Smart Strings

[Steve716]

I want to use the SS flexible ribbon style strips. With that being said, what do you recommend as the the chip controlling the strip? Should I look for strips using the 2801, 2811, or 6803 chips? Or does it really matter what chip is there?  I want to go ahead and purchase these so I will have them on hand.

[Rainlover]

The strips that are used with the SS are  - You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login
I don't know if any of the other strips are supported.

John

[tmcteer]

The official supported smart strings are in the wiki here's the link

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Tom

[Steve716]

I have read through this wiki portion, but it does not say anything about what kind of chip is supported. Does it even matter what kind of chip is on the strings?

[keitha43]

I wouldn't order from anything but the links in the wiki. It is more than the chip type. I think it has to do with the speed the chip is set to run at or something to that effect. These products were manufactured to RJ's requirements.

[tbone321]

I have read through this wiki portion, but it does not say anything about what kind of chip is supported. Does it even matter what kind of chip is on the strings?

The reason that the chip type is not listed in the WIKI is to try and reduce support issues.  The strings from Ray are known to work with the SSC's and we are aware of the issues that they do have and how to get around them.  The quality has also gone up while the price has come down.  Since different chip types have different protocols, yes, the chip type does matter.  Another issue with sourcing nodes from multiple vendors is that there is no guarantee that the RGB order will be the same and if not, there is no way to put them all in the same string and have them work correctly.  A final issue is that we run on 12V here and if you buy a 5V node, it's gonna pop on ya.

[rm357]

To add to tbone's list, the colors may not match. The red, blue, and green LEDs emit specific frequencies of light. If another vendor uses a slightly different blue led, for example, the blue will not match and any color mix using the blue will not match...

I bought some of the 4 led squares (not on the  wiki). They have a reddish tint relative to the other nodes at the same levels...

RM

[Steve716]

The main reason I was asking is because I was looking at the strings from Ray using the 2811IC. These strings are so much cheaper, you could double your display for the same price as the ones in the wiki.
Maybe RJ, or someone else, can come up with a firmware update to run this 2811 chip!

[tbone321]

If you are looking at the ones that I am, you should see that they are 5VDC pixels.  The smart string controller and the pixels that we are using are 12VDC and no firmware update is going to change that.  We use 12V to allow for longer string runs without the need for power injection points along the string.  It is unlikely that RJ would write custom firmware like this unless there is a real need and demand because doing so would complicate the support process and that is a key issue here.  Multiple pieces of firmware for the same device just adds to the confusion if something doesn't work.  He also doesn't release his firmware but nothing is stopping you from creating your own provided you keep it to and for yourself. 

[rm357]

I'm not seeing the dramatic price difference in the 12 volt flavor.

The entire SS architecture is based on a 12 volt infrastructure. The reasons why are documented in the "smart string node documentation" file in the wiki.

The 5 volt nodes are simply not compatible on any level.

[tbone321]

Now I see the 12V ones as well.  The price difference is 2 cents per node, 38 vs 40, not worth worring about. 

[Steve716]

This is the flexible strip I am referring to:
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$36.00 for a 5m strip versus $48.00 for a 4m strip seems pretty significant to me when you order 5 or 10 at a time.
This is a 12v strip, I would not use any 5v stuff for all the reasons previously mentioned, i.e. voltage drop, etc.,etc..

Maybe I should have posted the link to this strip earlier and avoided some confusion.

[dpitts]

Steve,

The WS2811 IC is a three channel chip. The strip you are referring to uses 10 chips per meter. So each chip is connected to three 5050 leds where all three leds will be the same color. So the resolution of the strip is one third that of the TM1809 strip we we use on this site. That could be the reason for the price difference.