Sean Meighan
Welcome => Do You Need Help? Post it here => Topic started by: kentd on November 26, 2016, 05:45:41 PM
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I have built 8 arches using Smart / Pixel LED RGB Strip 60 LEDs/m 20 Pixels/m Waterproof Tube (16ft-6in/5 meter Roll) - 12v / 2811 by cutting the strip in half so each arch has 50 pixels. These are inside of McMaster Carr tubing for diffusion purposes.
My frustration is that when I built the arches they worked fine. I have now installed them in my display and 5 of the 8 have pixels that have gone bad. I have never had this kind of problem with my bullet nodes, last year they all ran fine and this year lit up just fine.
Is the failure due to poor product or something else, like static electricity causing failure. Is there a better way to get the great effect these strips give diffused in the tubes using something else that would not have this high of failure rate?
Thanks for any input
Kent
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You may have a problem with static electricity. I know when I was building mine this summer, I used my bare hand to wipe off some dust and some of the Pixels would go out. I had to power down the controller to get them back on. Used Windex from then on and no more problems like that.
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No input other then to say that is a very high failure rate.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
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Your experience is one reason many don't use strips. I'm 100% bullet nodes. A lot easier to work with and repair.
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
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I have a lot of strips in my setup unfortunately. I am sorry I ever bought any strips. They are just a bit delicate for my taste and I find them fairly difficult to repair. Man, if you have a problem with a node, cut it out solder up wires, you are back up & running!!! Easy peazy. I will move from strips/nodes to all nodes over the course of the next few years. I am using the 1/2" SharkBite tubing from HD for my arches, which works really nicely with strips. When going to nodes, 3/4" might be needed...
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I like the effect that the strip and the McMaster Tube gives, however I am trying to figure out a way to get the same effect using bullet pixels. I am struggling with this. The tube is the same tube Matt Johnson used. They are a fairly large diameter but not enough to pull a pixel strip like James has where you could poke the bullet at the 1" spacing, it won't fit so I am thinking about zip ties to compress the pixel string. The number of nodes with the strip is 50 with the bullets it could end up at 85.
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I like the effect that the strip and the McMaster Tube gives, however I am trying to figure out a way to get the same effect using bullet pixels. I am struggling with this. The tube is the same tube Matt Johnson used. They are a fairly large diameter but not enough to pull a pixel strip like James has where you could poke the bullet at the 1" spacing, it won't fit so I am thinking about zip ties to compress the pixel string. The number of nodes with the strip is 50 with the bullets it could end up at 85.
Just an FYI, Ray can make Pixels with any spacing and wire color you want.
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I like the effect that the strip and the McMaster Tube gives, however I am trying to figure out a way to get the same effect using bullet pixels. I am struggling with this. The tube is the same tube Matt Johnson used. They are a fairly large diameter but not enough to pull a pixel strip like James has where you could poke the bullet at the 1" spacing, it won't fit so I am thinking about zip ties to compress the pixel string. The number of nodes with the strip is 50 with the bullets it could end up at 85.
This is an interesting thought...I may experiment with this idea as well over the next couple of weeks (to be used next year). I bought 50' of the tube Matt used and the strips as well but some of the issues I have read about make me a little nervous on the strips. Keep us posted if you figure something out.
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One thing that Matt did was use bunge cords to put tension on the strip to hold it against the bottom of the tubing, I am thinking that this tension especially if it is somewhat high could lead to failure. I am going to make a replacement strip but I am going to zip tie it to one of James bullet pixel strips like I have used on my Mega Tree. This will let the tension be put on the plastic rather than the silicon tube allowing the possibility of longer life for the pixels themselves. I don't know if this will make a difference or not but I am going to use the quick connects that come on the strips so no soldering will be needed to replace a strip so one can be removed and another put in its place more easily. I will post how this works out.
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The strips are really a pain. I created 5 double arches and have had one pixel go out on 4 of them. I used the sharkbite tubing from home depot and just mounted it into a piece of wood with holes for the tubing drilled into it. I then put silicon over the hole for water proofing. I just got my show running yesterday and another pixel is out on one of the arches. Got to find a way to use the flat bullet nodes for these.
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The strips are really a pain. I created 5 double arches and have had one pixel go out on 4 of them. I used the sharkbite tubing from home depot and just mounted it into a piece of wood with holes for the tubing drilled into it. I then put silicon over the hole for water proofing. I just got my show running yesterday and another pixel is out on one of the arches. Got to find a way to use the flat bullet nodes for these.
I didn't think about the flat bullets, they might just be an answer. The mounting strips have 1" spacing and might just be able to create a similar effect and have a better solution.
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OK I was able to pull one of the bad arches out of the display and pull the strip out of the arch. The tension of the bungee cord had caused the strip to separate part way down the strip. I replaced this strip with one that I had zip tied to the pixel strip of James. I inserted that combination into the arch and put the tension on the James strip pulled it tight against the bottom of the arch and it lit up great, now to see if putting it back into the yard it will keep working. If it does this may solve the problem at least for now.
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Yeah I had to repair 3 out of 5. Two of mine broke in the middle while sitting in storage. I guess there was too much tension with the spring. Then I had one where the first pixel on the strip went bad.
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This is my 4th season with strips in the McMaster Carr tubing. I have never tensioned mine, they lay in the tubes and have never moved.
I originally ordered strips from Ray, those only lasted 2 seasons. After that a bunch of single colors stopped working on them. I have had strips from DIY LED Express these last 2 seasons, they have been great so far, no failures.
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If I don't attach them to the tube they just fall out...lol.
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OK so using the 12mm Pixel/RGB Mounting Strips that are made by James with the 60/20 zip tied to that and the bungees being used to tension the mounting strip, all of the arches are working and look really good. I hope that this will be the solution. They seem to be working with no problems now for three nights.