DiyLightAnimation
Hardware => Lynx Smart String => Topic started by: kylec on April 15, 2011,
-
I tried posting some pictures in the "Received Smart Strings poor quality" thread....I don't know what I did, but it didn't post them and now I can't see that thread :(.
Here is a good node and a bad node side by side:
(http://blinkyflashychristmas.com/smartstrings/P1060543.JPG)
Here is the same bad node at a different angle:
(http://blinkyflashychristmas.com/smartstrings/P1060544.JPG)
There are a few nodes like this where the only part exposed is right where the wires connect:
(http://blinkyflashychristmas.com/smartstrings/P1060545.JPG)
Please ignore the dog hair on the couch ;D
Kyle
-
You are not kidding - they are really that bad. Thanks for posting.
-
That is bad! you need to make them replace it as something has gone wrong on the assembly line. None of mine are anything like that.
RJ
-
Kyle are these from a 50 ct string? I received my 50 ct strings and I had a few like that also. I am going to just add silicon to them and not hassle with the return and replacement from Ray, I am waiting on my tester to make sure all of them work properly. Getting really scared that I released the money to Ray and the lights don't work.
Freebird
-
These were 128 node strings. They all work fine. I am also planning to use some silicone to seal these up.
Kyle
-
I just received my nodes... 2 strings of 75 and 2 strings of 100. I carefully examined each node, and I also am not pleased with the quality. I have found many nodes where some part of the "guts" are exposed to the outside world. In fact, overall I counted 38 problematic nodes (out of 350.. so over 10% are bad). Some have the part where the wires attach to the circuit board exposed, while others have the part where the LED attaches to the circuit board exposed. And some are really bad -- parts of the chip and/or resistors are exposed. I've attached pictures of some of the worst ones. In addition, a few have LEDs that are really crooked -- not a super big deal, but just goes to show the lack of quality control going on.
I'm going to contact Ray to see what he can do about this. I have about 7 days left on the countdown clock, and I'm not going to release payment until I get a resolution. Since these bad nodes are spread out all over the strands, I'm not sure what could be done other than sending complete replacements -- I don't want to have to splice in replacements all over the place.
Frankly, I would have rather been shorted a few nodes like some others have reported, than have all sorts of these bad nodes!
-
after looking at this, i decided to look closer at my nodes...
out of 100 nodes, 12 have something exposed. I was planning on getting clear plasti dip for another project, so i might cover these as well.
my plastic rectangles, and metal squares look like the chip is either not covered, or the plastic dried in a way, that you cant tell it's on there.
all in all, the led part of each node is fine, so i'll just reinforce the rest with the plasti dip, and a small paint brush.
-
There is definitely a problem with the assembly process. They are either doing a poor job or rushing it and not letting the materials hardened (both?)
I also went back and inspected my nodes. Around 15 nodes have a problem and will need to be sealed before using. I have parts sticking though the covering or the material is not fully covering the pcb. Half of my nodes the pcbs are on a angle and some are just all the way to one side instead of in the middle. A few are dirty/brown in color like the material was contaminated.
Rick R.
-
Are you all planning on just using straight-from-the-bottle clear Plasti-Dip and applying it with a brush, or are you planning on thinning it and then just dipping the whole node in it? Or perhaps using the technique RJ demonstrated of thinning it to the consistency of water and then dipping the whole string in it a few times? Or maybe a combination of these (like patching the obvious spots with straight Plasti-Dip using a brush, and then dipping the whole string in thinned Plasti-Dip for good measure)?
Depending on what Ray comes back with, I may just settle for a partial refund for the bad nodes and then go the Plasti-Dip route. I really don't want to have to hassle with returning a product...
By the way, the 3 flexible strips I ordered look great.
-
IMO, it depends, if's it's away from the led, then the thick should be ok, if it's the led, i'd thin it out, and just waterproof it.
I guess it depends on if alot's exposed, or a little, or even just a crack.
-
I think they should be replaced. You paid for them to be correct and they are not.
RJ
-
Gee, I sure can't wait to get my nodes now. :'( I would suggest NOT thinning the Plasti-Dip down for this. Remember, RJ was just trying to seal where the wires were entering the node (a small space) and wanted to do it in a bulk method. The defects that are being found in these nodes requires a much heavier coating to be effective at both sealing and protecting the components. If you intend on repairing these nodes yourself, then you need to take the time to do it right or you will simply be wasting your time. I would dip one defective node as a test at full thickness and see how it works that way as that would be the easiest repair method. If it doesn't work well that way then you may need to spot brush repair them but that would be a bit time consuming. My nodes will be here tomorrow and it will probably take me two days to inspect them and light them up to see how bad it will be for me.
-
I have a few questions. What is the veiwing angle on these nodes? I know that on my LE it is easy to tell a crooked led. Would this also be the same with the SS nodes that are bad? Lastly I know that we as hobbiest are perfectionest and cannot under stan why we would except substanderd product if Ray was stateside most of us would return it.
Shaun
-
TBONE321: What are you using to test your lights? Can us mere mortals use the same approach? I have the feeling that we will probably see a whole new rash of problems when we can light them up. Jim
-
Well . . .
I just finished a volley of emails with Ray. . . After telling him I have 213 defects out of 1980 nodes on 35 strings, in which every string had defects. He asked for photos of the defects and said he would make things right.
Two strings have electrical defects - one 4 out of 50 light up and another has one node only lights up red. It was a good thing to get the "TH2010 series LED pixel remote controller" to test the strings
I'll let U know how things progress with Ray. . . out to the garage to take pics. :(
-
TBONE321: What are you using to test your lights? Can us mere mortals use the same approach? I have the feeling that we will probably see a whole new rash of problems when we can light them up. Jim
I ordered a TH2010 series LED pixel remote controller from Ray. I initially ordered it to play with the smart strings a little to see how they work without waiting for the smart string controller to ship and now it seems to have turned into a wise investment.
-
Yes,
I agree! Worth every penny!!
Thanks for letting us know about it! ;D
-
Were on the bleeding edge with these products and its showing. This is what I expected, but was hoping to be wrong.
Hopefully most are better than what were seeing here. Quality control in China just isn't there yet.
Mine seem ok, but I have only tested the non 1804 5050 rect. modules thus far ... and they are insanely bright (good).
-
i think i need to get a tester
-
I ordered a tester last night so that I can find out what is going on.
Jim
-
Now I'm starting to get a bit nervous... My order (lights plus the "tester") were just shipped but I won't be seeing them until May 8 (alternate delivery method chosen)..
Hopefully all will be well.
Larry
-
spoke with ray and there was a issue at the factory on the last batch. He shipped some out to users before it was found. The factory is redoing the batch and ray says he will take care of the users that got them but you have to get with him instead of sitting around planning how to fix them get them replaced.
I say this for two reasons. One you paid for them to be correct. I have thosands of them and do not have them hanging out of the mold ect. You should also get them correct. And if you do not hold them accountable it limits the sting that will make sure future production is correct. As he said it is costing the factory money and time to remake them so they are very interested in making sure it does not happen again. When you accept the poor quality ones you limit the driving force for them to improve.
The first batch did not have this issue so that is why some are happy with them and the recent users are not.
RJ
-
RJ,
With enough people through the process flow this first time around, do you think you or one of your trusted members feel they could come up with a PDF which would better outline the ordering process, escrow, handling delays, and especially handling the reciving part? I think some members here might be getting a bit nervous. Having some sort of "how to" might make it work out a bit easier. Probalby just as nerve racking as the first time some people here picked up a soldering iron compared now having to order directly from China.
-
RJ,
Thanks for the motivating reasons to get these fixed. I'll be sending a note to Ray now to make sure I get taken care of. I'll keep everyone posted with what I find out. It makes me feel a bit better to know that this was an "oops" rather than a "this is just how the nodes will be" sort of thing.
Andy
-
I got my smart strings today. The number of strings was correct and the node count seems to be pretty good. A 50 node string looks like it is one node short but a 100 node string lookslike it is 1 or 2 over so at worst, I'm 1 node short. I did count them while they were still bunched up so I could be a little off. I didn't stretch out the strings yet to fully inspect the nodes but I can see that a few of them have the same defects listed by others. I will stretch them out tomorrow to light them up and that's when I will really inspect the nodes to get a defect count and contact Ray to see what can be done about them. I don't mind sending back the entire string(s) if that's what he wants but I'm not doing it at my expense.
-
I talked to Ray today, he offered to either refund me the cost of my 12 nodes, or to include 12 in a future order.
-
When you say "talked to Ray" ... are you saying you chatted on the website?
-
i used the trademanager application
-
I just got done chatting with Ray through the "chat now" feature of aliexpress. He will be shipping me 38 nodes along with 20 feet of the 3-wire cable. He said that replacing the entire 4 strings would cost him too much, and asked that I understand his position. Being the soft-hearted guy that I am :D I went along with it. I guess I'll just end up getting more splicing practice than I originally was intending to get.
He's also pushing out the timer about 10 days to allow time for the replacement nodes to arrive before I finally confirm the order and release payment to him.
All in all, I'm fine with the resolution. I realize this is the price to pay when you are on the bleeding edge. :)
-
i don't know if the nodes are all that bleeding edge. they have been around in a standard DMX 4 wire configuration for quite a while now so i don't thinks it's a case of never having made them before. i think Ray just didn't expect the amount of orders he got hit with when RJ released the details and now he is struggling and rushing (= poor quality) to get the orders all filled in a reasonable amount of time.
-
I just emailed Ray (per his request) providing photos of my defective nodes. I had to send him a link to the photos because the file was too large to email. There are 344 photos of 344 defective nodes.
This is about 20% of my entire smart string order. I ordered 32 of the 50 node strings and 3 of the 128 node strings and every string has defects. 50% , 2 of 4 flex strips do not work, 1 of 6 rectangle strings do not work and one 50 node string does not work.
I was sent one 4-wire node string by mistake and the quality of that string compared to what we are experiencing is without comparison, almost perfect. That means the capability is there, we’re just not getting it.
I let you know what the outcome of this is when I hear back from Ray.
Here is the link to photos of my defective nodes:
http://s756.photobucket.com/albums/xx203/pjkoths/Defective%20Nodes/ (http://s756.photobucket.com/albums/xx203/pjkoths/Defective%20Nodes/)
Pete
-
I just emailed Ray (per his request) providing photos of my defective nodes. I had to send him a link to the photos because the file was too large to email. There are 344 photos of 344 defective nodes.
This is about 20% of my entire smart string order. I ordered 32 of the 50 node strings and 3 of the 128 node strings and every string has defects. 50% , 2 of 4 flex strips do not work, 1 of 6 rectangle strings do not work and one 50 node string does not work.
I was sent one 4-wire node string by mistake and the quality of that string compared to what we are experiencing is without comparison, almost perfect. That means the capability is there, we’re just not getting it.
I let you know what the outcome of this is when I hear back from Ray.
Here is the link to photos of my defective nodes:
http://s756.photobucket.com/albums/xx203/pjkoths/Defective%20Nodes/ (http://s756.photobucket.com/albums/xx203/pjkoths/Defective%20Nodes/)
Pete
Here is the latest update - I just received an email from Ray and he wants to only send me replacement nodes 344 of them plus the other defective items.
I don't believe that his offer is acceptable as I paid good money expecting to receive a reasonable quality product. It would take me many hours splicing 344 nodes into 35 strings not to mention the cost of the supplies needed to do this.
I have emailed him back stating I wanted all my defective pixel strings replaced with defect free strings along with the other defective items.
We shall see what happens next!
Pete
-
Wow, Pete those things look like sh!#! I guess any form of QA is out the window. Kudos to you for taking 340+ photos. Hopefully they will work with you.
Edited by RJ for Language
-
...time to go back and double check mine!!!
-Paul
-
This is about 20% of my entire smart string order. I ordered 32 of the 50 node strings and 3 of the 128 node strings and every string has defects. 50% , 2 of 4 flex strips do not work, 1 of 6 rectangle strings do not work and one 50 node string does not work.
Holy smokes - you are not kidding. In the better than a year that I've been ordering from Ray I've never received that level of quality issues (I did get a few 5m pixel strips that were DOA). I feel for ya.
-
i don't know if the nodes are all that bleeding edge. they have been around in a standard DMX 4 wire configuration for quite a while now so i don't thinks it's a case of never having made them before. i think Ray just didn't expect the amount of orders he got hit with when RJ released the details and now he is struggling and rushing (= poor quality) to get the orders all filled in a reasonable amount of time.
Just to put things in perspective, if we were running the smart strings on DMX, my planned display would take 10 universes. Pixelnet runs many times faster than DMX because it has to... Most of the software that we currently have available is probably going to struggle with this kind of channel count. I'm hoping that what we will have soon will be up to the task...
It is true that the core technologies have been around a few years, but the first commercial products that are similar just came out just last year. The stuff that you find at the big box stores requires you to cut the controller off and build your own if you want any control...
-
i don't know if the nodes are all that bleeding edge. they have been around in a standard DMX 4 wire configuration for quite a while now so i don't thinks it's a case of never having made them before. i think Ray just didn't expect the amount of orders he got hit with when RJ released the details and now he is struggling and rushing (= poor quality) to get the orders all filled in a reasonable amount of time.
Just to put things in perspective, if we were running the smart strings on DMX, my planned display would take 10 universes. Pixelnet runs many times faster than DMX because it has to... Most of the software that we currently have available is probably going to struggle with this kind of channel count. I'm hoping that what we will have soon will be up to the task...
It is true that the core technologies have been around a few years, but the first commercial products that are similar just came out just last year. The stuff that you find at the big box stores requires you to cut the controller off and build your own if you want any control...
yes you are right. i did mean just the nodes and not what RJ has done with the Pixelnet protocol. my mistake for not explaining clearly.
-
i agree. they sell a lot of pixels that "look" like the ones for the smart strings. Even though the wires, and the guts may be a little deifferent, you'd think they'd have the molding down right.
-
Just to put things in perspective, if we were running the smart strings on DMX, my planned display would take 10 universes. Pixelnet runs many times faster than DMX because it has to... Most of the software that we currently have available is probably going to struggle with this kind of channel count. I'm hoping that what we will have soon will be up to the task...
We did some testing last year with LSP at 8k channels at it worked...not super fast but it worked. I ran 6 universes without too many issues (considering). LSP 1.x is currently be re-written from single threaded to mutli-threaded so supporting 10 universes should be childs play if you go with LSP.
-
Here is the latest update - I just received an email from Ray and he wants to only send me replacement nodes 344 of them plus the other defective items.
I don't believe that his offer is acceptable as I paid good money expecting to receive a reasonable quality product. It would take me many hours splicing 344 nodes into 35 strings not to mention the cost of the supplies needed to do this.
I have emailed him back stating I wanted all my defective pixel strings replaced with defect free strings along with the other defective items.
We shall see what happens next!
Pete
I would be a little careful asking to much or he may just request that you send the the strings back to him for replacement or refund. I agree that you should get what you paid for but if he sends you that many replacement nodes and lets you keep the others I think that you would be way ahead even with the time and material cost to replace them.
-
I do not think wanting them replaced is asking too much that is what should be done. Had I got them that way I would. I did let him know that if he was not going to make sure this is corrected and send good stuff out that I was going go direct to a factory and have them made for us at another factory.
RJ
-
I'm not saying that it's wrong in any way to want them replaced but to me it would be more desireable to have the replacement nodes as well as the old ones. I doubt that Ray could send him 35 strings without getting the old ones back and I don't know if he would be all to willing or be able to pay for the return shipping. I have yet to fully inspect my nodes. Hopefully tomorrow I will and then we will see what Ray can and will be able to do. If he just sends me replacement nodes I will be good because I could always repair the defective nodes and use them for spares later.
-
I would be a little careful asking to much or he may just request that you send the the strings back to him for replacement or refund. I agree that you should get what you paid for but if he sends you that many replacement nodes and lets you keep the others I think that you would be way ahead even with the time and material cost to replace them.
Let me tell how it is . . .
It is not my intention to gain anything more than what I actually paid for. To expect anything more would not be ethical or right. I would like to think that all of us that have ordered these lights from Ray expect to receive a quality product defect free in return for our money.
Should you or I accept defective products and then agree to receive additional parts to make repairs then this will eventually become the norm. What you are saying is that you are willing to accept sub-standard quality to receive additional product in return for your time and additional cost to make repairs. I for one am not.
FYI - I have offered Ray to send the defective parts back to him at my expense.
Pete
-
As the originator of this thread, I feel like I opened a serious can of worms!
Thanks to everyone who has offered an opinion and helped to formulate my decisions.
If this were a product I purchased at a big box store I would definately return it. As part of a DIY community I feel that an extra investment of my time to be in in touch with the product I am delivering is worth a little extra effort. As such I elected to have two extra strings shipped to me (I had 90 bad nodes on 16 strings of 75) so I am either ahead by a number of nodes or behind my original 16 strings as they are all afflicted with the same low quality disease. I ordered and paid for the controller that Ray has available to control these strings and have asked him to include it in the shipment of the light strings without shipping charge. Additionally I've asked for an extension on the escrow of the original shipment until I receive the controller that will allow testing of the strings and a promise of replacement if strings fail during the season. Not an agressive approach, but one that I am comfortable with.
Thanks to eveyone in this community, this has been a fun ride and I'm dying to make these things BLINK!!!!
-
I would be a little careful asking to much or he may just request that you send the the strings back to him for replacement or refund. I agree that you should get what you paid for but if he sends you that many replacement nodes and lets you keep the others I think that you would be way ahead even with the time and material cost to replace them.
Let me tell how it is . . .
It is not my intention to gain anything more than what I actually paid for. To expect anything more would not be ethical or right. I would like to think that all of us that have ordered these lights from Ray expect to receive a quality product defect free in return for our money.
Should you or I accept defective products and then agree to receive additional parts to make repairs then this will eventually become the norm. What you are saying is that you are willing to accept sub-standard quality to receive additional product in return for your time and additional cost to make repairs. I for one am not.
FYI - I have offered Ray to send the defective parts back to him at my expense.
Pete
Pete, sounds like you got nothing working as it should be. I would hope your money is still in escrow. With an order of that size I would refuse to accept it and have Ray pay shipping for the returns and the replacements. I'm not sure how the mechanics of the escrow and timing work; however, I would with draw my money or at least have the timer reset until all your produce is received defective free.
It's one thing to splice one or two nodes in; however, a few hundred splices means a few hundred weak points in your strings, which could become a nightmare to identify and fix during your show.
-
I just checked my 128 nodes (only order 1 string) ... and of 127 nodes received, 11 nodes had their circuit boards poking through to open air.
I'm glad I checked, because my initial examination didn't show anything wrong.
Unfortunately, I already released funds.
I guess I'll need to chat with Ray about my options for those 11 nodes.
Mine look every bit at bad as those shown by akonkman ... really bad.
update: IN fact I just chatted with him, and I asked if he could send the missing node and 11 replacements on my next order and he said ok. He also said he was sorry for the problems. I was going to order some DMX controllers and power supplies anyways.
-
I just spoke with ray at the next batch came out of the factory today. He says they look much better. We will have to wait for who ever has them on order to get them to find out for ourselves.
RJ
-
I rcv'd my last order of lights from Ray today. I am happy to report that the quality is much imporved over the original batch I rcv'd!
I ordered 4 sets each of 128's, 100, 50 node strings. Two of the strings had a defective node. All the string counts were correct!
The quality of the nodes themselves appear to be correct and the waterproofing is also much better. I do not beleive that THESE nodes will need any additional treatment.
-
I received a controller a few days ago and hooked up my 4 128 count node strings and let them run for 24 hours in a slow pattern. All of the nodes work great except for 1 that has the red led stuck on. I will have to remove that node.
The colors and fades are really nice. I can't wait to start programming them with the pixelnet software when it becomes available.
John
-
My 2nd order got delivered...
IN THE NETHERLANDS!!!!
<fp. <fp. <fp. <fp. <fp. <fp. <fp. <fp. <fp. <fp. <fp. <fp. <fp. <fp. <fp. <fp.
-
I rcv'd my last order of lights from Ray today. I am happy to report that the quality is much imporved over the original batch I rcv'd!
I ordered 4 sets each of 128's, 100, 50 node strings. Two of the strings had a defective node. All the string counts were correct!
The quality of the nodes themselves appear to be correct and the waterproofing is also much better. I do not beleive that THESE nodes will need any additional treatment.
That's what I wanted to hear. I wanted someone other than Ray to tell me they looked good.
Thanks
-
I too got a shipment today (I ordered at the end of Feb, so it took awhile but I did get it).
I took a cursory look at the string of nodes (128) and while I only have pics to compare to, I haven't found anything that looks like those. It does appear that the amount of "filler" at the end of the node is variable (from oodles to none) but I can't find any wires outside the node or chip etc.
-
I just received my replacement nodes today. I had 38 bad nodes from my original order. Ray sent me 51 replacement nodes. All but one look very good (one of the replacements is the worst of any I've seen... about 1/3 of the circuit board is fully exposed... but since he sent more than enough replacements, I'm not bothered by it).
I also ordered the controller from Ray, and after struggling through the instructions, I was able to make all the nodes work except one, which apparently has a loose connection (I can wiggle it around to make it come on). The 3 flexible strips I ordered look fantastic, I must say. I spent over an hour just watching the mesmorizing patterns being outputted by the controller. I'm very pleased with the light output from the nodes and the flex strips.
I can't wait to start building the real controllers!
-
I decided to splice out the bad nodes from my 128 node SS tonight.
Under my magnifying light, it became apparent that I grossly UNDER counted the number of bad nodes I had.
I had to cut out 23 nodes (out of 128) from my string, and those were just circuit boards outside of the molding only.
The best continuous stretch I encountered was 17 (good) in a row.
Just tested my first 20 nodes and they all work great.
I wonder what kind of sealing could be done to these defective nodes to make them
salvageable as spares. Maybe a clear dip or silicone dip?
-
with that many bad nodes - I would definetely get replacements from Ray. I have found that some of the bad nodes are really poor solder connections where the wire attaches to the crkt bd. You can repair those but you have to tear the darn covering off - not easy. However if they are throw aways anyway - who cares. I intend to use them for individual pixel kinds of projects. I made sure that I told Ray several times that I wanted him to check to make sure I got good nodes and that I didn't mind waiting for them.
-
Glad I got mine from the 1st original batch. I haven't seen any boards sticking out. And no totally bad nodes but 3 (out of 900) had the color a little off, most noticible when turned white. But I ordered extra so i will be replacing those.
-
My order has left Hong Kong, I will post pictures when I get them.
Bill
-
my first order, i had bad nodes...
my second order ended up in the netherlands (I'm in the US)
my replacement 2nd order is in Pittsburgh
-
received my order, got everything except the 12 replacement nodes... lol
-
There was a delivery attempt today.
;D
-
I made a LARGE order of smart string controllers and such and am very nervous now about the possibility of getting bad strings. Thank you all for posting and I hope you will continue to do so.
Recovering and trying to catch back up.
RW
-
at this point, i'd probably only worry about someone not being able to count. the quality seems to have improved.
-
<md.. <md.. <md.. <md.. <md.. <md.. <md..
After a month of communications with Ray I received what Ray calls an acceptable offering for the 344 bad nodes on 35 strings of lights. He sent me 3 - 128 node strings and two flex strips (to replace 2 defective flex strips). I am not happy and I have filed a dispute (only 12 hours left). I also email Ray and explained my dis-satisfaction with his service, for what it is worth!
I expected better for the $1900 of product ordered.
I guess I will start to order the supplies I will need to make repairs to what I have here. As I figure I will have minimum of 688 splices for the removal and replacement of 344 nodes. This is going to take some time!! It is like putting hundreds of band-aids to repair a brand new product.. . . . unacceptable in my book!!!!
Some of the nodes that have minimal defects I might be able to put a piece of heat shrink over the node, possibly trying the shrink that has adhesive inside. There are a hundred plus that have bare wires exposed out the bottom that will have to be replaced. I live in the Northwest and it does rain a little in December. Another reason I am not happy having to repair all these defects along with the added expense and time needed to repair them.
Any ideas??
Hey RJ - Is Ray the only supplier of these lights? I would like to order more but I am not happy with what Ray has provided to me so far! I am not saying that all is bad with Ray as I have heard that he is/was an honorable businessman. I just feel really stung on this deal and I am not happy or feel real good about going back to a place where the product can be good or bad - no telling what you get until it arrives!
Any suggestions on repairing what can be repaired would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Pete
-
He is currently but I have done some footwork on another supplier if they did not get their problems fixed. Do the dispute and see if Alibaba can make him fix it.
That is what they are there for. Make them understand that you should not need to fix defective lights for them you paid for working lights.
Let us know how it goes. Sorry you are having issues with them.
RJ
-
I guess that the real question is do they all really need to be replaced. I have 132 bad nodes in my strings but out of that, 10 have bad red led's and 3 or 4 are really twisted out of shape. They light up but I really don't trust them. The others are out of shape and some have a good part of the board exposed but I have n intention of replacing them. Instead, I will order the stuff that RJ initially suggested ordering and thinning down to seal the strings and paint it on the exposed boards at full strenght. I might even dip a few at first to see how it looks that way. If it looks good I will just dip all of the exposed nodes as that is much quicker than brushing and if not I will brush repair them. Either way, it's a hell of a lot less work than cutting and splicing in 132 nodes. Since Ray either will not or can not take them back, if you can salvage some of those nodes already in the string, then I would suggest that you take that route and keep the others as spares. I contacted Ray about my defective nodes and he siad that he will send the replacements and I will take them. Even if I repair and cntinue to use the defective ones, I paid for good ones and intend to get them, even if I keep them as spares.
-
Thanks RJ for getting back to me.
Out of the bad nodes I have a little over 140 that have exposed copper at the point the wires enter the node and another 16 that don't illuminate. I feel these will have to be replaced. The rest I think using the just the sealant that RJ recommended and/or a combination of the sealant and shrink should work. Sometimes I overkill a little on the repair.
This is just something that should not have happened.
I hope what Ray is sending out now to everyone are good. The 3 strings he did send me were great. The CB is centered and wires are deep in the casting.
Pete
-
I've now got 23 nodes (out of 128 ordered) with circuits boards sticking out, but have only found one node that bad thus far, and its not working on red.
But the splices I have to do (top repair my one SS) are very substantial and time consuming. Thats the biggest bummer. I think Ray will replace the 25 bad ones, but I have to place another order and wait, etc.
I knew there was this big risk going into this. I hope the problems are worked out, but my experience with China is that quality control comes and goes like the wind.
-
That is what I am afraid of. I have $5k worth of nodes to order based on the smart string controllers I ordered. Afraid that even if 2% are bad it will take more time than I have to repair them.
Nervous.....
RW
-
So far the reports look good on the quality of the newest nodes. Every node that the factory has to replace costs it money and large numbers kill profits. It looks like they want to make money so quality control seems to have improved.
-
This probably isn't anything you don't already know but for that many splices you might try something like this: http://shop.vetcosurplus.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=11412 . Just the first result on Google might be cheaper elsewhere. Your local hardware store will have the same.
Just some kind of crimp on splicer so you don't have to go through the process of strip-solder-heat shrink with every one. Just cut the wires, crimp it on, then move on. Not the most beautiful solution but some of them are inline so they won't be very noticeable.
-
The ones that you have listed ARE heat shrink butt splice connectors. Shrink tubing is a good idea when your connections are going to be exposed to the elememts and soldering is still the best way to go. Sure, it will take a little longer but I would rather spend the time now and just have to do it once. Crimp connections always have the potential to fail due to corrosion and if not done correctly, form a weak connection that could either pull apart or break. Crimp connections are fast and I use them for many things but since my lights may be up for months out of the year and in areas that are not easy to get to, I would prefer to use the most solid method of splicing. These connectors are a good compromise as they give most of the speed of crimp connections with the added strength and corrosion resistance provided by shrink tubing.
-
Would the bad nodes that people have received previously still work indoors ok? I am planning on using some nodes on the inside of windows because they are easier to install, and even might be putting some up indoors at work. Seems like if the problem is just waterproofing, these would work fine for me. But I could be mistaken.
-
They should work just fine and if you re-seal them with clear Plasti-Dip they should be good to go outside as well.
-
...I received what Ray calls an acceptable offering for the 344 bad nodes on 35 strings of lights. He sent me 3 - 128 node strings and two flex strips (to replace 2 defective flex strips).
... As I figure I will have minimum of 688 splices for the removal and replacement of 344 nodes. This is going to take some time!! It is like putting hundreds of band-aids to repair a brand new product.. . . . unacceptable in my book!!!!
...
Any ideas??
...
Any suggestions on repairing what can be repaired would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Pete
I'm shaking my head in disbelief. Terrible to hear, hopefully the dispute system will work for you.
It may be little consequence, but I think your 688 splices would be the maximum number....assuming you made 2 splices for each individual node for 334 nodes. A better approach may be to map out the length of good nodes you have and look for ways to splice blocks of nodes.
As examples:
If you had 3 bad nodes in a row, you don't want to make, you don't want to make 4 splices, just cut out the whole section and make one splice.
If you have a section of mostly bad, perhaps you can splice that as a block as well, the use individual nodes where they are really needed.
I think ideally, if you have to go the route, you want the replacement nodes to be full strings if possible, that way you have flexibility to replace blocks of nodes. If they come as a bag of individuals, then you do get into the tedious task of soldering 100,s of joints.
As for the splicing,
-
Let us not forget that the nodes use 3 wires, not 2 so that maximum is more like 1032. <yk..
-
After a month of communications with Ray I received what Ray calls an acceptable offering for the 344 bad nodes on 35 strings of lights. He sent me 3 - 128 node strings and two flex strips (to replace 2 defective flex strips). I am not happy and I have filed a dispute (only 12 hours left). I also email Ray and explained my dis-satisfaction with his service, for what it is worth!
I expected better for the $1900 of product ordered.
Thanks,
Pete
Here is an update:
Ray contacted me and a long story short has agreed to replace all the strings. With the open dispute and clock ticking I told him I would cancel the dispute once I received quality strings, tested them and all is good. He says he will ship them out Monday. We shall see . . . .
-
I did so many splices, that I actually spliced a 7 node section into a circle by accident. !!! argh !!
And how many times do I have to put the heat shrink on last (instead of first) before I stop doing that! ... lol
I get so irritated after winding the wires together, only to find I forgot to put on the heat shrink tubing. And if you
get the iron too close (to the heat shrink) ... thats another thing I've learned not to do!
I'm also finding that dealing with Ray takes time and patience. It took a few iterations to get my initial order invoiced ...
and the 25 replacement nodes ... well he came back with an invoice for $3 off the total and charged me for the replacements,
incl. extra shipping. It was actually more money than just doing it online, so I sent him another email to attempt to make it right.
I've only got him on chat once so far, so its mostly one email per day.
I'm sure he'll get it right eventually, but you need time and patience to do all the back and forth to get the invoice right.
I really messed up by not inspecting the nodes really closely when I first got them ... and released the funds too early.
I am finding that the TH2010-x controller is a must for testing these things ... and is actually very cool.
-
If you get new good strings as a replacement it might be best not to cut them up, but keep them as a working unspoiled string... Then just cut the bad nodes out of the faulty strings... Wouldn't it? Is that what you guys are doing?
-
Don't feel bad - I pulled a great one the other day myself! I was splicing my nodes for a project and abt halfway thru decided to test my work using the TH2010 - only about half of the nodes lit up. I concluded after those many hours of sucking in solder smoke that I had a bad node. After cutting out the offending node I decided to test it - it worked! It was then that I remembered I had forgotten to UP the COUNT inside the TH2010 - ended up splicing it all back to gether AGAIN!!!
-
Thats a good one. Luckily, I read here about increasing the node count on the th2010-x.
Since I have just one 128 node string, and I'm putting them all onto one display item ... I'm splicing them all back into a single string. Helps keeps it straight for me ... lol.
I just got a new invoice from Ray and its correct this time. He's a good, honest guy.
Can you weatherproof (clear dip) the nodes with completely exposed circuit boards?
-
Sure! If you talking about the square modules It might be easier just to brush it on, though. I have a couple like that! Oddly, it was from the last batch I got from ray - the first batch were just fine!
I believe Ray to be an honest person - although I question some of his tactics like charging the same amounts on shipping even though he combines shipments. Also, his propensity for issuing fake shipping numbers is a practice I wish he'd stop!
Overall, he seems to be a good guy!
-
Thanks. Actually I was just talking about the SS nodes ... some of mine have a broken outer shell and you can actually touch the chips inside. Most are just inserted into the molding too near the surface, so have a solder joint sticking out.
-
My replacement nodes arrived and all are sealed properly and no bad nodes.
This new batch is way superior to the batches many of us received from the orders in early March.
As suggested above, I will leave these strings whole and chop the worse strings.