roha0612 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 I have only recently started looking into what is possible to do with Christmas lights and I was very excited. Admittedly I have jumped in with both feet without check the depth of the water!! After a little bit of research I decided I wanted to go with RGB because of the flexibility that it gives. I have placed an order for the RGB 8 pack starter kit, 200W power supply, Standard Software package and a 16 Channel DYI kit. I have no intentions to use the DYI kit this year but I thought it would be a nice add-on in the future. I have so many questions, I apologize for putting so many questions into one place. I am planning on setting everything up as a centeralized system based in my garage. This will mean that I will need a ‘extension cable’ to run from the controller to the start of each ribbon. My longest run will be 50ft. I am thinking on running either 4wire16AWG to the start of each ribbon. Does that seem about right? I am also not sure what the ends on the ribbon come with, if it is bare wire I am thinking of buying military style Amphenol connectors so it is safe outdoors, what have other people done? I haven’t received my controller yet (just ordered it today) but I did receive the license key for the program. Is there a way to start programming without having the controller connected? I have been looking at the sequence store but I haven’t noticed any that are applicable to RGB or the CMB24D controller, am I missing something? Is it easy to modify one of these sequences to work on the system that I have purchased or should I start from scratch? I am sure I will have a lot of other questions as I hope to get something working for Christmas this year. Thanks for you patience and help. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 I will admit to not being an expert when it comes to voltage drops, but I think 50ft is going to be exceeding what you are really capable of doing. I could be wrong, and if so, someone will jump to correct me. You can start programming without anything attached. Just open the Sequence Editor and get started. See the video tutorials link at the top of the page to get more information. Honestly, you're probably going to want to start from scratch. As you noted, the LOR Sequence Store isn't set up for RGB type displays. The modification would take twice as long as going from scratch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 I'm running RGB windows this year and my longest run from the controller to the farthest window is about 75 feet. I used 16/4 cable and the windows were all nice and bright! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince4xmas Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Why not locate the controller outside close to the RGB ribbons? You stated you need to run cables to each RGB ribbon. Mount the controller card and power supply in an enclosure. Wire 120VAC with cord and 8 cordsets from controller board to connector on each ribbon cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 That's what I'm doing, controller outside, but my longest run is still about 75 feet. Worked great for Halloween! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roha0612 Posted November 13, 2014 Author Share Posted November 13, 2014 Vince4xmas, I am hoping to use the ribbons on my windows and doors so all 8 ribbons are scattered. I could mount the box outside and have it close to a couple of ribbons but not all of them. I figured why not have the put the box somewhere easy and just run the cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chandalen Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 I am using cat 5e cable for my RGB lights. No issues at all. My wire runs are about 60' and the RGB ribbions are 8' each. I am using a converted computer 200w power supply, and no issues with the power at all. Last year I used my campers deep cycle battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 It's probably too late now, but if I were doing all my windows and doors in RGB from scratch, I would use one of those RGB DMX controllers and a small 1A 12v wall-wart power supply for each window. Then you only need 1 cat5 cable for the network, and 1 SPT1 cord for the 120v power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roha0612 Posted November 14, 2014 Author Share Posted November 14, 2014 Hello Steven, I probably didn't do enough research to know any better... Does anyone have a simple RGB Dumb Ribbon program that I could look at/have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premier Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 I am using Direct Burial wire, the kind for irrigation system, it's 18 guage, with multiple color coded strands inside the exterior insulation. normally I buy the five strand for one extension or 7 strand if I want to go to two boards ( common ground ) and use Blaing products BVS-1 wire connectors ( http://www.sprinklerwarehouse.com/Blazing-Products-Waterproof-Wire-Connector-p/bvs1.htm ) , they are a little spendy as you need 8 for each run, but worth it, water proof, re-usable and no stripping of any wires is needed, just insert into the connector and snap shut. piece of cake. I tried one out at 100' plus additional 16' that was already on the RGB Flood, worked awsome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premier Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 I have only recently started looking into what is possible to do with Christmas lights and I was very excited. Admittedly I have jumped in with both feet without check the depth of the water!! After a little bit of research I decided I wanted to go with RGB because of the flexibility that it gives. I have placed an order for the RGB 8 pack starter kit, 200W power supply, Standard Software package and a 16 Channel DYI kit. I have no intentions to use the DYI kit this year but I thought it would be a nice add-on in the future. I have so many questions, I apologize for putting so many questions into one place. I am planning on setting everything up as a centeralized system based in my garage. This will mean that I will need a ‘extension cable’ to run from the controller to the start of each ribbon. My longest run will be 50ft. I am thinking on running either 4wire16AWG to the start of each ribbon. Does that seem about right? I am also not sure what the ends on the ribbon come with, if it is bare wire I am thinking of buying military style Amphenol connectors so it is safe outdoors, what have other people done? I haven’t received my controller yet (just ordered it today) but I did receive the license key for the program. Is there a way to start programming without having the controller connected? START PROGRAMMING NOW! Best bet is to find some free sequence and modify them to your set up. And yes, use the controller, takes about 10 minutes to put together and you could use it as practise if nothing else than to turn your whole display or portions of it off and on and the end/begining of each song you do. you need to watch the learning videos, set up visualizer and get going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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