seriouslylosingit Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Tonight I discovered my dumb rgb lights are lined up as +,g, b, r... rather than +, r, g, b.... This is all new to me so I am not sure if this is normal?? I did get proper colors when I just lined them up color to color.. Then, I am trying to figure out how to connect to the cut side of the strip. These are waterproof strips and the part I need to connect to is under a bunch of "silicone" type material....How do I accomplish this? Do you scrape it off or is there another way? I have some quick connect clips, but with the thickness of the strip and the colors being messed up I don't know what to do. Please help... Thanks so much R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Are these LOR strips that are wired backward? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seriouslylosingit Posted September 30, 2015 Author Share Posted September 30, 2015 Don, I purchased from Amazon nearly a year ago. I just haven't had the opportunity to work with them yet. I think I have been so caught up in the sequencing aspect that I overlooked the lights... R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Thread moved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMassey Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Scrape off the silicone to expose the copper pads. It is preferred to solder your connections. The quick clips are unreliable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seriouslylosingit Posted September 30, 2015 Author Share Posted September 30, 2015 Thank you. I sit here scratching my head and wondering "why do I have to have a fascination with lights?"...... I could have taken up crocheting or badminton or something.....LOL, next time.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMassey Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 No problem. Just take it one step at a time. We all started out this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrock_at_rons Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 We've all been there. I'll give you this... if I had a nickel for every time I've had to cut/re-solder a 4-core wire because I forgot to slide the shrink wrap on... I'd be a very rich man. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryl Lambert Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 For your mixed up color order you have a couple of options. 1 change the channel assignments in the software to get rgb2 change the wiring at the controller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seriouslylosingit Posted September 30, 2015 Author Share Posted September 30, 2015 Jrock, thanks for the heads up on the shrink wrap.. I hadn't gotten that far... Where do I get it? Hardware store? Online? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstorms Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 I had a friend do a ton of these strips for his trees, and he did tons of cuts. He said that he found it easier to come up from underneath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 We've all been there. I'll give you this... if I had a nickel for every time I've had to cut/re-solder a 4-core wire because I forgot to slide the shrink wrap on... I'd be a very rich man. It must be an upper-Midwest thing. If we both got paid for that brain fart we could be neighbors in some ritzy subdivision somewhere. ... He said that he found it easier to come up from underneath. Didn't Johnny Carson once determine that same thing about Zsa Zsa Gabor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seriouslylosingit Posted October 2, 2015 Author Share Posted October 2, 2015 Scrape off the silicone to expose the copper pads. It is preferred to solder your connections. The quick clips are unreliable.How, How, HOW in the world can you accurately solder these small connections? Do I need something special? I have a small solder pen, but can't figure out how to hold the pen, hold the correct color wire, melt the solder, keep it on the right connecting copper, aaaaarrrrrgggghhhh!!! There must be a better way:) We've all been there. I'll give you this... if I had a nickel for every time I've had to cut/re-solder a 4-core wire because I forgot to slide the shrink wrap on... I'd be a very rich man.So where do I get this shrink wrap? I'm having a heck of a time with the soldering pen.... I think I would have better luck with bubble gum.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMassey Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Home Depot has shrink wrap or you can get it online in various sizes.Strip wires, less than an eighth of an inch. Heat wire and tin with solder.Use sone kind of light clamp to hold the strip. Apply the wire to each pad and heat until the solder flows, remove the heat and hold for a moment for it to set. Oops forgot the shrink wrap.You may need to practice your soldering skils before you work on the actual strip.Check Google for how to's on soldering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seriouslylosingit Posted October 2, 2015 Author Share Posted October 2, 2015 I'm pretty sure I have no soldering skills..... I want a magic wand.. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Just be careful when soldering them. Applying too much heat will damage the pads or cause them to lift and possibly breaking the connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstorms Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Safety tip, never solder over your head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 If you have any kind of hobby shop in your area, they usually have the type of soldering iron you need. For LED strips, you don't need a lot of heat, so this is a circumstance where smaller is definitely better. At least when it comes to soldering irons ... You also want as small of a tip on the soldering iron as you can find. You're right - those pads are small and it takes a bit of practice. Tinning everything with solder before attempting to join the items eliminates the need for at least one hand. Youtube can be a good friend to you here. There's probably a hundred videos that show soldering tips and technique. Also, make sure your solder is fresh. No joke. If your solder is older than a couple years (tops) pitch it and replace it with new solder. Have fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Safety tip, never solder over your head. OMG, that hurt just to look at it! I hope there was no eye damage. Wear safety glasses if any doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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