Unboxing the Falcon F16v4

[@llatrel]

Awesome. Looks good. Thanks for sharing. I ordered mine a couple of hours after it went on sale. Hopefully mine are on the way.

[@jameswaits8870]

Thanks for the unboxing! Better get my order in. Sorry I missed the mini Saturday!

[@NiFamilyLights]

James, we missed having you there! I'm sure you'll get yours soon with plenty of time to rock and roll.

[@NiFamilyLights]

I didn’t look close enough but the top right mounting hole is slightly to the right by about half an inch or so in the V4 vs the V3. So, that one mounting location would have to change if you’re swapping a V3 for a V4 in any existing setup.

[@mattpoe1974]

Well I received 2 of these this yr for my first ever light setup and am having trouble setting everything up, all the videos i have see are of the v3 and the interface is different and i am a noob to this, anyway of doing and setup video of the controller, xlights, and fpp setup on a raspberry pi?

[@NiFamilyLights]

Matt, thanks for the comment and congrats on getting started. If you have 2 Falcon controllers and are planning to run your show from a Rasp Pi, you are working with tried and true technology that is extremely reliable and very well supported. Thanks for the video idea. I’ll add it to the list.

[@larrylammers4901]

I am reviewing this video in light of your previous video on the power of 33 ohms. Do you have any data on whether the 33 ohms resistance on the F16V4 outputs is also in place for the V4 Smart Receivers? I don't see ANY resistor on those boards!

[@NiFamilyLights]

Hey Larry, the V3 smart receivers have 100 ohm resistors soldered to the boards. The V4 also have resistors soldered, but I do not know if they are 100 ohms or if they have been switched to 33 ohms.

[@gregoryross6874]

Ok….. I just bought the pre made version of this. In a box like one over your left shoulder. How would you mount that to a house?!? I really didn’t want to have to remove it from the case they sent it to me in.

[@NiFamilyLights]

Congratulations Gregory on getting your F16V4! To mount the CG1500 enclosure, there are two areas on the back you can punch out to insert a hose style clamp to attach it vertically to a pipe. I show those locations in this video at 4:50. If you watch my behind the scenes videos, you’ll see where I mount these boxes. However, none of them are mounted directly to the house. Good luck! m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/iaHbqaGCprSkmdU

[@gregoryross6874]

@@NiFamilyLights ahh. Yeah. Falcon didn’t use that same box. It’s slightly different. There are no punch outs. My back doesn’t even look like that. My thought now if building a “cage” of sorts out of slotted angle iron and maybe mounting that to a wall and sliding the box in. Anything to avoid unscrewing the board from inside the box and screwing through the back of it. But thank you. Love your channel.

[@nikhidas23]

Can you please send me a link where you got those green wires that are connecting to the channels?

[@NiFamilyLights]

The green items that plug into the board that connect to the pixel pigtails are called Europlugs. When you purchase a controller like the Falcon F16, it should come with those items, so all you need to do is strip the ends of your controller pigtails then screw them into the europlug that then is inserted into each output on the board.

[@nikhidas23]

@@NiFamilyLights Thank you!

[@johnnagy1575]

Your knowledge on this f16v4 is light years ahead of my understanding of this thing. What expansion boards can be used with this board? If any. I've asked falcon. And get one word responses. Thank You

[@NiFamilyLights]

John, once you start playing with the controllers to make lights blink, it doesn't take long to get the hang of things. The Falcon website has a really good user manual www.pixelcontroller.com/store/content/14-F16V4-support. I advise you read most of it to really understand what it can do. Explanation of expansion boards start at Section 3.2.5 of the manual. This board is an all around best of breed board to support small shows up to some pretty elaborate setups with plenty of local ports and the ability to add many remote ports with smart receivers. If you're able to get a F16V3 controller, they have a separate user manual for that, but the similar concepts apply when it comes to expansion boards for that version (which is what I have been using in my shows).

[@johnnagy1575]

@@NiFamilyLights I clicked on the link you provided too me. Oh no. 404. 😆 page is no longer available. Aaahhhhgggg

[@NiFamilyLights]

Edited the post. The parenthesis got used in the URL which messed it all up. I removed the parenthesis so the link works now.

[@CounterHolidayLights]

Congrats.

[@bachoyaryarashvili2793]

Hello. Will this work well with madmapper ?

[@NiFamilyLights]

Bacho, I am not familiar with madmapper, so I can't answer your question. Try posting your question on the Facebook Official xLights Support Group to see if others have worked with madmapper and Falcon controllers.

[@communitypete]

Are they made in Australia ? I thought they were

[@NiFamilyLights]

The Falcon boards are designed and sold out of the US. I do believe that there is an official distributor for Australia. You can order them at Aus.PixelController.com.

[@caymanchristmaslightshow]

Thanks for sharing. Do you want to sell the F16v4?

[@NiFamilyLights]

You’re welcome! Sorry, not looking to sell the F16v4. The product does appear to be in stock from time to time. So, just keep on the lookout.

[@katelights]

The old smart receivers only work in dumb mode on the v4

[@NiFamilyLights]

Thanks for the clarification Kate. One can't use the old smart receivers (called differential receivers) in a chain anyway since they only have one interface port. But the good news as you state is that they can be used. So, off I go to get a new differential expansion board v4 to go with the new F16v4, and I'll be good to go with a backup.

[@katelights]

@@NiFamilyLights yes, the original differential receivers are like that, but im talking about the smart receivers that support chaining on f16v3. they can only work like the original dumb differential receivers on f16v4

[@mobgma]

why do i want a v4 vs say a kulp?

[@NiFamilyLights]

Falcon controllers and Kulp controllers are both very capable. All the products across both have their strengths and use cases. It really depends on how you want to set up your show and where you want to place various items. I started with Falcons so have a preference for those. I would like to get my hands on some Kulp controllers to evaluate.

[@601jesus]

How conected ligth my friend ws2811

[@NiFamilyLights]

Typically the controller is housed in a weather proof box. You’ll connect pixel pigtail wiring to euro connectors which plug into the 4 pin euro plugs on the controller. The pixel pigtails go out of your controller enclosure which you’ll then plug into your lights.