ILoveC4 Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Hey guys, hoping the forum here can help provide me some insight. I need to get some rope lighting behind some crown molding. There's one outlet up behind the crown that is powered off a C4 dimmer (the last model prior to the "next gen" lighting). The rope light needs to be ~66 feet in length, but could easily be two ~33 foot sections or even smaller sections if necessary. I understand most of these require a transformer of some sort, so I'm hoping for something that can dim based on the load from the dimmer and where the transformer can be small enough to not be too noticeable behind/above the crown. While being able to dynamically change the color will be important for another project later this summer, for this specific project I think I just want a nice white colored light. Any rope lighting experts out there that can provide a little counsel? Thanks in advance. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 Does anyone have experience with this product? It's hard to tell while looking from my phone, but it appears this just has a plug on the end that can plug in to the outlet and be dimmer by my dimmer? I'm also guessing this can be cut to length? http://www.affordablequalitylighting.com/outdoor-lighting/holiday-lights-led-christmas-lights/holiday-rope-light/led-holiday-rope-light/150-ft-cool-white-led-rope-light-kit-120v-standard/?gclid=CjwKEAiA79zDBRCgyf2FgeiY-CESJABzr0BMDuhsoviYC3DCNMqe0lkgKzJnCMHpYz1KmPCPqIW3qhoCFBfw_wcB Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NextGenAV Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 The spec says it is mains voltage dimmable so should be fine with a standard dimmer. There is no transformer with this type of rope light. I would test it before installing though ... nothing worse than pulling it out again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 I agree! I also found this, which appears to be the same product but in a shorter length. http://www.birddogdistributing.com/Brilliant-120v-LED-Rope-Light-65ft-Spool.html Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NextGenAV Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 One thing to consider is that these ropes are omni-directional, so they don't produce such a consistent directional illumination as an LED strip produces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 Meaning they shine UP but not DOWN, as opposed to emitting light all directions? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NextGenAV Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 The ropes shine in all directions, but are not as consistent as a directional strip. That's why I would try it out before committing and fitting it, then firing it up. The LEDs are also 1 inch apart, the LED strips I use have 120 LEDs per metre (3 LEDs per inch) and look more like a constant light source along the entire length. I find rope LEDs look a bit like Christmas lights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvis Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 29 minutes ago, NextGenAV said: The LEDs are also 1 inch apart, the LED strips I use have 120 LEDs per metre (3 LEDs per inch) and look more like a constant light source along the entire length. Which product are you using and are you happy with it? Don't mean to hijack the thread, but my wife wants something like this on top of her cabinets for some "bounce" lighting off the ceiling. Will also reduce glare on the TV in the adjoining family room. Something RGB might be nice, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NextGenAV Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 I'm in the UK and pretty much exclusively use https://www.hiline-lighting.co.uk/gb/ Don't know if the products are available in the US, but should give you an idea of what to look for. The specific strips I use for warm white: https://www.hiline-lighting.co.uk/gb/led-strips/224-warm-white-led-strip-smd3528-cri80-24v-10w-ip65-5060440711299.html I always go with 24V strip. If you are looking for RGB, then definitely go for RGB-W tape instead of RGB. It is very difficult to reproduce warm white with RGB tape. As for control, I would look at mains dimmable power supplies for single colour and DMX for RGB-W. Houselogix have a great driver for DMX. https://www.houselogix.com/shop/advanced-dmx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMHarman Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 I'm in the UK and pretty much exclusively use https://www.hiline-lighting.co.uk/gb/ Don't know if the products are available in the US, but should give you an idea of what to look for. The specific strips I use for warm white: https://www.hiline-lighting.co.uk/gb/led-strips/224-warm-white-led-strip-smd3528-cri80-24v-10w-ip65-5060440711299.html I always go with 24V strip. If you are looking for RGB, then definitely go for RGB-W tape instead of RGB. It is very difficult to reproduce warm white with RGB tape. As for control, I would look at mains dimmable power supplies for single colour and DMX for RGB-W. Houselogix have a great driver for DMX. https://www.houselogix.com/shop/advanced-dmx Or RGB and a 2700k tape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c44me Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 consider the outdoor stuff - it dissipates the light better so you don't see the spot reflections etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NextGenAV Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 50 minutes ago, SMHarman said: Or RGB and a 2700k tape. Isn't that two different tapes? RGBW is an RGB and a White chip combined which saves a lot of hassle. https://www.hiline-lighting.co.uk/gb/led-strips/62-rgbw-led-strip-24v-waterproof-5060440710018.html Also IP65 rated or waterproof (non-submerged) https://www.hiline-lighting.co.uk/gb/led-strips/179-rgbw-led-strip-60-leds-per-meter-5meter-roll-300leds-24v-waterproof-ip67-5060440710971.html For installations that require extra smooth light emission then I use diffusers. If there is anything you need to know about LED strip or controlling them then email the guy that owns HiLine, what he doesn't know about it isn't worth knowing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMHarman Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Isn't that two different tapes? RGBW is an RGB and a White chip combined which saves a lot of hassle. https://www.hiline-lighting.co.uk/gb/led-strips/62-rgbw-led-strip-24v-waterproof-5060440710018.html Also IP65 rated or waterproof (non-submerged) https://www.hiline-lighting.co.uk/gb/led-strips/179-rgbw-led-strip-60-leds-per-meter-5meter-roll-300leds-24v-waterproof-ip67-5060440710971.html For installations that require extra smooth light emission then I use diffusers. If there is anything you need to know about LED strip or controlling them then email the guy that owns HiLine, what he doesn't know about it isn't worth knowing. It is. RGBW is usually a cooler W often even 6000k where you dial in some red to warm it up. My kitchen has 2700 and 6500 white in double wide tape diffusers. Cooking can have clinical 6500. When the kitchen is not in use a 2700 warm glow can persist to navigate around with diffused light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NextGenAV Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Ah OK, the tapes I have been using are 2700k on warm white. As you say I set them up as RGB full and W full for kitchen stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 I have been using the 5050 RGB lighting strips in a few applications and love them. They come in lengths of 5M (aka 16ft) so you would likely need four. But they are cheap at around $10-15 per roll. You would likely need amplifiers every roll or two and a larger transformer to drive that length, if you don't want it too bright you can get the rolls with 150 LEDs per roll rather than 300 as their power consumption is half. There are lots of controller options, my favourite is the Dresden Elektronik that turns this into a Philips Hue device. There are also wifi controllers that are usable by C4 with a bit of programming magic. And you can use cheapo IR controllers with the Chowmain driver. And there are DMX controllers available is well from some of our forum friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMHarman Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 And the enttek ide/dmx that has a free c4 driver but choppier fades and transitions than the engineering solutions one. Both Enttek and ES are the optimal solutions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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