keep slow fade only on 8 modes LED controller

[lp.descamps]

hi,

I see a lot of guides on how to bypass completely the controller and have the lights on steady on but any idea if it s possible to to have it hardcoded to slow fade only?
one solution I saw is to replace the capacitor with a bigger one so it keeps the selection in memory while not used but I would like to find a better way

thank you

 

[Katekate]

some of them have solder pads where you can add a tiny memory chip to allow them to remember the setting.

not much we can do other than guess without knowing what the controller is.

 

[kwennerberg]

hi,

I see a lot of guides on how to bypass completely the controller and have the lights on steady on but any idea if it s possible to to have it hardcoded to slow fade only?
one solution I saw is to replace the capacitor with a bigger one so it keeps the selection in memory while not used but I would like to find a better way

thank you

Can you provide link or details on "slow fade"?

 

[David_AVD]

Some threads that may help:

Flasher Control Unit Bypass

Appreciate any pointers anyone here may have. I have a couple of sets of LEDs from a few years ago I would really like to bypass the flasher unit of so the lights are just solid on. Unfortunately, my unit does not seem to match any of those in the Wiki article on this. The transformer/flasher...

auschristmaslighting.com

Bypassing Christmas Light Controller

Hello from Aberdeen. I was wondering if someone could advise me how to bypass the light controller shown in the attached photo. (To keep the Dobbies 2m x 2m LED Net lights from flashing and just have them on constantly). Searched this website but could not find a similar controller).

auschristmaslighting.com

 

[lp.descamps]

some of them have solder pads where you can add a tiny memory chip to allow them to remember the setting.

not much we can do other than guess without knowing what the controller is.

Hi, I have attached 2 pictures of the controller. the lights are running on 24V. thanks

 

[lp.descamps]

Some threads that may help:

Flasher Control Unit Bypass

Appreciate any pointers anyone here may have. I have a couple of sets of LEDs from a few years ago I would really like to bypass the flasher unit of so the lights are just solid on. Unfortunately, my unit does not seem to match any of those in the Wiki article on this. The transformer/flasher...

auschristmaslighting.com

Bypassing Christmas Light Controller

Hello from Aberdeen. I was wondering if someone could advise me how to bypass the light controller shown in the attached photo. (To keep the Dobbies 2m x 2m LED Net lights from flashing and just have them on constantly). Searched this website but could not find a similar controller).

auschristmaslighting.com

hi, thank you for the links. unfortunately, I don't want to bypass. i just want to use the effect every time I turn them on.

 

[lp.descamps]

Can you provide link or details on "slow fade"?

Hi, I have attached 2 pictures of the controller. the lights are running on 24V. thanks

 

[David_AVD]

That unit can't be modified unfortunately.

 

[lp.descamps]

can't see the brains of the operation. can you take a photo that shows the board with the controller on it?

hello, here we go. is this the brain? thank you

 

[i13]

A lot of us here including myself have converted our light sets to computer control. That would be one way to mimic the effect that you want but I wouldn't bother if this is the only reason that you're doing it.

 

[kwennerberg]

Thanks. When I build this I will be controlling the lights with an xLights program and a Kulp controller + Badgerboard. Is that what you would mean by "computer control"?
Knowing other computer languages I see how one could simulate fade by adjusting the brightness every second or so in a programming "loop". What frequency of brightness "step down"" would you recommend for smooth?

 

[TerryK]

Thanks. When I build this I will be controlling the lights with an xLights program and a Kulp controller + Badgerboard. Is that what you would mean by "computer control"?
Knowing other computer languages I see how one could simulate fade by adjusting the brightness every second or so in a programming "loop". What frequency of brightness "step down"" would you recommend for smooth?

There is no defined correct answer because what one individual sees as 'smooth' another may not. Whatever it is will be a mesh of the human eye merging images (neighborhood of 30 images per second) and the illumination decrease step size and rate; in a digital scheme that is. It would be slightly different for an analog control scheme as a step size would not exist.

 

[i13]

I was answering the question in this thread in the context of low voltage traditional LED strings, not pixels. I don't know about the Badgerboard but the Kulp controller is for pixels. You'll need to replace the LED string's original blinker unit with a DC controller to achieve computer control in the context of my above post. I notice that you're in America and I'm not sure how common low voltage LED strings are over there.

Answering the question on frames per second, I'd do this in xLights so it'll be determined by the frame rate set in xLights. In my sequences, this is 40 frames per second but some other displays run at 20 frames per second. For the slow fade effect (which I remember from before converting to computer control), the frame rate could probably be much lower e.g. 10 frames per second and still look smooth. This is because it is literally a slow fading on and off. The brightness won't change too much from frame to frame. The original blinker units looked like they only had a few preset brightnesses that they could use. This made the slow fade effect look a little bit stepped but you'd have to look for it to notice it.