NkySpike65 Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Making a 32 ch LOR (DIY) enclosure..Do you for seen any problems I might have with this setup?This of course is not a new ideal ( it has been done before ), just the way I plan on fastening the two controllers together is my concern...As for how much power ( amps ) will be on these controllers, they will be used for a mega tree...I will have 12,800 standard mini-lights ( 128 strands of 100 ct mini-lights ) on the tree...I will have four strands of mini-lights per channel (.33 amp x 4 stands = 1.32 amp per channel, x 16 channel = 21.12 amps per controller...Do you think heat will be an issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Heat could be an issue (imo). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 I had mine mounted similar to that last year... Heat was not an issue for me although I am in the northeast and was mounted in a metal box so it may have helped with heat dissapation. The problem I did run into is I had the comm chip went bad on the botom board after the show was running for a week or so. I had to remove the entireboard stack to get the bad board out and send it back to lor for repair. I had since changed a bit and mounted in the rear of the box and on the inside face of the enclosure (with enough wire slack to fully open the box).Nice setupgreg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Changing the fuses on the bottom board could create some new explative words.Also viewing the bottom status LED could be tricky.Here's a couple shots of my recent 48 channel enclosure. Attached files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 And here's the back side with remote mounted status LED's and multi pin plugs. Attached files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NkySpike65 Posted March 17, 2008 Author Share Posted March 17, 2008 Great Job!! :shock:What size is your enclosure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 The enclosure is a 12 X 12 X 6 made by Carlon and can be purchased at HomeDepot or Lowes.I built it to use for items in my display that will not change from year to year. This particular box is for controlling a pair of 7 segment, 3 color arches (Red, Green, White) via the 16 pin and 8 pin connectors and several individual items via the six 2 pin connectors. I took these pics this past Sunday and I have a bit of tie-wrapping to do to tidy it up a bit and then I have to build another one for another pair of arches. It is also to be used exclusively with LED lights and is why I used the low power heat sinks which are more than enough for what I am doing. I think I have developed a new physical condition during the build as well. I call it "Crimple Tunnel Syndrome" 'cause I had to crimp over 96 pins to build the darn thing and I have to do another one just like it! :shock:The Molex connectors on the back are MX150L series from Mouser.A bit pricey and picky about crimping the pins properly but they're solid and sealed.They'll make set up a breeze this coming Christmas. I added the remote status LED's so I could monitor them if any problems should occur and need to do preliminary debug without having to open the enclosure. These are also the PC boards and they're about an inch shorter from heatsink to heatsink than the deluxe boards.There's also some pics of my single 16 channel box in an earlier post here.http://lightorama.mywowbb.com/forum84/16284.htmlI got slammed for using green wire but it was all I had at the time. ONLY USE GREEN WIRE FOR GROUNDS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NkySpike65 Posted March 17, 2008 Author Share Posted March 17, 2008 Duke wrote: There's also some pics of my single 16 channel box in an earlier post here.I got slammed for using green wire but it was all I had at the time. DON'T USE GREEN WIRE! I have seen your post on your 16 ch box and liked the ideal of the molex plugs... Looks like a great time saver when all done...In Dec 07 I decided to focus my money more on controllers then led lights for Xmas 08...After I got a 108 strands of led light from Creative display & Animated Lighting, it almost killed my charge card ...During the pre and after Christmas sales i got over 900 boxes ( yes, 900 boxes ) of standard 100ct mini-lights (red, blue, green,whit, and multi ) which only cost me a fraction of the price that the leds cost me...Which in turn saved me more money to get more controls this year ...I also understand the trade off of Led's great looks, and low power usage, and high price compared to standard mini-light's looks, mid-to-high power usage, and real low price....Next year I plan to s-l-o-w-l-y build up on leds when Paul from Creative has another group buy...Sorry, for getting carried away...Thank again, Duke for all your help...David S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Push Eject Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I second Duke. You are really going to want to see those LEDs.Good work, but rethink placement a bit and you're set.Cheers,Push E. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Young Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Excellent work guys, and some very nice ingenuity to boot!Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NkySpike65 Posted March 18, 2008 Author Share Posted March 18, 2008 Jeff Millard wrote: Can I get a A-Men for these two gents?Seriously! I am on my feet clapping! (and I thought I had the fever!)Great job! To both of you! Very nice creations you got there...JeffJeff, Thank You, and all for the positive feedback...David S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drm1956 Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 hello this dennis from union ky. this is my first year. my daughter cant wait til nov. 25 to start our show. like to come by and see yours if you give me directions. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorcycle jack Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 If you have a board active full time (i.e. all channels on 100%) for any amount of time you will have (P=Ie) about 260 watts of dissipated power on the heat sinks. With two boards this is 520 watts. The spacing is 1/2" off of the mounting panel, 3" spacing between boards. Your enclosure looks to be about 3500 cubic inches of air space. With the top closed on the box, build up of heat in the box will occur. I would look for a 4" whisper fan, cut an opening in one side to mount the fan and across from it drill about a dozen 1/2" holes to allow air flow out. JMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 I run almost exclusively with LED's which are only about 1/10 the current draw of incandecents so I have no problem with heat/condensation. I also have a 48 channel box which again is used on LEDs and no problem with heat there either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgardner518 Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Here is how I did my remote status light. Attached files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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