LED strip

[JUN]

Hey Guys,

I have a question. I saw this online (see link below) and actually ordered some outdoor LED( low voltage lighting) on this company. I came across with this LED strip. My questions would be. Will this work with any available LOR controllers? If it is, what other accessories, plugs, etc do it need. Any commments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180608706195

[edvas69]

This strip is similar to the CCR, the main difference is that it is not digital and not controllable in sections like the CCR. The strip is 12VDC and can be used with any LOR DC controller. It will use 3 channels, one for red, one for green and one for blue (RGB)

For me i used strip that was made of solid silicon with a silicon tube, I found this to be excellent as it is very strong compared to just a silicon tube and the light dispersion is also better.

Most strip will come with either a non waterproof plug or wires coming out from one end and you would need to just connect up your wiring to this, I used simple 4 core security cable for my strip.

Link to the strip i used:

http://www.aliexpress.com/fm-store/701799/209843764-329544925/5m-one-roll-5050-SMD-30LEDs-m-led-strip-waterproof-by-silicon-tubing-and-coating-RGB.html

[JUN]

Hi Ed,

Thanks for the quick reply. I am very new at this and I am thinking either to put this thing together this year or next year. I read about the RGB at holiday coro and it helps but I got more confused. I also follow the link that you provided and it contained a lot of information. I just want to lined my windows and doors and maybe the roof at some point. If you don't mind would you provide me with a link or steps that I can follow to gain a better understanding of what to buy. I would like to stay with LOR since I am more familiar with their software. So, if I buy the DC controller from LOR is there any other that I have to buy or do? Again thank you.

[JUN]

Hi Ed,

Thanks for the quick reply. I am very new at this and I am thinking either to put this thing together this year or next year. I read about the RGB at holiday coro and it helps but I got more confused. I also follow the link that you provided and it contained a lot of information. I just want to lined my windows and doors and maybe the roof at some point. If you don't mind would you provide me with a link or steps that I can follow to gain a better understanding of what to buy. I would like to stay with LOR since I am more familiar with their software. So, if I buy the DC controller from LOR is there any other that I have to buy or do? Again thank you.

[edvas69]

Using the strip shown above all you would require is the LOR DC controllers and a couple of 12VDC power supplies. The power supplies connect to the input power of the LOR DC controllers and this then supplies power to your lights through the LOR controller. For every section of lights you want to control you would require 3 channels for RGB lighting. Treat it the same as a traditional light string or rope light but instead the strip will have 4 wires (1xRed, 1xGreen 1xBlue and 1 positive) The 3 colours are used on each channel and the positive wire is connected to the common active (LOR and many other DC controllers are what are called common anode (+) control which means the cathode (-) is what is switched.

The 12VDC power supply i used was also from the same vendor that i got the strip from. http://www.aliexpress.com/fm-store/701799/209855560-289599951/350W-Dual-Output-Switching-Power-Supply-88-264VAC-input-12V-350W-output-CE-and-ROHS-approved.html

If your new to this and your electrical skills and knowledge are lacking then it is always good to start small so you dont overwhelm yourself, there are plenty of talented guys around that are always willing to help. Take your time to learn, read and ask questions before you commit, there is still plenty of time before Christmas to make yourself feel confident. Its always good to start with 1 controller and a couple of different lights just to experiment with first before you make a larger investment, that way you will feel much more confident when you go to put your show together.

Welcome to the hobby and you will find that it is lots of fun and very addictive. But learn to crawl first before you run.

[scubado]

JUN wrote:

Hi Ed,

Thanks for the quick reply. I am very new at this and I am thinking either to put this thing together this year or next year. I read about the RGB at holiday coro and it helps but I got more confused. I also follow the link that you provided and it contained a lot of information. I just want to lined my windows and doors and maybe the roof at some point. If you don't mind would you provide me with a link or steps that I can follow to gain a better understanding of what to buy. I would like to stay with LOR since I am more familiar with their software. So, if I buy the DC controller from LOR is there any other that I have to buy or do? Again thank you.

Welcome to the madness. Here's some tidbits you'll want to check on before buying. Are the individual bulbs RGB, or are the individual colors spaced every third one? I personally haven't worked with rgb led's yet, is the common positive or negative. If the common is negative, then the lights are useless on a LOR system. The DC controllers control the negative side. I made this mistake last year when I was starting out making my own light tubes before I had the controllers to test with.

A good computer power supply 500W or more will power a lot of leds. While your on Ebay, look at the 10W 12V led lights you can get. They are bright and great for color washing a wall. You will need a significant heat sink, they get very HOT!

When I'm building my own lights, I test with a AA 12V battery pack, this way I don't hurt a power supply or damage a light controller.

A side note, please go into your profile and enter where you are from. One of us may be near you and willing to help. Some advice given can be region or weather related also.

I must not forget to mention, start buying extension cords when they are on sale. If you have a Menards near you, they are the best place to get them. Again, regional advice.

[edvas69]

scubado wrote:

JUN wrote:

Hi Ed,

Thanks for the quick reply. I am very new at this and I am thinking either to put this thing together this year or next year. I read about the RGB at holiday coro and it helps but I got more confused. I also follow the link that you provided and it contained a lot of information. I just want to lined my windows and doors and maybe the roof at some point. If you don't mind would you provide me with a link or steps that I can follow to gain a better understanding of what to buy. I would like to stay with LOR since I am more familiar with their software. So, if I buy the DC controller from LOR is there any other that I have to buy or do? Again thank you.

Welcome to the madness. Here's some tidbits you'll want to check on before buying. Are the individual bulbs RGB, or are the individual colors spaced every third one? I personally haven't worked with rgb led's yet, is the common positive or negative. If the common is negative, then the lights are useless on a LOR system. The DC controllers control the negative side. I made this mistake last year when I was starting out making my own light tubes before I had the controllers to test with.

A good computer power supply 500W or more will power a lot of leds. While your on Ebay, look at the 10W 12V led lights you can get. They are bright and great for color washing a wall. You will need a significant heat sink, they get very HOT!

When I'm building my own lights, I test with a AA 12V battery pack, this way I don't hurt a power supply or damage a light controller.

A side note, please go into your profile and enter where you are from. One of us may be near you and willing to help. Some advice given can be region or weather related also.

I must not forget to mention, start buying extension cords when they are on sale. If you have a Menards near you, they are the best place to get them. Again, regional advice.

The strip i showed the link to above is common anode (common positive) and will work with the LOR DC controllers, but I always specify to the vendor this to ensure no confusion when ordering.


Computer power supplies can be a good source of power but some do not like having only power used on the 12vdc rail and not the 5vdc rail and may not work for long especially if they are loaded up


With high powered LEDs like the 10 watt ones you talk about, these are best used with a constant current driver to help minimise the heat and extend the life of the LED and again these can be purchased from the same vendor that i mentioned above.


The 12vdc battery idea is a good one, but most powers supplies will have overload protection and shut down if a short is detected (the one i linked to has overload protection) What is important is to ensure the polarity is correct when connecting up the power to the controller. Make sure that the negative goes to the negative and the positive goes to the positive of the controller or else you may damage the controller.


As for extension leads when using RGB 12vdc lighting these will be no good as these will only have 3 cores and the thinkness of the copper would be an overkill in most cases. I found using cheap 4 core security cable works great for RGB lighting as you can get it for around $40 to $50 per 100 metre roll (sorry for using metric but its all i know). If your going to also use the LOR AC controllers then building up your stock of extension cable would be a good idea as mentioned.

The other thing to be aware that Scubado touched on is that it is good to also use floods with these strips to put colour wash back onto the house. The strip is directional and as such will put very little light back on your house when used as an outline.

[JUN]

Jim and Ed,

I am thinking of using the strip that you suggested and I will start small. So, if I am going to order from them do I need to specify the common anode to order? I will also use the 12V DC power supply as you suggested. As for the extension, I have the SPT2 wire from Paul. Will this be enough or ok to use? As for the DC controller, will I be connecting this separately from the CPB16PC? Could you elaborate a little bit? And Ed for the vendor, are they reliable and proven customer support? Again, thank you guys. Your help is greatly appreciated.

[edvas69]

As far as the vendor is concerned he has proven himself to be a reliable dealer from China with many sales already to the community. But remember you are dealing with a Chinese company and getting the goods fairy cheap so there is always a risk involved and warranty isnt as good as what LOR would have or an American light dealer. You can pay with both aliexpress and paypal so there is some protection there. I always ask for a pro-forma invoice so shipping of multiple items can be combined and when i do this i specify that i want common anode, its always good to have this confirmed on the invoice. So go into the chat or email the dealer to get a proforma invoice before purchasing.

As far as the wire the spt-2 wire is only 2 core, you could just double up so you then have the four cores. Three of the wires would go from 3 channels of your controller to the strip lights Red, Green and Blue and the the 4th wire would connect up to the controllers common positive and connect up to the strips common positive. Then you can use a thicker cable that will be enough to carry all the load of all your lights connected to the controller from the power supply to the controller. It is in essence the exact same as using the LOR AC boards except its DC and you would use 3 channels for any RGB lighting as apposed to one for traditional lighting.



You could have a look at this simple diagram for LOR AC control and this is similar to how a DC controller would connect up without the AC

http://www.lightorama.com/w_LOR-basic.htm

[scubado]

Computer power supplies can be a good source of power but some do not like having only power used on the 12vdc rail and not the 5vdc rail and may not work for long especially if they are loaded up


With high powered LEDs like the 10 watt ones you talk about, these are best used with a constant current driver to help minimise the heat and extend the life of the LED and again these can be purchased from the same vendor that i mentioned above.


The 12vdc battery idea is a good one, but most powers supplies will have overload protection and shut down if a short is detected (the one i linked to has overload protection) What is important is to ensure the polarity is correct when connecting up the power to the controller. Make sure that the negative goes to the negative and the positive goes to the positive of the controller or else you may damage the controller.



The other thing to be aware that Scubado touched on is that it is good to also use floods with these strips to put colour wash back onto the house. The strip is directional and as such will put very little light back on your house when used as an outline.

I will admit that I've had some good power supplies be useless to me because I can't get them to run 'offline'. I have one supply that's running 2000 led's and another one that runs the 10W'ers, Haven't had a single problem with those supplies. These run year round for landscaping.