GriswoldStyle Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 (edited) Hello all, Yet another question I figured I would ask. I just went out to my tombstones in the garage for Halloween and found out the rgb reels I got of 5050 leds are not going to curve around the tombstones. So what I am thinking is trying the dumb rgb nodes as I have seen them called. I plan on using a CMB24 to control the headstones for Halloween since there will be 8 headstones. I know many suggest pixels but that will be later in time. I'm just starting to learn rgb so I was going to stick with that for Halloween since I already ordered the plug n show 8 floods kit. That way the additional card is only $100 for the tombstones. My question is, Where do I find decent sets of 50 dumb nodes? I see they are close to the same price as pixels on aliexpress but I do not know much about this stuff yet as this will only be year number 3 for me on LOR. I know the pixels say "addressable" In all honesty I have no clue what that means. Forgive my newness to the terms. I would assume that means you can control each one individually. However, Can you control them all at once instead? Say for example, Can I use them as dumb nobes so all light up the same color at once with a cmb24? Sorry to sound dumb but we all start somewhere right? I hope I am not taking on too much at once but I plan to work on a singing face this week and then the tombstones in a couple months. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Edited April 17, 2018 by GriswoldStyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GriswoldStyle Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 I found a couple different ones online but I am not sure about the whole pixel thing. If I am just looking for nodes are those the same as pixels> Or do they absolutely have to be addressable. I'm just trying to have all the same color at once for tombstones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Laff Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 If you buy dumb nodes the whole string will be one color at anytime ,if you buy smart pixels each pixel can be its own color however you can program them so the whole string can act like a dumb string one color for the whole string dumb and smart controllers a different . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GriswoldStyle Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 11 minutes ago, Dennis Laff said: If you buy dumb nodes the whole string will be one color at anytime ,if you buy smart pixels each pixel can be its own color however you can program them so the whole string can act like a dumb string one color for the whole string dumb and smart controllers a different . Would I need a pixel controller to program them? Or could I use the standard CMB24? Just trying to understand a little more to help decide what to buy for a controller. Sorry I'm new to this so still asking questions before making a purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericm Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 cmb24 is a dumb controller, i use them for my LOR floods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Laff Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, GriswoldStyle said: Would I need a pixel controller to program them? Or could I use the standard CMB24? Just trying to understand a little more to help decide what to buy for a controller. Sorry I'm new to this so still asking questions before making a purchase. For the smart pixels you can't use the CMB24 one of the LOR smart controllers you need . Pixie or Pixcon Edited April 18, 2018 by Dennis Laff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncledan Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 2 hours ago, GriswoldStyle said: Would I need a pixel controller to program them? Or could I use the standard CMB24? Just trying to understand a little more to help decide what to buy for a controller. Sorry I'm new to this so still asking questions before making a purchase. Dumb nodes dont require a pixel controller. A CMB24d will work great. Pixel= each node is individually addressable, dumb node = they whole string is the same color. I have used 100 12v dumb rgb bullet nodes on each output of a CMB24d for my minitrees. I still have several thousand left over that I'm not using in my display anymore if youre interested. I bought a ton of dumb RGB when I started into pixels/rgb a few years ago. Mistake as far as I'm concerned. Pixels are the way to go. 100% pixel now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GriswoldStyle Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 (edited) 7 hours ago, uncledan said: 7 hours ago, uncledan said: Dumb nodes dont require a pixel controller. A CMB24d will work great. Pixel= each node is individually addressable, dumb node = they whole string is the same color. I have used 100 12v dumb rgb bullet nodes on each output of a CMB24d for my minitrees. I still have several thousand left over that I'm not using in my display anymore if youre interested. I bought a ton of dumb RGB when I started into pixels/rgb a few years ago. Mistake as far as I'm concerned. Pixels are the way to go. 100% pixel now For Halloween I think the dumb nodes would work great. I would definitely be interested in some dumb nodes.. If you are interested and getting rid of some of those, please send me a private message. I'm thinking I just need some sets of 50 since I have eight tombstones I'm thinking 50 on each one will work but I definitely want enough to cover two extras just in case. For Halloween those will work perfectly. Now talking Christmas, that's a different story that I will hopefully be able to get into next year. If the price is right I have PayPal and have no problem working something out. *edited due to voice text repeating things at random* Edited April 18, 2018 by GriswoldStyle Voice text sucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GriswoldStyle Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 8 hours ago, Dennis Laff said: For the smart pixels you can't use the CMB24 one of the LOR smart controllers you need . Pixie or Pixcon Thank you for explaining that makes sense I was just thinking I could go the easy route LOL. This is why I asked cuz you guys have been there done that and know a few things. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince4xmas Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 Holiday Coro sells good dumb nodes and pucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBS99 Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 Here is a great place to learn all about pixels and nodes. Lots of good information in their manual. Tom https://auschristmaslighting.com/threads/auschristmaslighting-101-manual.1889/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncledan Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 16 hours ago, GriswoldStyle said: For Halloween I think the dumb nodes would work great. I would definitely be interested in some dumb nodes.. If you are interested and getting rid of some of those, please send me a private message. I'm thinking I just need some sets of 50 since I have eight tombstones I'm thinking 50 on each one will work but I definitely want enough to cover two extras just in case. For Halloween those will work perfectly. Now talking Christmas, that's a different story that I will hopefully be able to get into next year. If the price is right I have PayPal and have no problem working something out. *edited due to voice text repeating things at random* PM sent, the used dumb nodes I have are from Holiday Coro. Used for two years and about 1/4 of the cost of new ones from Holiday Coro. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GriswoldStyle Posted April 19, 2018 Author Share Posted April 19, 2018 (edited) 8 hours ago, uncledan said: PM sent, the used dumb nodes I have are from Holiday Coro. Used for two years and about 1/4 of the cost of new ones from Holiday Coro. Thanks so much. Out of curiosity, can sets of 100 be cut down say for example if I only need 50 / tombstone? Are they able to be cut to individual counts for example if I only need 25 here or 50 there, can I cut down sets of 100 since they are dumb rgb? Also since they plug directly to the board do I need pigtails for that? Would I just be able to run the wire and screw them in where needed? Sorry to sound dumb I'm just trying to learn a little bit about a whole lot lol. I guess the only way to find out is asking the Forum about things I don't know about. Edited April 19, 2018 by GriswoldStyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince4xmas Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 I cut mine and soldered on pigtails. No issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncledan Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 5 hours ago, GriswoldStyle said: Thanks so much. Out of curiosity, can sets of 100 be cut down say for example if I only need 50 / tombstone? Are they able to be cut to individual counts for example if I only need 25 here or 50 there, can I cut down sets of 100 since they are dumb rgb? Also since they plug directly to the board do I need pigtails for that? Would I just be able to run the wire and screw them in where needed? Sorry to sound dumb I'm just trying to learn a little bit about a whole lot lol. I guess the only way to find out is asking the Forum about things I don't know about. You can cut to any length. The ones I'm selling were originally 50 ct strings from Holiday Coro. I soldered/spliced two strings of 50 together to make 100ct strings and soldered the pigtail on the end. I would also highly recommend checking out the ACL101 manual over ACL. https://auschristmaslighting.com/threads/auschristmaslighting-101-manual.1889/ Tons of great information regarding pixels and rgb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMassey Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 6 hours ago, GriswoldStyle said: Also since they plug directly to the board do I need pigtails for that? Would I just be able to run the wire and screw them in where needed? You don't have to use pigtails, but it's a lot easier than dragging a controller with pre attached wires around. Much easier to mount the controller box and then plug the lights in. Also helps with strain relief too. Don't want to be yanking those wires loose from the board. And while we're on the subject.. Make sure to secure the Cat 5 cable to the box. There are many posts on here about RJ45 failures, many of which can be attributed to flexing or even yanking on the cable. I do this..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince4xmas Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 Thats why I use waterproof connectors on every prop! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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