SP201E DMX Decoder set up for WS2811 pixel LED strip

[@richienorthcott]

I have one of these. Some thoughts based on the comments below: The 3,072 pixels probably relates to it running in 'standalone' mode. I suspect the effects 'repeat' every x pixels regardless. With no DMX incoming signal the device will run one of 100 presets. Both the preset and the speed are selectable from the menu. The presets cannot be launched from DMX, i.e. you can't use DMX to select 'operating modes' on the device. The other menu is for selecting the type of pixels you are connecting, DMX will (by nature of DMX) give you up to 170 RGB pixels (= 510 channels), starting from the configured start address upwards. To get effects/patterns that would need to be defined in the incoming DMX data so from whatever DMX controller you're using. The 5 x PWM connections map to the first five 'receive' channels - so with RGB pixels connected the three channels from the first and two of the three from the second are shared. To have them independently controllable it's necessary to install, say, a couple of additional pixels not in the display (or just WS2811 ICs with the LEDs removed). In that way the PWM outputs start on the configured DMX start channel, the pixels start on start channel + 6. This is all based on my experience/understanding of this device only, but hope that's of some use! Also some of the terminology in the video is very wrong. The pixel data output shown has nothing to do with DMX - it is not a DMX output. This box converts DMX data from the input into pixel data, which is in one of a few different protocols. This example is showing WS2811 protocol (for WS2811 strip). The addressable LED strip is incorrectly referred to as 'DMX strip' - you cannot drive addressable strip directly with DMX data. That's the purpose of this box. The DMX out connection would be used to connect additional DMX devices which can be controlled from the same controller i.e the same DMX universe of 512 channels.

[@soniclab-cnc]

just picked a dozen of these for a lighting installation... I use the Ecolocity ones normally but they cost four or five times what these do. I hope they are reliable.

[@bebelbegein9175]

any details about the power supply, please ? do a 5v 10A will do ?

[@randallreibling]

Hello. Does that have preset chases and cool effects etc accessible from dmx, or do you have to program everything from single pixels?

[@DJMaxK89]

Hi, if you want special cool effects, I think you would have to use DMX software or a DMX controller and program or the effects you want bye yourself

[@davigodoyt]

Great! This can run with a 2835 smd sequential led strip?

[@christianpatton142]

Many thanks. Thats definitely a help. The instructions with this decoder are pretty awful.

[@TheShokitos]

Hello, i want to buy this controller, but the information is very awful... Is it possible to access other effects like colors running random, by DMX? Sorry for my English, i'm Brazilian.

[@eross21]

so when you set this up as a device in a dmx software. what kind of fixture do you set this decoder as in the software side?

[@JustinKrux]

most consoles will hav ea "generic" section with a 3 channel "RGB" fixture, you chose how many ever of those based on your pixel count.

[@johandroid7904]

I can energy the SP201E From battery of car?

[@DJMaxK89]

How many DMX channels will this take up if I’m using a five meter strip?

[@eDrumsInANutshell]

That is what I am asking myself right now. Hmm...20Pixels/m. So, 20x3ch (RGB) = 60 x 5m, 300 ch. That's a lot. But I just got 4 PAR LED in 7 ch mode. So, 512 is still enough. I would like to trigger the LEDs mit MIDI notes from edrums. Yeah!

[@StikyIckie]

Why is your ground, not green?

[@TylerHarney]

The chinese LED strips, they, most times, use white as ground. It can certainly be confusing.

[@cyberentomology]

Ground/common in DC is typically black. But the electricity doesn’t care.

[@cyberentomology]

The included instructions with this unit are the pinnacle of bad tech writing. And your video didn’t really clarify much other than how to physically connect them. The DMX schema is simply not documented *anywhere*. it claims to also support 5 PWM channels for RGBCCT strips, but how are those addressed? Nobody knows. For that matter, it supposedly supports 3072 pixels, but how does it do that with only a single DMX512 input? That’s only good for 170 RGB pixels. Why is it doing 3 pixels per channel? Is that configurable? How do you configure it for the various pixel types out there?

[@richienorthcott]

On mine, the 5 PWM channels are the first 5 DMX channels, so shared with the pixel output. Ideally the pixel data would start at DMX channel +5, but it does't. I don' think it's possible to change from the very limited documentation. There's nothing fancy in the DMX support. first DMX channel = pixel 1 R, second = pixel 1 G, third = pixel 1 B (assuming RGB pixels connected). So yes you're limited to 170. Also I've not seen 3 pixels per channel - perhaps you have the 12V addressable strip, where you'll see there is 1 chip per three LEDs. This is normal. They are only addressable in groups of three from any device.

[@jainobes1123]

Hi, just to say: I learned from The Hook Up (KZbinr) that certain lower cost models of LED tape treat 3x LEDs as 1 "pixel". Presumably to save money on control chips, but also useful to use fewer DMX channels for longer lengths of strip.

[@richienorthcott]

@@jainobes1123 Yes - also if you check the WS2811 IC datasheet, the 12V example actually has three LEDs in series, so this is fairly normal. My 12V strip is the same as yours, as is the one shown in the video.

[@tomdeclue6424]

​@richienorthcott would you make us all a video in how to actually use the interface. Seems like your the only one that knows how to take dmx and control smart leds with this decoder.