I was wondering up and down the aisles of Lowes comparing my options for mounting my pixel strings.
J channels, nylon cord, pvc pipe etc., and happen to come across something pretty cool.
In the tile section, there were several different types of tile edge trim. They have something thats made by QEP and its 3/8" tile trim in white and it has the letters QEP stamped out all the way down the strip. They come in 8' lengths and has 43 to 45 Q's in each 8' length depending on where the Q's start from edge.
The great thing about this for me is that the pixels just easily push right into the holes of the Q. No drilling or cutting or anything. They will hold but not the greatest at the little notch just below the LED but they hold great when you push just a little farther so it grips the thick part of the pixel. You can easily remove them if necessary to replace a pixel and stick them back in.
I didn't get an exact measurement of the on center spacing of the Q's but its a little over 2.25" so it may be a little closer then some of you may want. YOu may look at other tile trims there, they have some that have trapezoidal holes in them all the way down and if you measure and they fit then you could pretty much put any spacing you want.
For me the other bonus was that I am running 84 to 85 nodes on my strings so I am utilizing almost all the addresses on each hub and with these each one having 42 in them plus an extra bulb in the middle between two sections allows me to easily fold them in half for storage. I am using these for several things including my trees where I can have paracord for the strands of the trees and these slip over the paracord and with a couple zip ties are held in place.
On my first set shown, I used black duct tape on the face and then used a utility knife to poke an X in each Q hole and then just poked the pixel through. The tape is not needed, its just for looks as on the display items that are closer to the front I didn't want people to see the QEPs and it hides the lights better. Then on my trees in the back I wont worry about the tape. Without tape you can stick a strand of 85 through two sections in just a couple of minutes.
Take it for what its worth. Just another option for you to use that seems to be pretty quick and no drilling or cutting necessary.
