LED "BOX Wall"

[jexjexjex]

Hi Troops,

 

I'm on the hunt for ideas on how to create a series of individual light "boxes" that I can individually control.

 

I had a thought about using LED cubes built into boxes, but the prices I'm being quoted on those may be higher than the group can stretch to.

 

I could possibly use some very small LED pars (Something on the lines of a PAR 16/20), but I'm not sure who has such things.

 

Happy at this stage to take other ideas as well.

[DrV]

Hi Troops,

 

I'm on the hunt for ideas on how to create a series of individual light "boxes" that I can individually control.

 

I had a thought about using LED cubes built into boxes, but the prices I'm being quoted on those may be higher than the group can stretch to.

 

I could possibly use some very small LED pars (Something on the lines of a PAR 16/20), but I'm not sure who has such things.

 

Happy at this stage to take other ideas as well.

 

Looks like a repeat of the standard response...

Strips of LED tape mounted on the rear face of boxes with translucent plastic sheeting on the front. If you are happy to go with cheap tape from the bay and a Chinese controller with a lumpy dimming curve you can build something like this very cheaply.

 

If you want the professional grade version then you get your tape and dimmers from someone like City Theatrical (with whom I disclose a connection) and you end up with consistent colours and a smooth dim to zero

Dave

[jexjexjex]

Hi Dave,

 

Thanks for that.

 

You don't happen to have a suitable web page link do you?

[timsabre]

Google "5050 rgb tape". Get 300 leds/metre

[kgallen]

Get 300 leds/metre

 

Tim - can you confirm this bit? That would be 3 LEDs per cm unless 1x(RGB)=3 LEDs. eBay listings seem to be 300 LEDs per 5m length, so 60 LEDs per metre. Maybe I'm not looking at the right stuff if there really is a 300/m option!

 

For example:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Waterproof-5050-RGB-led-strip-light-Swimming-Pool-Underwater-LED-tape-lamp-DC12V/322565685138?hash=item4b1a69bf92:m:m1SBQ-cgwhlzXqZnh-LnUTg:rk:21:pf:0

 

Thanks,

Kevin

 

 

[Caerdydd]

30 led/m pitch is what you want. That link is for 60 led/m.

 

Ideally look at 24v as it is more reliable in my experience. That will get rid of a lot of the Chinese rubbish off eBay.

[DrV]

As for a cheap driver this is the sort of thing I had in mind.

 

www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/172111493988

 

No experience of these devices (I usually make my own!) but there are plenty on the bay if you look for DMX led driver. They'll work with 12V or 24V tape so long as you get the right voltage PSU.

 

I also came across these www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/382677255212

which claim to be DMX but there is nothing to set the address so presumably they are at some fixed address - they couldn't be RDM could they? Anybody used one?

[bruce]

 

I also came across these www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/382677255212

which claim to be DMX but there is nothing to set the address so presumably they are at some fixed address - they couldn't be RDM could they? Anybody used one?

 

Haven’t tried them, but the description for https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6A-72W-3-Channel-DMX512-Decoder-Board-LED-DJ-RGB-Stage-Lighting-Driver-Module/272159073559 (the same item) has a little more info:

 

Product Features:

Series work:

Each module series, no need to set the address, the address is automatically assigned sequentially, easy to use, the distance between the drive signals up to 100 meters, which can be accessed 170 driver board

 

Parallel work:

Each module and then, when you need to add every 32 amplifier modules (theoretical value of this quantity, the actual project site please test subject), each module settings alone address (available to write code written);

 

 

“Address automatically assigned sequentially” - I wonder what that means. The picture of the PCB shows some DMX driver ICs and a microcontroller, so I’m guessing the DMX isn’t just looped through, but is being processed. I wonder if it’s doing something sneaky like assigning itself to DMX channels 1,2,3, and decrementing all other DMX frames by 3 as they pass through - which would mean that a chain of them would appear to have addresses 1,4,7,10 etc?

 

Just speculating....

[timsabre]

Sorry for the confusion, I meant 300 leds / 5m, or 60 leds/m.

[sunray]

<br />

<br />I also came across these www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/382677255212<br />which claim to be DMX but there is nothing to set the address so presumably they are at some fixed address - they couldn't be RDM could they? Anybody used one?<br />

<br /><br />Haven't tried them, but the description for <a href='https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6A-72W-3-Channel-DMX512-Decoder-Board-LED-DJ-RGB-Stage-Lighting-Driver-Module/272159073559' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>https://www.ebay.co....le/272159073559</a> (the same item) has a little more info:<br />

<br /><br />Product Features:<br />Series work:<br />Each module series, no need to set the address, the address is automatically assigned sequentially, easy to use, the distance between the drive signals up to 100 meters, which can be accessed 170 driver board<br /><br />Parallel work:<br />Each module and then, when you need to add every 32 amplifier modules (theoretical value of this quantity, the actual project site please test subject), each module settings alone address (available to write code written);<br /><br />

<br /><br />"Address automatically assigned sequentially" - I wonder what that means. The picture of the PCB shows some DMX driver ICs and a microcontroller, so I'm guessing the DMX isn't just looped through, but is being processed. I wonder if it's doing something sneaky like assigning itself to DMX channels 1,2,3, and decrementing all other DMX frames by 3 as they pass through - which would mean that a chain of them would appear to have addresses 1,4,7,10 etc?<br /><br />Just speculating....

<br /><br />Yes they are assigned address 001 but the DMX out is reduced by 3. So for example DMX013 from the desk will appear as 010 at the output of the first device and 007 out of the second, 004 from the third and 001 from the fourth. These devices do work very well together to form consecutive addresses but I have found some other devises (4 ch dimmer packs in my case) don't like them. They present a termination to the universe and they do have to have a terminator on the last one. I always put them at the end of the universe where they create no problems.

[gordontech]

Have you seen the showtec led 30cm cube? We have 20-30 or so of them in hire stock as we faced a similar design problem