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  1. New to Christmas lighting? Get started with the AusChristmasLighting 101 Manual:
    auschristmaslighting.com/wiki/AusChristmasLighting-101

RGB Strings & Strips to buy

Discussion in 'RGB Lights - Intelligent Pixels and 3-Channel RGB' started by Porsche, Nov 11, 2012.

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  1. Porsche

    Porsche Full Time Elf

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    Gday guys, Im looking online to purchase a few RGB strings and strips to start playing with.
    Im very new to this, so was only going to grab a few strings and strips and start playing with them.
    Ive done a bit of research and looked on the tutorials from this site and found 5050 60leds/m is the way to go???
    Eventually i want to make archs and a mega tree (next christmas) with these.
    any advice on where is a good place to order these from??
    Thought I might hook them up to my controller this christmas and see how they work and what I can get them to do.,
    Thanks
    Phil
     
    Porsche, Nov 11, 2012
    #1
  2. Benslights

    Benslights Dedicated Elf Global Moderator

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    check out the 101 manual if the forums as it has some good links
     
    Benslights, Nov 11, 2012
    #2
  3. Bird

    Bird LOR user

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    What controller do you have?
    Do you already have a power supply? What volt?
     
    Bird, Nov 12, 2012
    #3
  4. fasteddy

    fasteddy I have C.L.A.P Global Moderator

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    You need to be a bit more specific, thats why you havent had much response as the question you have asked is very general. There is a wide variation ib lighting types.

    • Type: string, strip or modules
    • Intelligent or dumb
    • IC used (for intelligent) 6803, 2811, 2801, 1804, 3001
    • Strip Density, 30led/m, 36led/m, 60led/m
    • Voltage, 5VDC or 12VDC
    • Budget, cost vs features
    If your not sure what some of the differences are then refer to page 15 to 29 of the 101 lighting manual which goes through different types of RGB lighting available.

    I use the 2811 digital strip (not mentioned in the 101 manual yet) because its been great quality and the cost of $32 for a 5 metre strip is by far the cheapest available. You can also get the 2811 in strings and modules and also strip in 60 LED/M . I use the J1SYS ECG-P12R and ECG-P2 controllers with a mix between cheap Ray Wu and high quality Meanwell power supplies.

    If you are just wanting dumb RGB lighting then I use this 30LED/m strip and this 27 channel DC controller and I use the ECG DR4 to get DMX from E1.31, but i reakon the ECG-D2 would be more than enough these days.

    Hope that helps a little
     
    fasteddy, Nov 12, 2012
    #4
  5. OP
    OP
    Porsche

    Porsche Full Time Elf

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    I have got the DC48 controller and SP-240-30 power supply to start with. I am going to use these to run my standard LED strings this year.
    If the controller will allow the digital strips then I'll go down that path, if not then i'll start with the dumb strips etc and work my way up into the digital strips and get the most appropiate controller for them later on.
    It would probably make sense to start with dumb strips etc while I learn everything ??
    I was hoping to make some archs during the year, if I can make them from the dumb strips?? then that'll be where I head for the time being. But if Im understanding the difference between the digital and dumb then archs are generally made up wth digital?? to get that chasing effect?. If im all wrong then I need to go back and read the RGB sections 100 times over again hahahaha.
    Thanks
    Phil
     
    Porsche, Nov 12, 2012
    #5
  6. David_AVD

    David_AVD Bite my shiny metal ass! Community Project Designer Generous Elf

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    The DC48 and SP-240-30 you have will suit the Big W (and possibly Kmart) LED strings.

    You can also use the DC48 with 12V RGB strip with a suitable 12V power supply.

    The DC48 can run one side (24 channels) at 30V and the other at 12V if you like.
     
    David_AVD, Nov 12, 2012
    #6
  7. fasteddy

    fasteddy I have C.L.A.P Global Moderator

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    You are correct that arches are better made with digital strip as you get more sections of control and it would be both far cheaper and a lot less work using digital strip.

    The controller you have which is a DC controller and a good choice which will be able to drive dumb RGB lighting only. The power supply you have is a 30vdc power supply which is great for running your kmart and bigW LEDs, the RGB strip, strings and modules need to run on 12vdc (some strings are 5vdc) so you will also need a 12vdc power supply. The great thing about the DC48 is that the baord can be divided into 2 banks of 24 channels so you can have 12vdc on one bank for RGB lighting and 30vdc for your Kmart and bigW strings

    So some suggested dumb RGB lighting you can look at

    12VDC 30 LED/M strip
    12VDC 60 LED/M strip
    12VDC RGB strings
    12VDC RGB modules
     
    fasteddy, Nov 12, 2012
    #7
  8. OP
    OP
    Porsche

    Porsche Full Time Elf

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    Thanks heaps for the comments and advice....
    appreciated.
    Phil
     
    Porsche, Nov 13, 2012
    #8
  9. earnest

    earnest New Elf

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    earnest, Nov 16, 2012
    #9
  10. neilric99

    neilric99 Full Time Elf

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    did I see this right $1 per led on a 40 pixel string, ouch
     
    neilric99, Nov 16, 2012
    #10
  11. fasteddy

    fasteddy I have C.L.A.P Global Moderator

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    fasteddy, Nov 16, 2012
    #11
  12. drakky

    drakky Full Time Elf

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    is the 2811 ic commonly supported ?
     
    drakky, Jan 12, 2013
    #12
  13. Benslights

    Benslights Dedicated Elf Global Moderator

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    yes drakky j1sys conrollers supports 2811 and a few other controllers do also.
     
    Benslights, Jan 12, 2013
    #13
  14. z_special

    z_special Full Time Elf

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    If you would like to see the 2811ic in arches, i have recently did this and can link you to a video just send me a PM

    Zane
     
    z_special, Jan 12, 2013
    #14
  15. Benslights

    Benslights Dedicated Elf Global Moderator

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    zane i would love to see it as i am making 4 myself this year
     
    Benslights, Jan 12, 2013
    #15
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