Second thoughts on controller purchase

[chris19681986]

35ft to the start of window run. 7 ft each for the other two runs. Arch run will be about 50 to start. Thank you

 

[uncledan]

I see those arches being a pain with data and power. Cant put a receiver out there and a second power supply? You could run one arch per output and inject the end or run them all off one output with only data and V- and power inject at both ends of each arch

 

[chris19681986]

I see those arches being a pain with data and power. Cant put a receiver out there and a second power supply? You could run one arch per output and inject the end or run them all off one output with only data and V- and power inject at both ends of each arch

I see those arches being a pain with data and power. Cant put a receiver out there and a second power supply? You could run one arch per output and inject the end or run them all off one output with only data and V- and power inject at both ends of each arch

Only reason I hadn't went that route is the outside outlet is on the right side of the garage and then I would have cords over driveway and sidewalk. I could get a small second power supply that is 12v. It would still be in garage and make those arches 12v. Data would still come from the same controller via cat5. Then I probably would have to do so much injection out there. It would 14ga wire out to the arches. Thanks

 

[TerryK]

From the information you posted, a few calculations.
String Amperage is: NumberOfPixels * AmpPerPixel * DriveLevel ( amp per pixel is .055 for the WS2811s and .04 for the WS8212Bs.
Cable voltage drop is: OhmsPerUnitDistance / UnitDistance * CableLength * StringAmperage (14 AWG is about 2.525 Ohms Per 1000 Feet).

Upper Floor Window (112 Pixel): String Amp = 1.85 Amp -- Cable Voltage Drop = 0.16 Volt
Porch/Door String (84 Pixel): String Amp = 1.39 Amp -- Cable Voltage Drop = 0.03 Volt
Garage String (168 Pixel): String Amp = 2.77 -- Cable Voltage drop = 0.49 Volt
Arch String (450 Pixel): String Amp 5.4 Amp -- Cable Voltage Drop = 0.68 Volt

As previously mentioned, the smaller AWG Alitove string wire is a concern. I am inclined to think that the Upper Floor Window and Porch/Door strings can be driven directly from the controller although a 3 conductor 14 AWG might be somewhat an issue. The Garage string may suffer from a slight voltage drop at the far end but planning to add a power injection at the far end would resolve that I think. The cable length to the Upper Floor Window may need a F-Amp but I would probably not use one and add the F-Amp if you see problems.

The arches as Dan indicated being a problem, need more than a single power cable. I would plan on injecting at the end of the arch and the addition of a F-Amp although as I have yet to need a F-Amp I am not sure where the best placement would be. I have not played with or tested any WS2812Bs so while I feel only the 2 injection locations will be needed (beginning and end) I cannot say for certain. With 2 cables out at the arches, it would be easy enough to install a "T" (or "Y") and power the connection points between the arches.

I used 14AWG in the calculations above. Typical (I think) current per pixel WS2812B for the arches, WS2811 for everything else. My WS2811 test data charts only go down to 50% drive level and aside from that are for 18 AWG 4 inch pixel spacing. So the Alitove strings become an educated guess on voltage drop across the string beginning to end. Obvious I think that if you go install another wire AWG and/or pixel type the calculations would need adjusted. Cheers.

2021Jan07 edit: Voltage drops indicated need doubled to account for voltage drop in the V+ and voltage rise in the V-.

 

[chris19681986]

Thank you for all the info. So you think using 14 ga from the controller to the upper lights above window is bad, meaning it should be bigger/smaller? I can add a second line straight from power supply to the far end of that string if that would solve the issue. Thanks

 

[TerryK]

Poor English on my part. I meant that for the Upper Floor Window and Porch strings, they should drive all right with 14 AWG but using 14AWG for the data wire is larger than it needs to be and that 14 AWG wire is large for the green Phoenix connectors on the Falcon controller. The green Phoenix connectors Falcon uses are meant more for 16/18 AWG wire.

 

[chris19681986]

Poor English on my part. I meant that for the Upper Floor Window and Porch strings, they should drive all right with 14 AWG but using 14AWG for the data wire is larger than it needs to be and that 14 AWG wire is large for the green Phoenix connectors on the Falcon controller. The green Phoenix connectors Falcon uses are meant more for 16/18 AWG wire.

Gotcha. Well if 14 stranded is to big I could use solid 16 for pos and neg and single strand of cat 5 for data

 

[Elecgreg]

A point to note if a cable is going to be rolled up for storage or bent in the same location both ways stranded cable is better solid will eventually fail if curvature of the cable is too tight

 

[TerryK]

As Elecgreg indicated, I would not use solid. It would probably be all right for lighting installed permanently. One needs to be careful not to nick the wire as that is typically where it then breaks. Power injection AWG as compared to Data Line AWG is the reason I do not power pixels from a controller. It's easier to implement different wire sizes.

 

[TerryK]

Something I forgot to add in the above post #19, voltage calculation is for a single conductor so one needs to double the calculated value to find the V+ and V- voltage drop that the string sees. The Upper Floor Window string for example at its start will see the approximate 0.16 volt drop in the V+ and a similar 0.16 volt rise in its V-. So measured at the start of the string, the first pixel will see (5 - 0.16) - 0.16 = 4.68 Volt and that is at the White calculated drive level. Fewer colors and a lesser drive level all would work to decrease the voltage drop (to the string's advantage).