G3 or G2

[circleracer44]

Ok i bought the starter kit with 1 controller but i have bought 3 others from some nice people on here. My question is how to determine what generation they are. I have 3 with a small green led on the left side and 1 with a red led on the right. If the one with the red is an older model will this affect any effects as i am useing some led and some incans. This my first year and i want to make sure i know what i got and what lights can be hooked to what controller...I have herd there being some issues with fading leds with the older Gen style.

[George Simmons]

LED fading is about the only issue I can think of using Gen 2 boards. Having said that, they're in use in hundreds of displays, including my own, with no problems at all. Not all LEDs fade poorly and it's usually only an issue when there's multiple sets of lights on a single channel. Best solution might be to not plug LEDs into the Gen 2 controller. If that's not possible, then plug some in, do some fades, and see for yourself if there's any problems. If yes, there are plenty of ways to handle it by using a snubber for those channels.

Edited April 23, 2014 by George Simmons

[plasmadrive]

Hey George,

 

There are other differences that may or may not make a difference to those that use them.  For example, the G3 have a more powerful processor and can use dimming curves. G2s can not.  G3s can run on the 500k network, G2s can not.   The so called snubber for LEDs I believe is built into the G3s and with G2s if you need them, you must put them external.  I can't verify this is true however because I had a G3 that when I put enough LEDs on a channel, (about 2500), it still needed an external dummy load (snubber) to mitigate the capacitance of the wiring.

 

I have both G2s and G3s and for most applications either works just fine.  But if you want to be able to use dimming curves and the 500k network speed, G3 is your choice.  

[Don]

And for physical differences between the two, What generation controller do I have?

[George Simmons]

I wouldn't hesitate to buy either G2 or G3 from known/trusted sellers.

[lightzilla]

I came across only 1 kind of Led string that will not dim in Gen2 or Gen3 PC controllers. This 1 kind of Led light string is from Forever Bright. Every other Led light light string that I can buy here in Alberta dim very well. Again our wire is of a thicker gauge & so maybe that helps. I run my controllers on regular Lor network except for the 12 ccr's which run on Aux A at 500 speed.

 

I would buy either version.