Review of Technicolor Strings

[dduck]

Steve,  Thanks for the review.  I have 100 strings coming in as well but they are custom.

For others:  Do you have a link to just how to do fused injection to multiple strings from a single power supply?
How many strings can a single power supply from Ray be used for additional injection?

Thanks,
Bill

[tbone321]

There is no need for a link.  A simple in-line automotive fuse between the supply and each string will work just fine.  As for the number of strings for a single power supply, the real question is how many pixels and that really depends on the current draw of each pixel and the power capacity of the power supply. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you decide to or need to power inject the strings, that you separate the power lead between the last node that you want the hub to power and the following node that will be powered by the injected power.  There is no need to separate or cut the ground wire and even though it is suggested that only the 12V line be connected to the end of the string, I would strongly suggest that both the 12V and the ground be connected at the injection point.

[dduck]

    Thanks a bunch tbone that makes sense.   I will try it.

[thestig]

So I can run 16 of the 50 count technicolor strings on my Zuess without having to add any power injection? And the 2811 chips will work?

[tbone321]

Yes if the strings that you are using pull less than 4A each AND if the 2811 chips are clocked correctly.  If they work with the SSC's, then they will work with the Zeus as well.

[thestig]

thank you for the reply. So the strings that are linked in the original post 50 count should work. It's time to talk to the CFO.

Sorry about the thread hijack. Continue on.

[Steve Gase]

thank you for the reply. So the strings that are linked in the original post 50 count should work. It's time to talk to the CFO.

Sorry about the thread hijack. Continue on.

smooth sailing ahead...  have fun!

[Travis]

Thanks for the great review.

I should be getting my strands of 100 in soon. Based on your testing do you see that power injection for a string of 100 will be nessessary?

Yes !
I have a strand of the 100 count Technicolor strings and I had to inject power at the end and that is with the first pixel only 4 feet from the controller

[dannyp]

There is no need for a link.  A simple in-line automotive fuse between the supply and each string will work just fine.  As for the number of strings for a single power supply, the real question is how many pixels and that really depends on the current draw of each pixel and the power capacity of the power supply. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you decide to or need to power inject the strings, that you separate the power lead between the last node that you want the hub to power and the following node that will be powered by the injected power.  There is no need to separate or cut the ground wire and even though it is suggested that only the 12V line be connected to the end of the string, I would strongly suggest that both the 12V and the ground be connected at the injection point.

Can you tell me if the fuse would be on the positive line?

Also I don't think I understand the bit about separating the power between the hub powered node and the injection powered node.  Why is this important and how would I achieve this if I am using one of the T connectors?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[tbone321]

Can you tell me if the fuse would be on the positive line?

Yes, you place the fuses on the positive line out of the supply.

Also I don't think I understand the bit about separating the power between the hub powered node and the injection powered node.  Why is this important and how would I achieve this if I am using one of the T connectors?

In many cases it depends on why and how you are power injecting.  If you are injecting power simply to stop the end of the string from dimming and you are using the same power supply on all of the injection points, then separating or cutting the power line between injection points is not necessary.  If you are using different supplies and / or injecting due to current limitations, then it becomes necessary to separate the different sections from eachother. 

The primary problem is if you don't and one of the power supplies shuts down for some reason (and it does happen), then the entire load will be placed on the other one.  If the reason that you are injecting is due to a high current load, then you will be pushing the other power supply and / or its cable beyond its limits which can cause a fire or failure.  With the hub, that may result in a blown fuse and they ae not all that easy to replace, especially if the hub is already connected into an active display. 

Another issue is based on the reason why it is strongly suggested that only single rail supplies be used with the SS hubs.  If there is a difference in the output voltage between the two supplies, they may fight each other to get the voltage to were they are set to operate and PC supplies are somewhat sensitive to this and are tightly regulated.  Low cost power supplies tend not to be such and may cause the PC supply on the hub to work harder than necessary.  It is also harder to control how much of the load is handled by each supply and the one with the higher voltage will also take most of the load.

Separating the sections eliminates all of the above problems.  Each supply only powers the section of the string that it is connected to so you have com[plete control over how much of the load it is powering, the supplies never see eachother so there is no fighting if they are not operating at exactly the same voltage, and if one of the supplies cuts out, the other supply is not affected by excess load from the rest of the string. 

I don't know what you mean by T connector but if you are referring to a line tap, then just cut the power line on the side of the tap that the hub is connected to. 

[Steve Gase]

There is no need for a link.  A simple in-line automotive fuse between the supply and each string will work just fine.  As for the number of strings for a single power supply, the real question is how many pixels and that really depends on the current draw of each pixel and the power capacity of the power supply. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you decide to or need to power inject the strings, that you separate the power lead between the last node that you want the hub to power and the following node that will be powered by the injected power.  There is no need to separate or cut the ground wire and even though it is suggested that only the 12V line be connected to the end of the string, I would strongly suggest that both the 12V and the ground be connected at the injection point.

Can you tell me if the fuse would be on the positive line?

Also I don't think I understand the bit about separating the power between the hub powered node and the injection powered node.  Why is this important and how would I achieve this if I am using one of the T connectors?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 
 
the fuse goes on the positive line.

the suggestion was to divide your string into pieces so that one half gets power from the SSC, and the other half gets power directly from the power supply.  The suggestion was to "separate them".  For two 50 count strings, it isn't as frightnening... but for a 100-count it means cutting them in half.  Only the data line should be continued from one half to the next. 

to accomplish this, you might want to cut the 100-count string in half... put an output (female) connector on the end of the first half.... put an input (male) connector on the front of the second half... now you have 2 similar 50-count strings.

Next, create your injector...  take a male pigtail connector and using only the data line, connect it to a female pigtail connector (data line only).  Finally, connect the 12V+ and ground to the female connector.  this "injector" would be used to connect both halves.

It is said in the forum, that the power for the smart string injection can be provided by a second power supply.  if you do use a second power supply -- be sure to separate the first and second halves.  if you use a common single-rail supply -- then the separation is only suggested.
 

[tbone321]

This sounds like more work and expense than necessary.  There is no need to cut the ground wire.  It s a common wire and can be left alone.  Just connect all of the different power supplies ground wires to it and you are good to go.  They can share the same common line and having two wires intact makes the wiring of the string stronger and less likely to be broken.  You can either inject the power at the cut point or at the other end of the string.  If you inject at the cut point, then all you really need is to pull back the wire a few inches on the injection side and install a bullet connector for the +12V.  You could use that T connector for the ground and tie it in around the same point but I would recommend injecting the power at the other end of the string.  Then you have end points for both the +12V and the ground and can use a waterproof connector there if desired.  Just leave the data line disconnected on that connector.  At the separation point, just remove about a 1/4 inch of the +12V side and coat the exposed ends with some silicone or liquid electrical tape.

As for where the strings are split, that is more up to the power supplies being used.  If you don't already have any supplies , then you might want to split the string(s) in the middle and size a single PS to handle the full load or 2 PS's to each handle half of the load.  The price jumps up rather quickly for quality high output supplies.  If you already have the PS for the hub, then I would place the cut points to fully utilize the output capability of the existing supply and let the injection PS pick up the rest.  This may either allow you to purchase a smaller and less expensive supply to pick up the excess load or if required, pick up a larger secondary supply to reduce the load on the hub supply.

[sittinguphigh]

Not sure if you can just go around the SSC with the power lines and use the power from the data stream is enough. Just put in a inline fuse.

[tbone321]

Not sure if you can just go around the SSC with the power lines and use the power from the data stream is enough. Just put in a inline fuse.

I don't understand what you are saying here.

[taybrynn]

What is the real advantage of these new technicolor pixels?

I see a better mechanism for mounting.

Probably better sealing I'm sure.

Look handy to be able to screw on C9 like bulb caps.

Anything else about them that is truly much better than the standard wiki nodes ?