Steven Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Since I'm doing DMX this year, I decided to take the Rainbow Floods I bought last year and build waterproof DMX floodlights.My case is a 250W Halogen work light from Home Depot at about $9:Insides are removed, leaving plenty of room for the Rainbow Flood and one of those $8 RGB controllers from HolidayCoro:Some plastic inserts, screws, and hot glue hold the Rainbow Flood board in place:The connections are made in the waterproof connection box in the back. Since this unit will be the last of the chain, it has a 120Ω resistor on the DMX lines. I had to wrap the waterproof 4-pin connector with vinyl tape to bring it up to the diameter of the original 120v power cable so it would seal properly:(Another unit I built to be used in the middle of the chain has a 2nd hole for the female connector, sealed with hot glue.)Total cost: $37. (This includes a Rainbow Flood + cables that cost $20 last year, plus the $9 work light and the $8 DMX controller.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flogger7 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I just did something similar. Using the 500w housing from northern tool I have a pair of rainbow floods in each waterproof enclosure along with the same dmx controller Stephen used. I turned them vertically so they run top to bottom and two fit perfectly side by side. They mount on a sized piece of 5mm plywood, with notches cut out around the wire connections on the back of the Pcb's. The controller is hot glued on the bottom/back of the plywood and the power and cat5 cables come out the original power hole with hot glue for strain relief. It's super bright and the housings were only 8 bucks each. Il try to post pictures next week.http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200309783_200309783 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eurbani Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I had one of those Halogen work lights. Watch out if the glass ever gets nicked. One drop of cold water and it will shatter.How do I know? My dog drooled on one!Great idea for the enclosure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMaris Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Nice work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneHotRT59 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 eurbani wrote:I had one of those Halogen work lights. Watch out if the glass ever gets nicked. One drop of cold water and it will shatter.How do I know? My dog drooled on one!Great idea for the enclosure!But is this shattering a concern with LED's??I understand the shattering concern with a super hot 500 watt halogen bulb, but I'm not sure the LED's will garnish up that kind of heat.From all I have read, LED's run real cool and even have a rough time melting the snow that may cover the enclosure.Any other thoughts as I am in the middle of planning for my rainbows up here in the usually cold and snowy Wisconsin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponddude Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 We had a customer build this rather elaborate enclosure with a heating source in it. He too was concerned about the snow build up and wanted to ensure that his lights shinned bright even in the snowiest of months. We are going back to when we initially introduced the floods, so forgive me, but I don't remember who it was off hand. (If you are the person stand up and take a bow!) I will say that the Rainbow floods don't really get all that hot (the resistors can) but the Extreme gets warm enough to keep the snow away. It isn't from the LEDs, but rather the LED Drivers...especially if you are giving them a workout with effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Ponddude wrote: but the Extreme gets warm enough to keep the snow away. It isn't from the LEDs, but rather the LED Drivers...Speaking of LED drivers, is the tab supposed to be soldered to the large solder pad underneath (in order to act as a heat sink)? The manual didn't mention it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponddude Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 It doesn't need to be Steven. It is actually just part of the ground plane. The assembled versions are soldered on because of the process they use to build them, but it isn't necessary. There is already a ground pin on the drivers and the metal tab on the back is connected to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eurbani Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 OneHotRT59 wrote:But is this shattering a concern with LED's??I understand the shattering concern with a super hot 500 watt halogen bulb, but I'm not sure the LED's will garnish up that kind of heat.Doh! I'm an idiot. Of course it was the 500 watt halogen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Ponddude wrote: The assembled versions are soldered on because of the process they use to build them, but it isn't necessary. There is already a ground pin on the drivers and the metal tab on the back is connected to that.I was concerned about the heat sink effect. Will soldering the drivers to the ground place allow them to run cooler (and thus last longer)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponddude Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I would assume the proper answer is yes, but we have not found them to get anywhere outside of their spec for temperature rating so I don't think it is a huge concern. If you want to solder them you certainly can...it isn't going to hurt.Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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