DiyLightAnimation
Hardware => Lynx MR16 / 16 CH DC Controller => Topic started by: Blackbeard on May 19, 2011,
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Just wondering what you use this board for now that there's a COOP running for it? It reads as though there's a MR16 flood, but I don't really see it listed, so is there alternative uses for this board?
Thanks for any help.
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it can control DC powered souces, rather than AC powered devices like the other controllers.
some spotlights (other than just the mr16 lights) can be controlled as well.
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Originally, to control these
http://www.christmasinkent.com/MR16sales.htm
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you could also use it to run RGB floods, LED 5050 light strips (non pixel based), etc.
Handy to have around.
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to help clarify mmciver's post...
you can control rgb devices where you can dim the individual colors (r,g,b and even devices that have a w)
each color would be a seperate channel on the mr16.
you can even use it to control some custom lighting in a model train layout (or those christmas villages)
i'm using one of mine to control rainbow spotlights.
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I use my MR16 DC 16 channel controller to control five 12V Rainbow Floods. They are 3 channels each for a total of 15 channels. http://seasonalentertainmentllc.com/store/product.php?id_product=14
Ron
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I use mine to control some 12v LEDs in my singing pumpkins.
John
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Here's the whole gory story of how I use MR-16s:
http://www.pacificalights.info/index.php/tech/21-Lynx-MR16.html
\dmc
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So would the MR16 replace a rainbow brain controller? If I understand it correctly, I could run cat 5 from one of my expresses into the MR16 then out to the Flood? I assume that I would then need to daisy chain the floods since there appears to be only one outlet on the MR16?
Sorry for all of the questions but I wanted to bring some floods into my display and I want to make sure I understand this.
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i believe the rainbow brain can handle more devices connected to each controller. i could be mistaken
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So would the MR16 replace a rainbow brain controller? If I understand it correctly, I could run cat 5 from one of my expresses into the MR16 then out to the Flood? I assume that I would then need to daisy chain the floods since there appears to be only one outlet on the MR16?
Sorry for all of the questions but I wanted to bring some floods into my display and I want to make sure I understand this.
The MR16 has a dmx in and a dmx out. This is not what plugs into the rainbow flood. It has 16 output channels. So one MR16 can control 5 rainbow floods at 3 channels each for a total of 15 channels and one left over. My rainbow floods draw right at 1.5 amps each then they are on full. I have 4 of then so about 6 amps total. Here is a couple of pics. The 2nd pic you can see I attached cat 5 to the outputs. I simply invented my own connections. 2 orange = red, 2 green = green and 2 blue = blue with the 2 brown being common positive. I used 2 wires per color for more current and if one wire fails, I have a back up sort of. I used cat5 couplers to join the cat5 connections and extend the length.
Ron
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Has anybody used these to run the Mighty Mini floods? I know they have their own driver board, but it only supports one flood light. I would like to minimize the number of little boxes I have around.
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Thanks Trekster, I think I have it figured out now. How did you determine where to land the wires on the rainbow? It looks like you omitted the cat 5 connectors and went straight to he board - what do I connect to what?
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the operations manual of the rainbow equipment tells you how to connect it to devices other than a brain. I'd check at his site.
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Has anybody used these to run the Mighty Mini floods? I know they have their own driver board, but it only supports one flood light. I would like to minimize the number of little boxes I have around.
I do not have the might mini floods, but I am sure that they will work with this controller. I believe each flood requires four channels so you would be able to control up to 4 individual floods per controller or possibly more if you connect multiple floods to the same channel. You just have to make sure not to exceed the maximum current when connecting multiple floods to the same channel.
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Thanks Trekster, I think I have it figured out now. How did you determine where to land the wires on the rainbow? It looks like you omitted the cat 5 connectors and went straight to he board - what do I connect to what?
Here is a close up pic. I did not use the cat5 connector because of the case I used. It would not fit in my $1 case. http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=5142.0 As you can see the board is labeled at both ends for red, green, blue and common.
Ron
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So would it be possible to power this board w/ 24 volts without damage? A friend of mine picked up some LED's from an old grocery store cooler and I think they can be used in a display but they need 24 volt power.
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Hi kjam,
I asked this same question a few months ago.
You can run them on 24V but you need to use a decent heatsink on the 5V regulator.
This is how I plan to run mine as well as I have plenty of 24V LED strings that I want to control.
Thanks, fj
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So would it be possible to power this board w/ 24 volts without damage? A friend of mine picked up some LED's from an old grocery store cooler and I think they can be used in a display but they need 24 volt power.
Yes. They will work with 24 volts.
The heatsink that fjaust mentions is included in the kit.
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The heatsink that fjaust mentions is included in the kit.
it is ? i didn't realise that. i ordered some from mouser yesterday when i placed my dmx dongle order. oh well, a few spares won't hurt
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This should be stickied :) I was just wondering what kind of projects / lamps I could use these on :) Tnx for the ideas and links to various products, building some inspiration :)