edvas69 Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 bob_moody wrote: Thank you for the info and the links....I picked up a 5M 5050 reel today from a US vendor with free shipping for $24.95 just for testing and to see if Sandra will sign off it (she is NOT an LED fan) . The specs looked just like the ones I'm looking at from China and Hong Kong.I have a LOR 16 Channel DC board I bought a couple of years ago for another project that never made it to the developement table. I have several flavors of 12Vdc power supplies (switching and non-switching... actually that leads to another question... does it matter which PS I use? switching (aka PC pwr)? Non switching?I created an RGB channel with LOR S2 tonight and the light bulb (no pun intended) came on and it all started making sense.Since I have the LOR DC board, I understand I can drive 5 strips (15 channels) with what I have. Given that .. I dont think I am ready or at this point understand the need to run this DMX.GREAT POST guys .. thanks for the info... You are best to use a dedicated switch mode power supply, using computer power supplies can give you issues as these are designed for computers and less fluctuating loads than what our lights do. As well normally the rating of a computer supply is a total wattage of all the different voltage supplies. and some power supplied do not like having current drawn from only one rail of the power supply. On saying that there is nothing stopping you from using a computer power supply.So basically use the switching power supply if you have it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_moody Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Eddy,Maybe you can clarify the PC supply vs Switching Supply for me.The Antec SL300S PS (Old PC PS) that I modified for a bench supply (modifcations so that the ATX PS runs without feedback from the motherboard) is listed as a switching power supply.The +12Vdc output is rated at 15Amps. I do see a label that says +5, +3.3 and +12 COMBINED max output is 220W.I also have an 5 amp/12V DC supply that came off an old Racom modem.Either of these OK or should I be looking for something else.I bought only one 5050 strip for "testing" but I'd rather not destroy it or my LOR board by taking it on the cheap....Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l0chte Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 All of the computer power supplies I will be using have a chart listed +12vdc = so many ampsI'm ignoring the (however many)W and listening to the chart, don't forget to stay a safe amount under the amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l0chte Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 Also this is the strip I bought, Seller came down to 23$ after best offer:http://www.ebay.com/itm/180766428555?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_moody Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 That is EXACTLY the one I bought tonight ...But I am currently in PANIC mode. I watched the video that James suggested and while it was not the 5050 strip I did hear the words FLASH LED ... several times in the demo.Did we buy true RGB strips ??Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edvas69 Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 l0chte wrote: Also this is the strip I bought, Seller came down to 23$ after best offer:http://www.ebay.com/itm/180766428555?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649You found a great price for the strip, you must be happy.You can still use a computer power supply but it will not put out as much as what the supply is labelled as. An example was a member bought a cheap 600watt computer power supply and could only get 3 strips to actually run from it before the power supply voltage would drop to a point where the colours wouldnt show correctly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edvas69 Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 bob_moody wrote: That is EXACTLY the one I bought tonight ...But I am currently in PANIC mode. I watched the video that James suggested and while it was not the 5050 strip I did hear the words FLASH LED ... several times in the demo.Did we buy true RGB strips ??BobI would hope that its actually an RGB strip and is not a misleading sale where the real description is very cryptic. Unfortunatly when buying things from untested sellers you will run the risk of not getting what you actually wanted. keep us posted if its just red, green and blue sections instead of the LEDs being RGB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edvas69 Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 bob_moody wrote: Eddy,Maybe you can clarify the PC supply vs Switching Supply for me.The Antec SL300S PS (Old PC PS) that I modified for a bench supply (modifcations so that the ATX PS runs without feedback from the motherboard) is listed as a switching power supply.The +12Vdc output is rated at 15Amps. I do see a label that says +5, +3.3 and +12 COMBINED max output is 220W.I also have an 5 amp/12V DC supply that came off an old Racom modem.Either of these OK or should I be looking for something else.I bought only one 5050 strip for "testing" but I'd rather not destroy it or my LOR board by taking it on the cheap....BobNothing stopping you from using these if you do have them as all you have to loose is the power supply if it doesnt like it or it may just not run as many strips as you would have thought. Computer power supplies vary greatly.Yes computer power supplies are switch mode power supplies but they are not dedicated to just one voltage and this is the reason you can have some issues as some of them do not like having current on the 12vdc rail and no current on the 5v and 3.3v rail.In the end if you have nothing else then i would give it a go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_moody Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 I'm on it Boss... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l0chte Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 I've had the strip for about a week, it is so much brighter and vibrant than what I was expecting. The only thing that confused me was the order is GRB. But that doesn't make a difference does it because u just wire it to the right order... Worked great with dmx and the fading was fine too..I ordered these and they are on the way.. (Plan to have 10 strips when done so just got ten now to save time and money later)http://www.ebay.com/itm/270840183488?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649I hope they fit the end connector on this strip, unfortunately it didn't come with one.. But for 23$ and how much better they were than I thought I really can't complain.I'll keep you posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james campbell Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 l0chte wrote: I've had the strip for about a week, it is so much brighter and vibrant than what I was expecting. The only thing that confused me was the order is GRB. But that doesn't make a difference does it because u just wire it to the right order... Worked great with dmx and the fading was fine too..I ordered these and they are on the way.. (Plan to have 10 strips when done so just got ten now to save time and money later)http://www.ebay.com/itm/270840183488?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649I hope they fit the end connector on this strip, unfortunately it didn't come with one.. But for 23$ and how much better they were than I thought I really can't complain.I'll keep you posted.don't know if that will fit. I looked at the description and it said for non waterproof strips only Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l0chte Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 Nice catch.. yet it still looks like it would fit better than other pictures.. Oh well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgardner518 Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 What the number means in regards to weatherproofing:IP20- Not waterproof at all! All of the solider joints and LED's are exposed to the elements!IP65- Completely encased in a glue/Silicone type of product. Kind of like the stuff they cover bar counters with. You will have to cut it away it you decide to cut the strip into smaller pieces.IP67- This is basically a IP20. But they slid it inside a long continuous tube. The only open parts is the two endsIP68- This is the same thing as a IP67. But the whole tube is filled with glue/silicone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edvas69 Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 I saw that as well but thought if the strip is silicone tube then this wouldnt be an issue as all you do is cut the end cap off and add a bit of silicone over the connection. A strip with silicone is basically a strip with a tube over it to give iot the extra protection. If the strip is solid silicone then this may be a different story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james campbell Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I saw this and it explains the ip numbers betterhttp://www.flexfireleds.com/pages/LED-IP-Ratings%252d-LED-Flex-strip-waterproofing-explained-%252d-Waterproof-v-nonwaterproof-LED-strip-lights.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l0chte Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 They came today, (about a week before I expected, but woah) and I just cut off the last 3 leds (keeping them to play with a different project.. and snapped on the end. works great.. so much easier than when I was testing.. So yea, just cut, clear, snap, test, Smile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl S Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Can you post a picture of the connector attached to the 5050? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l0chte Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 Carl S wrote:Can you post a picture of the connector attached to the 5050? ThanksNot going to embed them because of there huge size.http://www.lochteproductions.info/images/100_2466.JPGhttp://www.lochteproductions.info/images/100_2462.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgardner518 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 l0chte wrote: Carl S wrote:Can you post a picture of the connector attached to the 5050? ThanksNot going to embed them because of there huge size.http://www.lochteproductions.info/images/100_2466.JPGhttp://www.lochteproductions.info/images/100_2462.JPGLet me help you out! Here they are: Attached files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgardner518 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Where did you get them from? Attached files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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