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S3 RGB Question


mmais68569

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drivemewilder wrote:

So would you recommend the strips i posted from ebay? I would be looking to do my eves, so they would be exposed. I'm in New Mexico and it doesn't get too wet here in the desert, but we are good for a little rain and MAYBE a little snow. My roof is flat so i actually don't have eves. I was thinking of zip tying these to a 1x1 and hanging them near the top of my house. $21 and free shipping versus $32 and another $20 for shipping.

I bought 2 of that exact strip from that seller. IMHO I think they look great. Wish I would've got more... still might!! You can see them here - post 21, in ipex tubing. They fade very well color change is really good, plenty bright. They seem to be more of a cool white when all on (I was hoping for more of a warm white but C'est la vie it can be adjusted within the sequence).
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John i looked at your post and everything in that forum and i think i will try using that same PEX material! That looked really sharp! So i got my dumb strips today and i just want to make sure of something before i proceed. The wires are not in order of color (RGB) but rather BRG. And on the copper strip it's also labeled BRG. I have bought the 15cm connectors from Ray Wu and will clipping off these connectors to add the new ones from Ray. I've read on other forums that some manufacturers wire strips backwards such as BRG or GBR, ect. The ebay product i bought does indicate that this is RGB....which is why i bought it. But how do you know for sure since the wiring and labeling isn't exactly in order?

Attached files 315151=17210-013.JPG

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Color order is not a problem with dumb strips, just connect the color wire to the channel you want it on. The color order is more of a problem with smart strips or pixels.

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drivemewilder wrote:

But how do you know for sure since the wiring and labeling isn't exactly in order?

Those look like the same strips I bought. However, even the labels on the strip itself are wrong. 'B' is green and 'G' is blue. The only way to tell is to hook them up to a power supply.
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I tested it out with the 9V battery and the colors are correct! I bit more dim than i expected.

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Actually, i was using an off-brand cheap battery. I scrounged up an Energizer battery and BAM...these things are super bright!

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When adding a DMX universe w/S3 - what are the tradeoff's using a iDMX100 vs Enttec vs USB-485 ? I want to add DMX - I understand the parts - but have not yet found any feature set tradeoff (if any) between these. I have seen comments about CPU load (iDMX better) / LOR lighting features(shimmer)(iDMX translates)
Any thoughts or pointers ?

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drivemewilder wrote:

I think i'm comfortable enough to start making some purchases. I asked the following question on a different forum with no luck so far. So i'll try it here.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5050-RGB-LED-STRIPS-flexible-tape-lights-5m-30led-m-150leds-waterproof-IP65?item=220961447959&cmd=ViewItem&_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D4%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7584428064853906903

Would someone please take a look at these dumb strips and tell me if these are good. I definately want dumb strips that are 150 led, not 300. These will simply outline my eves. Also...why is there such a price difference between these ones on ebay vs. the ones from Ray Wu that people like so much?

I have purchased a few of these from this particular seller. I bought both the 150 and 300 led strips. as well as some white only 300 and 600 strips. Very good quality and the silicon is on Both sides (bottom has less than the top). I am now waiting for an additonal 12 strips and a couple of power supplys (small and well made (NOT WATER OR WEATHER PROOF).
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htebault wrote:

When adding a DMX universe w/S3 - what are the tradeoff's using a iDMX100 vs Enttec vs USB-485 ?

Let's also include a DC board, since you might be using "dumb" strips, like I did on my mega tree:
  1. CMB-16D: $99.95, 16 channels = $6.25 per channel. Control like any other LOR controller. Fades, shimmer, twinkle all work with perfect timing.
  2. iDMX1000: $259.95, 1 Universe (512 channels) = $0.51 per channel. If using Ray Wu's 27-channel DMX controller (call it $54 with shipping, or $2 per channel) = $2.50 per channel. Fades, shimmer, twinkle work with perfect timing (since it's done on the controller itself). Control like a regular LOR controller, but DMX intensities are allowed.
  3. ELOR $95, 4 Universes (E1.31) including 1 wired universe (like the iDMX1000). Like having an iDMX1000, or an E1.31 device to control things like SanDevices strip controllers, which can control a matrix of 672 pixels (2016 channels) for less than $0.10 per channel. Fades, shimmer, twinkle work almost perfectly, except for a few bugs, as this is a new product.
  4. Enttec Pro: $158.55, 1 Universe (512 channels). This device will continuously send the last DMX levels that the computer told it to. This means the computer only needs to talk to the device when changing levels (fading, shimmer, twinkle). Even if you shut LOR down completely, it will continue to generate a valid DMX signal until power is removed.
  5. USB-485: $29.95, 1 Universe (or 1 LOR network). The LOR software has to continually generate the DMX signal to this device. This could potentially load the CPU more, but it's hard to measure.

From my experiments, neither the Enttec Pro and the USB-485 do shimmer very well. My show computer is a 5-year-old desktop, so your experience may be better.

If you are without questing going to use DMX, then it doesn't cost anything to test your USB-485 as a DMX interface. (You should have a spare anyway.) If you're not happy with the performance, I would go with an ELOR next, as it's inexpensive, and will completely emulate an iDMX1000 (and do more so you can implement a matrix later). If the USB-485 works well for you, then you could upgrade to an Enttec Pro to keep the load on the computer CPU down.

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