2023 xLights behind the scenes & parallel power supplies

[@dlights9583]

I also purchased some Kauf lights cause of you video last year. I think that really add to my show also. so thank you again. I also had one fail funny enough it was a light in a full outdoor fixture. that i tested in the preseason. all of mine made it through show season but I plan to put the Hue Floods and a29 back in when i break the show back down. It is a shame. I did read that none are truly outdoor rated or even supposed to put in the bathroom. did you use some type of JIG to space your PVC outlines for the hole spacing?

[@Bigrob444]

Hey Nick, loved your show this year! I just bought some different brighter bulbs that I am going to flash with a firmware and stress test them all year in the off season. They claim a 50% increase in brightness over the Kauf bulbs. I use Jason's jig for drilling. I can drill more holes faster with his jig vs mine I made sfl-designs.com/?store-page=STL-File-1-2-Standard-PVC-Pixel-Drilling-Jig-2-Spacing-p462897088

[@dlights9583]

@@Bigrob444 thanks! Let me know how your testing goes

[@funfam4850]

Where did you buy the magnets? Is the disk on the wall the magnet or steal washer? Are you useing this mounting technique only for the vert corners or other places too? Do you plan on painting the disks on your house?

[@tube.perfect]

Same questions I have. Also, where can I find that clip on the verticals that use the washer/magnet?

[@Bigrob444]

Magnets were from Amazon - www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C7M4LSBJ/ (make sure to buy the 30# as those are the closest to the same OD as the clips) On the house is the steel washer and I will be painting the steel to match the house color once it warms up outside. I use magnets for all of the roof peaks and gutters (those are all using steel J channel). Makes for a quick and easy put up and take down process. Window frames are not magnets, but will be looking into converting them in the off season.

[@Bigrob444]

Magnets were from Amazon - www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C7M4LSBJ/ (make sure to buy the 30# as those are the closest to the same OD as the clips) Clear PVC clip = www.holidaycoro.com/PixelPipe-Clip-for-PVC-and-PixelPipe-Track-p/770.htm Then just take the magnet and clip to your local home depot/lowes/ace hardware and get some counter sunk bolts and nuts that fit.

[@funfam4850]

​@@Bigrob444 thanks for the quick response. It looks like 2in pixel spacing. How many magnets do you use for a 50pixel vertical run? Do you have any 50pixel 1/2in PVC pipe runs that are mounted horizontal? If so would you add more magnets? What if those horizontal runs are using a 1in standoff attached to the clip, how many might you use?

[@Bigrob444]

⁠@@funfam48502” pixel spacing is correct. On each vertical I am using 2 magnets. Each magnet is roughly 12” in from the end. If your pvc is straight that is more than enough. (Make sure the magnet sits flat on the steel for maximum strength) if the pipe is curvy you could use a third magnet in the middle to keep it straight. On my verticals I use 2 70# magnets to hold up the j channel. These = a.co/d/7wU2lHh Those are screwed to the soffit and painted to match. J channel clips up and is very secure.

[@MattWells0]

I will prefix this by saying I am not an electrical enginier, just a hobbiest. The reason why the power injection works from different power supply is that the voltage drop between the injection points is significant enough that the different power supplies cannot backfeed each other. If you join both power supplies together right at their output to combine their amps that is when it doesn't work as one might expect. An issue that I can see is that if for some reason one of the power supplies stopped providing power to the string the other power supply might start powering the other props that the failed power supply was powering through the prop that was being powered from both supplies. Assuming you have everything fused it probably not cause catastrophic problems as the fuse should blow but it is likely going to be more of a pain to fix. Also it might be that the working power supply is powering a fault with not enough power to blow a fuse but enough to cause something to get very got and catch fire. How likely is it? 🤷‍♂ I am unwilling to do it myself. While everything is working things tend to be okay, it is when something goes wrong that we find out why it might not be a good idea to do it.

[@Bigrob444]

I think the voltage sag on the 5v and resistance of the wire is exactly the reason this works. We did this last year on 1 single prop to test and were successful, this year we did it with 4 props and 4 power supplies with no issues. I will be using this method going forward to simplify power injecting and continue the tests. Every power injection point is fused so no worries there.

[@AA-ho5mg]

Is your red and white outline all pixels? Did you need a controller to run them? It looks good!

[@Bigrob444]

The red and white is a marquee effect in xlights that’s applied to a few props on the house during the pre show playlist. I use multiple kulp controllers but I bet wled could do it too.

[@martinwilde777]

what do you do with the pixel wires for the pipe that lines the driveway/walkway? Are they tucked into the PVC?

[@Bigrob444]

The pixels go through the middle of the PVC so any wiring we have to do outside of the pixels (power injection) has to be somewhere else. The power injections just run across the lawn/rocks/wherever and blend in during the nighttime. If you put the video in 4k and watch it I show some of the power injection wires on those props specifically.