🎄UPDATED! 5V/12V SHOOTOUT and Power Injection Follow-up (2019)🎄

[@CanispaterChristmas]

from delaserdudeXD: Great Vid. Very Informative. I'm including the info below to cut back on copper cost and keeping wire size manageable for new users. If you go by your video, you would need a minimum of 6 AWG (37A rating) wire to handle the 30 Amps with a 35A fuse when being used at 100% all white - going from your PS to the fuse 512 pixels x .06A = 30.72A Hope the info below helps It looks like you've used the Amperage /Wire Gauge ratings for transmission(long distance). The rating for branch circuits (home) and chassis have much higher. Current ratings for power transmission that you've used are a very conservative rating and based on high voltage drops (higher resistance) and long distances. For reference, the National Electrical Code (NEC) notes the following ampacity for copper wire at 30 Celsius: 14 AWG - maximum of 20 Amps in free air, maximum of 15 Amps as part of a 3 conductor cable; 12 AWG - maximum of 25 Amps in free air, maximum of 20 Amps as part of a 3 conductor cable; 10 AWG - maximum of 40 Amps in free air, maximum of 30 Amps as part of a 3 conductor cable. Above is the rule of thumb for home branch circuits, Max amps for shorter lengths (chassis) have even higher amperage rating. It all depends on how many wires are bundled together, operating temperature and total length (frequency is also a factor but doesn't really pertain to us unless you're calculating for the data line) . Using the rule of thumb is usually more than adequate for holiday lighting. Lets take an example from the vid (since you're giving us a reading on the A/C side - this will pertain to house wiring) - 12V pixels running 50% at full white and your current power supply (PS efficiency rating will vary the Wattage used) are using 178W would theoretically max out at 1.5A. If you had a dedicated 15 A circuit which typically is run with 14 AWG in a home - you could safely run 8 -10 of this type display on this circuit. Wattage = Voltage x Amperage (Watts Law) 178W / 120V (my Average home voltage 118 - 122 volts) = 1.4833Amps If you use the Transmission rating 5.9 - 7.5A - you would only be able to have 3 to 5 displays on one 15A circuit or only 5-7 100w light bulbs on each 15A circuit breaker in your house If we take a look at your fuse example: on the DC side when only 1 size wire is used ( it looks like you're using 2 legs off the PS so the fuses and wire will be smaller for each leg to the fuse). Running 512 pixels at 0.06A/ pixel (Which is all white at 100%) = 30.72Amps (theoretically - remember using the actual amperage draw would be the best and will be less at 50% or 30% which would allow you to use a smaller wire as well as having to use a smaller fuse). The single leg configuration would require a 35A fuse if you want to protect the Power Supply and separate lower rated fuses where you inject power or change to a smaller wire (since most newer pixels are only 18AWG [many are even smaller] and would melt its insulation and short or burnout before that higher rated fuse would blow. Since the insulation type used on the pixel wire is usually not known, it is probably safe to use a 7.5A fuse for 18AWG and 5A for 20AWG and possibly 22AWG (based on 125 max 12V pixels recommended per run - 12v pixels were chosen because they will run more pixels and draw more amperage on the same size wire 5V pixels use) If we use the rule of thumb, it would need a 10 AWG wire, going from the fuse to the power supply and from the fuse holder to each distribution point either at the pixels or where you change to a smaller wire . If we use the Chassis rating a 10 AWG wire would carry up to 55Amps Since the Fuse holder is short, if you look at the chassis rating of a 14 AWG it can handle a max of 32 Amps. If you to use a 30A fuse you should be ok (since the 30.72 tends to be a higher max than what they actually draw at all white). If you want to be completely safe you can use a 13 AWG (35A), but since this is not common your next choice would be a 12AWG (41A) that would even handle that 40 Amp fuse you're using now but a 35Amp would be better. As You know, to make things simpler The community has come up with the best answer. Use a distribution board that is rated appropriately. Use individual 14 - 10 AWG wires From the power supply to the distribution board (based on total pixel amperage drawn) and the same size wire that your pixels are using - to go from the distribution board (using 5 or 7.5A fuses [depending on wire size]). Make sure NOT to use more total Amps than the distribution board is rated for and NOT use more Amps than each distribution leg is rated for . Remember you can have 1 or multiple injection point(s) from the wire you used to go to the pixels on the same leg, depending on how many pixels you're using at each injection point. These are only recommendations, your mileage may vary. Amperage carrying ability varies not only by wire size but by insulation type and temperature. These recommendation are based on: You are using commonly available USA sold copper wire at around an Ambient Temperature of 30° C, 86° F or lower Using a fuse rated 20% less than max rated amperage carrying ability (same as power supplies) Especially if you use all white for long periods of time in your show. If you don't run and don't EVER plan to run all white for for extended periods of time and YOUR MAX CALCULATIONS ARE BASED ON RUNNING AT LESS THAN 100% you can at your own discretion run at 10% less than max rated amperage carrying ability for wire and fuse.

[@stevetaylor2943]

Can I get a good description of what power supplies to purchase for 12 volt pixels. Ive had new bullit pixels in a box for 3 years now. Never done this before. I am ready to learn something new. Love your videos. Greetings from Fort Worth.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Thanks! I prefer the MeanWell brand and typically use the 350-watt variety in my display. They are more expensive, but I've not had to replace one yet. People have also started to use server power supplies. They are generally higher wattage so good if you have a high density prop (or group of props close together) pulling a lot. I've also used the cheaper ones from Amazon and never had an issue, but I had spares just in case. 😂

[@stevetaylor2943]

@@CanispaterChristmas thank you sir. Really enjoy your channel. Keep up the Great Work!

[@stevetaylor2943]

I have one more question sir. I have 2812 bullet pixels. Do I need a special attachment to connect them to the differential receiver? Thanks

[@CanispaterChristmas]

@@stevetaylor2943 According to the spec sheet, 2812 is supported. What do you mean by "special attachment"?

[@stevetaylor2943]

@@CanispaterChristmas The connector on the end of my bullet pixels don't match up with the connectors on the Falcon Smart receiver . Do I have to cut off the connector on the pixels to put each individual wire into the smart receiver?

[@cryangallegos]

Thanks for this video, I'm on basically day 1 and am fixing to put in my first order and have always gone with the assumption that 12v was the way to go hands-down. I've read mixed reviews about people having more failures with 12v than 5v (which of course happens anyways), but the efficiency values you got are pretty convincing for me to justify 5v- if I can get them for comparable or cheaper than a 12v group buy 🙂 Eaves and probably floods (maybe makeshift floods) will be permanent install, mostly because the eaves can reach 20-25ft on a steep roof. Therefore efficiency and reliability are paramount for me. Your channel is not only incredibly informative, but also just plain entertaining. Thanks for taking the time not only to share your knowledge, but also put in a little production value as well

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Thanks! Just more power injection needed for 5V so not good for long runs.

[@lloydblanchette]

Great vid Jeff. My first year Pixel display (over 9,000 pixels ) is going now. You played a huge part in getting me up and running. Appreciate all you do! You also crack me up!

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Haha Thanks! Glad it's working. Fun & addictive isn't it? :)

[@chriswren596]

Hi this may sound odd but you have one power injection cable with a fuse on the end so how are you managing to inject so many times along the string ? surely the voltage using one string time it gets to the end the rating would be a lot lower than the first injection ? or maybe i am reading this wrong , sometimes i do not understand how one power supply can inject to all the pixels when there are only 3 + 3 - terminals unless you run many ports from a controller , which means more controllers more power supplies and so forth , is there not an easy way round power injection ? if so how ? most have not got the extra ports from controller .

[@CanispaterChristmas]

It's the tightrope we all walk as hobbyists. 😂 Shorter strings means less or no power injection, but costs more ports. Longer strings require less ports, but require you to understand power injection. Without getting into the electrical engineering side of things, the whole point of power injection is to maintain voltage along the string so the pixels will continue to function. Any time a pixel is powered, there will be a small voltage drop from one side of the pixel to another. Going from the power supply to a point along the string brings the voltage higher at that connection point and the voltage starts dropping from there. I this example, I basically created a single connection "rail" and injected power (probably more than needed) at several points along the string. There's likely still a voltage drop as it gets further down the string, but the voltage it is high enough to power the pixels. Does that answer your question?

[@chriswren596]

@@CanispaterChristmas Great reply , so from the power supply you made 1 wire with a fuse then teed off the same wire to power inject the pixels all the way along .

[@MisterHallo]

how much power (W) your mega tree needs in reality/measured? i am starting this year and my mega tree (2m high) has 800 pixels or nodes. maybe i will buy a 700w 12 v powersupply and iam not sure if its is enoguh, i will also decreae brightness to 30-50% because of the distance to my neighbours. what is a good relationship for the top and bottom of a tree if it can be max 2m high? in xlights 16 strings looks nice but is it true what xlights shows me on the screen? each string 100nodes/pixel. you should do a vid about raspberry and how to load a sequence in it and start it. i have no idea how to do it. maybe a step by step tuortial would be fine also for the follower next years. i havent seen any step by step vid yet about xmas lights but you do great job, i can learnit better if it is picture/vid based.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Thanks! I haven't measured it, but I have 1,200 pixels run off a 350-watt 12V power supply. I use (12) 100-pixel strings folded over at 50 so it looks like 24. I have them grouped as (4) 300-pixel strings and inject power at the end. I run them at 30% and use a top/bottom ration of 8, but that's really personal preference. Some people like skinny trees and others like fat ones. xLights is just a preview of what you might see. I tend to take a new picture with the props up so I can adjust the model to the actual prop once I've built it. I have a playlist for beginners that covers the basics of lighting: kzbin.info/aero/PLFyrAfJ-kKd4ZfPdXWIt8v_bav61mW_KW and here's a step-by-step FPP/Pi tutorial playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLFyrAfJ-kKd70zujml8t3agTNJuYce92b

[@MisterHallo]

@@CanispaterChristmas i saw your tutorial with the falcon but i must use a pixlite 16 mk2 because it will take to long to get the falcon and xmas is close, i have lot work to do. first to order the right components.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

As far as I know (I don't have one), that will work. As long as it accepts E1.31 data and outputs SPI data for pixels, you should be good to go and use xLights and FPP or xSchedule.

[@Lerchcon]

I have just started to learn about this pixel stuff, and will be doing extensive research on cost and plug and play projects to start. I have seen the megatree at holidaycoro and the leaping arches and such. I have a small yard in Vegas when I say small I mean like 40 feet by 15 feet with my driveway in the middle. anyway, why are the pixels spread so far apart instead of making them closer, by making them closer wouldn't this allow better picture visualizations? I will be watching all your videos and may see this answer later. thanks for posting these videos great help.

[@Lerchcon]

for beginners who want a plug and play mega tree, arches, little trees, where do you recommend I buy the kits from? will I need anything special as far as house power to make all these work? 1 mega tree, 3-4 leaping arches, and a set of little trees, I have seen prices of 600 plus just for the one mega tree. being really new, I am not sure what is the price I should be looking to spend, because I am new, its confusing right now and not sure I want to spend money unnecessarily when I can get help I know I need. I did see the F16V3 which is funny seeing as how I am a Vet and that's the fighter I know allot about. Obviously I have searched several sites and they say out of stock, so now I need to figure out who even has what I need for a fair market price as I have seen some prices that are way outside the pricing of other sites. sorry for the novel.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

My advice would be to hold off buying anything until at least after March. This time of year, vendors are out of everything. We have an annual lighting conference (Christmas Expo - planned for Las Vegas in 2021) in July which is when things really kick off for the year. Use the time to gather info and ideas about what you want to use in your display vs buying kits since your personal preferences won't be taken into account with a kit. Be sure to go through my beginner playlist (kzbin.info/aero/PLFyrAfJ-kKd4ZfPdXWIt8v_bav61mW_KW) and check into the Wednesday night xLights Zoom calls if possible (see xlights.org). Also check out the forums or Facebook groups listed in my videos. They are a wealth of information and a great place to get ideas and help. It's a lot to learn your first year, but many have gone before you so there's a ton of help available.

[@Lerchcon]

@@CanispaterChristmas very good advice, and i am doing research right now trying to see how to program this stuff, i feel if i can somewhat figure out the software the hardware knowledge will follow. and without having that hardware cant really test and play around, but without knowing how to control the brain the body doesnt move. lol thanks again

[@CanispaterChristmas]

@@Lerchcon Yeah, I totally understand. Getting components together and getting the lights blinking is fun. There are basic components to a system and it's easier to put a display together once you understand what's available and how they fit together. Keith will have an xLights training session in January that will cover the sequencing software in great detail so look for that. There's not much to FPP if you decide to go the Raspberry Pi route for the scheduler, but can be a little confusing if you aren't use to using a Pi. Pretty easy to get through though. I have a series on setting that up. You may try giving Ken a call at wiredwatts.com to see if he has anything available. Tell him you are starting from zero and want to get something to play with, but also use in a display.

[@systemguru1]

I noted on Ray's page that 5v is about 10 cent where 12v is 18-20 cents per bulb

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Not sure what you were looking at. Maybe resister vs regulated? The regulated pixels are more expensive.

[@denn450]

if i have a mega tree 5v 400 pixels could i spice the wire at 4 different places and solder the wire to it and then connect to power surply

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Sure! Whatever is needed to keep the voltage high enough for the pixels to work properly.

[@larrymeans7046]

Hi Jeff Haven't talk to you for a while. I am asking my question here since I don't know the correct video to attach my comment to. As you remember, I am a newbie.. For Xmas 2020, I am planning on a mega tree with 16 strings and a total of 800 pixels with 200 pixels on each channel. Will be using a Falcon diff. receiver drive by a F48 controller. Am going to mount the pixels on the mounting strips this summer. So I thought, why should I wait to use the 800 pixels on a mega tree for xmas and try to use them for a matrix on July 4th. It would be 16 strings across with 50 pixels on each string. This would give me the 800 pixel matrix. Since the pixels would already be inserted in the mounting strips, I would build a frame to hold the mounting strips straight across with some support in the middle to keep them from sagging. Xlights can create this model easily. Have played around with putting text on the matrix in Xlights. What I would really like to do, is have a waving flag on the matrix. I don't know if this is possible. So I came to you, since you are the expert. I might be barking up the wrong tree and the flag idea will not work. Also is now a good time to start ordering stuff from Ray? Also is the Xmas Expo in Vegas on for July? I am suppose to be there in July for my grandson's bowling. Right now Vegas is shut down. Ghost town.. Thanks for your help, Larry

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Haha Thanks! There is a picture effect you can use to load an animated GIF (waving flag). The lower resolution the better because the matrix resolution will be low. Give it a try. Last I talked to Ray, he was clear of the virus so it's probably a good time to order from him. Send him an email and inquire. As for expo, I haven't heard of a cancellation so assuming it's still on. I assume they will keep us posted.

[@larrymeans7046]

Will learned something about matrixes and pixels. The lowest gif I could find was a 36 x 54 pixels flag. It doesn't fit very well on a 16 x 50 matrix. i needed a matrix with 2000 pixels to handle this gif. Also reduced the original gif down to 16 x 50 pixels. Really looks bad. Well I was barking up a tree that will not work with a matrix of small amount of pixels. Text works fine but not photos. Thanks for your help, Larry

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Yeah, tough to get images looking good with pixels. Sorry it didn't work out, but you can come up with some nice looking patterns that will be fine.

[@larrymeans7046]

Hi Jeff, Well they cancelled my grandsons bowling tournament in Vegas in July. Sure wanted to knock elbows with you. No handshakes.... Your videos really get people started in the right path on pixel lighting. Take care this summer with the 310 degree heat in Austin..... Larry

[@francisgarcia3216]

Hello how big is the matrix and what is the spacing? Thanks

[@CanispaterChristmas]

4’ x 8’ sheet, 3” spacing I believe. Holds 512 pixels.

[@blackdave8525]

Hi I got 5v pixels ws2811 using a dig quad so it needs 2 sets of wires from the power supply , so what I was going to do was use a 5v 40 amp power supply to power the pixels a string off 600 was going to power inject 6 times with a 5v 40 amp Supply and just run the data from the quad , is this ok ? quite new to all this .

[@CanispaterChristmas]

That should be fine. I'd recommend one or more fuses for the pixels just in case. I've used single-fuse holders from an auto-parts store or one of the BlueSea (marine) fuse holders from Amazon (check my links).

[@blackdave8525]

@@CanispaterChristmas I decided to get one of these , Hanson Power-8 Power Distribution Board , to make life a lot easier when power injecting , maybe this could help others out as well

[@frostycarbon270]

Is it okay to tie 5 and 12v grounds together? I have a few 5v lights and don’t want to use half of my controller for 5v. So I’d like to run them off a single port and just inject the 5v downstream while the controller is putting out 12 and not connect the 12v. Thoughts?

[@CanispaterChristmas]

You can do that. Just make sure you remember not to power it with 12V. 😂

[@adamt6885]

Curious what you are "punching" your lights into in order to make the matrix. The plastic net that you are putting the lights into looks very clean...where would one get something like that?

[@CanispaterChristmas]

They come from Boscoyo. www.boscoyostudio.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_30

[@adamt6885]

@@CanispaterChristmas Thank you!

[@redghostoutdoors2359]

I may have asked this last year, but I can’t remember. Can a person have two or three wires coming off of one terminal of the power supply? Essentially having 4 to 6 wires to power inject with instead of just 2 or 3 wires coming of a meanwell. I hope I explained good enough.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Sure. Number of wires doesn't mean anything. You just don't want to overload the power supply. There are even some breakout boards available so you can come off the power supply with very large wires and break them out into 6 smaller fused outputs. Alan has one I like: www.hansonelectronics.com.au/product/hexfuse/

[@dannybowen627]

its funny, this year was my first year and I pretty much did everything you said not to do. (Not intentionally) 5v LED Strips, about 3800 total, and 3 12v Wreaths. Making cables was a tough part, but you are right about the strips being a pain. But, once I discovered silicon tape, and the heat shrink butt connections with solder built in. It was tedious but easy.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

So next year, you'll be ready for anything! 😂🎄Merry Christmas!

[@thebruhhh]

Danny what controller setup did you use? Curious. I’m about to start mine soon. I ordered 20 LED 5V WS2812B light strips to put in aluminum channel along the house for a permanent installation

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Ryan, depends on the layout. If it’s a small house and the ends are within about 30ft, you might go with an F16, but if you have a mansion and need to cover large distances, you might prefer the F48... or more than one F16 depending on the full display.

[@MC-ef7lu]

Great video as usual. This is my first year getting into RGB pixels and will be taking it slow with two 7 ft. Candy Canes with 200 nodes each from Boscoyo. I have my controller and will be building a box for two falcon smart receivers. My question is this, when you power inject are you using an unused port on your board? I saw that it appears you made hard wire connections. Is this the only way? I've seen the "T" power injectors so in the beginning I would probably use those for a larger prop I will hopefully come up with next year. But I am definitely excited about the arrival of all the components of my display. I am also in the process of going over your online course that I purchased.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Awesome and thanks! There are many ways to inject power. The main objective is to maintain enough voltage all along the string to keep the pixels happy. Each pixel drops the voltage a little so it's one of those things you'll get the hang of eventually. Power injection is normally just connecting another pair from the same power supply to the end of the string (through a fuse to be safe). The controller/receiver has fuses, but a power doesn't usually so you add your own. For 200 pixels, you may be fine with just injecting at the end of the string. If the pixels in the middle look dim or dull, then add another connection to the center of the string, but let the pixels tell you if they need it. Keep me posted!

[@MC-ef7lu]

@@CanispaterChristmas Thank you again for the info. Looking at the Boscoyo site, it suggested running the 200 nodes as individual 50 count strings to make a matrix so that's what my plan is. Lol...the interesting part will be doing the computer programing, but I'll be looking at your videos to get me through. Thanks again and I'll let you know how it goes.

[@jasonax1523]

? For each injection point, do I need a separate source wire or can I use one wire and splice it in as needed. Hope that makes sense.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Haha. Kinda why I say it's more of an art. Whatever fixes the problem you're trying to solve. You'll need to experiment with it.

[@phil3142]

Is it necessary to always run the additonal cables for power injection directly from the power supply, or could it come from the controller in parallel with the primary power cable run? I ask the question having done a trial and having no problem just splitting the power and ground cables from the controller output and running a second pair of cables to inject power at the end of my pixel run. This raised the voltage in the middle of my 160 pixel string to from 8v to 10v on 100% full white.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

That's fine as long as you stay under 5-amps. Once you exceed the fuse, you'll need to go somewhere else for power.

[@phil3142]

@@CanispaterChristmas That's great thank you :)

[@anthonynitschke490]

I was wondering if you can help me fix an issue connecting 2 Boscoyo 4x42 Matrix plane node configuration 168 Nodes each totaling 336 nodes using a Falcon F16v3 and XLights. I’ve used 2 ports last year, but would rather use one with power injection. I just received an F amp to boost the data signal. What type of inline fuse amp would you recommend. I also have a F8 distribution board coming from Falcon. Due to ship next week. I’m liking the Falcon over an older Advatek Lite16. Software / firmware is easier. I do enjoy your videos.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Thanks! So you want to connect the two together? If they are more than a couple of feet apart, you'll need the F-Amp between them, otherwise just daisy-chain them. Power injection fuse size depends on how much power they pull at 100% white and how bright you plan to run them (typically 0.06amps per node, but I've seen different values on different pixels). Reducing brightness to 50% halves the power use. I'd probably try 5-amps at first on those. Just test it out well.

[@gabrielgarcia8018]

Hey Jeff! Thanks for the info! I’m looking for some advice. This year, I’ll be building a 12V pixel mega tree that is 30X100. I am going to use an F16V3 with 2 350W meanwell power supplies. I’ll run the tree at 25%-30% brightness. Im going to go 100 nodes up and 100 nodes down, so 200 nodes per port. And then use the last port for the star. I’m wanting to avoid power injection. Would this setup be fine? What you’ll you recommend?! Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[@CanispaterChristmas]

That will probably work, but it depends on the pixels you get. Try it out and if they dim toward the 200 end, inject power from the same power supply feeding the side of the board the port is on. If not, no need to worry about it.

[@davidturner9815]

Hey Jeff great video. Your series help alot. Question. Are the inline fuses you use different depending on if you are using them for 5v or 12v? The inline fuses I find online seem to all be for autos which have a 12 volt system. Thanks.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

No, they are the same. Not a lot of difference between 5V & 12V wrt current unless you're an electrical engineer. 😂

[@davidturner9815]

@@CanispaterChristmas Thanks Jeff, much appreciated.

[@tyronwilliams9163]

great video again, like the way you used 1 power injection cable tied into where you needed it instead of seperate wires for each point..

[@tyronwilliams9163]

my project for 2021 is my 180 degree 8ft mega tree. 16 strands of 50 so 800 pixels. still learning amp, watts, gauge wire and fuse lol

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Thanks! Baby Steps! 😂

[@John52416]

How do you connect your pixel string directly to the PSU?

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Negative to negative and positive to positive through a fuse. Data from the controller. If it's a separate PSU from the one running the controller, also bring the negative from the controller and tie it to the negative side on the PSU so there's no floating voltages between the two.

[@John52416]

@@CanispaterChristmas Are you using the power injection wire for that then have them connected to the 3.5mm connector also? Just confused I see 3 wires in the connector to the controller and only 2 coming from the PSU.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Oh yeah. Most of the time, the only connection to the pixels is the 3-wire connector from the controller. When you inject power, ideally, it's from the same power supply and you're just trying to maintain a consistent voltage all the way down the string. Each pixel will drop the voltage slightly and if the string is long enough, you will notice the pixels dimming or not working because the voltage is too low. Injecting power is skipping a few pixels and tapping into the power rails to bring the voltage back up to the PSU voltage. There's a bazillion different ways to do it so there's no one way that is correct. Still good practice to use a fuse on the power injection wiring. The controller connection is already fused.

[@John52416]

@@CanispaterChristmas but with the connection to the controller you can only do a little over 1 string of 5v around 80 pixels at the most or can you do 100 with the 5 amp fuse thats in the controller? If I have a string of 400 pixels could I put the ground with the data to the controller connection and the power straight to the power supply with a 25 amp fuse inline? I haven't done anything with wires in along time so I'm rusty and I'm just starting out with the pixels trying to get a little something going this year.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

You can bypass the controller power distribution, but no real need to. You just have to inject enough to keep the controller's fuse alive. Also, brightness has a huge impact on all this. I run my show at 30%. Too bright to run them higher in a residential setting. Depends on what you're trying to do though.

[@dustingautreau4738]

I am about to make an order through Ray Wu, hopefully will come in on time, do you run 12v or 5volts? Usually the higher the voltage the lesser amps but doesn’t seem case with pixels. I watched lots of videos and read lots of articles but still unsure of what to buy. Seems like 12 volts are easier to work with. Thanks for any advice.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Shipping from China is kinda horrendous right now. If you are in the US, try wiredwatts.com instead. 12V pixels require less power injection so better for longer distances. If you're making a prop with a large concentration of pixels in a small area (so power injection is easier), 5V are much more efficient. I recommend people start with 12V because it's a little easier to deal with. Once you have some experience with it all, you'll want a new challenge and can branch out to 5V pixels. 😂

[@Sparky5]

I made a mistake of building my first pixel prop using 5v. I'm still using the prop but the rest of the house is 12v.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

No problem. As you gain experience, you'll likely have a mixture of 5V & 12V in the display. They both have their place.

[@chrisw1462]

If I want to run just one small string of lights (< 100), do I need anything besides the Pi, Falcon Player, and an in-line signal amp?

[@CanispaterChristmas]

You'll need a controller that converts E1.31 to SPI data the pixels need. Cheapest option is a Falcon PiCap or rPi-28D from Hansen (depending where on this marble you are).

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Or you could get a pixel "tester" from Hansen Electronics and forego the Pi & FPP, but that limits the patterns you can run. Not sure what the signal amp is for.

[@leesahcage3297]

You can actually just use the Raspberry pi GPIO pins connected to the led string with jumper wires. You would use Falcon Player and xlights to control the lights. It works trust me and its the cheapest way to get into LED lights and start learning. I use a Pi Zero, you can control about 800 pixels this way, just google the GPIO pinout for the version of pi you have.

[@chrisw1462]

@@CanispaterChristmas I'm a couple states over on the east coast (SC), and I did end up getting the PiCap.. And love it! Can't really remember what I was thinking about the signal amp, but I've learned a lot since then, thanks to your channel.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

@@chrisw1462 Thanks! Yeah, steep learning curve, but just more of the same once you get the hang of it.

[@TheSoundmanPete]

It doesn't matter what the total load is. You must fuse the wire at it's rated capacity. If you require 40A to run your pixels..... split the load into 2) #14 or #12 circuits and fuse them at 20A each. Remember..... the larger the gauge wire used the lower the voltage drop. Very important with 5v pixels.

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Thanks!

[@MisterHallo]

why do you love big volts?

[@CanispaterChristmas]

It's a joke: "Sir Mix a Lot - Baby Got Back". However, 12V pixels require less power injection and are generally easier to work with than 5V pixels.

[@cryangallegos]

I hear they are better at keeping you warm at night

[@juanbolivar35]

WOW!!!. you hit a home run with this video!, you answer all my questions now I need to start testing to find my error, my limits and make it better. Thanks

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Thanks! Glad it helped.

[@axeldaguerre8838]

really good video, and the start made me laugh, good channel

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Thanks Axel. Do you have a display, starting one this year?

[@stevetrapp1095]

no video link at 2:18 WTF

[@CanispaterChristmas]

It's there, but I believe it only shows up on a desktop browser.

[@stevetrapp1095]

no its not do you watch your own videos

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Yes I do. There's a card at 2:15 and one at 20:36. Start 5 seconds before each one. The one at 2:15 points to kzbin.info/www/bejne/kF6slpd5jbmZr5I. The one at 20:36 points to kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGGueot6h9CGec0

[@krislind7765]

Idk 5 volt is no brainer for me I can run double the pixels same power supply. And I plan hooking house outline and window maxtrix year round. 5 volt is very easy every 100 pixel add 5v and ground and you will have 0 problems.just use some landscaping wire 14 awg and you can T off it power and negative 1 wire 400 pixels at 30%

[@CanispaterChristmas]

It's a difficult concept for some. Glad you have it figured out. :)

[@ronm6585]

Thanks

[@CanispaterChristmas]

👍

[@Akziis]

Needed this 😂

[@CanispaterChristmas]

Nice! Hope it helped!