E6804 and P12 controllers regarding distance and a Shout out!

[ezimnow]

I assumed that after reading all the posts I would be adding plenty of Null Pixels and Power injection but that has not been the case so far. My setup consists of 7 window frames and roof eaves with the average distance from controller to 1st pixel being about 16' and the longest run at 26'. I am running 18/3 flat ribbon wire with ws2811 12v pixels and your normal 350W PS. I also use both the  E6804 and the P12's as my controllers. In one instance I had to use a single Null for the 26' run but no PI seems to be needed as my tests on all white are showing all white to the last pixel on that 26' run. One other note on the longest run, its only 122 pixels long so that may also have something to do with not needing PI I'm not really sure. 

 

I just thought I'd put this out there for any newbies like me in the RGB world that testing way before installation as long as you have the space to do it is key to having a successful opening  night. I'd also like to thank those before me in the RGB world, Jeff,Ron and Jim  for all their guidance, especially Jeff as he took me under his wing and gave me great insight into getting a firm understanding . 

 

For those like me, don't be nervous about the DIY of RGB. Once you get started you'll find it fun and much more rewarding...

 

 

EZ 

[k6ccc]

Being 12 volts helps over 5 volts on the power issues.  As a final test, I would put a volt meter at the end of each string and turn all the lights on.  In my front yard I have about 30 feet of 12V WS2811 strip being driven by an output from a SanDevices E6804.  It looked fine, but when I turned all pixels full on and measured the voltage at the far end it was something like 8.5 volts.  Although it was working, I'm not sure it was overly happy about it.  The other issue is the current carrying capability of the wire in the string or PC board traces on a strip.  What I was told early on was the the traces on the board were designed to carry the current for the full length of that strip at full intensity only.  Since my ribbon was almost two strips long, I had planned before installation to feed power to the far end of the strip, but I wanted to measure it before adding the far end power.

[LarryDrumAZ]

I am running 5v 2811 pixels and GECE icicles on a E682 and E6804.  I have no null pixels and the only PI I need is for the GECE icicles after each 20th icicle and at the end.  My longest run is 20 feet from the controller and I'm using 14 AWG stranded copper for power and data from the controllers.  The whites are nice and white, no pink at all.

[Jeff Messer]

Thanks for the kind comments EZ. This year I have all 5v stuff I am installing and using 18/3 wire but staying away from thermostat wire.. LOL.. Lessons has been learned and the main suppliers of the cards will tell you nothing more than 10 feet to the first pixel. Yes, we get a lot more distance than that but sometimes we create our own issues. Good luck and you have my number if you need any help firing off that show buddy.

 

WOW. Larry stated above he uses 14 AWG so he has very little trouble with power. Like I said with 18/3 cooper last year the data only had 7 stands of cooper and it cause me many issues. Once I doubled up with 22 gauge trailer/pixel wire I had enough small stands to carry data a long distance.

 

At the Tennessee mini I questioned distance from a software and gave it a test.  With power at the string of pixels we sent data over 80 feet with zero issues. This was with three pieces of wire spliced together (just twisted) and was 18/3.  At 80 feet the three tester's looked at each other and just said OMG...  Next question  was what if we went 100 feet. LOL.... Its never ending.

 

Jeff

[dgrant]

I just completed a test using 5V WS2811 pixels at 40 feet using Ray Wu's extensions. Seemed to work just fine although it was only a single 50 pixel string. (Edit: using a P12S)

Edited September 2, 2015 by dgrant

[Ron Boyd]

Yes, thanks for the shout out. Are you using 12v strips or pixel strings? I only ask for this reason. When I finished up my HDPE arches this passed Monday, I found something that I did not expect.

 

The setup, 12v WS2811, Pixel strip, 30 LEDs/meter for a total of 150 LEDs but in groups of 3, so 50 pixels. These are cut down to 24 pixels or 72 total LED modules.

 

I thought, but found out I was wrong, that I could power inject between arches 2 and 3 and be done with it. Not the case. When I powered the second 24 on my test controller, they were still white, but not as bright. The HDPE tubes were right next to each other and I could visibly see a difference. It was more than just a subtle difference too. When I added PI to the second arch, there was no visible difference in the whites.I decided to PI at the beginning of each arch, and the dilemma was solved.

 

All that said, if I had it to do over, I would have used 5v Strips and grouped 3 pixels at a time with the controller. 

 

Anyway, maybe this can help with power injection for someone.

[ezimnow]

Anytime Ron, your post are very insightful. I use 12V WS 2811 Pixel Strings  and, knock on wood have not had any power issues on any of my runs . 

Edited September 2, 2015 by ezimnow

[Ron Boyd]

Maybe it was just the strips I used. Interesting.

[Jeff Messer]

EZ, With your 2811 and 12v you should be fine with the setup and measurements that you provided. I only use 3 strips and they wash the house and they are 60's. Last year I used 30's and only got 3/4 of the wall. I think I will fix that issues this year. I have found that the wire is the biggest issue and the 18/3 is my pick for pixels. Just had 10 rolls come in for this years show and to wire that matrix up. I will ziptie it and make it a master cable for each year. I use twist on wire nuts and zero quick water proof connectors. They leaked and caused me issue. Last year no problems with water. Chat soon buddy and Ron is a great guy with plenty on information to share.