So i'm about to order some pixelstrip from ray...............

battle79

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Happy New Year everyone,

I'm keen to get started making some pieces for next year while still motivated. (and not by time getting away)
So I was wondering is there anything I should be aware of. I know to keep order under $1,000inc, but does that include cost of shipping?
I understand that the one to get is the silicon tube.

Main concern is do I need to bother with the 60/mtr??, seems like the few time I've seen it mentioned people seem happy with the 30/mtr.
Also was 90% sold on the 5V until I noticed that ray has sold 10x more 12V then 5V in the strip? So whats peoples preference? (Don't have suppies for either yet so nothing to loose, only gain)
60led 60 IC @ 5V http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/4m-WS2811-LED-digital-strip-60leds-m-with-60pcs-WS2811-built-in-the-5050-smd-rgb/701799_638374848.html
30led 30 IC @ 5V http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/5m-WS2811-LED-digital-strip-60leds-m-with-30pcs-WS2811-built-in-the-5050-smd-rgb/701799_653641294.html
30led 10 IC(easier to program??) @ 12V http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/5m-led-digital-strip-DC12V-input-WS2811IC-256-scale-10pcs-IC-and-30pcs-5050-SMD-RGB/701799_568458133.html
Advantages:-
12V will give me longer runs before I have to inject power right? Hopefully someone has used and can compare to the every ~50 of 5V. Also less channels to program overall.
Dissadvantages:-
Less control as pixels are blocks of 3. Leaning toward 12V now as 10 blocks over 1mtr is still heaps.

Sorry about wall of text, any thoughts welcome. Probably gonna place order in a week or so.

Cheers,
Rowan
 

fasteddy

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Remember that using individual pixel control compare to 3 pixels has a lot of disadvantages as well, so ive listed a few pros and cons to using 5v individual controlled strip

Pros
  • finer control
  • more light with 60 LED/M
Cons
  • Voltage drop concerns
  • Higher current thus meaning larger guage cabling
  • Higer channels to manage and thus a much better computer required to manage and control those extra channels
  • Extra cost due to having to pay for the highest level of channel counts for the software
  • cost of the individual pixel strips is higher
  • More controllers due to more channels used
If the show is being viewed from the street then reality is that the resolution will not have a big impact and your audience wont really notice the difference. Where i see strip with individual pixel control at 60LED/m then this is best for hi res matrices.
I always look at what gives me the best bang for my buck and more is not always better and at $32 for a 5 metre strip of 2811, then i still see this hard to beat for value and manageability.
Others may have differing opinions.
 

battle79

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View will be from about 10mtrs away so fairly close. I have ~25 tint tubes I picked up today to mount the strip in so thinking that 30led/mtr will be enough. Gonna just drill two small holes and use wire to make gutter hangers (heatshrink so no rust marks on gutter). Whole house front is 18mtrs across so controller(s) are going 3-4 mtrs either side of the middle. Seperate controller will do the mini trees and candy canes on the lawn. These will be very close to people so will have to make sure build quality is good.
Think thats more than enough for my first year, but if I'm done by july I may add some more. (Budget allowing, need to run past minister for war & finance)

Cheers,
 

battle79

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At 5V if I inject every 2mtrs, or every tint tube say, that adds up to 60 pixels per section, is that too many in peoples experience?? would be good if I could put injection and connector all in same spot for easy setup and removal.
Each section of house is either 1.8mtr, 6mtr, or 8mtr, so would work well.

Cheers,
Rowan
 

BradsXmasLights

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Brisbane, Australia
I'd only go 30 LED/m too - and I have people view my display <10m. If your putting LED strip in tint tubes it all blurs anyway - looks 100% fuild :D

30 LED / M is still bloody bright too - your neighbours across the road may cop it badly if your in a narrow street. 60 LED density will only make this factor worse too. (I actually run mine upside down to reduce colour washing the houses opposite me)
Go 12V - less voltage drop, and no need to worry about the blocks of 3 LEDs per pixel node, unless you were building a matrix. For most jobs, this stuff is perfect: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/5m-led-digital-strip-DC12V-input-WS2811IC-256-scale-10pcs-IC-and-30pcs-5050-SMD-RGB/701799_568458133.html
 

nutz4lights

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battle79 said:
So I was wondering is there anything I should be aware of. I know to keep order under $1,000inc, but does that include cost of shipping?

Hi all,

What is this about keeping orders to under $1000? I haven't seen this mentioned in my reading yet.

Thanks,

-Louie
 

fasteddy

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nutz4lights said:
battle79 said:
So I was wondering is there anything I should be aware of. I know to keep order under $1,000inc, but does that include cost of shipping?

Hi all,

What is this about keeping orders to under $1000? I haven't seen this mentioned in my reading yet.

Thanks,

-Louie

Its on page 67 (Ordering from China) of the ACL 101 lighting manual.
Australia is $1000
For those in the US its $2000
 

nutz4lights

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ɟɐsʇǝppʎ said:
Its on page 67 (Ordering from China) of the ACL 101 lighting manual.
Australia is $1000
For those in the US its $2000
Sorry about that, I stopped reading around the pixel controllers section and hadn't made it back.

-Louie
 
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