Pixel Quality - am I too fussy.

[nutz4lights]

NZ being different, here in the States it would be closer to 4x as much because Minleon does not sell just a node (well maybe they M5 could be considered a node), but when you factor in the covers for Ray on the technicolors and those run $58.00 for 100 + the shipping and the minimum suggested selling price of Minleon would be at the $200.00 for 100 nodes and shipping could be in the sub $15.00 range for the Minleon strings in low quantity.

I didn't know Minleon didn't sell a node. But to be fair, the Technicolor lights are almost triple the cost of Ray's normal nodes these days. I'd be curious to see what supplier the op is comparing to because then one could make a fair comparison. I only threw out the Minleon because I know they are up there in price. [emoji6] .

Louie

 

[nzlongfellow]

Just received 2000 pixels from Ray.
Must say the quality is not up to what I have received from other suppliers.

Defect are:

• Nodes not in straight
• Excess molding material on the outside
• Deformed shapes
• Blobs of material as if it has been laid down wet.

Two things that I think are missing from this post are: (1) who are the other suppliers and (2) what would 2000 pixels have cost from those suppliers shipped to your door (and I guess #3 would be what percentage you saved by going with Ray).

When I order lights, since I am a hobbyist and only use these lights for Halloween and Christmas, I am looking for two things: (1) do they light up and (2) are they physically functional. So, what do I mean by physically functional? You have deformed shapes, blobs of material, excess molding, and nodes not straight as your four complaints. For me personally, the only way that those four things bother me is if they prevent the node from functioning physically with what I want. For instance, does the node no longer snap into something because of excess material? If it is a square flat-back pixel, and it is not flat, does it no longer sit flat against the object that I required the flat-back for? Etc. I want to add that I am one of the more perfectionist people you would ever meet... however, only in the sense of something becoming non-functional.

My experience with Ray is that, if it is either DOA (doesn't light) or dies in the first year, he replaces it... I own somewhere around 350 strings of nodes and pixels from him. I always over-order by around 5% because there will be a few strings that don't work right off the bat. He replaces those. Past that, aside from his Technicolor bulbs, out of 350 strings I have had a total of around 10 die after 1-2 years of use, and he replaced those. Shoot, with the Technicolor bulbs, he has replaced THE ENTIRE LOT (20-ish strings) twice!

Now, going back to my first question to you. If the quality is sub-par, then it comes down to "what are you getting elsewhere and for how much" & "what is your budget". As others have said in this post, Ray is inexpensive, some of this is to be expected, but he makes good on the unsatisfactory lights if you ask. I am building my display for my house. If you are building a display for the Olympics, then you should probably buy Minleon like the Olympics did . The thing is, they are 5X the cost.

My last comment, and I always throw this out there as a further disclaimer... I buy all my light strings from Ray as custom spacing with pigtails attached. My experience is that most of the other vendors might do one or the other of these, but not both. Just another reason why it is that maybe I am willing to put up with some of the imperfections in physical appearance... as long as it doesn't affect physical functionality.

Just my $0.035

-Louie

Thanks Louie.
I had the option of buying from Ray or another supplier for the same price. I chose to support ray from all the comments about him on ACL. Previous nodes have been clean and the clipping area clean and well defined. I am only going into coro board so not really an issue but the definition of a clean holding area is not there and if i was going into a solid board there would be issues.
As my post stated "am I too fussy". That was my question for others to comment on.
What I should have done was added a pic of what I have bought and Ray's so here it is for what it is worth.
If nothing else this post has indicated to new and old that all-is-not-equal.

 

[fasteddy]

It must be noted that the pixel strings we use predominantly for the hobby are primarily designed for billboard and signage applications, where a Minleon light was designed from the ground up to be a commercial quality decorative light using high grade materials.
With everything that is made there are cheaper alternatives and there are more costly alternatives because quality comes at a cost,

Now for the most part most will have a good experience with Ray, but in my past experience constant quality was the issue for me which was not really an issue when doing DIY, but is an issue when doing commercial installs.

The DIY market and the commercial markets are 2 very different things and Ray has served the DIY market very well over the last few years and will continue to do so.

 

[nutz4lights]

Very well put Eddy. I agree. I don't do any commercial installs, but if I did, I would sure want to use something with very high reliability.

-Louie

 

[nutz4lights]

Thanks Louie.
I had the option of buying from Ray or another supplier for the same price. I chose to support ray from all the comments about him on ACL. Previous nodes have been clean and the clipping area clean and well defined. I am only going into coro board so not really an issue but the definition of a clean holding area is not there and if i was going into a solid board there would be issues.
As my post stated "am I too fussy". That was my question for others to comment on.
What I should have done was added a pic of what I have bought and Ray's so here it is for what it is worth.
If nothing else this post has indicated to new and old that all-is-not-equal.

I definitely think you should go with whomever is giving you the best quality for the same price. If one vendor just absolutely nails it every time they send you product, that is who I would end up going with myself. Sounds like you definitely got a bad batch from Ray and I wouldn't hesitate to ask for a replacement (after sending him pictures of course). That "definition of a clean holding area" not being there is more than just appearance, it is functionality that is missing and that would definitely irritate me.

Another funny example of me having to "Let It Go, Let It GO"... I always order lights with pigtails... most of my lights are black with black pigtails, but I ordered white lights the one time, and asked for white pigtails... and they showed up with black pigtails... Even though that bugged the snot out of me... I was able to Let It Go in the end because they were "functional"... and nobody notices that kind of thing... but it was damn hard!

Take care,

-Louie