LPD 6803 strips not working. They come on white and stay that way.

[ctmcpeak700]

My LPD 6803's come on white and stay on when I plug them into my Sandevices E682.  They worked at one time.  I had them in my garage, hooked up with just plain phone wire about 30 feet long.  I have 2 strips plugged in, end-to-end.  At that length there were some slight color issues toward the end of the strips but they worked okay.  Then I ordered some 4 conductor wire and took them out to the front yard and hooked them up and all they do is come on and stay on.

 

I assume this could be a wiring issue.  Maybe when I re-wired these, I somehow got the wires crossed.  My question is: can I try different wiring configurations without hurting my E682?  I'm not worried about the strips because they're not working now so it doesn't matter if they're not working later.  I have new strips on the way.

 

Also,  I have some WS 2811 12mm 12v pixels that I bought for a small Bethlehem star I got from Boscoyo Studios.  The string is 48 pixels.  If I plug the pixels into my 682, they come on dull red.  If I then plug the non-working strip into the controller, my pixels go off and work the way I have them sequenced.  What would cause this?

[PhilMassey]

There is ONE correct wiring configuration.

Three wire pixels, Ground, Data and +'ve.

Four wire pixels, Ground, Data Clock and +'ve 

The 682 ports are labeled and the pixels should be marked on the circuit board inside and usually on the backside too. Strips should also be marked.

Randomly wiring the pixels until they work is not a good idea. You will either blow fuses in the controller or worse and may blow your pixels.

There is a reset to defaults command on my 6804 so I assume there is one for the 682, probably a System command. Check your manual. Might be worth a try.

If you have a KNOWN good set of lights, I would wire them up (correctly and triple checked, then check again) and test each port in turn. NEVER plug or unplug the lights to the 682 without powering off first

[ctmcpeak700]

There is ONE correct wiring configuration.

Three wire pixels, Ground, Data and +'ve.

Four wire pixels, Ground, Data Clock and +'ve 

The 682 ports are labeled and the pixels should be marked on the circuit board inside and usually on the backside too. Strips should also be marked.

Randomly wiring the pixels until they work is not a good idea. You will either blow fuses in the controller or worse and may blow your pixels.

There is a reset to defaults command on my 6804 so I assume there is one for the 682, probably a System command. Check your manual. Might be worth a try.

If you have a KNOWN good set of lights, I would wire them up (correctly and triple checked, then check again) and test each port in turn. NEVER plug or unplug the lights to the 682 without powering off first

My strips must be smoked then.  I have new ones on the way.  But as for my second question,  why would my WS-2811 pixels (12mm round, 12vdc) come on a very dim red?  When they are supposed to be lit in the sequence, they are lit.  But when they are supposed to be off, they are dimly lit red.  Very dim, but lit, nonetheless.  Any ideas?

 

And thank you, by the way for your help.

[ctmcpeak700]

In relation to the question about my 2811 pixels, is there an "in" and "out" to those?  The wires going in seem to be connected at the same point.  On the strips, it's clearly marked "CI" and "DI" for the clock and data "in" and "CO" and "DO" for the clock and data "out".

[HowardShank]

Yes, 2811 has an "in" and "out".

[ctmcpeak700]

Yes, 2811 has an "in" and "out".

Is there a way to tell which is which just by looking at the pixel?

[HowardShank]

Not sure if your pixels look like mine... Mine have a black circuit on one side of the pixel board and there's 12V, DI, GND on the "in" side of the board and the out side says nothing. Here's the link to where I got mine. They have some videos on the site about the wiring also. http://www.holidaycoro.com/Smart-Pixel-LED-RGB-8mm-12mm-Nodes-12v-DC-p/711.htm

[PhilMassey]

All smart pixels should have a directional arrow on them somewhere which shows the direction of the data flow.

 

IN---------------> Out. The tail of the arrow is the input end.

 

I have carelessly hooked them up backwards before and surprise, they don't work. Didn't kill the pixels though.

 

I have also  switched the ground and ="ve before too, blows the Sandevice fuse but the pixels survived.

You may not be so lucky.

 

 

The connections should be marked on the pixel circuit board. May need a magnifier and a strong light to see. 

If you really can't see the markings, it may be worth sacrificing one pixel to a dissection to positively identify the markings.

 

You can never trust completely, the color of the wiring as it can vary from lot to lot.

However blue is often ground, green is often data and red is frequently +'ve, BUT always check the actual pixels or strips for the actual markings. 

 

 

Don't completely write off those strips until you're sure they are dead.

 

Are you absolutely positive that you don't have 1 or 2% on, commanded in the sequence.

Low level events are impossible to see in the sequencer grid. Hover your mouse over the "off" areas and check the tooltip.

 

I would reset the board and set it up from scratch and test one thing at a time. Start with a known good, properly cabled set of lights and go from there.

Make sure the proper pixel type is set in the 6802.

Again, DON'T do anything to the 6802 with the power applied.

[dgrant]

I happen to be using LPD6803's right now. There is no set wiring convention in place however, most that I've run into this is the setup:

DI = +12VDC

CI = Data

St = Clock

LI = Gnd

[ctmcpeak700]

Hi David. Mine are marked "+12V", "DI", "CI", and "GND" which makes it easy to translate to the controller. I'm completely befuddled here. The good news is I have new strips on the way.

Did you see my question about the 2811 pixels glowing red? Other than that, they work great.

[dgrant]

Yes, the WS2811's should have an arrow pointing the direction of the data flow. Head of the arrow is data out, tail is data in

 

Edit: I've not seen any of my Ws2811's ever glow red. Double check your controller setup to insure you have it set to WS2811 as the type. Then look at the wiring of course. WS2811's do not require a clock signal but again, no wiring convention in place. Do not go by the wire color, rather look at the labels on the nodes/pixels then match to the controller.

Edited December 5, 2015 by dgrant

[dgrant]

Also, on the LPD6803 strips, all white usually means its missing either the clock or data line. Look carefully at the wiring. Be aware too, the lpd6803 strips, the soldered connections on the strip are very sensitive and break off easily.

[ctmcpeak700]

Apparently I guessed correctly. On one side of the PCB I can see +12V, CI (I think) and GND.

[dgrant]

I bought mine from Ray Wu and one issue I ran into was even though they were all LPD6803's, some were RGB programming and others were GBR. This created complications and a half. So once you get them wired and when you first plug them in, they should blink briefly then go out...then manually test with your controller's self-test mode to verify the programming type you have.

[ctmcpeak700]

I know I shouldn't assume but...my 2811's work just fine other than that whole glowing red thing. I have discovered that if I plug in one of my non-working strips and power everything back up, the glowing stops.

[dgrant]

You might wish to check for a short to ground somewhere. Start by plugging in one strip at a time and see when the red glowing starts. Try to isolate which has the issue. If they are each on their own port then you shouldn't need any power injection but if say 3 are wired in series, then you need to inject power between each 2nd and 3rd string.

[k6ccc]

One thing I caught in this thread. Someone said that their 2811 strips have a DI and a CI as well as a DO and CO. Ummm, foul on the play. WS2811 strips don't use a clock line. If there is a Clock in and out, they are not WS2811 strips or pixels. Confirm what the Pixel type is.

[dgrant]

Jim, He's got both WS2811's and LPD6803's. 

[ctmcpeak700]

I found the post you're talking about Jim. I mentioned the strips and the pixel strings in the same post but they are different types. My strips are 6803 and my pixel string is 2811. And yes they are set up that way on the controller. The 6803's are universe 1 starting with address number 1. The 2811's are universe 2 starting with address number 301. I'm going to get my meter out and check to see if I have lost my data line somehow.

[ctmcpeak700]

I may need to check my receptacle also. This is an old house and I've found receptacles that weren't grounded.