Differences in LOR controller versions?

[JBrunsonJr]

So I see people selling controllers and have no idea what the difference between versions is and don't want to buy stuff that won't meet my needs. Can someone explain the differences?

Thanks in advance!

Jack

[zman]

Welcome to the forum and the addiction.

Short answer is that there was a new version, Gen 3 that had a different firmware to allow for dimming curves for LEDs. These were released a couple years ago. Gen 3 also had snubber resistors built into the boards. These also help with the dimming of some LEDs (supposedly). The previous versions do not have that. There may be a few other bells and whistles on the Gen 3, but for the most part, any LOR controller, regardless of version will work for you.

With the above said, the older controllers manage LEDs fine. I have mostly older controllers and 2 Gen3's and I have not had a problems in the past with LEDs and I am at about 96% LED in my display.

If you are in Atlanta, Christmas Expo may be something you would want to look into. 3 days of education and LOR is a vendor, as well as some of their reps. The event is July 17-19 in Biloxi, MS.

www.christmasexpo.com

[Daryl]

Are you asking about the difference between the commercial controllers and the residential controllers? If so, the residential controllers have only one power cord to power the controller. The commercial controllers has two power cords, one for channels 1-8 and one for 9-16. This is important in planning te number of power outlets you need. The residentials are in a plastic enclosure whereas the commercials are in a UL rated metal enclosure. If you are using all LEDs the residential will work fine for you. If you are using incadescents and a lot of them on each channel, the commercial controller may be better. The amps per channel and total amps per controller is the main concern. Otherwise like Zman stated, the controllers will work OK with each other. I have mostly Gen2 controllers and some Gen3's. As long as the firmware are up to date, mine have worked fine together.

[zman]

Daryl, good points.

Commercial or Kit (residential) the controllers are the same when it comes to load. 8 amps max per channel. I have a few of the metal enclosure controllers. There is no reason for a home display where those are necessary IMHO. The metal does have the UL rating, which is not required for a home display, but that is NOT to day that the Kit versions are any less safe.

[Don]

This page on the LOR site shows the differences between controllers.

 

I would like to offer a small correction to what was posted in the thread. The "Single" versus "Dual" input power cords isn't an indicator. Either commercial or residential can have single or dual.

[Daryl]

More good info

 

Don, has the residentials always had the option for dual power cords? I remember only seeing them with the single cord. Where do you select whether you want one or two power cords? I have the commercial controllers and didn't know I could get them with just one cord

[zman]

Daryl they have all been capable of one power cord. On the PCB, there is a power/gnd terminals for the main cord coming in, then there are 2 jumper connections that power the other half of the board. Check out the documentation on your controllers and there are picture showing the internal jumpers.

[Don]

Daryl,

See what Mark said.

[PaulXmas]

All my (residential) controllers have 2 power cords.

[lightzilla]

My PC boards, My Gen 3 boards, my 8-channel boards, my "Blue Boards" (with dials) all dim the lights we get here in Canada no problem. Also if you run Leds you really only need one power cord to run both sides of the board by simply adding jumpers like was mentioned about. 1 cord sure cuts back on extra cords to plug in. I run 5 controllers on 1 out lite.  I haven't even reached my 15 amp limit using just 1 plug on a controller yet. Add a second cord & I go back to 30 amps I believe.