Newbie with plan in place and ready to pull the trigger. Would like suggestions!

[LightsOn81st]

I'm a bit suspicious about that Mean Well and suspect it is a clone due to the price. That said, clones are commonly used around here. Don't have any myself so can't speak for them.

I'd suggest changing the tester to this one due to the larger number of pixels it supports https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/DC12V-WS2811-LED-smart-pixel-controller-With-76-kinds-of-patterns-2048pixels-controlled/701799_32261096741.html
My mistake there as I accidently linked to the wrong one beforre.

Other than that it's looking good. I'm hoping those nodes have the wire thickness and current draw you're hoping for but we discussed that in chat so let's hope Ray gets it right. Mathematically, 50mA nodes with 18AWG wire should go about as far as 30mA ones with 20AWG assuming they start to suffer with the same amount of voltage drop - not sure whether that asssumption is valid. That said, the 30mA ones will have less drop in their lead-in cables and they'll use less power in total. Haven't bench-tested this though and I'm probably overthinking it.

I agree with your decision to buy plenty of connectors. It's surprising how many you'll end up using.

I too wondered if those PSUs are possible clones, but I figure a clone from a highly-rated seller is probably better than a cheap off-brand PSU from a lesser-known seller.


I got an email back from Ray about the bullet nodes, with less-than-exciting news:


"the pixel node is 60ma/0.7W per pixel,because it is 12v ,the 5V one is 30ma"

Based on this reply, it sounds like all of the 12v nodes he sells are 60ma even if otherwise noted in the specs. I'm going to ask him specifically if he sells any 12v 30ma bullets, but I'm not expecting he will.

Outside of this, my Items should be ordered by the end of the day and Ray says he should be able to get the stuff out to me in about 5 days, so good news there!

 

[Gilrock]

I didn't have time to carefully read all the responses but you need to bridge the grounds between power supply 1 and 2 or else the data line will not have a proper ground reference relative to the rest of the string. I just forgot to do the same thing a couple days ago and all the lights were flashing strangely when playing a sequence. I added the ground wire between supplies and it fixed the issue.

 

[ccrowder]

Thing with even the 0.7W pixels is where you are at it will not be a big deal. True.. they make more heat but that won't matter in Washington. Yes they are not 'as' efficient but who cares to some extent =p You will not notice any brightness/color difference.


And he does ship pretty fast. Even coming from China being in San Diego it took only 48 from his shipping to getting to my door. Since you are a bit farther from the LA port I would give it an extra day or two but it still comes really fast.

 

[LightsOn81st]

I didn't have time to carefully read all the responses but you need to bridge the grounds between power supply 1 and 2 or else the data line will not have a proper ground reference relative to the rest of the string. I just forgot to do the same thing a couple days ago and all the lights were flashing strangely when playing a sequence. I added the ground wire between supplies and it fixed the issue.

Thanks for the reply! We actually discussed this in chat earlier today and I was made aware of this. I've updated my diagram accordingly:

 

[LightsOn81st]

Thing with even the 0.7W pixels is where you are at it will not be a big deal. True.. they make more heat but that won't matter in Washington. Yes they are not 'as' efficient but who cares to some extent =p You will not notice any brightness/color difference.


And he does ship pretty fast. Even coming from China being in San Diego it took only 48 from his shipping to getting to my door. Since you are a bit farther from the LA port I would give it an extra day or two but it still comes really fast.

Thanks for the input. I was hoping for pixels with a lower mA rating so I wouldn't have as much voltage drop, but I think I'll be okay based on the input I'm getting from others. As you said, heat isn't too much of a concern in the Pacific Northwest for most of the year.


I did speak to Ray and he seemed pretty confident that he could have lights to me within 5 days. If they have a chance of getting here even sooner, even better.


Now, I'm down to the final hunt for a controller (yeah I know, leaving the most important part for last).


If anyone has any leads on a Falcon F16v2 (none are in stock new, sadly), I would welcome the input!


Thanks again all for the help so far!

 

[LightsOn81st]

Update! My CG-1500 enclosures have shipped and will be to my door on 11/23!


Now I just need the stuff to put in them!

 

[ccrowder]

I love my pixlite (have a pixlite4). The only drawback to the pixlite is you have to use their program to configure the outputs and the way the program works is it searches your network for an controller. So it does not see it behind the pi running fpp. So I have to take down my control box and plug the controller into my home network. Other then that I love it. Looking to get a falcon v2 myself for next year. You could always call David at pixelcontroller.com and ask to see if he happens to have one lying around. Never hurts to try.

 

[Gilrock]

As long as that ground is a common DC ground. It wasn't clear and from where it was drawn it could mean common AC ground. I don't think the A/C grounds tied together will fix it because my supplies were plugged into the same extension cord which should have given them common A/C ground.

 

[LightsOn81st]

As long as that ground is a common DC ground. It wasn't clear and from where it was drawn it could mean common AC ground. I don't think the A/C grounds tied together will fix it because my supplies were plugged into the same extension cord which should have given them common A/C ground.

Yeah sorry about the crudeness of the diagram when it comes to wire placement. I simply was just trying visualize the basic routing of the wiring and not specific connection points.


In my Light-O-Rama box there is a metal plate where all the AC and DC is grounded so I'm assuming I can ground the AC and DC similarly in this setup as well?

 

[LightsOn81st]

Next up is consideration for my power injection wiring, which I believe needs to start with fusing the positive lead for each power injection wire, correct?


Would something like this work (LINK)?


OLS PSZACCEPS052H 10-Way LED Illuminated Blade Fuse Box with Cover

 

[ccrowder]

You might also look at
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DYPY0E4?psc=1


I am thinking I like these better since I can do them individually and not all tied to a single location.

 

[logandc99]

Next up is consideration for my power injection wiring, which I believe needs to start with fusing the positive lead each power injection wire, correct?


Would something like this work (LINK)?


OLS PSZACCEPS052H 10-Way LED Illuminated Blade Fuse Box with Cover

I have some of these in my controller boxes and they work fine (just don't do what i first did and as I only using one side (half) of the fuse bays, I then filled the half of the fuse bays with fuses that weren't connected to my power injection lines and wondered why I wasn't getting any power )

 

[jonnyb44]

A ton less power injection on 12v I run 200 nodes at 50% output no power injection at all.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LightsOn81st]

Controller has been chosen an is on it's way!

Sadly, I couldn't source a Falcon F16v2, so I ended up going with the new HinksPix16 due to some glowing endorsements from members of other forums on the creator of the board and a direct phone call from the creator offering his services for helping me get all set up when the board arrives. Now that's what I call service!


Here's a thread that goes over the awesome features of this controller, in addition to announcing $200 US price with a $50 US refund if you provide feedback on the controller by the end of the year!


http://doityourselfchristmas.com/forums/showthread.php?44971-HinksPix16-Beta-Release-of-NEW-16-port-Pixel-Controller


$150 US for a 16 channel controller with all the bells and whistles. How can you beat that!

Last up is getting a final quote from Ray Wu and then I'm off and running!

This is really going to happen. I'm so excited and appreciate all the help everyone has given so far. I'm sure I'll be asking a lot more questions very soon!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

 

[LightsOn81st]

Okay, the finalized list of parts is set and I'm just awaiting payment / shipping verification from Ray Wu:

Next up: Getting my layout / network setup in XLights and starting sequencing while I wait for parts to roll in!


FUN TIMES!