new to the Pi etc...

[Warlock]

I plan on upgrading my current system to the Pi as the player.
Now here is where I need serious help..
I plan on running aprox 2600 pixels and have no idea on a controller for such an amount.
I have 4 tree and 2 bushes all within 20 feet ( 4 in main garden and 2 on other side of the porch)
I also have a half led tree design( currently 10 channels) with the 2 trees and 2 bushes all in same garden.
I also wish to do aprox 800 pixels for my hedge.
So total would be 2600 pixels with some drip lights custom made for my awning etc...
So my question is what controller would handle my design/ number of pixels
Thanks for the help

[Gilrock]

I like the Falcon F16v2.  You can get them when Dave does groups buys.  You can find info about them on the FalconChristmas forum.  I have one on each side of my yard and some of my runs are going 30 feet and then driving 100 pixels.  I did everything with no power injection.  There should be a group buy early next year.

http://falconchristmas.com/forum/index.php/board,52.0.html

[kentd]

I will second what Gil says about the Falcon 16V2 as I have three of them. I am only currently using two as I did not have enough time to build everything I wanted. I have one mounted on the Mega Tree and one mounted on the Matrix. The flexibility of this controller dwarfs anything else out there. As far as power injection I don't always run power from the controller however on my matrix each string is 100 nodes folded at 50 so power is only at the beginning of the string. The Mega Tree has 160 node strings folded at 80 also with power only at the beginning of the string. There are pictures in other posts of mine if you want to see them.
You would not go wrong with the Falcon and Raspberry PI combination
Kent

[Gilrock]

Well I did do power injection on my pixel tree but that was mainly because the original controller I used only had 12 outputs and I had 32 strings.  So I made 42 pixel straps and used 4 straps per output with power injection in the middle.  The original controller had a problem with noise in my 5V pixels.  I switched over to the F16v2 and the noise problem disappeared and it has been rock solid.  That is what sold me so I bought 2 more boards.