connecting cut up 2811 strips...HOW?

[marsh28]

I'm putting smart strips (2811 version) from Ray Wu around the window frames on my house.  AFter cutting the strips, how do I reconnect them, what kind of wire should I use, and, most importantly, how do I make sure they're waterproof?  Thanks

[beeiilll]

You can use connector plugs that are made to reconnect pieces of strip or you can solder them together using any wire that will carry the load of power for the lenght of strip that you will be driving.

You will need to calculate the amount of current based on the specified wattage of each pixel and how many pixels there are and also if you are injecting power along the strip as well (although this is less of a problem since your wire should be of a size to carry the load anyway).  The wire you should use should be solid copper and not stranded as stranded will be almost impossible to make the connections without having it short out the connection next to the one you are doing without a great deal of work.  If they are fairly short runs you could probably get away with someting like solid phone wire to make the connections but again you want to make sure that the size of the wire is adequate to carry the current required for the strips.

You want to be careful when soldering that you do not apply too much heat to the joints and cause the traces on the strips to lift off.  Pre-tinning the ends of the wires will help with that as well. Then apply a dab of flux to the pad on the strip, touch the solder to it and then apply the wire end.  You should be able to do a connection in just a second or less pretty much.  If you are not proficient in soldering I would suggest you practice on some  scrapes until you feel comfortable with doing the ends of the strips as they are pretty small and will take a steady hand to do.  You will want to clean the flux off the connections after soldering and before you apply any sealant to prevent corrosion later on.

As far as making sure the connections are as water resistant as possible you can use a neutral silicone to coat over the area where you had to cut and solder the wires on being careful to make sure that you get the coating on the area completely and onto the coating on the strip a little bit.  I advise to NOT use hot glue as it will peel off in a very short time and expose the connections to the weather.  Plastic dip for tools and liquid electric tape are another form of sealant that works as well.

Also using the strips that are encased in silicone tubing is a better way to go since the tubing can be sealed over the solder joints and also provides added UV protection to the strip.  Strips without the silicone tubing cover will start to cloud over in a few months out in the weather as I ran a test for 11 months on strips and sealants to see what worked and how it held up.

[marsh28]

Wow.  Thanks for the response with a bunch of great information.  My plan was to use 4/22 security wire to connect the strips.  I think this should work.

[WilliamS]

I used 18/4 wire, that way I did not have large power loss at the strip.  Some of my runs were near 40 feet from controller to first pixel.  To reseal the ends I used a 2 step process to make sure its water resistant and had 0 ingress on somewhere in the area of 100 strips that I cut.   If you are using the silicone tube coverd strips this is exactly how I make them ready for rain.

 

1) Cut the strip and tube with super strong sheers at the cut mark.

2) I used 5/8 inch 3:1 shrink tubing, I would cut a 4" piece and pull it over the silicone tube, this was to make sure I didnt solder the wire on then forget to have it on there.  

2) Tin the wire and the strip on the 3 solder pads as well the wire I used (18/4 security wire, I would pull out the 4th core) 

3) Solder the wires and strip together and let cool about a minute

4) Pull the silicone back to where it is even with the strip where I made the cut, then pull the shrink tube half over the wire half over the silicone tube.

5) Pinch the silicone tube so there would be a gap between the tube and the shrink wrap and close to the end of the tubing squeeze a pea sized drop on each side (large flat ends, not the short sides) of GE silicone II outdoor clear silicone.  SIlicone II is very important. 

6) From the wire side I would use the nozzle on the silicone to push in as close to the end of the strip again from the wire side and only 1 pea side drop is needed there.

7) Apply heat.  Start from the center and work out.   This will squeeze out the air and replace with silicone.  Let set 12 hours and done.

[steve synek]

I have not worked with the strips you are using but will share my experience with CCRs and dumb strips. I took a different approach than Bill. I never tried solid wire. I have used 18 gage security, some 20 and 22 gage stranded wire I had laying around. I had no trouble making the solder joint with any of them. My take is that working with solid wire will put all the stress on the solder pad when working with the wire as there is less flex in the wire. Even with stranded 18 gage, I have torn the pads right off the strip trying to manipulate the wire (in my case working with very short stubs of wire for 90 degree corners, and than trying to strip the conductor to make the final connection).

Edited March 2, 2013 by steve synek

[Max-Paul]

Steve, there is a technique  when working with things that need to expand and contract also. In the above case you need to be a little more gentle. Cause of the fact that things expand and contract and some of our props are being constructed in the hot summer, we need to keep this in mind and allow for some contraction. Besides it is never advisable to build something that is tight on the wires anyway. I would make these suggestions in the case of the window frames. If using say wire ties to hold the ribbon to a frame. Pull them snug but not overly tight. At the corners once you have the ribbons mounted. Cut the wire so that you can wrap it around a pencil one time and with the wires leaving at a 90 degree angle at the cross over or where they meet. This little loop will provide for some give and take at the corners. Have the wire at the top with the loop facing down and the bottom wire with the loop towards the top. Middle loop either way. Ya would look a bit cleaner during the day with wires just long enough to get from one end to the other. But you run the risk of pulling the wire or pad off of the strip.

 

For those of you new to this electrical stuff. I suppose some of you are learning new terms from foreign web sites. Here in America, when talking about the number of wires in a cable. We say that it has 4 conductors, or 4 wires. Core means the center of something. Example is Apple core is where the seeds are. Or some of you might have a simple understanding of a reactor and know that the core of a reactor is where the fuel rods and lead rods for controlling the reactor are. Except for some foreign web sites and some that dont understand the American terms. I have in my 35 yrs as a electrician have yet seen the term Core used to explain how many conductors are in a cable.

[edvas69]

Yes us foreigners call them cores meaning there are X amount of 'cores' in the middle of the outer insulation

http://www.electriciansupplies.com.au/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=26_65

 

Doesnt mean its wrong, just a different term and in the world of internet we have to get used to each others different words because now there is no barriers to information. Just like we use millimetres squared for cross sectional diameter instead of guage size or we call them RCDs instead or GFCI and i could go on. People just need to be aware of the differences in some terminology between different parts of the world.

[steve synek]

Max

 I do understand the need to be gentle. I was just sharing my thoughts.  I did make 8 window frames out of CCRs (32 connections to a trace for each window) also my mega star has about 300 trace connections. (over 500 connections total) I did not tear a trace on these two projects.  

  I am now onto my 4 th project and am having my first issues as I try and tweak my proto type design. The tweaking is causing the stress on the traces.  I am using 18 gage stranded security wire which has little flexibility when compared to the finer stranded #20 gage wire I was using on other projects. The stiffer the wire, the more stress on the trace is my main point.  Stranded wire is more flexible.

 

Steve

[Max-Paul]

edvas,

 

Be as it may. Then mate when I come to a site that is down under. I hope you all remember this when I say conductor. One of the things I learned back years ago about effective speaking. That is to use terms or phrases that would be common to the group you are talking to. Thus the majority of people on this site are Americans that use the term Conductors. And when I go to auslights. I use core.

 

True, the internet is opening new borders. But try to speak Greek when in Greece.

[Santas Helper]

Yes us foreigners call them cores meaning there are X amount of 'cores' in the middle of the outer insulation

http://www.electriciansupplies.com.au/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=26_65

 

Doesnt mean its wrong, just a different term and in the world of internet we have to get used to each others different words because now there is no barriers to information. Just like we use millimetres squared for cross sectional diameter instead of guage size or we call them RCDs instead or GFCI and i could go on. People just need to be aware of the differences in some terminology between different parts of the world.

 

I'm just glad the language here is still english   because I'm screwed if this changes.

[Dave H1]

the language needs to stay ENGLISH and we shouldn't allow anything other

[Santas Helper]

the language needs to stay ENGLISH and we shouldn't allow anything other

 

I agree, but one day, like the ATM machines, we here will have to push #1 to get the english.

 

Sorry for the hijack

[beeiilll]

Not to ruffle feathers, but I certainly tend to learn Eddy's language from down under as he and many others in the great land of Australia have much better insight and knowledge of this "hobby" than many Yanks do.

We all want to learn new stuff and understand things so what if I have to interpret a little bit of another persons tongue?'

It all comes out the same in the end and we all gain from it.

I am an American and I call cable by cores rather than conductors as well.

[hdracer]

Not to ruffle feathers, but I certainly tend to learn Eddy's language from down under as he and many others in the great land of Australia have much better insight and knowledge of this "hobby" than many Yanks do.

We all want to learn new stuff and understand things so what if I have to interpret a little bit of another persons tongue?'

It all comes out the same in the end and we all gain from it.

I am an American and I call cable by cores rather than conductors as well.

+1