dibblejr Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Im going to be stuck with either 2 or 3" spacing since the nodes I got are just shy of 4". So the was I see it im going to use 2 strips per string.100 pixels. Im going to be short a few hundred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 5 minutes ago, dibblejr said: Im going to be stuck with either 2 or 3" spacing since the nodes I got are just shy of 4". So the was I see it im going to use 2 strips per string.100 pixels. Im going to be short a few hundred Just make sure you meet the power requirements. Most of the controllers out there can handle 100 nodes per port, however the power requirements will be higher then the typical two power supplies to handle a 16 string tree. Each string of 50 will be around 36 watts so you do the math. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibblejr Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Mr. P said: Just make sure you meet the power requirements. Most of the controllers out there can handle 100 nodes per port, however the power requirements will be higher then the typical two power supplies to handle a 16 string tree. Each string of 50 will be around 36 watts so you do the math. Unfortunately due to my landscape I will have to do 24 or more channels. Yes, the power requirements are confusing. Any suggestions? I was looking at the HC waterproof, however I prefer the boxes that have separate legs to screw to, less clutter in my opinion. Same type ps I use for my older video surveillance system. On ebay I have seen 12v 650w but I have not seen them on any of the pre sales sites. Thank you again for your input. Edited January 20, 2017 by dibblejr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 1 minute ago, dibblejr said: Unfortunately due to my landscape I will have to do 24 or more channels. Yes, the power requirements are confusing. Any suggestions? I was looking at the HC waterproof, however I prefer the boxes that have separate legs to screw to, less clutter in my opinion. Same type ps I use for my older video surveillance system. On ebay I have seen 12v 650w but I have not seen them on any of the pre sales sites. Well, if you are going to run 100 nodes per port x 16 ports that would be 1152 watts for the tree. Most of the typical power supplies used are 350 watts and 29 amps so you would need four of them to run your tree. Look at the specs for your strings and come up with a total wattage, some may be as low as 20 watts per 50 and some as high as 40. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caniac Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 28 minutes ago, dibblejr said: Im going to be stuck with either 2 or 3" spacing since the nodes I got are just shy of 4". So the was I see it im going to use 2 strips per string.100 pixels. Im going to be short a few hundred If you need a point of reference, take a look at my show under Christmas Display. That is what 12 strips looks like using 6 outputs. I connected two strips together (weather proof connectors) for a total of 100 per output but told the controller to zigzag at 50. I was able to make six outputs behave like 12, will use the same thing this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 4 hours ago, Brucey said: Remember the recommendation is 1"spacing for every 10' from the street. Never heard that one before, and based on my tree, that's WAY too far apart. My pixel tree is 55 feet from the closest possible on-street location, and 110 feet from the location I tell people is the best viewing location. My pixel spacing is 2.5 inches. By the above recommendation, I should be a minimum of 5.5 inch pixel spacing. In reality, I'm looking to decrease the spacing if I do a rebuild on the tree this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebuechner Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 I think dibblejr should space his pixels at 3 inches, that would be 12.5 feet of pixels if you do 50 pixels per strip that should end up being about a 15 foot Tree in total. I think they would be good pixel density with a decent Scale tree a hundred feet away from the street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibblejr Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 1 hour ago, Ebuechner said: I think dibblejr should space his pixels at 3 inches, that would be 12.5 feet of pixels if you do 50 pixels per strip that should end up being about a 15 foot Tree in total. I think they would be good pixel density with a decent Scale tree a hundred feet away from the street. My strands are about 12' Id lose 8' of my tree. I think that's too much to lose. (tower) so not gonna cut it. Keep the ideas coming though, they are much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebuechner Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 45 minutes ago, dibblejr said: My strands are about 12' Id lose 8' of my tree. I think that's too much to lose. (tower) so not gonna cut it. Keep the ideas coming though, they are much appreciated. What height are you going for? If you did 85 pixels per strand with 3-inch spacing two strands could be tied together and stay within one Universe of DMX. Your string length would be around 22 feet. Now if you did 48 strands to make a 360 degree tree you would need 24 Outlets on a controller. That would be one very Grand and beautiful mega tree. I'm just sitting here running the math through my head dreaming a little. And don't you dare blame me when your wife screaming at you, how much did you spend on pixels! A pxlite controller and I believe a falcon controller can put out 32 SPI Outlets with 2811 pixels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibblejr Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 (edited) 15 minutes ago, Ebuechner said: What height are you going for? If you did 85 pixels per strand with 3-inch spacing two strands could be tied together and stay within one Universe of DMX. Your string length would be around 22 feet. Now if you did 48 strands to make a 360 degree tree you would need 24 Outlets on a controller. That would be one very Grand and beautiful mega tree. I'm just sitting here running the math through my head dreaming a little. And don't you dare blame me when your wife screaming at you, how much did you spend on pixels! A pxlite controller and I believe a falcon controller can put out 32 SPI Outlets with 2811 pixels my tree is 20' plus whatever topper I decide to change over to. Looking at the Brians Globe. I was trying to keep it all simple with LOR my first season with pixels. Someone else mailed me and told me "if I can get singing face syncing I def wont have a problem with this stuff" but I am not to sure. As far as wife, ant hobby that keeps me home is a good hobby. One of the cheaper ones I do. Seriously though, I need to pick yours and anyone else brains that wish to help me learn this. I got a great deal on pixels on ebay so that's not the issue. my issue is bringing it all together. Edited January 20, 2017 by dibblejr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibblejr Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Any one up late at night that checks my UN will see I have been and continually read every old thread concerning RGB stuff and still cant get it figured out. I am a more hands on type of person so maybe once I get everything needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 The biggest issue you have to resolve with trees that size is power requirements. You will need to figure the total power your lights will utilize plus add 20% overhead. If you already have the controllers and lights just sit down with a calculator and figure your entire wattage. You will then need to decide on the power supplies and how many. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibblejr Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 4 minutes ago, Mr. P said: The biggest issue you have to resolve with trees that size is power requirements. You will need to figure the total power your lights will utilize plus add 20% overhead. If you already have the controllers and lights just sit down with a calculator and figure your entire wattage. You will then need to decide on the power supplies and how many. My calculation IAW the company I got the pixels from say .3 watt per LED that is 45 watts per 50 count string. 90w per 100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebuechner Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 If you're trying to do a 20 foot tree you could model it after mine. Of course this would mean you would have to abandon the pixels you have to get some with 6-inch wires so you could do the four inch spacing. (Trust me the other pixels won't go to waste you'll find someplace for them). If you can keep your string pixel count around 50 pixels you will be able to use shared sequences in sequence editor. In xlights you don't have these limitations it makes no difference how many pixels you have on the tree or how many channels you are using, Same thing with pixel editor. Just another note I really wish I had done the white strips. I think that would have looked a lot better in the daytime then the black ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 3 minutes ago, dibblejr said: My calculation IAW the company I got the pixels from say .3 watt per LED that is 45 watts per 50 count string. 90w per 100. If that is the case then you will need to take a close look at the controller as most controllers will only handle 4 or 5 amps per output, depending on the controller. Your 100 node strings at 90 watts will pull 7.5 amps per output so it will blow the fuse. If you insist on the 100 nodes per output you will have power inject the second 50 on each string. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibblejr Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 6 minutes ago, Mr. P said: If that is the case then you will need to take a close look at the controller as most controllers will only handle 4 or 5 amps per output, depending on the controller. Your 100 node strings at 90 watts will pull 7.5 amps per output so it will blow the fuse. If you insist on the 100 nodes per output you will have power inject the second 50 on each string. I could always do each 50 strand with its own controller output, correct? I may need a couple controllers but power would be easier to maintain. I am getting 2 pixie16's from my good friend here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robongar Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 6 hours ago, Mr. P said: Well, if you are going to run 100 nodes per port x 16 ports that would be 1152 watts for the tree. Most of the typical power supplies used are 350 watts and 29 amps so you would need four of them to run your tree. Look at the specs for your strings and come up with a total wattage, some may be as low as 20 watts per 50 and some as high as 40. Ok help, now I'm a little confused ( easy for me) if I buy pixel nodes from Ray wu. https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/18AWG-wire-100pcs-string-DC12V-12mm-WS2811-addressable-RGB-led-smart-pixel-node-with-all-color/701799_32465132460.html?spm=2114.12010608.0.0.sbCBX4 16 strings x 100 nodes per string = 1600 nodes. The specification say 0.8 watts. So I will need 1600 x 0.8 = 1200 watt power supply ( 12.5 amps @ 120v) Do I have this correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Well, you're close. 1600 x 0.8 = 1280 watts. Note that the total power consumption is quite a bit lower if you are using 5V pixels. However power injection becomes more of an issue if you are using long strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 2 minutes ago, robongar said: Ok help, now I'm a little confused ( easy for me) if I buy pixel nodes from Ray wu. https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/18AWG-wire-100pcs-string-DC12V-12mm-WS2811-addressable-RGB-led-smart-pixel-node-with-all-color/701799_32465132460.html?spm=2114.12010608.0.0.sbCBX4 16 strings x 100 nodes per string = 1600 nodes. The specification say 0.8 watts. So I will need 1600 x 0.8 = 1200 watt power supply ( 12.5 amps @ 120v) Do I have this correct? 80 Watts per 100 node string, 1280 watts total 6.6 amps per 100 node string Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDucks Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 4 minutes ago, robongar said: Ok help, now I'm a little confused ( easy for me) if I buy pixel nodes from Ray wu. https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/18AWG-wire-100pcs-string-DC12V-12mm-WS2811-addressable-RGB-led-smart-pixel-node-with-all-color/701799_32465132460.html?spm=2114.12010608.0.0.sbCBX4 16 strings x 100 nodes per string = 1600 nodes. The specification say 0.8 watts. So I will need 1600 x 0.8 = 1200 watt power supply ( 12.5 amps @ 120v) Do I have this correct? 1600 watts on the OUTPUT (continuous load is 80% rule). AC input is more as PSUs rarely hit 90% efficiency Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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