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high density led tape


DonkiDonki

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Individual pixel control means digital LED strip.

 

RGB digital LED strip at 30 pixels / metre is easy to come by, no problems there. The issue is control. Controllers that can put pretty patterns into digital LED strip are also easy to come by, but... if you actually want through DMX to control each pixel individually, then that is a lot harder, given that each pixel requires 3 DMX channels, so one DMX universe is 170 pixels, which is just over 5 meters of 30 pixel / metre strip, which is often conveniently packaged in 5m lengths. So you may need a lot of universes and a control system capable of delivering to all those universes. Wired DMX gets hard after a few universes, so you need E1.31 (or the legacy ArtNet) over ethernet protocol.

 

If you are running a lot of LED strip, you also need a lot of DC power.

 

Still interested?

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Individual pixel control means digital LED strip.

 

RGB digital LED strip at 30 pixels / metre is easy to come by, no problems there. The issue is control. Controllers that can put pretty patterns into digital LED strip are also easy to come by, but... if you actually want through DMX to control each pixel individually, then that is a lot harder, given that each pixel requires 3 DMX channels, so one DMX universe is 170 pixels, which is just over 5 meters of 30 pixel / metre strip, which is often conveniently packaged in 5m lengths. So you may need a lot of universes and a control system capable of delivering to all those universes. Wired DMX gets hard after a few universes, so you need E1.31 (or the legacy ArtNet) over ethernet protocol.

 

If you are running a lot of LED strip, you also need a lot of DC power.

 

Still interested?

I probably just need a couple of 2m strips, it's part of the detailing for a custom pc case.

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Ok.....

 

Have a browse here.

 

Thanks for the link, something like this looks promising.

 

For a bit more background, this is for a personal project to build a water-cooled pc in a custom enclosure, the leds are to backlight two 1" thick strips of frosted perspex running along each side of the case.

The main effect I am trying achieve is for the strip to have a dim base colour fading from blue to green across each strip and then to be able to send white pulses which chase around the case.

I am thinking of using MagicQ as the controller via an Enttec Pro interface.

 

It looks like there are quite a few choices of psu and controllers, I think I will need 2x2m strips. Can anyone help me with the selection of the most suitable items? The ability to keep everything as compact and tidy as possible is a factor as it will all need to be hidden within the case.

(It is also possible that I might want to use another couple of strips inside the case so spare control capacity would be a bonus)

 

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/blink.gif

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I really don't like the fact that the first reply immediately assumes the OP is an idiot and almost puts him down. The question was where can he get hold of some - not how many universes and do you think you can handle it. I see this more and more on this forum and find it really sad - people preaching and assuming the worst before just answering the question.

 

In response try LED Poison as they specialise in such products and controllers.

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As this is a custom build, and you appear to know what you want to achieve, then something like the WS2011 strip with an Arduino as controller would work and be a more simple system. Power and go. But that depends if you're happy to do some programming and have a small learning curve.

 

For DMX: DMX to WS2011/WS2001 controllers are cheap and easy to come by on AliExpress and eBay.

 

But as dbuckley mentioned, and LED Poison will tell you DMX is not a great protocol for controlling pixel strip. 1 universe will do 170 pixels which at 60pixel/meter is ~2.8m.

 

As said my approach to this project would be microcontroller running the whole thing (e.g. an arduino code can control several thousand pixels), with either DMX, serial or a button to select different scenes or patterns.

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I really don't like the fact that the first reply immediately assumes the OP is an idiot and almost puts him down.

 

It's disappointing that you see my response in that way. I don't "put people down", I try to be helpful. However, the original question is somewhat vague, and frankly is a "starter for ten" type question, which I tried to answer in a manner intended to elicit more information, by providing a few things to think about. However, on rereading, I can see that the "still interested?" question was perhaps not the right thing to ask.

 

I assumed (I know, assumption makes an ass of you and me) that this was an entertainment use question, and pixel-adressible systems tend to be somewhat large in scale, and imply pixel mapping. My assumption turned out to be very wide of the mark; It turns out the total requirement is for 4m of LED strip.

 

I remain genuinly interested in how this project turns out.

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In response try LED Poison as they specialise in such products and controllers.

Theirs has to be the most poorly designed website I've seen in a long time. It's a shame as the products on it actually look quite interesting.

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I think this is what your looking for.....

 

Link does not work for me :unsure:

Try this one then click on LED Strip and then DMX Flex. Links within the site don't seem to work directly...

 

Edit: Same problem

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As this is a custom build, and you appear to know what you want to achieve, then something like the WS2011 strip with an Arduino as controller would work and be a more simple system. Power and go. But that depends if you're happy to do some programming and have a small learning curve.

 

For DMX: DMX to WS2011/WS2001 controllers are cheap and easy to come by on AliExpress and eBay.

 

But as dbuckley mentioned, and LED Poison will tell you DMX is not a great protocol for controlling pixel strip. 1 universe will do 170 pixels which at 60pixel/meter is ~2.8m.

 

As said my approach to this project would be microcontroller running the whole thing (e.g. an arduino code can control several thousand pixels), with either DMX, serial or a button to select different scenes or patterns.

 

I have heard Arduino mentioned often on this forum but must confess to not knowing much about it.

Is there any particular place to look for guidance on what I would need to have a go with that route? Is it possible to get it to work via art net? I am a regular user of MagicQ, hence it being my first choice for control but I will consider anything else if there is good reason. (Is there anyone who knows this stuff already interested in helping out?)

 

I will also try LED Poison and see what they come up with although I suspect their solutions may be out of budget; we will see.

 

oh; and no offence taken from any replies, my original post was rather vague.http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/blink.gif

 

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How much control do you want over the LEDs? If its just pretty patterns continuously running, then you don't need the weight of control software, a $20 box will drive patterns down the strips all day.
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