RGB Package Question

[RedWhitingBlue]

Hello everyone. So making the plunge into RGB this year and was curious if the LOR RGB 16 ribbon tree package (with pixcon 16) has to be used as a tree or could it be used say for a house outline? Thank you in advance for the feedback!

[Mr. P]

You can use it any way you wish.

[lkcubsrule]

The only thing to consider is the size of the area in which you wish to cover.  A 16 ribbon tree is relatively easy to install, and your leads (from controller to first pixel of ribbon) is relatively short.  If you're looking to cover a large house, you need to make sure that your controller is centrally located so that you can minimize the extension length between controller and first pixel. (Less than 10-15 feet)  While the setup you described is optimal for a tree, products like the Pixie line of controllers might enable you to localize power/control with shorter runs, but expand your canvas.

[RedWhitingBlue]

Thank you for the info! Can I assume the pixel strips can be cut and/or extended to additional strips? I had a house design done that utilized multiple 4 port controllers, which cost much more. going with this 16 port controller allows room for expansion for the future! lol.

[Mr. P]

The idea of multiple four port controllers is actually better as a 16 port controller must be centrally located so you do not have long extension runs to your strips. If you have extension runs over ten feet going to your strips then you may start having issues especially on a larger home not to mention power requirements once you start connecting strips together.

You need to look at where you will be placing the controller and where your strips will start, If that distance is longer than ten feet , give or take, for any of the ports then you may need to start looking into null pixels. This is why you must have a layout of where you want to place things.

[k6ccc]

1 hour ago, RedWhitingBlue said:

Thank you for the info! Can I assume the pixel strips can be cut and/or extended to additional strips? I had a house design done that utilized multiple 4 port controllers, which cost much more. going with this 16 port controller allows room for expansion for the future! lol.

Only sort of.  The official answer is no.  Cutting or lengthening any LOR pixel product will void the warranty, and LOR recommends against it.  Now, can you make it work by changing the length of individual strings?  Most likely.  Keep in mind that with any smart pixels, there is a quite finite distance that you can go from the controller to the first pixel, or from one pixel to the next.  If you add a bunch of wire between pixels, it may not work.  For that reason, using smaller controllers that are closer to the lights makes a lot of sense.  For example, for my year round front yard landscape lighting, I have smart pixels on two sides of my yard.  On each side is a SanDevices E6804 controller.  One of those is driving 17 RGB channels - and is never expected to have more on it.  The other will (when I finish the landscaping project) have four strips of RGB that are each between 30 and 65 feet long.  It would have been almost impossible to combine those into a single controller.  The other part about lengthening strips is power.  If you lengthen a strip or string very much, you will have to learn about power injection.

 

[RedWhitingBlue]

Well Great...Does anyone know then if there are issues with connecting other RGB 30/10 light strips ( like the ones from Holiday Coro) to an LOR RGB controller?

[k6ccc]

5 minutes ago, RedWhitingBlue said:

Well Great...Does anyone know then if there are issues with connecting other RGB 30/10 light strips ( like the ones from Holiday Coro) to an LOR RGB controller?

It's not the retailer, it's technology and the laws of physics.  Dumb strips or strings can be a long distance from whatever controller is controlling it.  Smart strips and strings have to be fairly close to the controller.  What defines close depends primarily on the technology used.  Different pixel types will work at different distances.  For example, WS2811 pixels will work at a longer distance than WS2801 pixels.  Although you may get away with longer distances, anything beyond 10 to 15 feet with WS2811 pixels MAY not work (or work right).  There are some ways to extend that (generally with null pixels), but that also adds to complexity a bit.  The root of the issue is that the data signal degrades pretty fast due in large part to the signal being an unbalanced signal referenced to the ground wire (which is also carrying the power return).  There are also pixel extenders that work quite well, but can add quite a bit to the price of the project if you are using very many controller outputs that need to be extended.

 

[zvacman]

On August 25, 2016 at 6:54 PM, k6ccc said:

It's not the retailer, it's technology and the laws of physics.  Dumb strips or strings can be a long distance from whatever controller is controlling it.  Smart strips and strings have to be fairly close to the controller.  What defines close depends primarily on the technology used.  Different pixel types will work at different distances.  For example, WS2811 pixels will work at a longer distance than WS2801 pixels.  Although you may get away with longer distances, anything beyond 10 to 15 feet with WS2811 pixels MAY not work (or work right).  There are some ways to extend that (generally with null pixels), but that also adds to complexity a bit.  The root of the issue is that the data signal degrades pretty fast due in large part to the signal being an unbalanced signal referenced to the ground wire (which is also carrying the power return).  There are also pixel extenders that work quite well, but can add quite a bit to the price of the project if you are using very many controller outputs that need to be extended.

Jim:

Thusfar I haven't had any issues out to 25' from the controller. I have 3 runs (100 pixels each) that are 30-35 feet from the controller. Will a null pixel work? Where do I put it, halfway? Do I wire it in just like its live and then null it in the setup page? TIA.

Z

[EmmienLightFan]

On 25/08/2016 at 11:36 PM, RedWhitingBlue said:

Well Great...Does anyone know then if there are issues with connecting other RGB 30/10 light strips ( like the ones from Holiday Coro) to an LOR RGB controller?

You can use the HolidayCoro ones.

There are many online retailers.

 

Just look at the voltage (12v is better for long runs, and 30/10 strip is almost always 12v) and the pixel data type. Most 30/10 strips use WS2811, but WS2812B strips are also common. Both, and many more, work with the Pixcon 16.

[robigd]

Hey guys, is the 10 to 15 feet distance with WS2811 pixels from the controller documented by LOR or has this just been discovered via trial and error? Also, is there any specific extension/brand that is recommended?

I am starting to map out my 2017 display and planned to utilize some pixie4/8 controllers where applicable. If that distance is accurate, that would clean up my setup and save me a LOT of money, lol.

Edited November 25, 2016 by robigd

[ebrown1972]

As far as distance goes I get 60+ feet away from the controller using cat5 cable for power to the pixels and data. I use a different controller than the RGB controllers lor sells but distance can be achieved by using cat5 and I would think that it would work with the lor controllers too. At 60 foot I can run 100 pixels without any kind of power injection and the pixels work correctly. 

[zvacman]

7 minutes ago, ebrown1972 said:

As far as distance goes I get 60+ feet away from the controller using cat5 cable for power to the pixels and data. I use a different controller than the RGB controllers lor sells but distance can be achieved by using cat5 and I would think that it would work with the lor controllers too. At 60 foot I can run 100 pixels without any kind of power injection and the pixels work correctly. 

60' without any helpers is pretty impressive, good for you! My personal experience so far is 28' without any issues. I have a run that is 45' and had to add a null pixel to make it work correctly.

 

8 hours ago, robigd said:

Hey guys, is the 10 to 15 feet distance with WS2811 pixels from the controller documented by LOR or has this just been discovered via trial and error? Also, is there any specific extension/brand that is recommended?

I am starting to map out my 2017 display and planned to utilize some pixie4/8 controllers where applicable. If that distance is accurate, that would clean up my setup and save me a LOT of money, lol.

If you are in the layout stage with no pressure to get done try to stay in the 20-25' range from the controller, at 12v and you should be ok. I will add null pixels into all of my Cat5 cords that are 25'+ this summer just to be safe, I'm trying to make my cords universal to ease the setup pain. I plan to add several more E682's next year to shorten my runs, and to add more stuff.?

Z

[robigd]

10 hours ago, zvacman said:

If you are in the layout stage with no pressure to get done try to stay in the 20-25' range from the controller, at 12v and you should be ok. I will add null pixels into all of my Cat5 cords that are 25'+ this summer just to be safe, I'm trying to make my cords universal to ease the setup pain. I plan to add several more E682's next year to shorten my runs, and to add more stuff.?

Z

Thanks for the response.

So, you have 25'+ feet of extensions from your controller to the first pixel and don't experience any lag at all? I am wanting to extend CCB's off a Pixie controller next year, so do you think the same logic would apply?