Wire lengths in the SmartString World ...

[Dude_From_WA]

Greetings:

I have just finished assembling my SS hardware and I will be hanging the lights on Black Friday while the rest of the US is recovering from their turkey hangover and spending money they don't have on stuff they don't need. (end rant)

I have been following these forums for nearly a year and I am sure that I have read (and heard in the videos) many snippets here and there about wire lengths in the SS world but I am having difficulty finding these recommendations spelled out explicitly.  I did see in the draft PixelNet specification that the overall length from a generating (or repeating device) to the end device is conservatively limited to 1000'.

Specifically I am interested in the following distances.
1.  PC to Dongle:  My initial guess is this follows standard guidelines for USB (up to 10' or so unless you are using an powered/active USB cable with repeater capabilities).

2.  Dongle to Powered Hub: as this is RS485 communications the number here is quite large. (not even going to guess)

3.  Powered hub to powered hub (daisy chain): Similar to #2?

4.  Powered Hub to SSC:  I have read references to distances such as 50', 75', or more. (shorter with higher node counts)

5.  SSC to first node: relatively short (less than 4-5)'.

6.  Node to node: (if you wanted a dark spot between windows or other lighted features) similar to #5 (probably shorter)?

7.  Maximum overall length from the Powered hub to the last active node and/or the SSC to the last active node.
 
I'd like someone with firsthand knowledge or experience in the SS world to correct my assumptions.  Also, please clarify the definition of Generating and Repeating devices.  I'm guessing that the "end device" is simply the last active node on a string (farthest from the SSC).

Thanks in advance for your time and patience.

[rrowan]

Your assumption numbers look good. Not really much to add to it.

Is there a problem or are you just trying to make sure you are within limits?

Rick R.

[Dude_From_WA]

I am not having problems ... yet.  This is just me over analyzing the specification to convince myself that I am not violating any obvious limitation when set it all up tomorrow.

Thanks for your reply.

[sielbear]

I did choose to keep the distance between the ssc and my first node under 2 feet. I had 1 or 2 strands that did not like much distance from the ssc. I kept most of the distances after the ssc under 3' out of concern for oddness... Just my thoughts after testing this summer.