RGB Tape Strip Max

[DocBrown86]

I posted this as a comment in the Hardware-DMX section, but got no response, so I am moving it over here where it most likely belongs anyways:

I just bought 85 meters of RGB tape strips.

5 meter rolls, 150 LEDs at 16.4ft each.

I am turning my spiral trees into RGB tress with them. My large trees are 45ft (measuring along the spirals). I am getting the 3 channel controller from Holiday Coro.

These strips each came with a 12V 5A power supply so I have 17 power supplies.

Questions:

1. Do I still need to buy separate power supplies from H.Coro, or will the ones mentioned above power the 3-channel controller and the strips?

2. I will be using about 3 of the 5 meter reels for the large trees. Would I need to get 2 DMX controllers for the 1 tree? ie) I heard you should not connect more than 2 5 meter tape strips together. Also, would I need two power supplies every time I have more than 2 strips, or could I run a separate wire to the 3rd strip from the supply that is powering the other 2?

Thanks for your help guys!!!

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[LORisAwesome]

Maybe you need 1.21 Jigawatts? lol

Jerry

[DocBrown86]

Ha, nice.

I really hope someone who has used these and knows the answer reads this, as I am waiting on ordering my DMX controllers due to my uncertainty on this....

[edvas69]

I would send an email to David at holiday coro as he is very helpful and would give you the best answer as its his products you plan on buying, he should know whats best.

[DocBrown86]

I would send an email to David at holiday coro as he is very helpful and would give you the best answer as its his products you plan on buying, he should know whats best.

I emailed him a question a couple of weeks ago and never got a response, so I had put that idea out of my head, but I'll give that another try.

Perhaps he was just busy that week.

[edvas69]

Ok, then ill have a go at answering you

The power supplies you already have can work with those controllers, the issue comes about by having many power supplies and controllers hooked up to the same DMX network, so good planning and design is imperative to minimise the risk of lights flickering due to the DMX signal either deteriating or generating signal reflections.

So all power supplies within the same network should have the DC ground tied together so all controllers have the same ground reference as this can cause ground loops and flickering.

Do not connect the +V of the power supplies together, ensure that each power supply +V is seperate, only the -V ground is what is connected between power supplies/controllers

Ensure you use a 120 Ohm terminator at the end of the DMX data line

Make sure that the connection between the DMX data line and the controller is as short as possible to minimize generating any signal reflection and also make sure that each connection is of high quality, 1 bad connection in the data line can cause havoc for the whole network.

And finally use a DMX splitter to split down the DMX network to a more managable size if you plan on using many of these controllers as this will reduce the load and amount of possible generated reflected signal and will also be much easier to fault find as you have now split up your network.

Now for your larger trees you would require that the load of the lights is not higher than the rated output load of the controller. So a 30 5050 LED/Metre strip which is commonly used will have a calculated current draw of 1 amp per channel/colour which makes the strip 3 amps total when white. So if your load is below the output load of the controller then it should be OK to use just the one controller. But you must ensure your power supply can handle the load of 3 strips (your spare power supplies are no good for this) You just cant connect power supplies together to get higher current. The other thing to be aware of is voltage drop, so connecting 3 strips together you would then have to inject power between strip 2 and 3 to stop voltage drop and your lights dimming at the end.

Hope that answers your questions

[LORisAwesome]

Ha, nice.

I really hope someone who has used these and knows the answer reads this, as I am waiting on ordering my DMX controllers due to my uncertainty on this....

Sorry, considering you handle and avatar, I couldn't resist.

Jerry

[DocBrown86]

No worries, I have heard it many times before, it doesn't bother me. I was frustrated due to the lack of response during my need of help, which has never happened to me on here before!

And thanks edvas for your help!

[DocBrown86]

Should I have a significant Voltage drop between strips one and two, with a five amp power supply and 15 LED per meter strips? Picture is beginning at pwr supply, and the very end of strip 2, full on white...

[TJ Hvasta]

Doc, are you feeding the strips only at one end? If yes, thats bad.. you're running the entire current load thru one strip (where its fed). You should have center-fed the power (so power goes to both, equally). As for the actual current load, what are the specs for your strips? The ones I have are 1.2a/meter, so a 5meter strip will pull 6+ amps, and as you're running two strips, thats over 12 amp demand off a 5amp supply.. reeeeally not good.

Two things:

1) Set each board to a limiting intensity. Open the Hardware Utility, go into .. Config and set the channel limits to 85 (or less) %. That will keep the high current demand down a bit.

2) Feed the power at the middle of the two strips (when they join). You will have to cut/splice the power so it goes to both strips evenly. That will prevent bright/dim ends of the strips.

Lastly, what type wire are you using to feed power to the strips (gauge/length) ?

Edited October 23, 2012 by TJ Hvasta

[DocBrown86]

I only had the power supply at one end.

I am using doorbell wire to run power (20gauge?), not sure on length yet.

Full on white with one section, or 9 LEDs, I got a .065 Amp reading.

This could get tricky on my tall spiral trees that need 3 full 5 meter strips. Just run a separate power supply to the third, run it on same channel as the 2 connected strips, but not actually hook it to them?

[TJ Hvasta]

you sure that's point zero six five ? For 9 LEDS, per what? per foot? Multiply that times how long the strip is (if 16.5').. then it's like I said.. 6+ amps per strip. You will need to run sep power supplys to each strip then. using a 5amp supply to power two strips just wont work (unless you do not have 3 colors on at the same time). Esp with a single 20ga wire to power them.. First, If you ran multiple 20ga wires (twisted pairs), that should provide current protection just for the wires.. Next, find an adequate (or multiple) power supply. There are many places to get a 10-20amp bench supplys. You could even use PC power supplies..

You have to think abt current limits.. if you use two strips per channel, thats 12+ amps going to a single channel if you have all LEDs on.. You're already over the half the bank limit (20a), and 3x over the no-heat sink channel limit (4a). You see why many of us have multiple DC boards.

Edited October 24, 2012 by TJ Hvasta

[DocBrown86]

It is .065 Amps /4 inches, so 3.2Amps per strip.

What do yo umean by multiple DC boards?

I clearly need to either buy bigger power supplies or use a separate supply for each strip, but how will that affect my DMX controller from Holiday Coro? Would I need a separate one of those for every strip as well? (Assuming I went with the second option)