Second thoughts on controller purchase

[chris19681986]

So I posted on here of which controller should I purchase and got some excellent feedback. Instead of the F4 I purchased the F16v3 thinking extra ports etc would be the way to go. Now I am not so sure since I have watched more setup videos and now assume I need a second control card by the arches plus a second power supply. CORRECT??? I have marked the location inside garage where I will have the control card/ power supply mounted. that will give me easy access to connect the roof line lights. from that location its approximately 35 ft out to the arches from garage plus another 8ft up to power location.. I will be running a cat6 cable from basement where router is at to the garage power location. So out to the arches, could i run a ethernet from the f16 for data along with power and ground for the lights? I have a roll of 14ga wire i could run out there from the garage. All this would be in conduit. That I am assuming would eliminate the control card and a second power supply could be mounted next to the first? roof line are 2811 5v strings and arches will have either 5 or 12v led strips. I have a 5v 300s 60 amp power supply right now. More than likely run it all at 30%.

 

[uncledan]

Data and V- over cat5/6 and power injection should work fine for the arches. Not sure how many nodes but with 5v 14AWG might not be big enough. F16v3 is a great controller but sometimes there are better options. Its great for short data and power runs on dense props. I prefer the F4V3, diff expansion and differential receivers for most of my display.

 

[Old Salt]

I suspect the numbers are in feet.

What's the node spacing you intend to use? What type of pixels will you use(5V, 12V regulated)?

The answers to these questions will help decide on a controller, and any power injection required.

 

[chris19681986]

Data and V- over cat5/6 and power injection should work fine for the arches. Not sure how many nodes but with 5v 14AWG might not be big enough. F16v3 is a great controller but sometimes there are better options. Its great for short data and power runs on dense props. I prefer the F4V3, diff expansion and differential receivers for most of my display.

I figured I would have to get an F amp or 2 for the roof line. one going each direction.. Maybe I should have listened and just got the F4. 5 LED strips are 5m long with 150 LEDs per strip

 

[chris19681986]

I suspect the numbers are in feet.

What's the node spacing you intend to use? What type of pixels will you use(5V, 12V regulated)?

The answers to these questions will help decide on a controller, and any power injection required.

3" on roof line. I have Alitove 5v ws 2811 strings for that from Amazon. then either 5v or 12v 5m LED strips with 150 LEDs per strip for arches.. i know i will need power injection on the roof line along with data boosters. I have a f16v3 coming but it can be returned if thats not gonna work what im doing. thanks

 

[uncledan]

F4 vs F16 it doesnt really matter. You would have the same issues unless you added additional power supplies and receivers close to the props. This is more than doable, don't get discouraged. Just need quite a bit of 14AWG for power injection. Without running calcs I would assume (3) power injection to the arches and a few on the house. 5v makes this a little more difficult. Data over cat5 and power injection works great with long data runs from the controller. I've only tested to 35-40ft but no issues with that. F-Amps are life saver as well.

 

[chris19681986]

for the arches I could get a 12 volt supply and use 12 volt lighting. And by the looks of it, the f16 can run both voltages at the same time

 

[TerryK]

Calm down Chris, you are over-thinking this.

Garage to first arch is 43 feet so you probably will need a F-Amp to get the data out there. While either 5 volt or 12 volt pixel strips will work in the arches, if you have the quantity the Alitove bullet pixels may work better. But first, we need a few more details. In the graphic you posted above, can you sketch in estimated cable runs, indicate the physical beginning and ends of pixels strings (wrapping around a corner is not important).

Oh, pertaining to some of the above post info, the F16 will work just fine. Is the 14AWG stranded or solid and cable or single conductor? Conduit is not necessary unless you plan of running over it (hopefully not). Based on current information I do not see a need for a power supply or controller out by the arches.

To determine supply sizing, how many pixels total and how hard will you drive them?
How many controller ports? We know 1 for the arches, the others? Also, a number for the arch strips WS2812s? Ws2815s?
Distances from the garage location to the beginning of the pixel strings and how many pixels are in the string(s).
Distances between the daisy-chained pixels sections if you have any?

 

[chris19681986]

Calm down Chris, you are over-thinking this.

Garage to first arch is 43 feet so you probably will need a F-Amp to get the data out there. While either 5 volt or 12 volt pixel strips will work in the arches, if you have the quantity the Alitove bullet pixels may work better. But first, we need a few more details. In the graphic you posted above, can you sketch in estimated cable runs, indicate the physical beginning and ends of pixels strings (wrapping around a corner is not important).

Oh, pertaining to some of the above post info, the F16 will work just fine. Is the 14AWG stranded or solid and cable or single conductor? Conduit is not necessary unless you plan of running over it (hopefully not). Based on current information I do not see a need for a power supply or controller out by the arches.

To determine supply sizing, how many pixels total and how hard will you drive them?
How many controller ports? We know 1 for the arches, the others? Also, a number for the arch strips WS2812s? Ws2815s?
Distances from the garage location to the beginning of the pixel strings and how many pixels are in the string(s).
Distances between the daisy-chained pixels sections if you have any?

I will get you all the info requested. Thank you for all your assistance.

 

[Thebruhhh]

They just talked about releasing new controllers. Might want to wait. Falcon f16v4

 

[tooms]

The F16v3 is a great controller that allows for plenty of expansion later on, it's easy to add either an expansion board for another 16 ports and or a differential expansion board to support 4 differential receivers, the controller can effectively drive 48 outputs. More outputs the better to be honest, your display might be small now but like everyone else you'll probably continue to grow it and expand every year

 

[chris19681986]

I will get you all the info requested. Thank you for all your assistance.

Ok. added updated pic. pixel estimate should be pretty close based on 3" spacing. arches are more than i believe I will use but thats what they are per strip.
14ga is stranded. I can get some 12 gauge stranded to run out to the first arch.
yes im doing conduit out to the little tree so I do not have wires crossing the sidewalk.
lights will run at 30%. I live on a pretty dark street.
I switched to the F4v3 so 4 ports for now. 3 for roof line and 1 for arches. Arches will have 2812b
Distance between arches will be about a 2ft. Distance from garage power supply to arch im guessing 40ft
Cat5 from router to control box and then ill run cat 5 from control box out to the arches and a strand from control box up to the upper roof line string along with power injection wire. Pixels will be mounted in metal J channel so plenty of room to hide wire.
lights are 5v. I have a 5v 300 watt 60 amp power supply
Hope this helps a little

 

[TerryK]

From the controller/power supply, what are the cable lengths for the 4 strings?

A concern I have is what I am fairly sure is the smaller 20/22 AWG wire 3 inch spacing in the Alitove strings. Voltage drop within the string; the smaller wire will increase the voltage drop, the smaller pixel spacing will decrease it. I'm not sure how to quite handle it other than suggesting additional power injection points.

So with the additional information:
814 pixels at 30% calculates to a supply load of (814 * .055 * .3) 13.4 Amp. If you use WS2812Bs for the arches, those use a bit less amperage I think (.04 per pixel) so the total would be about 11.5 Amp. In either case the single 60 Amp supply you indicate you have will drive the load.

On the far right corner you have a pixels and power indicated. What may those be for?

 

[chris19681986]

From the controller/power supply, what are the cable lengths for the 4 strings?

A concern I have is what I am fairly sure is the smaller 20/22 AWG wire 3 inch spacing in the Alitove strings. Voltage drop within the string; the smaller wire will increase the voltage drop, the smaller pixel spacing will decrease it. I'm not sure how to quite handle it other than suggesting additional power injection points.

So with the additional information:
814 pixels at 30% calculates to a supply load of (814 * .055 * .3) 13.4 Amp. If you use WS2812Bs for the arches, those use a bit less amperage I think (.04 per pixel) so the total would be about 11.5 Amp. In either case the single 60 Amp supply you indicate you have will drive the load.

On the far right corner you have a pixels and power indicated. What may those be for?

The run above the window I believe is 64 feet from controller to end of run. Above garage door would be about 47 feet. Last house run would be 27 from controller to end of last arch I think will be 70 ft. The power/pixel deal was just to indicate what each color was. Thank you again for your assistance. Means alot

 

[TerryK]

That was not quite what I was after. Looking up I see I'm the problem; was not accurate in my request, sorry. What we need to know is the distance from the controller to the start of each string. Measure the distance as you plan to physically run the data and power cables. Thanks.