Dcroc Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 I have used pixel strips (both smart and dumb) for 2 years now. I had to replace each of my dumb strips after leaving them up all year. Many of the red pixels in every one of my dumb strips from last year died. I contracted HC, and they sent me ONE strip to repair all 9 strips. Needless to say....I was less than pleased. They claim that it was either my mounting method (zip ties too tight, sharp turns), or moisture. None of those make sense to me, because I have some strips on straight runs, very very loosely held in place with zip ties, that could not be more waterproof...and again, its only the red. No real patern to the red pixels that died, just kinda random thru each strip. Every other color pixel works just as well as the day they were unpackaged. In all, I lost 9 strips to this, and only in the dumb strips. Smart strips that were installed/purchased at the same time still work like a champ. I have heard several possible reasons for this, but I keep going back to a bad lot of strips. If the new ones go bad after this season, I do not see me using strips again, as the nodes seem a whole lot easier to repair in such a case. That being said.....what are the advantages/disadvantages to strips and nodes? It seemed to me that the strips would be a lot easier to mount around the windows and doors, and well as the roof line. Was pretty basic to mount the strips to PVC and clip the PVC to the house/windows/doors, and the best part is that they really can't be seen in the off seasons. Not even sure how I would even go about mounting nodes in such a manner, and they would, I imagine, be very visable on the house at any time they are not in use. I love the look of the strips for Halloween, but am thinking the nodes might have a more "traditional" look for Christmas. Either way, I will be adding the larger c9 size pixel "bulbs" in addtion to which ever other type of pixel I use. There are just some songs I would like to have a more traditional look for, and they seem to please the older viewers more than the strips. I figure mounting them should pretty much be the same as mounting standard C9 lights. Also, I am now considering a pixel tree. Seems some claim the graphic displays on strips is better than using nodes. Any views on this? I would really be interested in everyones list of pro's and con's for both in all applications? On one last note, I would really love to get a bunch of different people's views on these subjects. Is there a better place to post this that would get better results, or am I in the right place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1983ss454 Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 I see both bulbs and bullets and you won't honestly find a strip used in my display. I don't like the look of strips. Bulbs and bullets and much simpler to fix. All my house outline is 1/2 emt with my bulbs zip tied, I can have all the pixels off the house in less then an hour. My pixel tree is a flat tree with bullets as well. I think it shows images wellhttps://vimeo.com/197518158Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dcroc Posted December 30, 2016 Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 (edited) Wow, really nice display. So you zip tied bullets to PVC? Would square be easier? That spacing did you use? Edited December 30, 2016 by Dcroc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1983ss454 Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 They are pixabulbs 12" spacing Tree is billets 3" spacing in boscoyo pixel strips Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsmith37064 Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 I have pixel strips for my tree and have nothing but moisture problems this season. I am planning on doing nodes next year for the tree and retiring the strips. Plus with nodes i can shrink my tree down from 17ft to 9ft to make it easier to move and store. Only thing is i am not sure how it will look till i build it with nodes. As for the dumb strips...I use what i got off Ebay 2 years ago and just had 1 window section die on the red as well. It's about a 20" run that died on the red. Green and Blue still work great.. But i cant complain because i paid $5 a strip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpageler Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 Really can't say that bulbs are better than strips or vice-versa. Really comes down the the look and feel that you want for particular display element. RGB modules (rectangle, square, round) are also another option to bulbs/strips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerry72 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 My house, roof, windows, garage door, fence are all lined with Dumb nodes. the windows and garage door use 1/2" pvc drilled every 4 inches for nodes. Check out the pics below. I mounted the frames on the windows using PVC clips. At the end of the year, they pop right off and right into storage. No muss no fuss. Got the drill jig from RainyOregonChristmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dcroc Posted July 4, 2017 Author Share Posted July 4, 2017 My smart pixel strips have now suffered the same fate as my dumb strips. Only used 2 seasons, and they have random dead red pixels through out the strips. Way too many to repair. I believe I am done with strips. I am especially done with HC strips. I simply can not afford to replace all my dumb, and smart strips every year or 2. In fact, I am very much considering getting out of this hobby due to this. Putting out hundreds of dollars, every year, to simply replace what I already purchased is insane, and is breaking my spirit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 Strips are a lot more fragile then the nodes and they can't take all the bending that nodes can when you are setting them up and taking them down. When I am planning out my display i am looking at what I can keep up year round (HOA rules) and what will have to come down at the end of the season. All of my strips are in locations where they stay up year round so they are not handled as much or they are mounted on frames such as my ribbon tree and window frames where they do not get handled but come down as complete sections, all my other locations get strings. All my ribbons have been up five years, six this year, with no issues so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dcroc Posted July 4, 2017 Author Share Posted July 4, 2017 Installed them on the roof via 1/2" UPC, and haven't touched them since. They are a straight run, with no bends, or curves. They have never been taken down, and stored. I really can not see a reason they would go bad, but the fact that it's only the red, and random, suggests to me that it's a bad batch. I don't think moisture would be picky about color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDucks Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 I thought I read somewhere that the current draw for Red was slightly higher than Blue or Green. Still... Where are the decoders? Does it support 1 pix or a group of 3? (and are all 3 bad) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dcroc Posted July 4, 2017 Author Share Posted July 4, 2017 All 3 are bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDucks Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 Just now, Dcroc said: All 3 are bad. That sounds like a cracked trace. the 3 LEDS of each color are in series. That, or the driver is shot. I go with the trace/LED connection Is the covering soft enough that you could Voltage probe the trace with a sharp PIN? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.Y.R.G. Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 On 7/4/2017 at 1:42 AM, Dcroc said: My smart pixel strips have now suffered the same fate as my dumb strips. Only used 2 seasons, and they have random dead red pixels through out the strips. Way too many to repair. I believe I am done with strips. I am especially done with HC strips. I simply can not afford to replace all my dumb, and smart strips every year or 2. In fact, I am very much considering getting out of this hobby due to this. Putting out hundreds of dollars, every year, to simply replace what I already purchased is insane, and is breaking my spirit. Sorry to hear about that as it sounds super frustrating. I had some strips from HC this past year where the blue pixel went out randomly but he was gracious enough to replace them. If more trouble shows up then I too might consider getting out of this hobby or at least go back to static lights. I don't think I could ever not put up Christmas lights of some sort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 1 hour ago, B.Y.R.G. said: Sorry to hear about that as it sounds super frustrating. I had some strips from HC this past year where the blue pixel went out randomly but he was gracious enough to replace them. If more trouble shows up then I too might consider getting out of this hobby or at least go back to static lights. I don't think I could ever not put up Christmas lights of some sort. "...gracious enough to replace them." How sad that vendor expectations in this hobby have slimed and slithered down to that level. Before you bail on a hobby that brings so much joy to so many, perhaps you should get out of HC and go back to quality vendors who sell quality products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.Y.R.G. Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 1 hour ago, George Simmons said: "...gracious enough to replace them." How sad that vendor expectations in this hobby have slimed and slithered down to that level. Before you bail on a hobby that brings so much joy to so many, perhaps you should get out of HC and go back to quality vendors who sell quality products. George got his HC dig in for the week........wohoo! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 3 hours ago, B.Y.R.G. said: George got his HC dig in for the week........wohoo! I have never seen someone actually hate a company such as George with HC. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 5 hours ago, Mr. P said: I have never seen someone actually hate a company such as George with HC. I don't hate HC. But I have zero respect for the owner and the way he's treated so many customers.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dcroc Posted July 6, 2017 Author Share Posted July 6, 2017 Last year, I Emailed them about the same issue I had with 9 of their dumb strips. Only got one season out of them. They sent me one replacement to cut apart and replace all the dead red pixels. It was WAY to many to replace like that, and more red pixels were going bad every day. I ended up buying 8 more dumb strips. I'm gonna fire them up for the first time since Christmas, and see how they are doing, today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dcroc Posted July 6, 2017 Author Share Posted July 6, 2017 (edited) 18 hours ago, George Simmons said: "...gracious enough to replace them." How sad that vendor expectations in this hobby have slimed and slithered down to that level. Before you bail on a hobby that brings so much joy to so many, perhaps you should get out of HC and go back to quality vendors who sell quality products. Yeah, that was a heat of the moment post. I have things that I wanted to add this year, and every dime I have to spend replacing these things, each season, keeps me from moving forward. Wouldn't be so bad if it were a strip here, and there. However, they ALL seem to go. Really considering switching to nodes. Edited July 6, 2017 by Dcroc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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