A good RGB LED Control solution for Control4 is there

[jackstone]

9 minutes ago, blackfiveo1 said:

Everything worked as advertised, I did hit one snag, I couldnt get the new driver to see my DMX box, I had to login to the iTach and set the serial port from 9600 up to 115200. Then it was able to come online!

Yes that is correct, and will apply to any serial-to-ip device used to communicate with the DMX engine.

[blackfiveo1]

Colorchanger is awesome and responsive! The security thing is a bit of a "seems in the wrong place" but ill take what I can get!

[txfanatic]

C4Gurus

I wanted to tag onto this thread.  I have an outdoor lighting project where I want to create a few color zones:

1) 8 landscape led RGB uplights on trees (they can run the same color)

2) RGBW LED strips

3) Another RGBW LED Strip

4) Another 3 landscape led RBG uplights on another set of trees

A few questions as I start to wire this whole thing:

1) On the 8 landscape uplights, can I wire these all in series, or should i home run each of these back to the controller, if so, what kind of wire should i plan on?  I like this light that was suggested, but the 120 degree angle is a big wide, wish they had a 30 degree one...does anyone have a suggestion that is similar price range?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I3UHFMK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Can most of these be wired for 12 or 24V on 16-4 wire even if the length of runs could reach 100 ft at its farthest?  Do I need another power wire to these led RGB lights?

2) I have an outdoor covered box that has a CAT6 wire to my AV closet, can I put the power supply and the LED color controllers in there, while leaving the DMX decoder in the AV closet

3) How do I keep water away from the connections, especially if I am running them in serial?

4) Should I place the wire in conduit, or would that be overkill and just let the wire be buried underneath the weed block?

 

Thank you in advance, I already learned a lot from this thread,

[SMHarman]

 

 

 

 

1) On the 8 landscape uplights, can I wire these all in series, or should i home run each of these back to the controller, if so, what kind of wire should i plan on? 1a) Can most of these be wired for 12 or 24V on 16-4 wire even if the length of runs could reach 100 ft at its farthest?  Do I need another power wire to these led RGB lights?

 

 

2) I have an outdoor covered box that has a CAT6 wire to my AV closet, can I put the power supply and the LED color controllers in there, while leaving the DMX decoder in the AV closet

 

 

 

 

3) How do I keep water away from the connections, especially if I am running them in serial?

 

 

 

 

4) Should I place the wire in conduit, or would that be overkill and just let the wire be buried underneath the weed block?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you in advance, I already learned a lot from this thread,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1) the 8 lamps. So an Rgb lamp will either need 4 core voltage (-R,G and B and +) or two core 12-24v plus a dmx cable and decoder.

 

 

 

 

Either way they will all run in series.

 

 

 

 

You could 16-12 / Guage waterproof outdoor rated cable plus a waterproof cat cable or the 16-12/4 you mention in 1a

 

 

 

 

1a) 24V handles longer runs with less voltage drop (why do you think overhead long distance power is at 48000v) I'd go 24 if you can. The can here would be a P=IV calculation based on the wattage of the fixtures (per channel) and the size of the transformer and power of the decoder / amplifier.

 

 

 

 

2) the power supply needs passive cooling. You would likely be better putting that indoors and distributing power in this waterproof box. Dmx decoders could go there. Or by each light device.

 

InstallGear 4/8/10 AWG Gauge Power Distribution Block 4 Gauge In to (4) 8/10 Gauge Out https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DCDG9JC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_W8RWybPZ5G3MX. This is car audio gear but an example of a distributor block.

 

 

 

3) keep them above ground in ip rated enclosures.

 

SOCKIT BOX 21-11155 BLACK 285 DRI-BOX WEATHERPROOF CONNECTION BOX https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006EUHRK6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_h2RWybE9VR48K

 

Or

 

uxcell® Waterproof Cable Connect Power Project Case Junction Box 200x120x75mm https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O9YY1G2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_R2RWybKZ8DV77

 

Or

 

White ABS IP65 Waterproof EnClosure Junction Box 200mmx155mmx80mm https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QC301V2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_N4RWyb25DF5NX

 

 

 

 

4) conduit is not necessary. Consider some automotive 24v fuses in the mix. Aftermarket car audio blocks could be the thing here. Also plug the transformer into a GFI/RCD.

 

 

 

 

[jackstone]

Also, 9W RGB spot are fairly common, but not as much powerful... I suggest doing a test using one of those 9W spot on a night, just turn it on and point it when you wanted to install, check if the output id sufficient. If not, you may have to consider higher wattage spot, there are about double the price but triple the output power, and keep in mind that most power spot will need a dedicated 24v power line beside the RGBW "control" line (smaller gauge)

 

 

[jackstone]

For those interested, we've done a minor update over the V2 DMX Driver, it adds a new feature that many people may find useful: RGB Dimmer auto-rename.

Are you tired of renaming all the child dimmers of your RGB dimmers? Then just click "Auto-rename" and it'll rename the three child drivers automatically based on the Master:

[cybuch]

I am getting a strange error when I upgrade the firmware....it says..checking....loading....verifying.... and then I get an error "Propeller chip lost on COM5" and doesnt finish the update.   Any thoughts?

 

[jackstone]

Is this an older (single XLR) DMX engine?

you should ask John at Engineering Solution, he's the guy who made the dmx engine and firmware.

[cybuch]

No, its a newer dual, I emailed him, but thought I would check here just in case.  I have two of them, and they are doing the same thing.

[jackstone]

I would take a guess with the "com5" thing... I know it's an usb serial port but try to put it at com3 or 4...

[txfanatic]

Thanks for the advice on how to wire.

So I bought the 14-4 wire for the LED RGB light control and 12-2 landscape light wire for the power (100 ft for both)

While I am at it, I am thinking of putting conduit down and actually having plugs at each of the 8 trees so I can easily put up Christmas lights without having to put dangerous wires across the sidewalks to the 8 trees I am trying to uplight.  Would it be a problem to have the power wire for the 110v circuit be in the same conduit as the 12-2 and 14-4 wire, ie is there any interference issues?  

Any good recommendations on LED RGB uplights that won't break the bank (<$50)

Thanks again

[SMHarman]

Thanks for the advice on how to wire.

So I bought the 14-4 wire for the LED RGB light control and 12-2 landscape light wire for the power (100 ft for both)

While I am at it, I am thinking of putting conduit down and actually having plugs at each of the 8 trees so I can easily put up Christmas lights without having to put dangerous wires across the sidewalks to the 8 trees I am trying to uplight.  Would it be a problem to have the power wire for the 110v circuit be in the same conduit as the 12-2 and 14-4 wire, ie is there any interference issues?  

Any good recommendations on LED RGB uplights that won't break the bank (

Thanks again

This 14/4 and 12/2 is confusing me.

 

You need one or the other.

 

If your dmx controller is at each fitting you need 2 core power plus 2 cores from a Cat cable for data.

 

If your dmx controller is near the home you need the 14/4. The power is already being carries in that cable.

 

Now the 110 and the 24v. The 110 is getting into fixed hv cable and electrical code world. Hv and lv generally should not mix, though technically a shielded xlr carrying the dmx data will be fine in a lv / hv mix. That's how the world goes in a theater.

[txfanatic]

Thanks...I get it now, but I guess worst case I am trying to future proof it so I don't have to rip up the landscaping again (which is why I'm thinking conduit and laying both the 14-4 wire plus the 12-2 wire, in addition to some HV wire so I can put christmas lights, etc).  This is very helpful again, really appreciate it

Any good recommendations on LED RGB uplights that won't break the bank (<$50)...preferably a spotlight that has a 30 degree range as it will be shinning on narrow trees

[jackstone]

2 minutes ago, txfanatic said:

Thanks...I get it now, but I guess worst case I am trying to future proof it so I don't have to rip up the landscaping again (which is why I'm thinking conduit and laying both the 14-4 wire plus the 12-2 wire, in addition to some HV wire so I can put christmas lights, etc).  This is very helpful again, really appreciate it

Any good recommendations on LED RGB uplights that won't break the bank (<$50)...preferably a spotlight that has a 30 degree range as it will be shinning on narrow trees

At this price point, your only option is Chinese stuff. Take a look of Aliexpress or eBay, there's a lot of cheap models.

[txfanatic]

what would higher quality ones cost?  And what brands should i look at?

[jackstone]

It's usually x3 of the Chinese stuff price.

 

[txfanatic]

could be worth it just for guaranteed performance.  Do you have brand or two that you like?

 

Appreciate the replies jackstone

[jackstone]

Yes, I like the one that works

But no I can't recommend any brands since they are almost all brand less. It's a game of trial and error. For piece of mind, you can buy from a local LED shop.

[txfanatic]

Ha...i guess you danced around it enough to warrant a hall pass on the question.  Thanks

[lippavisual]

The hard part is getting your infrastructure installed. Once that is done, swapping out lights for trial and error is easy. 

[cybuch]

@jackstone, I finally got my issue figured out on the update.  It turns out my USB to RS232 adapter wasn't syncing correctly with the DMX Engine.  I picked up a Parallax USB to RS232 and it worked a charm.  I do have a question about the new drivers, can I just update my current drivers with the new ones?  Or do I have to install these new ones and reconfigure all the channels?

 

 

[jackstone]

Unfortunately you will have to replace all old drivers with the new one, you can't update directly because the new version is a complete redone.

[cybuch]

7 hours ago, txfanatic said:

what would higher quality ones cost?  And what brands should i look at?

I bought all my up lights from @jackstone, they are more than $50 each, but I am extremely happy with them. I added a picture, so you can see how bright they are. 

I too, ran wires and conduit all over my landscape for all the lights and I can control each individually.  I even added some pixels (via Falcon F16v2) to my backyard around my pool and bar area and control them via xLights/xSchedule, in C4.   The pool lights are animated, thats why you don't see them all lit at once.

 

 

[cybuch]

On 3/10/2017 at 10:32 AM, jackstone said:

For those interested, we've done a minor update over the V2 DMX Driver, it adds a new feature that many people may find useful: RGB Dimmer auto-rename.

Are you tired of renaming all the child dimmers of your RGB dimmers? Then just click "Auto-rename" and it'll rename the three child drivers automatically based on the Master:

THANK YOU!!!!

 

[cybuch]

@jackstone!!  What?????  Moving spot effect???!!!  I just got 5 moving heads for my holiday light display, I am going to try out the new driver and see how it goes!

Also, how do I use sound to light in the new drivers?  There was a trigger:external for that before.

EDIT: never mind, I think I found it, sequencer