Total N00B Questions

[terrangray]

I'm trying to get in to this and I have a lot of questions about this

1. I'm looking at getting a string of lights to go outside my house. To start off with I'm only looking at getting a short strand of 50 - 100 M of lights then get more and expand. Is it possible to get more and attach them together?. I get that sometimes you might want to have two different strings to program. But if I just want one long string can it be done?.
2, Since I want them outside, I want them water proof; I can see that IP66 -68 is the waterproof rating. Once I get my strips can they just be stuck and left or is there something that needs to be done to ensure the waterproofness?
3. I want to put some strips around my house; are there different types of lights if I just wanted to leave them up all year round as opposed to putting them up and taking them down?

Thats all my current questions at the moment, I know there will be tons more as I dig more deeper

 

[Katekate]

yes you can connect strings together. but you need to be aware of the limits of your controller (how many pixels per output it can drive) and the power requirements.

IP Ratings describe the level of waterproofness - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_code

You need to ensure your connectors are waterproof if they are going to be exposed. a lot of strip comes with JST connectors that are not in any way sealed.

there are long term durability concerns with strip if its not secured to something solid. its going to break if it can flap around in the wind. Also a lot of strip is not rated for UV exposure, and will go yellow if left outside for an extended period (especially if its on the sun side of your house)

There are plenty of other options for permanent installs. See this recent thread https://auschristmaslighting.com/threads/permatrack-other-permanent-led-mounting-ideas.17468/