Side view LED strips

B

Beefer

Apprentice elf
Joined
Feb 19, 2012
Messages
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Much better to use a DC controller to switch the 12V. Switching the 240V input of some types of power supplies can be very bad for both the controller and the power supplies.
 
AAH said:
They should be driven by a DC board that is running 12V DC. You can run LOR DC boards to do it or if you have LOR advanced you can use 1 of the variety of dmx DC boards. There's a bunch of DC controllers listed on http://auschristmaslighting.com/wiki/Controllers
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Ok cool, I do have LOR advanced and a DMX board looks like a good idea - so they essentially just turn it into a DMZ channel which can then be controlled by LOR directly?
 
Have a read of this thread http://auschristmaslighting.com/forums/index.php?topic=1139.0 specifically the PowerPoint presentation.

It explains the basics of DMX and LOR, if you don't understand or need more info free to ask more questions :)
 
Yes, you need a DC controller with as many channels as strips (or DC strings, etc) you want to control. Whether it's LOR or DMX input isn't really part of the electrical question you had. The main thing is that the controller has DC outputs for the LED strip(s). You'll also need a 12V (the LED strip voltage) power supply of course.

LOR make a CMB16 DC controller that you'd be able to add to your existing LOR network, but they are a little expensive for the number of output channels you get. The link Alan gave shows other ones that are better value for money.

All of the later models of LOR boards can run in DMX mode as well as their native LOR mode. DC controllers from other suppliers will be DMX only however. This means you can run a new DMX DC controller on the same USB dongle as your existing LOR AC board with only a slight change in the LOR software.
 
David_AVD said:
Yes, you need a DC controller with as many channels as strips (or DC strings, etc) you want to control. Whether it's LOR or DMX input isn't really part of the electrical question you had. The main thing is that the controller has DC outputs for the LED strip(s). You'll also need a 12V (the LED strip voltage) power supply of course.

LOR make a CMB16 DC controller that you'd be able to add to your existing LOR network, but they are a little expensive for the number of output channels you get. The link Alan gave shows other ones that are better value for money.

All of the later models of LOR boards can run in DMX mode as well as their native LOR mode. DC controllers from other suppliers will be DMX only however. This means you can run a new DMX DC controller on the same USB dongle as your existing LOR AC board with only a slight change in the LOR software.
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Aha, brilliant - that makes sense now.

Yes, the LOR controller is way over the top - I'm probably going to go for the 'DMX 512 Module & decoder' from Ray Wu's site. I'll search around for specifics on how this is configured in LOR.

thanks!
Adam
 
Beefer said:
Yes, the LOR controller is way over the top - I'm probably going to go for the 'DMX 512 Module & decoder' from Ray Wu's site. I'll search around for specifics on how this is configured in LOR.
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Adam, I use nothing but LOR at this point. LOR can be pricey and going with another controller may be in your best intrest, however, before buying a controller from an unknown party where support can be iffy you may want to consider a controller from someone that is on these forums and many folks can give good support. You have a good one in AUS that may fit your needs. :)
 
Did you mean the wjohn ones? I've not had a response from the vendor as yet, seems he's more of a hobbyist.

What are other people using for a small number of 'dumb' RGB strips/channels?
 
As well with the LOR DC boards the shimmer and twinkle still work very well. When you change to DMX you lose most of that ability becuase of the rate DMX runs at VS the command being on board. If you already have LOR stick with it. I run LOR but all pixels and the one thing I miss the most is the shimmer.
 
WilliamS said:
...........
I run LOR but all pixels and the one thing I miss the most is the shimmer.
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Well, LSP has similar issues with shimmer at the moment, however, as a workaround, you could make a similar effect using either of the softwares by short duration channel on/off or macros.

I never had a live display to see shimmer or twinkle, so i dont miss it, others however.....
 
Yah, I'll probably go LOR for interoperability reasons.

I do shimmer and strobe effects by manually turning pixels on and off in LOR, looks pretty good, so that DMX speed restriction wouldn't be a problem.

Thanks guys.
 
If you're going to use DMX protocol, there's no real interoperability issues to overcome. A simple RJ45 adapter is all you need to convert from LOR RJ45 pinout to ESTA standard RJ45 pinout. There's lots of DMX DC controllers available with lower cost per channel than LOR.
 
Used 335 white strips on my angel wings and they are great. Ones I got made were 24VDc and 120 leds/m
 
tuppetsdad said:
Used 335 white strips on my angel wings and they are great. Ones I got made were 24VDc and 120 leds/m
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That's fantastic to hear, as mine will be used for angels and a nativity scene :)

Which controller did you use if you don't mind me asking?
 
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