flomas Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 Hi All,I've been through reading the forums and I think I'm understanding what needs to be done. Please check me on this. I have two CMB24D & Two PSU's along with 16 dumb RGB strips.I want to outline the eve of my house with these. I've been reading that there could be complications from the length of wire back to my CMB24D, does this hold true for RGB Dumbs? I've read some say yes and some say no, What is the best AWG to use, Weather is not really a problem, I live in Gilroy, California.So, If I've been reading correctly, I'm going to need to connect a pigtail to the end of one of the RGB Strips and run it back to the CMB24D, is my thinking correct? and I'll need to do this for all 16 strips eight for each CMB24D, correct? or am over thinking this waaaaaaaay too much, I wish I just plug them all together end to end and whamo! if so Man that's a lot of wire maybe all the reading I've been doing is just confusing myself instead of helpingHaha I want to leave them up year round was thinking of cleaning the part of my gutters the strips will mount too and using some industrial dbl sided tape for that, Any other suggestions?I think that's it for now, I'm pretty sure I got the connections side figured out, I just need to daisy chain these via RJ45 to my CTB16PC and get the sequencing worked out. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rednosetbird Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 Well this is my first year too. I have done a lot of research on this also. I am using 18 AWG wire . I would mount the boxes as close as possible to the strips, also make sure you don't over load the CMB-24's. If your just running 8 strips per box you will be fine. As for mounting the strips I am removing mine so I mounted them to 90 degree flashing to match the gutters. I silicone them on to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 You are pretty close, so thank you for doing your homework. Yes, one 4 conductor cable for each strip back to to CMB24. I have quite a bit of dumb strips that are left installed year round. I use GE Silicon II. You might want to check out my web page: newburghlights.org/Landscaping.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rednosetbird Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 Make sure you cheek out all of his info! He helped me out so much. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flomas Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 Awesome!! I love this community, thanks for the heads up, I'll be reviewing your site Jim, Thank you both for the tips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 (edited) Ok, could not help myself. Reading the title of this thread I have to say "IS it still there?" And Rednose you sure are getting a wee bit cheeky mate. I better add the smiley face so you all know that I am having a wee bit o fun at yer expense. Edited May 27, 2015 by Max-Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sax Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 I leave my CCRs up year round. However, I use glazing tape. It is like double face tape....I prefer the glazing tape to silicone...I like the idea I can take them down if needed.Been up 3 years now. Rain, hail, snow, shine and high winds have not brought them down thus far.With dumb rgb, I was able to get well over 100 feet with 16 awg wire and no deteriation on a string of 100 bullet style bulbs. Best bet is to test before hanging them, but dumb rgb is very forgiving. Personally, all my boxes are in a central location. So I need long runs and will continue needing them. Keep the boxes safe and secure is my motto.Good luck,Sax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flomas Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 (edited) Ok, could not help myself. Reading the title of this thread I have to say "IS it still there?" And Rednose you sure are getting a wee bit cheeky mate.I better add the smiley face so you all know that I am having a wee bit o fun at yer expense. Haha, Good one Max, And oh yeah it sure is :-) Edited May 27, 2015 by flomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flomas Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 (edited) Glazing tape, any specific brand you recommend Sax? Edited May 27, 2015 by flomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 I have three CMB24D's that I use and I use 18 AWG wire for my extensions. My longest run for my extensions is right around 80' with most averaging about 25' and I haven't had any issues with the lights on that long run. Sometimes you just can't get the box any closer without making another run longer. I would recommend that you keep the extensions as short as possible but longer runs will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpageler Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 As far as overloading a cmb24, type of rgb strips will matter...30 verus 60 leds/meter which is 36w verus 75w per strip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sax Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 From Amazon. JVCC DC-WGT-01 Double Coated Window Glazing Tape: 1/16 in. thick x 3/8 in. x 50 yds. (White)by J.V. ConvertingFound the suggestion for glazing tape in these forums.By the way, I used 20awg cables for 100' testing not 16awg. I currently use 18 AWG for all my lights, pixels or dumb no difference. And my longest run is about 75'. For pixels I add null's. These cables are common and can be purchased from many sources. I used to build my own extension cables. Took lots of time for little savings. Now, I purchase off the shelf and am happier for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flomas Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 (edited) Thanks for all the great info, I want to be able to minimize my soldering, do you think i can get away with using these Mini 4-PIN RGB Connector Adapter, Strip in on one side and solder the leads for run to the other side, would those work, then I could just heat shrink tube the connections for protection. Going to probably go with this Cable and two CG-1500 along with two of their mounting kits for LOR Edited May 28, 2015 by flomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 I don't understand, you say you want to use the mini adapter on one side and solder the other side? Are you planning on connecting two strips together? If you are then you will need to inject power into the the second strip as the voltage drop will be too much.If you are talking about just one strip then I would recommend soldering and shrink tube on all connections as the adapters are pretty worthless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godman Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Thanks for all the great info, I want to be able to minimize my soldering, do you think i can get away with using these Mini 4-PIN RGB Connector Adapter, Strip in on one side and solder the leads for run to the other side, would those work, then I could just heat shrink tube the connections for protection.I have stopped soldering and have gone with strictly crimping the connections. I asked this question about a year or so ago "Solder vs. Crimp" and it came back pretty evenly split as far as who uses each. For me crimping is much easier and faster, I'm not very good at soldering, Had no issues last year with several hundred crimped wires... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryl Lambert Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 I want to be able to minimize my soldering, do you think i can get away with using these Mini 4-PIN RGB Connector Adapter, Strip in on one side and solder the leads for run to the other side, would those work, then I could just heat shrink tube the connections for protection. Those connectors are ment to be couplings between strips. You should be looking for something like this . I've had mixed results with these. Some have been fine while others have given me grief no matter what I tried. Most if not all RGB Dumb strips come with leads already soldered on 1 end sometimes both. Since direction of power to these strips doesn't matter, if you need to cut them you might be able to make use of the leads on both ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flomas Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 My apologies for the confusion, I'm over thinking again, the strip has connectors on both sides,"wire leads with the factory connections' I would just need to cut one connector and crimp my run wire going back to my controller board, Dopey Me, No, I'm not going to connect strips together, One question does come to mind, Would it be cool to cut the other end that im not using and cap it?Sheesh look at me, spending more money than I need. haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flomas Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 Those connectors are ment to be couplings between strips. You should be looking for something like this . I've had mixed results with these. Some have been fine while others have given me grief no matter what I tried. Most if not all RGB Dumb strips come with leads already soldered on 1 end sometimes both. Since direction of power to these strips doesn't matter, if you need to cut them you might be able to make use of the leads on both ends.Those would work - but as you mentioned, my strips have the leads on them both ends, Don't know why I got off on that tangent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flomas Posted May 29, 2015 Author Share Posted May 29, 2015 My bad for the confusion with run wires/connectors, I have that all worked out now I have two of the LOR 12VDC 200 Watt PSU, I searched around for mounting ideas here but didn't find much, Anyone have any suggestions, I was thinking of just buying two 350W PSU's from coro so I can mount them in CG1500 enclosures, I'd like everything in one package. Maybe the LOR 200W will fit in the CG1500, Me probably over thinking again. Thanks again for all the tips and pointers it's very much appreciated!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 What strips are you using? Most strips are 36w for for the 30 led/m and 72w for the 60 led/m strips. LOR says theirs are 20w so if you are using LOR's strips then that power supply is fine but if you are using strips from most of the other suppliers then you will need the bigger 350w power supply. Make sure you check the wattage on the strips you buy. 20w X 8 = 160w36w X 8 = 288w Always figure in a 20% overhead when calculating power requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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