Pixcon 16 controller set up

[HBChristmas]

I am in the process of building my first show and assembling my first controller box. My plan is to put a pixcon 16 controller in one cg 1500  enclosure and use a secondary CG 1500  enclosure for the two required power supplies.  When wiring the controller do most people use short water resistant dongles and make up the distance from the controller box to the pixels with long extension cables? Or should I use the longer "extension cables" instead of the short dongles and hard wire them directly to the controller?

Also, I'd like to add a fan to the enclosures to keep the controller and power supplies cool. Does anyone know if cutting a hole in the door of the box is need to facilitate the proper air circulation? Or does the water resistant nature of the box offer enough air leaks for reasonable air circulation to keep the power supplies cool. I'd rather not cut a hole in the door of a water resistant enclosure, seems to defeat the purpose. 

 

Any advice is appreciated, thank you.. 

[uncledan]

Not sure what most people do but I  generally order 5 foot extensions and cut them in half.  2.5 feet from the board exiting the enclosure and 2.5 feet soldered onto the pixels.  I have a wide assortment of extensions in 5,10,20 foot lengths.  Make the wiring fit your application.  Try to keep wiring as short as possible.  Using extensions makes it much easier setting up and storing. Keep in mind anything longer than 15 feet or so from the board to the first pixel generally requires a null pixel to regenerate the data and pass on to the next pixel.  I'm not far away, just north of Santa Barbara and I had a heck of a time last year keeping my psu's cool...  Generally not in the 80's in December...  I would strongly recommend a fan on the enclosures with the psu's to keep them cool with our So. Cal weather.  This year I'm going to some larger enclosures to house the psu's and try to cut down on the cluster of over 20 CG1500's. 

[asl9622]

Did you end up installing the fan? I was going to order one for pixcon16 controller. Would you recommend pulling hot air out or blowing in cool air?

[asl9622]

Also for your power supplies I had a vent installed from creative light displays that has a circular tube that rests right over the PSU. The built in fan of PSU then blows the hot air directly out of the box. I had not issues with water or moisture.