Ccr Planning Questions

[ShaggySS]

I am planning my buy for the summer sale and I thought I had it all figured out. My plan involved cutting one of my CCR’s and extending it to another. See picture below. My middle peak is 55+25= 80 pixels so I have 20 left over. The peak next to it is 59 pixels. So the thought in my head was to cut the CCR after I do the middle peak,. That leaves me with 20 pixels so if put the last 9 pixels from that to start the lower peak. I was hoping I could just not use the left over 11 pixels

I have been playing around with the visualizer and using the visualizer this all seems possible but then I read this post and now I am confused.

So I have a few questions.

1. I read a while back about a cable to connect CCR’s together I was thinking it would save me from soldering on the CCR and might be a bit cleaner. I can’t find them though
   
2. Would you cut a CCR or just roll up the excess CCR from the main peak and then just make the 50 pixels fit on the lower peak?
   
3. Lastly how in the Visualizer can I add a CCR which I only want to use say 44 pixels of. My thought was to roll up the excess and attempt to hide it at the end. It complains when I try.
   

[PaulXmas]

When I hear cut and CCR in the same sentence it scares me!

What I would do is

The 55 I would use one CCR and put is in the middle (at night no one will notice).

The 44 use one CCR and hide the other 6 at the side.

The 55/25 use two CCRs and hide the 20 on the roof.

The 30/29 use one CCR and put it in the middle.

No cutting and I think you end up buying the same amount and NO cutting that could lead to other problems.

[ShaggySS]

Thanks. I guess that makes the most sense. Though it I do that I won't be able to use the CCR macro's for programming right? Correct me if I am incorrect but the macros cover the whole string.

I wanted to use the roof peaks as a part of my display, IE: chasing effect up both sides to the peak. Will all that type of stuff need to be done manually? I am planning for Halloween so I know I have lots of time I am just trying to plan things out. I will have enough surprises along the way the more I can figure out now the more time I have for all the new ones that arrise.

Last question is superstar something that would be benificial for programing this or not? I have read many posts about its reeally only being good for mega trees matrixs, etc but I figured I would ask.

[edvas69]

Cutting the CCR will void the warranty on the strip but on saying that they are not that hard to repair if you have an issue.

By cutting the CCR means you will end up with spare strip, these can be your spares if in the future if you loose a section, all you do is cut out that section and replace with a spare.

See the way the CCR and most digital strip work is by data casading, the controller will send out all 150 channels, the first section of the CCR will see the full 150 channels, it will then read the first 3 channels and then strip those 3 channels from the data stream before passing on the remainder of the data up the strip to the next section. So in effect the second section will think its section 1, but instead the data for the second section starts at 4 and the second pixel will then decode and strip off channel 4,5 and 6 before passing on to the 3rd section and so on up the strip.

So what this means is it doesnt matter which order the cut strips go in or it wont care if you cut out a dud section and replace it as each section is exactly the same. Remember that each section will have data in and data out so the orientation is important.

The connectors you mention above are not rated as waterproof and the reality is that soldering wires on the ends is not a hard task at all. The main issue when cutting strip is to ensure you reseal the ends correctly, for me its a simple task of using some clear heat shrink and then putting some silicone in the end and in the heat shrink before shrinking the heat shrink, This way you ensure a great weatherproof seal.

Anyway just something for you to consider if you go down the path of cutting your strip.

[k6ccc]

You might want to consider CCPs or CCBs rather than CCRs. The reason being that a CCP or CCB can easily be spaced a little differently to better fit the required space whereas the CCR does not easily have that ability. Not necessarily the perfect answer, but it may give some different options.

[boisechris]

Eddy,

Amazing home display!

Did you use CCP or CCB on your roof? How do you attach them please. Also...how many CC strings can you connect together?

 

Thanks,

Chris

[ShaggySS]

Chris,

My concern with CCR's at the time was it was going to be too complicated to get it exactly how I wanted.  So a friend of mine pointed me to SanDevices E682.  While this is a much more DIY option at the time it allowed for much more flexibility as far as lengths but at the time much more complicated to setup. With the latest update to these board its much easier to setup but unlike a CCR which is backed by LOR I have RayWu lights which are great but each order I discover little quirks like he swapped the power and data or changed the color which I personally think adds a little excitement.  Overall I am very happy with my E682 and WS2811 strips.