2811 Ring LED wiring ?????

[ShayneT]

First please excuse my drawing skills. I have purchased (although not the exact one), some of these Round LED rings.  Clearly I am missing a fundamental wiring step. My thoughts was to run them like plasma-cicles. I want to use them to light up tombstones for Halloween. I know I should have build prior to now to work out the kinks but i thought I understood the theory behind it.

I am using 18 g speaker wire to make the connections. The first one works and the ones down the chain flake out. Is it possible that the chip is not strong enough to regenerate the signal (about 8 feet between each one)?

I tried driving it off a $3 2811 tester like this and off of my controller for the Holiday Coro Pixel tree.

If the signal is too low when regenerated, could a null pixel directly attached to the ring output help?

doc03029520181005103237.pdf

[k6ccc]

I would not expect eight feet to be a problem, but that is easy enough to test.  Try it with a shorter cable as a test.  If it works with a shorter cable, repeat test to determine where it stops.  That will help determine where a null pixel is needed - if in fact that is the problem.  And no, adding a null pixel right at the ring output would not accomplish much.  The point of a null pixel is to shorten the distance to the next pixel.  Putting a null pixel right at the output does not accomplish that.

Obviously, make SURE you have the output of the first pixel ring connected to the input of the next pixel ring.

 

[ShayneT]

Thanks for the tip, I will try a shorter cable. My only thought with a null was maybe it would regenerate a stronger signal than the chip in the ring.

[k6ccc]

It would be a similar chip, so not likely...