A good RGB LED Control solution for Control4 is there

[jackstone]

The DMX Splitter should go at the beginning of the chain and from here, split into two "sections" of DMX decoders. This will be done using an XLR5 from the DMX Engine - to the XLR input of the DMX Splitter and two output of the DMX splitter will go to each sections of decoders still using XLR, then daisy chain the rest of the decoder of each section using cat.5

 

If this does not solve the issue, chance you may have to replace those China decoders that are known problematic.

[chuddy117]

Thanks, I'll give that a shot.  I'd rather not trash all my decoders (have a lot of money invested), is it possible to simply use another Engineering Solutions DMX engine for another bank of decoders? 

[jackstone]

Yes that would work too, but i think a ES DMX engine would cost more than a dmx splitter, also that would require two serial ports on the controller.

[Cyknight]

Looking at the picture - there's a remote unit as well? Is there an end-cap on the final piece?

[chuddy117]

Can you clarify what you mean by remote unit?  The only remote unit is the ES DMX engine back in my server closet.  I have tried installing a 3-pin DMX terminator on the last decoder but that didn't help.  And actually, if I'm using cat5 for daisy chains, are the XLR's even "active"?  Or do I need a cat5 DMX terminator? 

[jackstone]

I think he mean that we see a cat.5 cable going out the last decoder and going somewhere...

[chuddy117]

Ah, yes that blue cable is going out to the DMX engine about 25ft away. 

[jackstone]

And the one that go into the first decoder?

[chuddy117]

That is the first decoder, there's nothing coming out of the last encoder (although I've tried the XLR3 terminator without any change in behavior).

[jackstone]

The DMX Driver has just been updated, take a look at this thread for the list of new features:

 

http://www.c4forums.com/topic/18466-domaudeo-advanced-dmx-rgbrgbw-led-and-low-voltage-light-control-solution/

[chuddy117]

It's been over a week but I've finally straightened out my issues, and thought I would offer my solution for posterity.  I grabbed a DMX splitter/amplifier and put it AFTER the 15th decoder to try and boost the signal to the last 3 decoders, no change.  I then ran DMX XLR3 (with an XLR3->XLR5 adapter on the ES side) out to my first decoder, then ran an XLR3 from port 1 of my 8 port splitter into the 10th decoder.  Still no change.  Then I thought maybe my actual LED lighting was bad so I disconnected the load, connected two short wires to COM and Channel 1 on the decoder only to find out the decoder was indeed outputting erratic voltage.  Finally (and this is what fixed it), I ran port 1 of the splitter into the LAST decoder (handling the problematic lighting), and I am now getting clean voltage.  For some reason, that 18th decoder (which I've swapped several times with other decoders) needs a dedicated connection from the splitter.  The other 17 loads are daisy chained via cat5 and they all work perfectly.  Thanks for everyone's help, off to add more decoders! 

[jackstone]

Glad to hear you manage to fix this!

[jackstone]

For those who are using the Sound-to-Light feature of this driver, there is a much simpler way to make it work if you're using a Control4 Audio Matrix. Just connect a spare output of the matrix to a contact input of your controller, then make the audio of the room you want LED to follow the music to output to the Matrix's zone you've used for the contact input and done.

 

Having a dedicated output on the Matrix for Sound-to-Light allow any audio source to be used as light control, it's really easy to program using the CURRENT_SELECTED_DEVICE variable. You may have to adjust the output volume on the Matrix output to fine tune the light movement.

[jackstone]

Many people are asking what is the best practice for a home DMX setup for LED control. We are currently preparing some video tutorial explaining the basics.

Meanwhile, you can visit our Facebook page where we've just posted pictures of a small DMX LED Install in a home. There is two rooms will full DMX lightning and the rest of the home is Control4 centralized lightning. The small system is a good example how to install DMX hardware in the mechanical room. For larger project you may need to install some decoders near the lights if cable run is too long.

Here is the link, and don't forget to like our page while there

https://www.facebook.com/Domaudeo/

[jackstone]

New driver revision 1.5.6 just released. This is mainly a maintenance release with some code optimization, better effect overlapping protection and added precise channel level     feedbacks across all the DMX ecosystem. That mean all drivers that are configured on a channel or range or channels will receive feedback if something change over that channel(s), so you can now turn on an effect with the Effect switch, turn it off with a ColorChanger and see the light level feedback over an RGB Dimmer configured on the same channels. This simplify a lot the installation in a room with LED control on Control4 Keypads.

 

 

[christophers]

hey @jackstone, what do you think about DMX512-4DP (http://www.amazon.com/Channel-Digital-Display-Decoder-Controller/dp/B00WG3HV4W). looks like the same product but supports 4ch. i'm doing a decent outdoor install with all RGBW LED lights, i think this would work better. what are your thoughts? 

[jackstone]

22 hours ago, Christopher Spitler said:

hey @jackstone, what do you think about DMX512-4DP (http://www.amazon.com/Channel-Digital-Display-Decoder-Controller/dp/B00WG3HV4W). looks like the same product but supports 4ch. i'm doing a decent outdoor install with all RGBW LED lights, i think this would work better. what are your thoughts? 

Can't say... they look pretty decent and well built but using cheap DMX decoders is always a guess. We tried many kind and the PX24500 was a clear winner over other cheap decoder, but you can always find better, pricier model that will offer better refresh rate so smoother fades.

If you order those Amazon's decoder, please share how they work, we're always interested to find new decoder models that can be recommended.

Just a quick note on 4-channel decoders, people sometime think it's best to use a 4-channel decoder to control an RGBW load, but it's not always the case. Ask yourself a question: Do you want to control each White light independently? the answer is usually no because independent control is nice for color effect, not for white as we often use the White as the functional lighting and we use it with all fixtures white light turned On. Check out the attached image witch is part of our DMX Tutorial #2 (Group dimmer), it shows how to wire RGBW fixtures with 3-channel decoders and grouped white on an external decoder.

[SMHarman]

Can't say... they look pretty decent and well built but using cheap DMX decoders is always a guess. We tried many kind and the PX24500 was a clear winner over other cheap decoder, but you can always find better, pricier model that will offer better refresh rate so smoother fades.

If you order those Amazon's decoder, please share how they work, we're always interested to find new decoder models that can be recommended.

Just a quick note on 4-channel decoders, people sometime think it's best to use a 4-channel decoder to control an RGBW load, but it's not always the case. Ask yourself a question: Do you want to control each White light independently? the answer is usually no because independent control is nice for color effect, not for white as we often use the White as the functional lighting and we use it with all fixtures white light turned On. Check out the attached image witch is part of our DMX Tutorial #2 (Group dimmer), it shows how to wire RGBW fixtures with 3-channel decoders and grouped white on an external decoder.

91 and 124 need to be powerful decoders in this example.

[jackstone]

2 hours ago, SMHarman said:

91 and 124 need to be powerful decoders in this example.

true, but this is only schematic, the real system use boosters (RGB amplifier) for the white channels, they are not on the drawing to keep it clean and easy to understand.

[SMHarman]

Yes and you can have multiple drivers set to 91 and 124 as an alternate. They all then respond to the same controller commands.

[zax123]

Hi all, new recruit here.  I've been trolling for a bit, but this thread really caught my eye.

@jackstone, I'm a fellow Quebecer and proud to see all the work you've done on this stuff, congratulations!

I'm building a home theater (my second serious one - my first Unity Theater and second Comfort Theater) and I want to use LED lighting all over the place and so I'm just learning the ropes.  It's very exciting what's possible.  I'll be using a C4 processor to control the whole theater including lighting.

So far, everything I've read is very straightforward, but I have one question specifically about using another PX24500 to power only the white lines on some LED strips.  @jacksone you mentioned using an amplifier if you have too much stripping to use only one channel on a spare PX24500.  Can you recommend a model as you have the PX24500, the ES RS-232 DMX engine, etc?

Thanks!

- Rob

-------

An add-on to my question... if I'm using WRGBV LED strips and not RGBV strips, I would need 18/5 wire.  I was thinking speaker wire would be perfect for 18/4 (and from pictures it looks like that's what you use), but what are you guys using for 18/5?

[jackstone]

45 minutes ago, zax123 said:

Hi all, new recruit here.  I've been trolling for a bit, but this thread really caught my eye.

@jackstone, I'm a fellow Quebecer and proud to see all the work you've done on this stuff, congratulations!

Thanks man!

 

I'm building a home theater (my second serious one - my first Unity Theater and second Comfort Theater) and I want to use LED lighting all over the place and so I'm just learning the ropes.  It's very exciting what's possible.  I'll be using a C4 processor to control the whole theater including lighting.

So far, everything I've read is very straightforward, but I have one question specifically about using another PX24500 to power only the white lines on some LED strips.  @jacksone you mentioned using an amplifier if you have too much stripping to use only one channel on a spare PX24500.  Can you recommend a model as you have the PX24500, the ES RS-232 DMX engine, etc?

We do not use a specific model as RGB amplifier, I've tried a lot and they all work well with the PX24500 (but NOT with the Hi-Speed 4-Ch DMX Decoder also sold at Houselogix, witch is too fast for those amplifier). We usually recommend using powerful amplifier that can handle 5a per channel or more, something like that:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/12-24V-30A-360W-Signal-Amplifier-Repeater-Controller-For-5050-3528-RGB-LED-Strip-/181784675449?hash=item2a53360479:g:I1MAAOSwT6pVi11A

Don't daisy-chain amplifiers, the more amplifier daisy-chained, the less smoother the fades will be, but if you need to power a large white load, just daisy-chain all the inputs of the amplifier and connect it to one output of the PX25400, this will give you a huge 30a of current to drive a single load powered by three segments.

 

 

An add-on to my question... if I'm using WRGBV LED strips and not RGBV strips, I would need 18/5 wire.  I was thinking speaker wire would be perfect for 18/4 (and from pictures it looks like that's what you use), but what are you guys using for 18/5?

What is WRGBV?? White-Red-Green-Blue and... V????    Are you talking about wires from the strips, so V is the V+ common wire right?

In that case, yes, you'll need a 18/5 to be run to each strip. If you want to use recessed RGBW fixtures, witch look very nice in a theater, then you need a 18/6 or (18/5 / CAT6) + 18/2 wire for those and they don't need to be connected to an amplifier since they draw current from two extra wire that are not used for color.

 

 

[zax123]

Thanks for the super fast answer @jackstone!

I do want to do some recessed wall-wash lights, but I'm not sure I need those to be RGB.  I think just standard 12V LED dimmable will be good, probably save a bit of money too.

I'm not sure where to get all this material in Canada yet, still just at the beginning of my research, but I'm definitely looking for a place to get the the LED controller modules and the strips and recessed fixtures and maybe some kind of strip mounting channel with a diffuser.  Something like this:

http://www.724light.com/led-aluminium-channel-8mm-recessed-u-type-led-aluminum-channel-1-meter394inch-led-profile-inside-width-122mm-p-857.html?zenid=23l8uv382s52f82v1mgaa13q46

Thanks again for your quick response, I'm looking forward to this part of the project

[jackstone]

If you're not so DIY, for LED Profile and some other models, you can contact Alkom (www.alkom.ca), he cover Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa regions and is a good partner of us as installer and LED fixtures vendor, he created nice models of LED profiles and is a pro installing. If you call them, let them know it's me who's the referral (my real name is Jerome) and he may give you a better deal 

[zax123]

Thanks Jerome.

I'm actually a pretty serious DIYer.  The last theater I built myself completely and I plan on doing the same with this one.  Electrical is often my favorite part.

For now, I'm just learning everything about DMX-controlled LED lighting.  Once I get it all in my head, I'll be golden.

Thanks again for the help and the referral to alkom.  I'll check with him for buying the fixtures and mention you for sure.

---

Edit: Jerome, the recessed fixtures you mentioned -- do you have a link for them?  I've found some at rgbw.com but they have DMX control built in.  I'd rather use a bank of PX24500s to control the whole theater, so the fixtures just need to have an RGBW (and V+/V-?) input.  Thanks!