where to put hubs

[tbone321]

Just remember that once you drill that hole or holes for the wires to come out, that waterproof feature bcomes a thing of the past. 

[travailen]

I ran 2 of these last year as a test. This year I will have 10 placed in various locations in my yard. Zero moisture problems.
Rick S
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Rick do you have the link to the whole thread?   I'm looking for more details on the connectors and assume that the info may be in the thread.  Thanks

When I asked about his setup, I recall that the connectors used 8 pins and were well-suited to the SSCv1.  With the board changes in SSCv2 and SSCv4, you'd have a bigger problem using them as-is.

That is true, The 8 pin  headers were when I was still using them in the tube. Now that the SSCs are in the enclosure with the hub I am removing all the 8 pin headers and wiring directly to a 1 foot cat 5 pigtail. I buy the 2ft cat 5 from monoprice ( about 50 cents each)and cut them in half and solder them to the  SSCs. I will post pics of the new arrangement next week.

Steve, here is the URL for the whole thread
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By the way, I do not put holes in the enclosure. I just let the wires drape over the side of the enclosure and then just snap the top on. For extension cords I use ones with three plugs or put a block on the end. One connection is for the local Power supply. The others are to run to the next enclosure(s).

After the show is over. I wrap the 3 wire 18ga cords on the reels I got with the smart strings, put them in the enclosure, put on the tops and stack them in the corner of the garage until the next show. All external 3 pin connections are waterproof.

Every SSC is tagged with a location number. Enclosures run A thru L (no I). Positions run 1 thru 16.
My spread sheet shows the address and programming configuration of all the positions.
I program each one to the spread sheet values. If one fails, I can immediately program a replacement and switch out the bad ones. Or quickly reconfigure the show or reposition various elements.

Rick S

[Steve Gase]

I ran 2 of these last year as a test. This year I will have 10 placed in various locations in my yard. Zero moisture problems.
Rick S
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

Rick do you have the link to the whole thread?   I'm looking for more details on the connectors and assume that the info may be in the thread.  Thanks

When I asked about his setup, I recall that the connectors used 8 pins and were well-suited to the SSCv1.  With the board changes in SSCv2 and SSCv4, you'd have a bigger problem using them as-is.

That is true, The 8 pin  headers were when I was still using them in the tube. Now that the SSCs are in the enclosure with the hub I am removing all the 8 pin headers and wiring directly to a 1 foot cat 5 pigtail. I buy the 2ft cat 5 from monoprice ( about 50 cents each)and cut them in half and solder them to the  SSCs. I will post pics of the new arrangement next week.

Steve, here is the URL for the whole thread
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

By the way, I do not put holes in the enclosure. I just let the wires drape over the side of the enclosure and then just snap the top on. For extension cords I use ones with three plugs or put a block on the end. One connection is for the local Power supply. The others are to run to the next enclosure(s).

After the show is over. I wrap the 3 wire 18ga cords on the reels I got with the smart strings, put them in the enclosure, put on the tops and stack them in the corner of the garage until the next show. All external 3 pin connections are waterproof.

Every SSC is tagged with a location number. Enclosures run A thru L (no I). Positions run 1 thru 16.
My spread sheet shows the address and programming configuration of all the positions.
I program each one to the spread sheet values. If one fails, I can immediately program a replacement and switch out the bad ones. Or quickly reconfigure the show or reposition various elements.

Rick S

It sounds VERY clean and VERY organized!
My only concern in implementing this for myself is the potentially-long runs from the box to my coroflakes and other smart-string elements.
The twisted pair that runs from the hub to the SSCs allows long runs (but in your design, you purposely have short runs within the box). The 12v+/Ground/Data from the SSC to the lights cannot be very long.  In fact, I had problems with some of my elements if this piece of cable stretched too far... twisted pair does not help with this stretch.
 
What you've built with putting your SSCs so close to the hub, is an earlier version of the Zeus.  Its a great design for a mega tree or strings that are close to the hub.  I might have challenges in implementing this in my display since my SSCs stretch far in many directions.