LED Tape

[J Pearce]

We've been using a lot of LED tape recently - mostly to up/downlight rostra and flats - and it largely gets used on a show then trashed on the out, so looking at setting up some packages to allow us to reuse it.

 

 

The plan is 4' lengths of aluminium L section (to match our stock deck and flats), with 1200mm of tape (a mix of RGB and warm white) installed on (leaving a small gap at each end for a screw hole to allow for fixing to set).

 

Where I'm coming unstuck is cabling at each end, I'd love to fit a nice small molex style crimp connector, but the reality is that I don't have the time or budget to create a cable package to match, nor the prep time before shows to make up a new cable set for the show. What I need is screw terminals to fit to cable on an adhoc basic. The problem is that choc-block is too big and heavy and ends up ripping the led tapes apart and isn't easy to hide on set.

 

Any ideas on a more compact solution? I looked at wago connectors but having 4 dangling off each end of the tape is just as messy - unless they do multipole options?

[Peter F]

I looked all over for an easy, off the shelf, method of doing this without any real success.

 

Take a look at this kit: LED Strip Connector

 

IF you could get hold of the crimps then it's easy.

LED Crimps

 

The plastic bit is just a "4Pin RGB 5050 LED Light Strip Solderless Connector Adapter White 10mm". You can get 10 of those for £1, probably cheaper if you look around. Then you would just have to crimp onto your cable and clip the plastic bit onto the tape.

 

Trouble is, I can't find these crimps anywhere so I have had to develop my own solution. It does require a little bit of work but I wouldn't describe it as time consuming. You will need a soldering iron.

 

CPC Part No. CN05554

CPC Part No. CN05534

CPC Part No. CN05551

Solderless 10mm 4pin connector adapters. Example on Ebay, other retailers are available.

 

The header can be soldered straight onto the pins of one side of the solderless connector adapter. It's not too fiddly. Depending on the design of connector adapter, you may have to remove a little bit of plastic from inside it so it clips closed properly with the header fitted. Stanley knife or small file is all you need.

 

Then you can just clip your connector to the LED tape.

 

4 crimps on the end of your cable and then they just push into the crimp housing.

 

Total cost is under 20p per connection, less if you're making more than 10.

 

I've used solid core cat5 cable because I happened to have some handy. I don't think it's ideal. Something stranded would probably be more suitable.

 

 

Cheers,

 

Peter

[J Pearce]

Thanks for that Peter. Looks a good setup.

 

Ideally I'm looking for something with screw or level terminals, as we tend to cable up on site using lengths of 4 core 1mm (CAT5 is a bit thin for the amount of tape we run). I might have to do something intermediate like your connectors to a 0.5m breakout cable with choc block on the end for connecting in/out and then some short jumpers for looping into another strip.

[alistermorton]

If you're going to have breakout cables why not go for something a little more robust like an inline matched pair of mini/micro din or xlr connectors on the strips. If you've got RGB laid by warm white you could send the 4 power signals and return down a 5 pin mini plug and socket, breaking out SOCA style at the other end.

[agermich]

I have soldered these onto the tape and then brought pre-made cables previously. Not the most robust connectors but they work and are lightweight enough to not damage the tape.

[Nicktaylor]

I am planning to use 4pin xlr to connect mine. I have a load of scroller cables to re cycle

[pmiller056]

Bear in mind that LED tape can be very cheap to buy, to the extent that it is nearly a consumable. If you are being paid by your employer, the cost of time and materials spent making a robust system may not be worth it. I have made up something similar for amateur theatre, so here's my thoughts...

The led tape can get warm in use, it is best to put it on a metal backing for thermal and mechanical stability. I have found that a plastic backing can distort as it will expand and contract significantly with the warmth from the LED tape. Different made up lengths of tape can be useful (300, 600 and 1200mm are a good start). Any backing must be properly cleaned and de-greased before sticking the tape down - if not the tape will fall off at an inopportune moment. Long lengths of tape will draw a significant current, so voltage drop in wiring will become an issue, for this reason I don't recommend daisy-chaining lots of strips together. For the system I made I used standard DIN connectors to connect to the LED strips because they are small enough, have a suitable current/voltage rating and are straightforward to solder. Mini DINs are too small for me to solder by hand reliably. Consider paralleling contacts for the common power connection to share the electrical load.