Power Injecting

[saperkin]

Hi I'm a new guy and I'm doing all my research and putting everything together but I had a question about power Injecting, if I'm using a controller to power the first set of pixels in a run and want to power inject after that do I use the second set of power terminals on the power supply powering the board ( and this would be using positive and negative) or do I use a new power supply and just use the positive?

Thank you

 

[AAH]

The power supply can power 100's to 1000's of pixels depending on the power supply and pixel voltage. Each terminal on a power supply is generally rated at 30A. You can power a controller from 1 of the outputs and power distribution boards or similar from the other pairs of boards. You ALWAYS power inject positive and negative. The negative is actually more important as it is also providing the reference voltage for the pixel data. You only need a new power supply once you start getting closer to the full load capacity of the power supply. Going much higher than about 80% of the rated current of the power supplies isn't really recommended. This will depend on the brand/quality of the power supplies.

 

[i13]

The first option (using the second set of power terminals on the same power supply that also powers the controller) would work but it is not the only option.

The second option would not work but you can change it so that it does work. The current can't complete a circuit with the second power supply unless you connect the negative too. When you use a second power supply, it will fight the first power supply unless you disconnect the positive between them. This is done by cutting the positive wire in the string of pixels. Don't cut the negative; it is used as a reference for the data signal. This diagram shows an example with multiple power supplies: https://auschristmaslighting.com/attachments/16394/
A difference here is that none of the pixels are powered through the controller in the diagram. The controller's positive output is not connected. Notice also that the power injection works in both directions. Pixel data is directional but the power isn't.

 

[Dez]

Hi I'm a new guy and I'm doing all my research and putting everything together but I had a question about power Injecting, if I'm using a controller to power the first set of pixels in a run and want to power inject after that do I use the second set of power terminals on the power supply powering the board ( and this would be using positive and negative) or do I use a new power supply and just use the positive?

Thank you

This video is an awesome resource to explain power injection.
View: https://youtu.be/Jgjdz0Nbswk