Super NEWB Questions

[flomas]

Hi All,

Just received my CTB16PCg3. I looked around and wasn't able to find answer's to what I was looking for.

I know this unit will handle up to 9000 lights.

What do I need to do to figure out how many strings I can put on one channel, Is that documented and I missed it ?
I only have a few decorations that are incandescent everything else is LED

Am I able to use a splitter on one channel to run multiple items on one channel or is that not recommeneded? 

If so, would I be able to get away with doing this on two to three channels?

I had some other questions but my mind is BLAH right now, haha 

 

 

 

Thanks!!

 

Flomas

 

[flomas]

Hi All,

Just received my CTB16PCg3. I looked around and wasn't able to find answer's to what I was looking for.

I know this unit will handle up to 9000 lights.

What do I need to do to figure out how many strings I can put on one channel, Is that documented and I missed it ?

I only have a few decorations that are incandescent everything else is LED

Am I able to use a splitter on one channel to run multiple items on one channel or is that not recommended? 

If so, would I be able to get away with doing this on two to three channels?

I had some other questions but my mind is BLAH right now, haha 

 

 

Okay, I think i've figured out the strings question.

The controller can only handle 30 amps of lights. If I divide that over 16, it's just under 2 amps per channel,  does that sound about right, So, I would just need to find out how much each string outputs amp wise to give me the amount of strings I can add to a channel, I'll be using C9 Bright White LED's

I think using a splitter would be okay as long as I don't go over the 2amp range per channel or is that still not a good thing?

 

 

 

Thanks!!

 

Flomas

[jagipson]

IIRC, channels 1-8 sum cannot exceed 15A and channels 9-16 sum cannot exceed 15A. And each sum is for the total energized. So if I'm correct, you could put more than 15A on each side of the controller so long as you don't energize more than 15A at a time.

[Mega Arch]

Or feed each side from separate breakers and don't exceed 30amps total.

[flomas]

It's making a little more sense now,,, I just dont want to FRY anything my first time out, Just going to do a really basic setup for my first time, Still waiting on the FM transmitter, I knew I should have ordered when I bought my controller, Their on backorder now ..  

 

Thanks!!

[flomas]

Sorry, what is IIRC?

Edited November 18, 2014 by flomas

[godman]

IIRC = " If I Read Correctly"

 

What do you mean by Splitter? Do you mean Split the Cat 5 Cable or Split the channel by using an extension cord splitter?

 

You should invest in a kill a watt Meter, something like the link below , this will tell you how many amps your drawing so you know instantly how many strings you can get on a channel, You can pick one up at Home Depot or Harbor Freight. Start with LED lights, it will cost more in the beginning but you will get many more strings per channel.

 

http://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416281901&sr=8-1&keywords=kill+watt+meter

[flomas]

Thanks Godman, I just figured that out IIRC after I posted that. Haha. 

By using a splitter on a channel such as: Cord Splitter to run multiple items off one channel, is something like that not recommended?

I actually have a kill a watt, just need to find it, Thanks for the tip, didn't even think of using that, much easier than having to calculate it all.

Luckily I converted all my lights to LED over the past two years, I think I have enough to get started with.

 

Thanks!

[godman]

Yes you can use a cord splitter but I would recommend using SPT1 Wire and Vampire plugs, with Vampire plugs you can add a plug anywhere along the extension cord, Its much cheaper since  you don't have to run an extension cord from the controller to each fixture.The cheapest place to purchase I have found is Home Depot

http://www.homedepot.com/s/vampire+plugs?NCNI-5

Edited November 18, 2014 by godman

[flomas]

Awesome, Just ordered some SPT1 and some clips, Going to get everything setup and start testing this weekend!

 

Thanks for the tips!!

[flomas]

Okay guys, I'm running into trouble, I know running a little behind we all know how work is, bleh!.

Got all my lights hung, everything works great in simulator, started running spt1 today to make all the connections, those vampire plugs are finicky, had to redo several as my connections weren't working, any tips on using the vampire plugs would be appreciated.

I also noticed that the vampire plug male will not plug into a string female end, kinda makes things harder, am I doing something wrong when it comes to this? I have 6 windows and wanted to group 2 windows to 1 channel but having trouble with my spt1 and vampire plugs because of the male end not fitting, I know I can run out the male end of the string, maybe its just me.

One other issue im having is im popping my GFCI, I currently have, channels 1, 2, 3, 4 on my eve LED. 9, 10, 11, 12 incandescents small spiral trees & 15 in a large spiral tree and net light is LED. I was starting to do my lights on the windows when I plug in channel 5 which will be 50 lights total LEDs I pop one of my GFCI's, this is occurs on both sides tried in channel 15 as well and it popped the GFCI on that side. One main plug is going into my garage, the other is a GFCI on the outside of my house. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

I just remembered I had the console up and had every channel on when I was doing this, im wondering if thats what it is, hmmmmm.

Any comment's are greatly appreciated.

Merry Christmas!

[godman]

The plugs shouldn't be that finicky, just make sure the wire is pushed flat into the connector before adding the backing plate, you can then kind of bend the wire to the bottom of the plug and pull. I have had about 4 faulty ones out of about 300 They don't fit into different types of strings so I always use my bench top grinder to grind down a little of the wide end. I hold it with a pair of pliers and grind a little off both sides and it usually slides right in, Take a look at the video below, its pretty detailed

 

As far as popping the GFI, are you using a kill o watt meter to see the amps being drawn into that circuit?, GFI outlets come in different size amperage (15,20) I actually had an issue this year and it was a bad GFI.

Edited December 8, 2014 by godman

[k6ccc]

Also make sure you are using the correct vampire connector for the site you're using. If you're using SPT-1, you can't use a vampire for SPT-2 and vice versa.

[flomas]

Thanks for the responses, I double checked my order on the plugs and they are SPT1's , whew!! I was going to take those male ends to my grinder but wasn't sure if that was cool, so now I am..

I'm going to dig up my Kill O Watt and dbl check the load on each circuit, thanks again for the video and tips. I have to wait for the weekend now ..  well at least my lights on the house are up and I can activate some of them, just not show ready yet... I'll post more this weekend when I get back to it .. 

 

 

Thanks!!

[flomas]

Success!!!!!! 

Started the show @ 5pm PST and it's been running great!!! 

 

Thanks again for all the tips to get me through my first show.

The GFI was popping because one of my extension cords that is feeding the main line on the lower channels had the ground part of the plug loose.

New extension cord fixed that !!

Ground down some male ends on my vampire plugs, followed the video and didn't have any problems with the SPT-1 cords after that.

 

Going to get some video tomorrow to post up, It's nothing fancy but I love it, next year... Muahahahahaha!!  

 

Merry Christmas!!

[godman]

That's great, Glad you got up and running!

 

Enjoy your show and start planning for 2015 on Jan 1st.