Double sided rgb strips?

[DocBrown86]

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[flogger7]

Take a look at holidaycoro.com

He has all the controller parts, a bunch of how-to videos, and he's great to work with.

Also check out the ACL 101 manual over at auschristmaslights it has a ton of info on RGB that will answer a lot of your questions.

[jerrymac]

Kind of back to the original thread. Not 2 sided strips but if the issue is the led's pointed the wrong direction on the back side then try cutting the strip at the point the strip starts it turn to the back and solder back together 180 degrees. When the strip starts it turn backward again on the opposited side do the same. A bit of work but would keep the leds viewable from the front and sides (not back).

I am working on this solution now, (does take some planning since the circumfrence gets greater as the string goes down the tree).

Other idea is stick 2 stings back to back (doubles the cost), with prices dropping, this may be a viable solution.

[harrison0550]

Sticking two strips together back to back works extremely well, especially if the strips came with the 3m sticky back. Cost of course is double now but if your ordering double the amount of strips I recommend contacting whomever you are buying them from and see if the offer a discount for ordering multiple strips. Every distributor I've contacted so far does.

A quick update on the eBay strips linked and tested in this thread, at this point I would not recommend them to anyone. After my last disappointment with a few LEDs failing I swapped the strips on my deck with strips from 2 other manufactures and they are out back running now. I will keep you posted on them. However the eBay strips have been sitting on my deck unplugged for almost a month. I plugged them up this weekend and over 20 LEDs on each strip were burnt out. There doesn't appear to be any water damage or shorts so the only thing I can figure caused their failure is the heat/sunlight as they havnt even been plugged up. With the cost of these strips being what they are replacing them each season is not an option so I can no longer recommend the ebay strips with over 20 led failures on each strip. Like I said I'm torturing several new strips now and if they hold up I will link their suppliers website in a month or so.

Thanks, Andy

Edit: sorry I didn't answer your question Doc. Yes you can run 2 strips with one $6 DMX controller but that is the max I would personally run. As stated above holiday coro has them in stock as well as the power supply needed to run them. Order the sample pack and you will get the usb address programmer as well and you will need that. I highly recommend ordering from them and the 2 strips running on my deck now are powered and controlled from hardware purchased from holiday coro. Ray Wu also has everything as well but the savings will be minimal unless you need a large order say 50+ of each the savings won't be anything to write home about ordering from Ray. I've ordered from both and both are stand up sellers so compare what you need and pick on price+shipping because both have great service.

Edit Edit: If your just wanting to recreate the spiral trees like what cracker did you can using those white pre maid trees with the fishing line and plastic spiral. You can simply lay the strips flat on top of the white plastic and zip tie them down. You know so the strip is actually facing upward. The strips are extremely bright and will look consistent from all angels but below the tree of course. With the turn radius being so wide on those trees you wouldn't have to cut or double them up. I think I have a couple of those trees in storage, if so I will try it this weekend and post some pictures for you.

Edit Edit Edit: I just like being able to edit again hahahahaha!

Good Luck!

[Steven]

DocBrown86 wrote:

I'd have to double up the amount by sticking them back-to-back.

If you don't need to view your trees from the back (i.e. you have a normal display where everything faces the street, then you can twist the strips 360° every rotation around the tree, meaning the front of the strip will always face (approximately) the same direction.

I did this on my 12' spiral mega tree, and there are no dark spots when viewed from the street. (It's not as bright when viewed from the house.)

[DocBrown86]

harrison0550 wrote:

Sticking two strips together back to back works extremely well, especially if the strips came with the 3m sticky back. Cost of course is double now but if your ordering double the amount of strips I recommend contacting whomever you are buying them from and see if the offer a discount for ordering multiple strips. Every distributor I've contacted so far does.

A quick update on the eBay strips linked and tested in this thread, at this point I would not recommend them to anyone. After my last disappointment with a few LEDs failing I swapped the strips on my deck with strips from 2 other manufactures and they are out back running now. I will keep you posted on them. However the eBay strips have been sitting on my deck unplugged for almost a month. I plugged them up this weekend and over 20 LEDs on each strip were burnt out. There doesn't appear to be any water damage or shorts so the only thing I can figure caused their failure is the heat/sunlight as they havnt even been plugged up. With the cost of these strips being what they are replacing them each season is not an option so I can no longer recommend the ebay strips with over 20 led failures on each strip. Like I said I'm torturing several new strips now and if they hold up I will link their suppliers website in a month or so.

Thanks, Andy

Edit: sorry I didn't answer your question Doc. Yes you can run 2 strips with one $6 DMX controller but that is the max I would personally run. As stated above holiday coro has them in stock as well as the power supply needed to run them. Order the sample pack and you will get the usb address programmer as well and you will need that. I highly recommend ordering from them and the 2 strips running on my deck now are powered and controlled from hardware purchased from holiday coro. Ray Wu also has everything as well but the savings will be minimal unless you need a large order say 50+ of each the savings won't be anything to write home about ordering from Ray. I've ordered from both and both are stand up sellers so compare what you need and pick on price+shipping because both have great service.

Edit Edit: If your just wanting to recreate the spiral trees like what cracker did you can using those white pre maid trees with the fishing line and plastic spiral. You can simply lay the strips flat on top of the white plastic and zip tie them down. You know so the strip is actually facing upward. The strips are extremely bright and will look consistent from all angels but below the tree of course. With the turn radius being so wide on those trees you wouldn't have to cut or double them up. I think I have a couple of those trees in storage, if so I will try it this weekend and post some pictures for you.

Edit Edit Edit: I just like being able to edit again hahahahaha!

Good Luck!

Ok, so from your "Edit Edit" part :-P How could you lay the tape strip flat and still go around the spiral tree? I wouldn't think they bend that way...

[harrison0550]

I found a couple of those spiral trees in the shed this morning. Unfortunately they were all tangled so after I cut the (fishing line) string of them. I will restring them and try putting a rgb strip on and post a video or pics back. Maybe later tonight or maybe tomorrow.

[DocBrown86]

Was there ever a final decision on the best place to get RGB strips? I'm going with the 150s. Don't wanna spend a fortune, but also don't wanna end up with a pile of crap.

[harrison0550]

DocBrown86 wrote:

Was there ever a final decision on the best place to get RGB strips? I'm going with the 150s. Don't wanna spend a fortune, but also don't wanna end up with a pile of crap.

I personally have yet to find the "perfect" strip but I do have 2 new ones being tested right now so once Im done torturing them I will comment back. The strip is coated in silicon but not in a sleeve. If it was in a sleeve this method probably would not work and yes before anyone mentions it the trees are probably all trash. I found 5 of them in the shed today but they were all twisted and were holding some funny twists memory. Will have to replace or fix if I actually decide to use them. Anyway here is just a quick thrown together spiral tree with rbg strip tie wrapped facing up.

[harrison0550]

harrison0550 wrote: <br/><br/>Well, that's pretty much what E1.31 is... DMX over Ethernet... So yes, there is a way to control them. I'll be using Robert Martin's E1.31 to DMX board, which is based on the Sandevices E681 firmware. It has outputs for four 512 channel DMX universes. Each one can be directly connected to devices like the 3 channel DMX controllers.<br/><br/>Right now I have a $55 box full of parts from Mouser for this device. The $8 PCB should be available from RPM within the next week or so.<br/><br/>How's the Dark Side sounding people?<br/><br/>Jeff

Hey Jeff, have you had a chance to get Martins E1.31 to DMX bridge put together and tested with LOR since the release of e1.31? I've yet to have enough free time to sit down and put mine together. I'm hoping it all works smooth as chances are I won't have time to do anything until Q4 of this year.

[edvas69]

But first, I have to test the strips. They are much more flexible than the ones from Ray Wu, and have 3M sticky backing, suitable for adhering to a frame (although I doubt they would hold well to a PVC pipe in the weather). The didn't come with a pigtail, but instead a 3-pin connector, that looks like 0.1" spacing. When I get a chance, I'll roll them out and see how different they look.

This depends on which ones you are comparing. Sounds to me they are the resin drip coating which do not have any coating on the back, just the tape, so these are more flexable than the IP68 strip that Ray sells as this strip has a decent coating on both the back and front thus making it less flexable but it has an IP rating of IP68

The resin drip coating may still have water ingress issues if the back of the strip is exposed to lots of water/moisture and also may be an issue if you are mounting these to anything that may be steel or a rough surface as the PCB can easily be exposed.

I have some of this type of coated strip but ill be using this in areas under eaves and such so its not directly exposed to the elements. It may work well out in the elements for an extended period, but i thought it important to point out the differences between the coatings.

[harrison0550]

After testing several strips this summer Ive decided not to order or use any with waterproof coating/resin filled or any type of water protection already on them. Every single strip I tested failed to survive the TN weather. Not sure if it was water damage or heat but either way none have survived more than 2 months on my deck. So going forward I will just be ordering the non water resistant strips and placing those that need the most protection in sharkbite tubing from home depot. While those that need a little less protection and flexibility inside the silicon sleeve that Ray sales by itself and filling each end piece full of silicon.

I know from past experience that I have a tendency to leave my lights up through Jan-March. No show running but the first few months of the year tend to be my busiest work time. Keeping all this in mind and the heavy rainfall we had last year I just don't feel confident in spending that amount of money on "ip68" strips only to use them one season.

[WilliamS]

After testing several strips this summer Ive decided not to order or use any with waterproof coating/resin filled or any type of water protection already on them. Every single strip I tested failed to survive the TN weather. Not sure if it was water damage or heat but either way none have survived more than 2 months on my deck. So going forward I will just be ordering the non water resistant strips and placing those that need the most protection in sharkbite tubing from home depot. While those that need a little less protection and flexibility inside the silicon sleeve that Ray sales by itself and filling each end piece full of silicon.

I know from past experience that I have a tendency to leave my lights up through Jan-March. No show running but the first few months of the year tend to be my busiest work time. Keeping all this in mind and the heavy rainfall we had last year I just don't feel confident in spending that amount of money on "ip68" strips only to use them one season.

Were these all the Resin dipped, or were a batch of them with the 14mm silicone squared tubing around them? We have wet weather here in Florida, so Im trying to plan ahead as Ive jumped deep into the RGB field. All of the strips I have now are all silicone tubed not the resin. Were you seeing failures in those as well or just the dipped style?

Also glad to see you still messing with RGB.

[harrison0550]

They were all the resin filled dipped style. Some with 3m tape on the back and some without. Either way none lasted more than 2 months left outside. I was actually shocked at how high the failure rate was. With that being said I won't knock any company on a public forum as I also ordered a non waterproof strip from each manufacturer as well and all of them are still running perfectly with very very low failure rate in my garage. I'm talking like 1 failed led from all strips low failure rate. The sleeve is going to be a must if you plan on keeping these more than one season in a wet area.

I had one set mounted up under my decks hand rail not exposed directly to sunlight or rain but when I pulled it out there was a ton of condensation inside of it and the resin had turned a nicotine stained yellow color. I'm defiantly thinking that saving the money upfront by buying the non waterproof strips then putting them inside tubing yourself will be the better way to get a longer life expectancy out of them.

I've been a little dormant but never really disappeared. With the release of E1.31 on LOR the gears are turning again, the solder is burning and I'm ready to make things blink or produce some magic smoke.

[edvas69]

im very surprised you say that

After testing several strips this summer Ive decided not to order or use any with waterproof coating/resin filled or any type of water protection already on them. Every single strip I tested failed to survive the TN weather. Not sure if it was water damage or heat but either way none have survived more than 2 months on my deck. So going forward I will just be ordering the non water resistant strips and placing those that need the most protection in sharkbite tubing from home depot. While those that need a little less protection and flexibility inside the silicon sleeve that Ray sales by itself and filling each end piece full of silicon.

I know from past experience that I have a tendency to leave my lights up through Jan-March. No show running but the first few months of the year tend to be my busiest work time. Keeping all this in mind and the heavy rainfall we had last year I just don't feel confident in spending that amount of money on "ip68" strips only to use them one season.

have you tried the IP68 solid silicone coating, this strip can be put under water and suffers from no water ingress issues, Ive used this for 2 seasons without issue on a black tiled roof in an Aussie summer facing west so dont get much more of a tougher test.

I also use the silicone tube but find that you need to add extra silicone to the ends to ensure no water gets in, if this is done then these are great as well and shouldnt suffer from water getting in.

Its the resin drip type that I mentioned in my previous post is where I have my concerns, this is the type that many people are buying from ebay and they may be in for some dissapointment come show time as i dont believe these have a great level of water ingress protection

[harrison0550]

Are you referring to these opoxy coated strips with the 3m tape on the back or does Ray have a solid silicon coated strip that I missed when I ordered all these to test?..... http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/5m-flexible-LED-Strip-5050-SMD-30LEDs-m-waterproof-by-epoxy-coating-RGB-color-DC12V-input/701799_288949036.html

I've had great success with the silicone sleeve from Ray. Like you said filling the end full of silicon make a perfect water tight seal. I'm gonna use this method as much as possible this year.

I'm with you completely on the resin dipped strips. They are junk outdoors.

If I missed a solid silicon coated strip before I'm going to kick myself but would be greatly relieved at the same time knowing you had such good success with them. Any chance you could link me to them?

[edvas69]

This is the type i have used which is solid silicone with a silicone tube http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/5m-one-roll-5050-SMD-30LEDs-m-led-strip-waterproof-by-silicon-tubing-and-coating-RGB/701799_329544925.html

It is IP68 rated and I doubt you will have water ingress isues.

But as you said the tube works great if you just seal the ends and is usually cheaper.

[harrison0550]

Ok I gotcha now, those are the ultimate in water tight right out the gate. The only reason I never ordered that perticular strip for testing was I kept reading around other forums that with both the sleeve and silicon fill together made them very rigid and hard to bend around say a spiral tree for example.

I plan to cut a lot of these up as well into 4ft runs and figured if I'm cutting them up and having to reseal them anyway I might as well just forgo the waterproofing from the manufacturer and order the sleeve itself from Ray.

Should be a fun year! As long as you stay far away from the eBay strips that is, or take further steps to seal them up.

[edvas69]

Ok I gotcha now, those are the ultimate in water tight right out the gate. The only reason I never ordered that perticular strip for testing was I kept reading around other forums that with both the sleeve and silicon fill together made them very rigid and hard to bend around say a spiral tree for example.

I plan to cut a lot of these up as well into 4ft runs and figured if I'm cutting them up and having to reseal them anyway I might as well just forgo the waterproofing from the manufacturer and order the sleeve itself from Ray.

Should be a fun year! As long as you stay far away from the eBay strips that is, or take further steps to seal them up.

They are more rigid than the resin drip type but by no means so rigid that you cant bend them around a tree, the bending radius is still not that bad .

Also its not that difficult to cut and remove the silicone from the solder pads so you can put on a tail, all i do is cut away the silicone with a box cutter knife, ensure the pads have no silicone on them and then solder on the tails, I then use clear heatshrink, fill it with silicone and then shrink the clear heat shrink, this makes a great seal and all mine done this way have had no issues.

For me it just seems like a lot of added work having to add your own silicone sleeve.

[harrison0550]

Sweet! Sounds like a plan to me, I'm always open to suggestions especially from someone who has had success with a product in the past. I will be placing an order with Ray tomorrow so I will add one of these strips to the list to give it a try.

So far I'm planning 4 sandevices e681's with 5m 2801 strips from Ray on the pixel side of things along with some 2801 pixel strings.

On the dumb strips I'm planning on using the Martin E1.31 to DMX bridge that Jeff mentioned above for control of the little 3 channel DMX models and various other RGB elements.