toddm1919 Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 (edited) I am switching from the original CCB to Pixie 16 and the new CCBs. To bridge a sidewalk, I added a 7 ft extension between bulb 23 and 24. On the old CCBs, I was able to do it with a minor loss in color quality on white. When I try it with the new version, it works fine with just the pigtails. With a 7 ft extension it works through bulb 26. With a 20 ft extension it works through bulb 25. I figure there is some voltage loss(?), but when I use a 20 ft extension between the controller and the first bulb, everything works well. I know there is a logical explanation, but not sure what it is. Any help would be appreciated. Edited July 19, 2018 by toddm1919 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 That does seem a little odd, but remember that the controller has the ability to drive a much greater distance than pixels do. That would explain why putting the extension before the first pixel allows it to fully work. The only explanation I can make about why a couple of pixels would work after the long extension mid sting is voltage drop. An easy test for that would be to see if there is different results if the lights are mostly off or dim and only one color vs all full white. If you have a good voltmeter, measure the voltage at the end of the string under different lighting conditions. Assuming that voltage drop is the issue, my suggestion would be to run a separate pair of wires from the same source as the rest of the string and connect to the end of the string. Note that this is FAR easier if you are making your own cables and can solder rather than being dependent on "factory" cables and extensions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDucks Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 I was thinking the wires 'reactance' messing up the data waveform , since the same wire worked with better (data) drive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddm1919 Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 Jim...thanks. I will put a test sequence together to see if I get varying results. The picture above was taken with the Pixie16 test from the controller board...it lights each bulb in order one color at a time. If it is a voltage issue, I would doubt I would get much after the extension with all white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddm1919 Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 Ducks..anyway to rectify it if it is a data issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 49 minutes ago, toddm1919 said: Ducks..anyway to rectify it if it is a data issue? Put the data wire in a separate cable with some spacing between it and the power. Optionally use shielded cable for the data wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddm1919 Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 Just tried changing the intensity...no change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 If your connectors work out to do this, try swapping segments. From your photo and description it looks like the stick on the left has 23 bulbs that are fed from above the top of the photo and the stick on right starts at pixel 24. Can you change it up for testing so that the stick that currently starts at pixel 24 is now pixel 1 and then the left stick connects to the end of the right stick. Repeat your testing with various extensions and see if the problem follows the stick or otherwise. I'm still going on this being a voltage problem. Can you measure the voltage either at the end of the string or midpoint? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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