Sharing - RGB balls, Cutting up CCR, wiring technique, lesson learned

[Jay Czerwinski]

Just sharing what worked and DID NOT work in my display this year.

 

IDEA: Cut up a CCR and put the pixel segments in to other things to light them up.   (Think of large Christmas ornament balls of many sizes spread out all over a tree that can be any color you want)

 

CONSTRUCTION USED:  Cut up CCR in to 1,2 and 3 pixel segments.   Put a CAT5 pigtail at each end of the strips and use the silicone glue to seal the plastic sleeve for weatherproofing.   Use F-F Cat5 couplers on those pigtails, which allows you to use any length of network cable between the lighted segments - This keeps wire lengths manageable, but REALLY helps with installation because you don't have to pull the whole strand through a tree.  Just hook up one, then add one extension for #2, and so on....   easy installation!  Put the pixel segments in to a desired housing/decoration.

 

TEST #1:  Halloween:   I put the pixels inside of foam pumpkins spaced out throughout the yard.  The connections and CCR segments were totally inside of the water resistant pumpkin.   SUCCESS!   VERY bright interior lighting and in any color I wanted with effects like flickering flame, etc.

 

TEST #2  Christmas:  I put the pixels inside of polyester Chinese ball lanterns (water resistant and more durable)  ranging in sizes from 8" to 24" in diameter.     Because of a lack of time, I ended up only installing 17 of the 16" lanterns that had 3 pixels in each.   CHALLENGES AT FIRST, followed by SUCCESS, but then rapidly turning in to a FAILURE.   

• At first they looked amazing and were bright and enjoyable.  They hang from the tree by just the CAT5 wire itself daisy chained around the tree - - but the distance added up and I was getting a voltage drop down the line and the colors were off at the end.   But, a simple T wiring coupler connection in the modular system easily allowed power injection and I was quickly running the correct colors without having to add more power supplies.     Problem solved.
• The winds came and the lanterns bounced around a lot and damaged a few pixels.   I was able to find a more secure way to mount the CCR segments and the supporting wireframe spring inside of the lantern.  Problem Solved again.
• A light rain came and found the few strips that I did not do a good job with the silicone seal on the segments.   I lost 4 of the 17 to the white light of death due to water damage.   But the modular design allowed me to remove the bad balls and just use the coupler connection to pass the signal on to the next ball.   13 remain in the tree working Great!
• A heavier rain came and killed 5 more.  But trying to find the bad ones became more difficult because now there was water/corrosion damage happening in the CAT5 connectors.  The pins were corroding and shorting out.
• The heaviest El Nino rains came and wiped out the rest of them.  Only one remained working - the first one where I left the Light-O-Rama connection/silicon from the white wires to the control unit stay as delivered from LOR.    12 of the 17 silicon connections I made were not water resistant enough.  Only 5 segments survived.  FAIL

CONCLUSION:  I will definitely use this again for Halloween because the pumpkins provide the best shelter.  I really like this idea, but it will only work with the Chinese lanterns if you can put the connectors and the pixel segment inside of a water resistant location.   I either need to figure out how to make the Chinese lanterns more like the pumpkins with all of the connections inside and dry and stationary, or I need to find waterproof LED segments and waterproof connectors for the CAT5 cable segments.

 

POSSIBLE FUTURE TESTS:

1. Figure out how to put a hat on the Chinese lantern and have the connectors and CCR segments inside of the ball in an umbrella type of environment - not allowing water to travel down the cable and in to the fixture.
2. Maybe do not do all of the work on cutting up a CCR, but cut up a CCP or CCB - at least making the RGB LEDs waterproof in the system.
3. Find something that I can put around the CAT5 couplers to make that connection water resistant too, but still being modular somehow.  Like wrapping saran wrap around them after clicking together.  Or, a guy at my work said put petroleum jelly in the connectors when assembling?   In any case, it needs to be cheap because it will be up to 50 connections in one CCR strip/strand.
4. Maybe don't use CAT5 wire/connectors, but some other cost effective wire/connector combo.   (remember - there are up to 50 connections in a single strand)
5. Solicit ideas from you guys - how might you approach it?

 

I know this is wordy - but hopefully gives others some ideas and at least demonstrates some things NOT to do!!   LOL

 

Cheers, Happy Holidays, and looking forward to any thoughts!

 

 

 

[Orville]

Ever think about using that automotive NON-conductive grease in the cat5 jacks to keep them dry and free from moisture?   The same stuff they use in automotive light sockets on your vehicle.    It will still allow the cat5 to conduct properly, but will help in preventing corrosion and rust in the jack and on the cat5 ends.    I use it in my replaceable L.E.D. {big box store} strands, and have been using these same strands now for 10+ years.   Just a thought/suggestion to possibly look in to.

[Jay Czerwinski]

Ever think about using that automotive NON-conductive grease in the cat5 jacks to keep them dry and free from moisture?   The same stuff they use in automotive light sockets on your vehicle.    It will still allow the cat5 to conduct properly, but will help in preventing corrosion and rust in the jack and on the cat5 ends.    I use it in my replaceable L.E.D. {big box store} strands, and have been using these same strands now for 10+ years.   Just a thought/suggestion to possibly look in to.

As with the petroleum jelly comment from my coworker - this idea is really counter-intuitive to me as I would think it could get between the contacts.  

But - THANK YOU - I am definitely going to try this and your suggestion seems more plausible than my co-workers' since the automotive Non-Conductive grease is probably designed for similar materials used in the CAT5 coupler.

[Need more lights]

The automotive grease is Dielectric grease. Works wonders on any plug for waterproofing. Just a suggestion, for some of my Halloween props I use hot glue to seal some of my projects closed. It works great on Led bulbs for eyes and whatnot. Holds them in place and seals. No failures in 6 years...nock on wood..LOL

 

Ps some hot glue also glows in black light...I made a hot glue web sprayer that runs off compressed air. 

Edited December 28, 2015 by Need more lights