SSCV4 coop options question

[knguyen916]

What does the 3pin pigtails look like and how are they used. New to ssc.

Also I notice a lot of people are using smart strings that are not listed on wiki (not the dumb string ones) or am I reading wrong and the ones listed in wik are the only strings that work with the ssc. I.e. the flat back  led ones mentioned in this thread.

[rdebolt]

These
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These are what we use to connect from the ssc to the nodes.

[rmp2917]

Also I notice a lot of people are using smart strings that are not listed on wiki (not the dumb string ones) or am I reading wrong and the ones listed in wik are the only strings that work with the ssc. I.e. the flat back  led ones mentioned in this thread.

All of the smart strings listed in the Wiki will work with the SSC. There are others that may work as well. But, unless you know exactly what you are ordering or someone else has tried them and said that they work, I would stay with the ones listed in the Wiki.

[arw01]

Oh boy, that confuses me even more.  I was looking for 4 conductor led strips.  This pigtail only has 3, I would expect a ground on the lines that actually control the led's themselves, but in some photos from Ray's site I only see the red, green, and blue wires.

So lost.

[Kasey911]

Oh boy, that confuses me even more.  I was looking for 4 conductor led strips.  This pigtail only has 3, I would expect a ground on the lines that actually control the led's themselves, but in some photos from Ray's site I only see the red, green, and blue wires.

So lost.

I will try to clarify for you...

DLA has 2 different type of LED controllers:

The Dumb String Controller is used to control "dumb" LED strips where the entire strip is controlled as a single entity.  The "dumb" LED strips or strings have 4 wires (common anode):

• +12v
• Red
• Green
• Blue

The Smart String Controller is used to control "smart" LED strips (or pixel strips/strings) where each pixel is controlled individually.  The "smart" LED strips/strings have 3 wires:

• +12v
• Ground
• Data In (DIN)

So, depending on which route you want to go, you need to purchase the correct controllers and LED strips/strings to match.

I hope this helped as I'm still learning the ins and outs as well.

One thing to keep in mind is that the strips you get from Ray (either Dumb or Smart) can have the wire colors swapped from batch to batch.  So it's always a good idea to look at the PCB or nodes to confirm which wire color goes to what.  I ordered 3 samples of the smart strings from Ray and all 3 of them have the colors wired differently.  [/list][/list]

[Kasey911]

Oh, and one last thing.  If you are looking for the 4-conductor pigtails for your DSC setup, Ray also sells those:

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[galgon]

The price in the coop for the connectors is ~50 cents more than Ray sells them.  I assume this is due to shipping from china and a little for coop fees?  I would wager that it is probably cheaper to have Ray throw some in the box with a smart string order as the additional shipping weight should be negligible but perhaps I am missing something.  Ordering direct from Ray would also take some load off the coop manager.  This is assuming you were already planning on making a purchase from Ray.

[chrisatpsu]

wouldn't you need the 4 conductor pigtails is you wanted to run the WS2801 stuff?  (that has a 4th wire for clk)

[Kasey911]

wouldn't you need the 4 conductor pigtails is you wanted to run the WS2801 stuff?  (that has a 4th wire for clk)

Hmm, I haven't looked at many of the WS2801 but I do see what you are saying.  So given that they have that extra connection, how can those work with the SSC?  Is the CLK connection not used with the SSC?  Or do the WS2801's not work and only the WS2811 do?

Just trying to wrap my head around this.

Thanks!

[Kasey911]

Never mind, I just looked back at RJ's post and see that he was only talking about the WS2811's working with the v4 SSC.  So the 2801's are another beast all together.

[chrisatpsu]

so then the 2811's are a 3 wire setup also?

[Kasey911]

According to the specs on Rays site, they are 3 wire. +12v, Gnd and DIN.

[arw01]

Thanks, that did help quite a bit.  The Wiki is a little out of date on sources and LED strings.  After I get a Zeus and an etherdongle, I think I will be good for more than I can handle.

I did pick up 4 DSC controllers and will find some strands off ebay most likely and wrap them around the windows or door or something.

Have not even got to the planning yet!