Reliability of CCR Ribbon

[JeffBlan]

I've seen many posts here about how great the CCR's are and not much talk about some issues I've seen.

I bought 2 CCR's and overall I'm VERY pleased.

I did have a few problems though that make me worry about how long the Ribbons will last.

When I first received my CCR's, one of the ribbons had a set of 3 LED lights where the "red" would not come one. It was somewhere in the middle of the ribbon cable. I notified Light-O-Rama and they sent me a new ribbon cable.

When I received the new cable, I hooked it up to test it and it had problems near the end of the ribbon cable where the lights were not working. While I was doing this, I was verifying which cable I needed to send back to him. Imagine my surprise when I could NOT get the original cable to fail!

Since I had two working ribbons, I sent the new one Light-O-Rama sent to me back to them.

Everything was fine as I prepped for Christmas. I installed my ribbons on some PVC using Velcro (had to use silicone to attach Velcro to ribbon cable so it would stick). At start-up of my light show everything looked great!

About a week into the season, I noticed the first 3 red LED lights would not light up. If I gently twisted the end of the cable, the lights would come on and then go off. I figured I didn't want to mess with it while the show was running so I just let it go.

Now that the season is over, I was playing around with the ribbon to see what is wrong. As in the show, the first three red LED lights would not light up. As I gently twisted the ribbon, the red LED lights would come on. Obviously something is not connected quite right.

Problem is, the more I messed with it, the more problems I had. Suddenly, the entire string would light up even though I was only turning on the first set of lights.

The CCR Ribbon have a 2 year warranty and with the great support from Light-O-Rama, I know I can get the ribbon cable replaced. I'm just worried about what will happen after the 2 year warranty.

Has anyone else noticed issues with their ribbon cables and are concerned about the longevity of the ribbon?

Hopefully future versions will become more reliable or maybe I've just had some bad luck with a couple of ribbon cables.

[bryandolan]

I had a similar issue, but realized that the 'connector' the ribbon wire is attached into was pulling away from the ribbon wire itself. Probably from me inserting and removing the connector into the control box, but clearly this is a weak point of the ribbon.

I re-seated the wire into the connector and problem went away. I am just extra careful with this connector whenever I need to plug/unplug it from the controller.

[JeffBlan]

From the lack of replies, I assume most have had great success with the CCR's. It's always a risk to be an early adopter but I love Light-O-Rama's support which is why I buy their products.

I recieved my replacement ribbon today and all seems good again!

Now time to save up some money so I can make a Super Star!

Jeff

[steve synek]

I used 3 ribbons this year and only had one night where the ribbons were not working properly. They went into a very random patten of uncontrolled operation. I just shut down the show and restarted it, and everything reset just fine. I did not have any light failures. I used tie wraps to gently hold the ribbon to my pvc arches. I did not see any damage or deformities when I rolled up the ribbons at the end of January.

I am very pleased with the ribbons. I know I have a lot to learn about possible use/programing of these.

Steve


http://www.vimeo.com/8925416

[Steve Constantino]

JeffBlan wrote:

It's always a risk to be an early adopter but I love Light-O-Rama's support which is why I buy their products.

Don't get me wrong, I love LOR too, BUT RIBBON CABLES SUCK!!!!!! The CCR is a grate idea and a grate price for what you get. But..... "you get what you pay for".

Steve

[LightORamaDan]

Steve Constantino wrote:

Don't get me wrong, I love LOR too, BUT RIBBON CABLES SUCK!!!!!! The CCR is a grate idea and a grate price for what you get. But..... "you get what you pay for".

Steve

Hi Steve,
Your comment about Ribbon Cables... Is that a statment about ribbon cables in general or specifically to do with the CCR? The reason I ask is that I cannot find a record that you or anyone with your zip code purchased a CCR.

Dan

[Steve Constantino]

LightORamaDan wrote:

Steve Constantino wrote:

Don't get me wrong, I love LOR too, BUT RIBBON CABLES SUCK!!!!!! The CCR is a grate idea and a grate price for what you get. But..... "you get what you pay for".

Steve

Hi Steve,
Your comment about Ribbon Cables... Is that a statment about ribbon cables in general or specifically to do with the CCR? The reason I ask is that I cannot find a record that you or anyone with your zip code purchased a CCR.

Dan

Dan,

It was about ribbon cables in general. I never purchased a CCR for that reason. I have used a few different types of ribbon cable base lighting systems in the past for a few production jobs and had problems with them. I wanted to see how well the CCR's work out for other people before I jump on board. Sorry for the confusion.

Steve

[eldoradoboy]

I think the main thing with CCR's is to not constantly roll and un-roll them.. and also to watch where you make bends if you need to bend them.. bending them at the join points is best.. if you break one at a join point it can be fixed with somne solder and silicon..

if you bend it at an IC-point and you pop one of the pins of that SMT IC then you got a problem unless you can repair SMT..

bending them laterally "sideways" is a pretty much no-no with any ribbon cable.. .. same with any sharp bends..

and also anything to do with "stringing " the ribbon.. support it with cable dont let the ribbons hang by themselves where they can get stretched or hammered by wind and ice...

ribbon based lighting products are not designed for constant movement over a long period of time.. but for holiday lighting I think they are going to be fine.. .

AND in many cases it CAN be repaired if it breaks...

Longevity remains to be seen but I think with the plastic casing and everything that it will be pretty good...

I myself will probably use my ribbons in wreaths and other more static elements where im not bending or rolling and unrolling them constantly..
-Christopher

[pdowns]

Interesting discussion. Also interesting to me the last reply was so long ago. I purchased 12 CCRs this year and made a Superstar tree. The CCRs are absolutely beautiful.

But what are the odds that there would be 3 bad pixels - right in the middle of my tree! I'm not worried about support. But the tree was so much effort to put up I'm not messing with it now. And then yesterday, 3 more pixels in another string failed. When I say 3 bad pixels, specifically I mean that one color does not work for 3 pixels in a row. For instance, for one CCR there are 3 pixels that won't turn green. If I display red, all looks fine. But if I display green, or any color that has green mixed in, you can see the problem. I doubt my viewers care at all.

I see that some people have impacted their problem by reseating the connectors. I'm going to try that.

[steve gibbons]

I got 8 CCRs and created four 32' arches that span my driveway. Everything worked great for the first 2 weeks and then I noticed that 2/3 of one of my arches was out. Nothing has changed. The CCRs are loosely zip tied to 1" pvc in a very gentle curve. I reached out to LOR and they told me that because I cut the connector off, I voided the warranty.

I'm a little disappointed that I only got 2 weeks out of that big of an investment.

I'm also disappointed that LOR has trusted me to build 17 controllers from scratch over the past 3 years, but doesn't trust me to make 4 connections on a CCR.

Next year, I am going to have more pixel technology in my display, but I think I will go with Ray Wu's products. With his prices, I can afford to have a spare on hand.

[mikeosf]

I have 15 CCR's 11 are in wreaths in windows the other 4 are mini tree's

(1 spare controller and 2 spare ribbons)

So far I have replaced 1 ribbon use it for spare repairs. and 2 sections that failed to light or solid red.

There is currently 1 out there I know where it is but it doesn't show. (so letting sleeping dogs lie)

The wreaths are on their 3rd season. and the tree's are on their second.

The are in a fixed installation and not bent and un-bent. (has my recommendation 100%)

[keith5885]

LOR, just fyi.. I was thinking about buying for 2013 but now pretty scared that I'd have to deal with these types of issues. But hey I guess that's a part of this hobby is dealing with these types of issues. I'd hope people that have no problems at all just respond to this email and say "no problems here" or something.

[travis p]

mine are uncased in 1 inch milar tubing with the ends open this is attached to a 1/2 inch rebar arch thats painted white the ends are up in the tubing and have not seen any yellowing of the ribbon and no problems so far this season we have had 4 rain outs my other ribbon is on the outer post of my front porch held up with wire ties both ribbons are cut in half the second one the 2 halfs are 18 foot apart with no dimming and no power injection Merry Christmas

[steve synek]

I have 23 CCRs in my lineup. I cut 8 of them for around my windows and have had some issues. I would label these as fragile items. I have had to replace pixels once I cut them. I am not sure what the cause of my problems is as I try and handle them gingerly. My 12 ribbon tree and 3 ribbons as arches have functioned without issue this year.

I am still very happy with the overall operation of the ribbons and am not disappointed in my purchases.

Steve

[shempster]

Steve, That is one great display. Usually the slower songs don't catch my attention, but you have mastered the slow song. Your display is something to shoot for. Merry Christmas! Jack

[plasmadrive]

Steve, That is one great display. Usually the slower songs don't catch my attention, but you have mastered the slow song. Your display is something to shoot for. Merry Christmas! Jack

I have to agree.. I know this isn't the point of the thread but what a nice programming job..

[steve synek]

I have to agree.. I know this isn't the point of the thread but what a nice programming job..

Thanks!!! What a great way to start my Christmas Day to hear a couple of comments like this.

I love to build the "stuff" but feel a great struggle when it comes to the programming.

Steve

[David Rise]

Sorry, but it's monumentally ignorant to bad mouth a product that you've never used.

2nd year using them and I love them. I've never had any issues with them at all. In fact, this year I'm using them as 4 rings (Thank you SSL) and they are the hit of my show. Everyone loves the way they look. If you're looking for RGB that is plug and play without all the DIY stuff, then this is the way to go.