plasmadrive Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 For those that are interested the numbers are as follows:Dumb pixels are $0.29 each, 50 per string, 500 pixel minimumSmart pixels are $0.50 each, 50 per string, 500 pixel minimumThis is the price per pixel I have been quoted as of right now not including any other fees such as shipping, duties if any, yadda yadda yadda. If anyone piles on for a group buy the shipping will be proportioned by weight, any other fees (if there are any) will be shared evenly among those of us that buy. If they all wind up shipping here to California every one will have to pay their own shipping from here as well. My plan is to ship all of them here unless the vendor will make multiple shipments. If they will make drop shipments, you will all be responsible for your own shipping costs. (that is the preferred method but I am not sure which is cheaper).I have seen what I need to see to make up my mind. I went thru all this to see how many regular LED strings I need to order before the sales go away this month. I will be ordering these pixels sometime in either March or April so there is no rush unless pricing becomes an issue. If you want less then 500 pixels I suggest you order from Ray Wu's store. They are not exactly the same, but they are close from what I can tell.I am making no money on this and don't really need anyone to pile on but if you want to you are welcome. I am not the contact for support or warranty after the fact. Those that buy will get the factory contact info and it will be up to them to deal with any issues. There is a risk involved in this type of purchase so be aware, that risk is up to each person individually. If this makes you uncomfortable with the process I suggest Ray's store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H1 Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Craig,Are you leaning in the direction of 5v strings or is there still hope for the 12v version?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasmadrive Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 Dave,The spacing is about 3" give or take a 1/2". A lot depends on how you bend the wire when potting it looks to me. I think I will be asking about 4" spacing but I did not inquire about spacing changes of any kind yet.These lights have no caps at all. The actually LED dome is what you see in the video. I doubt they will offer up caps, but I am not sure. I didn't ask.Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasmadrive Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 I am hoping for 12v on the dumb stings but to be honest with you, I don't really care either way. Power supplies are available for both.The smart pixels will be 5v no matter what.I just realized I sent them that request for the voltage change on their Friday night. I don't expect an answer until Monday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasmadrive Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 One other thing to consider about 12v stings. If the LEDs drop about 1.2 volts and you draw 45mA that leaves about 486mW that needs to be dissipated by each of the 3 resistors in the pixel. At full white that is about 1.5 watts. That is a lot of heat.On the other hand, at 5vdc you have to dissipate about 171 mW per resistor. That is about 1/5 watt. Lots of difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H1 Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 I don't have a problem at this point with the 5v strings. I'm trying to ease into the RGB arena and anticipate upgrading two 5ft wreaths for 2012. This will keep everything contained in a small area. Salvaged computer power supplies are everywhere.I guess you would need to properly tag/label the strings to differentiate between the 5 & 12v ones. They all appear to the same. Would hate to plug a 5v into a 12v supply and have a one time strobe effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasmadrive Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 ha ha.. yeah.. I would hate to mix them up as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasmadrive Posted January 8, 2012 Author Share Posted January 8, 2012 OK.. since we can't edit posts anymore I am calling a halt to my posting about the pixels. When I get ready to order I will PM a few of those that have already requested it. Can't take on any more PMs then that. It gets to be too much time.For the ones that have interest or questions, PM me..Sorry but my fingers type faster then my brain thinks and I don't want to risk putting info out there that makes me look more stupid then I probably am. So I will be watching but not posting.. unless I just can't hellp myself or the edit comes back.Later Ya'll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H1 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Craig / Bret,Starting to get serious about going RGB and have been experimenting in LOR with creating RGB channels and sequences.Question to everyone with regards to intensity......With standard LOR (0-100) most LEDs respond in the 10 - 75% range.When looking at DMX intensity, the range is 0-256. Is there a corresponding range or is there noticable fading through out the full range??I don't think I've seen this question asked before and apologize if a new thread should have generated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flogger7 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Check out Dave Moore / holidaycoro videos on Vimeo. He did the exact test across different controllers stepping up their fading from 0 one step at a time.. If you can't find the one with the dimming tests, let me know and I will find the link for you.-Aaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flogger7 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Actually I had the link open on another window. Here it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H1 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Not having the benefit yet of being in posession of any RGB nodes,it appears that there is "light bleed" through the sides of encapsulating material. For my first project, I'd like to make these more like 5mm and not have a "halo" effect. I'm thinking sleeving them with shrink tube, do you think that this viable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flogger7 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Sounds reasonable.I wonder though whether the light bleed is noticeable in person or whether it's mostly a result of the camera/videos...I have strips and modules for my Rgb lights so I dont have first hand knowledge. Definitely a question from Craig and others who have these... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H1 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 flogger7 wrote: Actually I had the link open on another window. Here it is.http://vimeo.com/19615787FloggerThanks for the link. I must have over-looked this video before.So it appears that there are numerous variables to take into account. The type of RGB along with the controller.Guess it's going to be a long and interesting road to next Thanksgiving when the lights come back on. Hopefully the roof will dry off in the nest hour so I can finish taking down this years display. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bretk Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Remember mot to confuse Smart pixels with an rgb string. Smart pixels or digital pixels each are controlled dimming by their internal individual chips while rgb strands are dimmed based on the controller. Even the 6 dollar controls 256 different dimming steps. Also don't forget that LOR S3 limits dimming steps to 100. And sleeving the nodes is feasible.Also check out crackers thread in the coffee shop, he is going to be selling a more plug and play range of dmx products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H1 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 bretk wrote: Also don't forget that LOR S3 limits dimming steps to 100. And sleeving the nodes is feasible.Is this in DMX mode also?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bretk Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I am pretty sure that is all you can get in sequence editor unless I am missing something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flogger7 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 DMX mode lets you set 256 intensity levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flogger7 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 DMX mode lets you set 256 intensity levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flogger7 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Sorry for the double post...was trying unsuccessfully to get a screenshot attached.If you enable DMX editing mode in preferences, you then get a DMX intensity button which can be used to set 256 levels. Also when doing RGB color fades you can set them to DMX mode which my understanding of is will use the 256 intensity levels instead of 100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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