Hello all. Just recently ordered the pixlite 4 and had a few questions. Just starting this year into attempting animated lighting. I was wondering if each channel of the pixlite 4 was only capable of running 1 strand of 2811 lights or if there was a way to interconnect up to 3 or 4 strands. It seems to me a waste of a channel to only run 50 led's or 4 total strands of lights.
newbie question
- Thread starter weetaard
- Start date
Hey Weetaard,
Welcome to ACL, fantastic place with so many knowledgeable people, have you had a read of the 101 guide? see attached for a lot of helpful info that should point you in the right directions
https://auschristmaslighting.com/forums/index.php/topic,1889.0.html
I myself haven't used the Pixlite gear, but that being said they are good stuff and lots of people here use them,
My understanding of the Pixlite 4 is it does up to 16 Universes - Total, so 4 Universes per output, so if we break that down further your looking at 680 Pixels per output (2720 Total Pixels)
Now breaking it down even further that equates to 8160 Channels (RGB) - Total, or 2040 Channels per Output,
So to answer your question, depending on what strip you use of 2811, i.e. 30 LED's (10 IC's/Pixels) P/M or 60 LED's (20 IC's/Pixels) P/M you can run a lot more than 1 x 5m strip, if your using the 30 LED's (10 IC's/Pixels) P/M you could in fact run 68m or 680 ICs/Pixels off the one output (you have 4 of them), of course your going to need to look at a lot of Power Injection, I tend to inject power after no more than 50 Pixels or in the 30 LED's (10 IC's/Pixels) P/M (which I use) every 5m.
Not sure if I have made your eyes roll but once you start understanding Universes, Pixels, Channels, Outputs, etc. it will all make sense.
Remember: 1 Pixel = 3 Channels (R-G-B)
If you have more questions ask away,
Brad
Welcome to ACL, fantastic place with so many knowledgeable people, have you had a read of the 101 guide? see attached for a lot of helpful info that should point you in the right directions
https://auschristmaslighting.com/forums/index.php/topic,1889.0.html
I myself haven't used the Pixlite gear, but that being said they are good stuff and lots of people here use them,
My understanding of the Pixlite 4 is it does up to 16 Universes - Total, so 4 Universes per output, so if we break that down further your looking at 680 Pixels per output (2720 Total Pixels)
Now breaking it down even further that equates to 8160 Channels (RGB) - Total, or 2040 Channels per Output,
So to answer your question, depending on what strip you use of 2811, i.e. 30 LED's (10 IC's/Pixels) P/M or 60 LED's (20 IC's/Pixels) P/M you can run a lot more than 1 x 5m strip, if your using the 30 LED's (10 IC's/Pixels) P/M you could in fact run 68m or 680 ICs/Pixels off the one output (you have 4 of them), of course your going to need to look at a lot of Power Injection, I tend to inject power after no more than 50 Pixels or in the 30 LED's (10 IC's/Pixels) P/M (which I use) every 5m.
Not sure if I have made your eyes roll but once you start understanding Universes, Pixels, Channels, Outputs, etc. it will all make sense.
Remember: 1 Pixel = 3 Channels (R-G-B)
If you have more questions ask away,
Brad
- Thread starter
- #3
I understood most of it. Done alot of studying but that part had me confused a bit. I had the notion I was limited to one strand per channel but noting that each channel had multiple universes it through me for a loop.
[/size]DC5V 12mm through hole WS2811 led smart pixel nodes are the strands I want to run.
What im wanting to do is run up to 4 of these per channel. They are 50 pixels for each strand. Im assuming I will have to do some soldering to tie them together. The only part I did not get was what you meant by power injection. The weekend is coming so I will definitely be reading the guides on this forum heavily. Thanks
[/size]DC5V 12mm through hole WS2811 led smart pixel nodes are the strands I want to run.
What im wanting to do is run up to 4 of these per channel. They are 50 pixels for each strand. Im assuming I will have to do some soldering to tie them together. The only part I did not get was what you meant by power injection. The weekend is coming so I will definitely be reading the guides on this forum heavily. Thanks
ShellNZ
Senior elf
So each string of your 5v nodes have 50px.
So at 680px per output you can run 13 strings off one output. In total you can run 54 strings of 50px off the whole board.
Given you are using 5v lights you are definately going to need to power inject. Most people these days dont run the power from the board, they run it directly from the power supply. So, you will have the GND and data of the first string running out of e.g Output 1, and also SPT wire from power supply to the first pixel. Then at every 50th pixel you need to run SPT/speaker wire from the +/- of the string back to the power supply to boost the power.
So at 680px per output you can run 13 strings off one output. In total you can run 54 strings of 50px off the whole board.
Given you are using 5v lights you are definately going to need to power inject. Most people these days dont run the power from the board, they run it directly from the power supply. So, you will have the GND and data of the first string running out of e.g Output 1, and also SPT wire from power supply to the first pixel. Then at every 50th pixel you need to run SPT/speaker wire from the +/- of the string back to the power supply to boost the power.
Power injection is basically hooking up another power wire to the string.
You have to realise that each string at full white would draw about 3amps (very rough basic guide only)
The voltage drops along the way down the string and by the time it reaches the end can get so low that instead of being white, you will get a yellowish colour. Or worse, not enough power to even run the chips in the pixels.
So what you have to do is "inject" some more power. This is done by running some 2 core flex to the + and - at the end of the pixel string straight back to the power supply. And you need to do this every string.
The reason most people don't run the power from the controller as Shell says, is that most boards can only handle around 5 amps per channel while you can run up to around 13 strings, therefor you would draw anywhere up to 40amps. It is just not possible.
As Brad said, the manual is your friend, and then if you need an answer straight away, go into chat, there is usually someone lurking around that can help.
** please note, the figures I have given are very ball park just to help explain and will differ from string to string and controller**
You have to realise that each string at full white would draw about 3amps (very rough basic guide only)
The voltage drops along the way down the string and by the time it reaches the end can get so low that instead of being white, you will get a yellowish colour. Or worse, not enough power to even run the chips in the pixels.
So what you have to do is "inject" some more power. This is done by running some 2 core flex to the + and - at the end of the pixel string straight back to the power supply. And you need to do this every string.
The reason most people don't run the power from the controller as Shell says, is that most boards can only handle around 5 amps per channel while you can run up to around 13 strings, therefor you would draw anywhere up to 40amps. It is just not possible.
As Brad said, the manual is your friend, and then if you need an answer straight away, go into chat, there is usually someone lurking around that can help.
** please note, the figures I have given are very ball park just to help explain and will differ from string to string and controller**
Power Injection guides, with pictures and diagrams: 
http://www.doityourselfchristmas.com/wiki/index.php?title=Power_Injection
http://www.advateklights.com/faq/ (click down arrow next to “What is power injection and do I need it?)
http://www.doityourselfchristmas.com/wiki/index.php?title=Power_Injection
http://www.advateklights.com/faq/ (click down arrow next to “What is power injection and do I need it?)