3,800 Channels of Holiday Goodness

[ryebred]

Below are some videos from my first year with an RGB pixel tree. I also added two ten foot tall towers of light this year. We have a total of 21,000 lights in the display and 3,800 channels.

 

Christmas Eve Sarajevo

 

Wizards of Winter

[atver]

Wow, very impressive with all those lights. Nice job!

[NV1985]

Love the tree!

[dgrant]

May I ask what type of pixel strings that you used?

[ryebred]

I used these pixel strings from Ray Wu.

 

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/RGB-full-LED-pixel-module-WS-2811IC-DC5V-input-50pcs-a-string-IP67/701799_571647028.html

[dgrant]

It looks like they came in lots of 50, so should I assume that they are in one 50 count string? If so, how long was each string? Obviously they are 5VDC and since you were able to address each one, its a smart string. Sorry, I'm totally new to RGB and other than the basics, I am trying to learn what's needed. Certainly a DC controller card(s). I would love to do a megatree such as yours but trying to figure out exactly what's needed to accomplish that is the in the learning for me.

[Grinch]

Ditto what grant said...

Just want to  make sure I do it right.

I have a lot to learn about RGB.

[dgrant]

Let me ask further please...saves you time   Just exactly what is needed to get all the lights onto your tree? As in, number of pixels/strings of pixels, power supplies, controller cards and anything else you had to get to make it work. Your tree turned out fantastic and other than me acquiring a lot of CCR's, I'm hoping there's a less expensive way to achieve the same as what you did.

[ryebred]

Here is my parts list. I ordered these through Ray Wu. You can get them on Aliexpress but I would recommend contacting Ray and asking for a custom shipping quote. It will save you at least $50 on shipping. Note that 2x below would mean two lots. Most of the cables come in a lot size of ten so two lots would be 20 cables.

 

Parts List

 

2x - 5v 60 amp power supplies - http://www.aliexpress.com/item/350W-Dual-Output-Switching-Power-Supply-88-264VAC-input-5V-350W-output-CE-and-ROHS-approved/289599937.html

 

1x - 3 core T type waterproof splitter - http://www.aliexpress.com/item/3core-T-type-waterproof-splitter-white-color-the-male-connect-s-diameter-13-5mm/601823340.html

 

2x - 30cm, 3 core water proof pigtails - http://www.aliexpress.com/item/20cm-long-each-3-Core-White-Waterproof-pigtail-male-and-female-male-connector-s-diameter-13/813582127.html

 

26x - WS2811 5volt smart RGB pixel strings (I used 24 and kept two as spares. I would recommend at least 4 spares) - http://www.aliexpress.com/item/RGB-full-LED-pixel-module-WS-2811IC-DC5V-input-50pcs-a-string-IP67/571647028.html

 

2x - Five feet of 2 core waterproof extension cable.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Total Cost with shipping: $600

 

 

For a controller I use the Joshua Systems ECG-P12R - http://www.j1sys.com/ecg-p12r/

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Total Cost with shipping: $185

 

 

 

Note, going the Ray Wu route is very much a DIY route compared to buying in to CCR's or CCP's. You will need to strip wires, solder them together and apply heat shrink tube to both ends of all of your strings. You will also have pixel failures and while Ray will generally replace them it will take several weeks to get replacements so you will need to cut out pixels and solder in new ones to keep your show running.

 

 

[ryebred]

Forgot to post the link to the waterproof extension cable.

 

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1-5m-5feet-3-core-waterproof-extension-cable-one-end-with-male-the-other-end-with/904130035.html

[NWSanta]

I'm still scratching my head on how that all connects. But, I love the fact that so many RGB Experts in here are willing to help out and help the rest of us rookies figure it out.

I'm glad I waited until next year to look into it and figure it out. First step already completed, I just upgraded to LOR v3. Can't wait to get it loaded and start playing with it!!

[dgrant]

With the OP's help here in laying it out for me plus a couple of PM's, I was able to put two and two together and now understand how to do it. He's doing a 24 string tree there which is 24 (50 pixel) strings, tied together in groups of 3, soldered or connected to each other, which are then tied to a single port on the card. The card has 12 ports(universes) and he's using 8 of them. He runs 50 pixels up the tree, then 50 down and the last 50 of the set, back up the tree. The 50 pixels use (3) channels each. Each port on the card supports a total of 512 channels but the 50 pixels(150 channels) therefore 450 out of the 512 on the one port, are used. The card itself is capable of 6144 channels if I'm understanding him. Essentially, he's created a replacement for CCR's at a whole lot less cost and programmed the same with SuperStar and Nutcracker via the E1.31 environment. This does mean however, its TCPIP networked therefore a Cat5 for this alone which is not on the LOR network which is RS485. He also says that due to the power requirements, he injects power to each set at the top and bottom of each set. So these requirememts all come into play when designing the tree. 

 

ryebred, please correct me if I got any of this wrong as I don't wish to put out wrong information. I'm in the learning mode myself. I'm thinking about doing a 12 string tree, emulating a 12 string CCR tree, but might go farther and do a 32 string tree which would use 4800 channels but programming it would get trickier.

[ryebred]

You are correct on everything except the power injection. I only power inject at the bottom as power can flow forwards and backwards. Only the data wire flows in one direction. If you look at post #7 below you can see daytime pictures of my setup. Take note of the "T" shaped connectors on the ground. The single line coming from the power box only contains V+ and Ground wires. The data wire is not connected on that line and data reflection is not an issue due to the short distance. That "T" line connects the V+, Ground, and Data between strings 2 and 3 of the group and also injects power in both the forward and backwards direction if that makes sense. The only thing at the top of the tree is string 1 and string 2 plugged together with the waterproof pigtails linked in the above post.

 

http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/28415-rgb-pixel-mega-tree-test/

[dgrant]

It certainly does make sense for obvious reasons and smarter than having to run power up to the top.

[ryebred]

I have posted one more video from my show. The effects on the pixel tree in this one were mostly done with the Nutcracker software.

 

Rockin Around the Christmas Tree

[dgrant]

I've got hardware coming. Ordered a ECG-P12S and hope they supply documentation for it but should be able to figure it out anyway, thanks to ryebred's help already. I ordered two power supplies, one from RayWu along with 14 strings of 50 WS2811 pixels and connectors as specified. I also ordered a local power supply in case I elect to add additional strings to the effort. Once I get these running, I may order more or a lot more!

[dgrant]

Just an update for anyone following this thread, I've received the P12S/X card from Joshua1Systems. There was no documentation supplied with it, but its nearly identical to the P12R card and "ryebred" was very kind in forwarding me the PDF for it as well as a video link for setting it up. Ed at Joshua1Systems says he's working on the documentation.

 

I've received one of two 5V power supplies coming for pixel strings ordered from Ray Wu, WS2811's. I'm also jumping into RGB dumb strings and have some 5050 strings on their way along with an LOR DC card and 12V power supply from LOR. Once all the toys arrive, I'll breadboard everything and start playing with it.

 

I also just emailed Ray Wu asking about his TM1809 strips which are intelligent ones, similar to the LPD6803's that it appears LOR uses on their CCR's. What I'm finding so far is that a pixel tree will do similar to a CCR tree although its individual points of light. A CCR tree appears more like lines of color. Costs for doing your own CCR's will be less than LOR however....having it all done for you and ready to plug in and sequence, may very welll be worth the additional costs although I think LOR would be wise to lower the price.

 

Depending on where you purchase a 6803 strip from, lets say $34 plus $20 shipping, then a power supply of 36 watts or 3A, for one strip times 12, then a controller card to run it, in my case $225 +$10 shipping. It all adds up real fast. Then add the fact that communication is not on the LOR network but can be modified and controlled by LOR. LOR is allowed to make a profit of course and they should. If they lowered their price by a third, then a lot more of us could afford them and they would be selling a lot more, therefore their profits would be higher. Depending on their contract with the manufacturer, I suspect they have at least or close to a %60 profit margin. Lets say a strip setup costs them $100 and they sell 100 each month. That's a cost to them of $10,000 but they sell those 100 for a total of $25,000 and realize a profit of $15,000 a month. If they lowered the price to lets say, $175 each, which is a profit of $75 each but they are now selling 1000 of these a month, their profit is now $75,000 a month or to extrapolate it a little further, $900,000 per year of pure profit as opposed to $180,000.

 

Now I'm not pretending to understand their business model or their true costs with acquisitions of these items, nor the costs to administer CCR's, defective returns and technical assistance as all that certainly comes into the equations but they already have those costs in there at the current pricing plan so basically speaking, if they lowered the price, they would make more money! Not forgetting making a lot of us buyers a lot happier 

[Grinch]

I am sure the RGB world is a tuff market to compete in and still offer excellent service.  But as you read all the threads of people who have purchased non LOR RGB.....seems like it is a large number.  I am always willing  to pay a little more for the service and reliability but I don't want to feel like I was taken advantage of either.

[wbaker4]

I am also will to pay for service.  

 

LOR is EXCELLENT!  

 

I don't know of any other company that would ship you out a replacement in a day, before getting the defective unit.

[dgrant]

I agree with you both! I'm just making the point that I "think" that LOR could make a whole lot more money if they lowered the price, therefore selling more, therefore higher profit! As much as I'd love to have 12 CCR's, $3,000 out of my pocket at one time is a lot.