enough power?
Last year the only difference was I was using ECG-P12R controller - same amount of power supplies......

 

[Habbosrus]

Just a thought, double check your wiring as has been suggested. Make sure there are no v+ crossing between power supplies. Check your data wire for possible interference with v- or v+.
I had a similar problem in my first year and after a lot of testing and frustration, found that I had a connection between data and v- by just one strand of wire. The connection would be made intermittently with temp changes just to make it that little harder[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif] [/font] to find
It may not be your issue, but everything is worth looking at.

 

[MikeKrebs]

Are you running test mode on controller or sending data from software?

 

[cdjazman]

Sending data from software. Running in da131 and vixen. Issues in both.

Pixlite 16 Long Range resets back to normal mode after reboot as far as I can tell.

 

[cdjazman]

I have also rechecked the wiring. Even added another power supply ..... Still same issues.

 

[Devo]

Hi,


Please check that all 3 PSUs are grounded together as this could be the source of the problem.




If still no luck PM me and we can give you a call to resolve the problem.

 

[plasmadrive]

Could very well be one bad pixel. It would mess up all the ones after it.. test that strip by itself and see what happens..

 

[cdjazman]

Good morning all.


Firstly thanks to all for the help and advice.


I went back to basics and rewired the whole set up. I double checked the grounding wires and also put in thicker wire for that. **Thanks Devo **


I still had issues so I also the followed Plasmadrives advice and tested the first of each group of five strips that were having issues by connecting to the good sets. They seemed to work fine for the rest of the set of five so made up new strips for each group.


And happy to say Woo Hoo........ We have success.


thanks again all.