Dreaded Cutting Question

[magish01]

I know that cutting a CCP voids the warranty. With that said, I have a run where I need 74 pixels, then a 12 ft gap, then 13 pixels, a 5 ft gap then the remaining 13 pixels. Question is, would this be too much distance to power the final pixels? Can I power inject to boost? If power inject, can it be done from the CCP controller box? An if so, how?

Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Don't want to buy another full CCP unit for the short amount of lights needed if I don't have to.

[WilliamS]

That distance of 5 feet wont affect power or signal on those CCP's unless you use a high ohm or wrong rated wire. As for cutting them, I have over 40 smart strips cut into hundreds of smaller pieces.

[GaryM]

That distance of 5 feet wont affect power or signal on those CCP's unless you use a high ohm or wrong rated wire. As for cutting them, I have over 40 smart strips cut into hundreds of smaller pieces.

Really what you are referring to here is the gauge of the wire, correct? Its not like you're going to see a resistance rating on a piece of wire..unless you're doing some incredibly long distances. But obviously a higher gauge wire is going to have a higher voltage drop than a lower gauge run, all other things being equal.

Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something in what you said.

[George Simmons]

That distance of 5 feet wont affect power or signal on those CCP's unless you use a high ohm or wrong rated wire.

How about the 12' gap the OP describes? Is that too far?

Edited August 6, 2012 by George Simmons

[WilliamS]

Really what you are referring to here is the gauge of the wire, correct? Its not like you're going to see a resistance rating on a piece of wire..unless you're doing some incredibly long distances. But obviously a higher gauge wire is going to have a higher voltage drop than a lower gauge run, all other things being equal.

Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something in what you said.

Not all wire is created equal. As you get into the details of the signal that is reproduced and pushed to each pixel any outside factors can amplify against you quickly. As for the primary reasons not to use certains wires over others would be something best left to guys like Jeff. I do know some wire types interfere with the data transfer from pixel to pixel. Where the power can make it without issues regarding the gauge used, the data wont.

How about the 12' gap the OP describes? Is that too far?

Some reason I overlooked the 12 foot gap all together. That is a good point George I dont the pixel type in the CCP. Once again the quality of cable would be important, as well if the IC can push the signal that far. If its like the CCR 6803 type it likely wont make it. Some chipsets can, the 2811 ir 1804 can. I have a lot of 2811 in my setup and 25 feet to first pixel without an issue, where my 2801 strip cant go over 10 feet without a null pixel. The total lenght will depend on the wire of course if the power injection will be required at the end, but for safe measure it would be a good idea to be sure of proper color at the end. As for if data would make it, this would be Donny, Eddy, or perhaps Jeffs question.

[GaryM]

Not all wire is created equal. As you get into the details of the signal that is reproduced and pushed to each pixel any outside factors can amplify against you quickly. As for the primary reasons not to use certains wires over others would be something best left to guys like Jeff. I do know some wire types interfere with the data transfer from pixel to pixel. Where the power can make it without issues regarding the gauge used, the data wont.

Can you explain better? I mean gee, you give some advice, very general with a lot of generalities at best, and being a beta tester and expert with this pixel stuff, I figured you'd have all the details, thats why I asked.

You kinda' left us hanging with these last couple posts.

I PM'd Mr. Millard and hope he can offer some real answers.

Edited August 6, 2012 by GaryM

[jbzeus]

I had this question and I can't find who told me but I *think* it was LOR that going beyond the two foot leader might be tough. I think they said due to the amount of data passing etc. it probably wouldn't work to extend the leads. If anyone has done this I'd like to know as I need to extend about 8'.

[Guest wbottomley]

I had this question and I can't find who told me but I *think* it was LOR that going beyond the two foot leader might be tough. I think they said due to the amount of data passing etc. it probably wouldn't work to extend the leads. If anyone has done this I'd like to know as I need to extend about 8'.

In the DIY world, that's just a start. Some have smart pixels 30 feet away.

That distance of 5 feet wont affect power or signal on those CCP's unless you use a high ohm or wrong rated wire.

That's a new one on me.

Can you elaborate on this?

[edvas69]

Can you explain better? I mean gee, you give some advice, very general with a lot of generalities at best, and being a beta tester and expert with this pixel stuff, I figured you'd have all the details, thats why I asked.

You kinda' left us hanging with these last couple posts.

I PM'd Mr. Millard and hope he can offer some real answers.

I think whats being said here is results can vary depending on the cable used. An example of this is the difference between using a standard power cable compared to using a shielded cat 6 cable when sending data from the controller. A Cat 6 sheilded cable will give much further distance due to its design. An example of this is the 2801 pixel IC has a spec of 6 metres between pixels, but using standard cable you may only get 2 to 3 metres from the controller. With sheilded CAT 6 you could get 10 metres plus. These distances are also affected by the surrounding electrical noise being generated by your show. So what may work on the bench may not work the same distances in the real life installtion.

The reason why we have distance limitations is due to the data degredation over distance, some protocols are less effected by electrical noise due to their timings and thus can acheive better distances, but the reality for most its a bit of trial and error, but generally anything under 3 metres will work with most cables used. I have extended a couple of CCR controller cables by 2 metres without any issue so you can extend the range of the LOR pixels from the controller, but again results may vary depending on many factors.

So as far as distance is concerned there are many factors that go into this so a bit of trial and error may be needed if trying to achieve longer distances.

[GaryM]

Thanks. I already got a quick response from Jeff Millard, lot of good information, and so responsive and helpful.

Its great to see people like him on the forum who really understand this stuff in detail, rather than in buzz words and generalities.

[magish01]

So basically, if I make a 12 foot gap it may or may not work.

[edvas69]

So basically, if I make a 12 foot gap it may or may not work.

Unfortunatly there is no definate answer due to the many variables. One of the things you can do is add a dummy pixel in between the length if it wont work the distance you need. Each pixel regenerates the signal so by placing a pixel in between your gap will ensure you can make the distance needed.

[magish01]

How would I add a dummy pixel? Is that a pixel that does not have any sequencing assigned to it?

[edvas69]

Yes thats pretty much it, a pixel that you dont actually sequence but is used to regenerate your signal.

[magish01]

Thanks Eddy. If I can't get the run I need, I will try nulling. Looks like I better re-order my priorities and work on this to make sure things work the way I need so I can resequence if needed. Thanks all for your help.