Pixel Christmas Tree help

[stan780953]

Hi,

I am thinking about making a tree for next year and trying to plan everything before going into it blind.

My current setup is very basic, I have two window frames using two channels on a Pixlite 4 MK2.

I wanted to try a 16 strand tree with 50 LEDS in each strand but I'm a little confused after watching quite a few videos.

Would I need a 16 channel controller so that each strand has its own channel or could I join the light together, along with power injectors? What is the best approach?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Wayne1]

Best would be IMO to join them, with a total of 800 nodes in your tree you could run that off 4 channels or 2 depending on the controller. I would go 4 so you at power inject to each channel of 200 nodes.

 

[KStatefan]

You could do it anywhere from 2 strings of 800 to 16 strings of 50. It sounds like you have two open ports on your current controller will it support that many on one port?

If i were doing it I would probably break it down to 8 strings of 100 and get a k8 controller and not do any power injection.

 

[stan780953]

Thank you for your replies. Lots to think about!

My current controller does have two available ports with a maximum output of 1020 pixels per channel. The way I understand it, the tree I'm proposing would be a total of 2400 pixels and even if I were to reduce the the number of pixels in a string, it's not good practice to max out the outputs?

Silly question, but can I plug more than one data line into a single channel?

The k8 controller look great but unfortunately, I'm limited to what I can purchase in the UK.

 

[Skymaster]

For a beaglebone controller similar to a Kulp, look at the Hanson HE123mk2. Both are based on FPP which is the brains behind it, the actual boards themselves doesn't do anything special.

I believe that @AAH sells some products via Panels R Us in the UK, but not sure of the exact lines.

 

[stan780953]

@Skymaster Thanks for the suggestion. They don't have the exact model but they do have a WB1616 which is a cheaper option than upgrading to a 16 channel Pixlite.

​

 

[KStatefan]

Thank you for your replies. Lots to think about!

My current controller does have two available ports with a maximum output of 1020 pixels per channel. The way I understand it, the tree I'm proposing would be a total of 2400 pixels and even if I were to reduce the the number of pixels in a string, it's not good practice to max out the outputs?

Silly question, but can I plug more than one data line into a single channel?

The k8 controller look great but unfortunately, I'm limited to what I can purchase in the UK.

In your original post you said 16 x 50 which would be a 800 pixel tree.

 

[stan780953]

@KStatefan Ok, maybe my novice mind is getting confused. I have been working it out by multiplying 50 x 3 x16? So when the manual say's the max output is 1020, they are talking about each LED?

 

[merryoncherry]

The manuals count pixels, usually. There are 3 channels in most pixels (red green blue). Also be careful that a port is a port where you connect something, not a channel (which is just a single number of data).

50 is not that many pixels per port. Most new controllers max out at 600-800 per port for 40 frames per second, over 1000 if you only want 20 fps. You do have to find ways to power the pixels, depending on what kind of pixels they are. The pixels you get may be best if no morw than 50, 100, or 200 from the power, depending on what they are.

The common way of joining the strands is to zigzag, run one up the tree, the next back down, etc. You can add power at the bottom.

But yeah, all these controller options will do this. You have Pixlite, Sky says the Hansen board will do and I wouldn't doubt it, and the WB1616 is one I can vouch for (running a few since October).

 

[KStatefan]

@KStatefan Ok, maybe my novice mind is getting confused. I have been working it out by multiplying 50 x 3 x16? So when the manual say's the max output is 1020, they are talking about each LED?

They are talking about each RGB pixel.

RGB pixel is an IC that has red, green and blue leds is also called a node.

The picture below shows two pixels.

 

[CargoLights]

If your controller states it can run 1020 pixels per channel, it's probably around 600 at 40FPS, so I would try to stay under that per port. On your existing controller, you could connect 400 pixels to each output and you'd be fine to run them with power injection. If you're running 12V, you can probably inject power every 200 pixels (This can vary a lot depending on your pixels, but it's a good starting point). That means you connect from the controller, go up the tree, back down, up, and back down, then power inject and go up, down, up, down again, power inject, and stop. Then start a new string and do the exact same thing for the second half of the tree. So, you'd have 2 controller connections (400 pixels each) and 4 power injection points total. You'd also be able to run a star off the end of the last string if you want to do so, assuming it has less than 200 pixels.

 

[stan780953]

Thanks guys. Appreciate all your help and detailed explanation It's all makes sense now, I just need to get some supplies and start playing.

 

[tooms]

I have a 32 x 150 pixel mega-tree, I use a dedicated Kulp 32 port controller under it, each string of 150 pixels is on it's own controller port, it's simple, it just works. The construction of the mega-tree was a bit easier as well with each strand / string not needing power injection or looping data from one to the next, also as my tree and pixels are getting older, some of them are into their 5th season, dead pixels are becoming more popular, I can tolerate just losing a single strand for a night whilst the show is on and fix it the next day or when time permits.