LOR DC boards

rhys.smith.007

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Hi folks,

I am in the process of gathering components for my display this year, & have aquired different RGB DC strips at different voltages.

I am using LOR S3, so think the LOR controller will be best for dumb strips (I have a J1Sys board for my 3 wire addressable strips).

I have 3 enquiries;
1) Do any of the LOR controllers have varying outputs- ie could I use some channels for 24v, some 12, some 36 etc?
2) To run any longer lengths of either strip, I have been told I can add an extra power supply to overcome voltage drop (as long as there is a common negative), but how would I get around boosting the data line on my addressable strip or would I simply have to use another DMX universe altogether?
3) Is it possible to get higher grade (read current carrying capacity) Cat5 cable, because 45w total power on my strips is quite a large amount, especially at 5v?

All & any help/advice would be much appreciated!
 

AAH

I love blinky lights :)
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Hi Rhys
If you have a look on http://auschristmaslighting.com/wiki/Controllers you'll see there's a whole bunch of choices for DC boards. About the only advantage of the LOR boards is that they run off a LOR network. All the other DC boards and the LOR boards as well run off DMX networks so if you have DMX available it gives you a lot more options.
1. All of the DC boards above 24 channels with the exception of the Ray Wu 27 channel board have at least fused banks which can have different voltages controlled by them.
2. I'm not sure what you are planning there but with pixels it is common and in almost all cases necessary to inject extra power at about every 50 pixels. This MUST be done from the same power supply. If you're talking dumb strips then you can have different power supplies powering different sides of the boards but injecting extra power along the dumb strips isn't something that I've heard of or recommend. The data line of pixel elements is regenerated at EVERY pixel so it doesn't need to be touched. It is purely the voltage drop on the power lines that need sorting.
3. Cat6 cable is 10% heavier than Cat5 but depending on what you are wanting to do then using security cable might be what you need.

I'm not trying to ambush or push you 1 way or the other but in a few weeks the 2811 to DC boards that I'm developing should be available. These allow you to use your 3 wire 2811 network being pumped out of the J1Sys board to control dumb DC elements.
 

rhys.smith.007

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Thanks Al
I just posted a reply on another board asking for some more info on your controllers!!
I was hoping to use my J1Sys board for everything, but have since found out it only works on adressable strip. I don't really mind as it gives me extra capacity for the future- I am only planning a small show this year.
However, I don't want to commit to an LOR controller unless I really have to, due to the overall cost (also I am in the UK so ideally need a 240v supply- I'm assuming you can use mains supply to power the controllers)?
Also, I don't know if their boards will accept E1.31 directly over Ethernet, or need an adapter.
I must admit, I thought I was getting a grip on everything (I have been researching for 3 months, including reading & watching all the videos!), but I can't run a sequence from S3 to my addressable strip (yet) & I am struggling on the best option to power my dumb strips- including all of the current single colour strings I already own. :-[
 

AAH

I love blinky lights :)
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To run my 2811-DC boards you can just insert them anywhere in a 2811 pixel stream and they appear as either 5 pixels (15 channels) or 10 pixels (30 channels). You would control them by using E131 to control your J1Sys P2 or P12 or whatever and it would be pumping out 3 wire data which I assume is 2811 as it's the latest and cheapest stuff around. You would power the 2811-DC boards from a 240V AC to 24V DC (or 12V or 5V or 27V) power supply and then connect up your dumb elements to it.
 

rhys.smith.007

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How many pixels/channels could it drive?
Obviously dumb strip would only be 3 channels, so a 30 channel controller could in theory drive 10 strips. However, the same channel count would only drive 10 pixels of intelligent strip? I think I may be missing something obvious here?
I have a J1Sys P12R, would that be compatible? Also, is the supply output variable & what is the power output?
Lastly, how much do they cost :)
 

AAH

I love blinky lights :)
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You're not really missing anything as a pixel is 3 channels 1 for each of the 3 colours.
The P12R is capable of 12 outputs each of which I think will do up to 4 universes or over 2000 channels. These channels are pixels (each pixel will use 3 channels) and providing you are using 2811 data/pixels then you can potentially drive hundreds of my boards mixed with thousands of pixels.
Pricing is still dependant on me getting prices from China who have been on New Years holiday until Monday 18th. After everyone returns to work I'm expecting to get pricing. I'm hoping that they will work out about $45 for 2811-DC15 and $60 or 2811-DC30. These are Aussie dollar prices and include 10% GST that overseas blinky heads don't have to pay.
 

rhys.smith.007

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OK.
So correct me if I'm wrong, but the setup/operation would be;
I have an output from my P12 which is connected to your board. The P12 will see your board as 15 channels/5 pixels. I then connect you board to a dumb strings (3 channels)?
Am I correct in thinking then that there are 12 other spare channels to drive 4 other dumb RGB strings & as they would each have a seperate address (as one of the 5 pixels) I could control each strip (Colour) seperately?
 

AAH

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Sounds like you've got it :)
The dumb elements don't have to be grouped as RGB but could be all whites or all reds or whatever.
 

rhys.smith.007

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That sounds like exactly what I need :D
Have you an estimate on when you will receive & start testing your prototype? If you need an overseas tester, I will volunteer!!
Can you PM me when you are able to quote prices or start shipping.
 

fasteddy

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The 2811 DC controller will change the way that we hook up dumb RGB lighting as we will now have the power to put this controller anywhere from a 2811 output from your pixel controller, you could even have it between 2 strips/strings or at the end of a strip/string, you dont need to dedicate an output for this.
 
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