Group Buy: Budget CRI 95 LED Strip Lights

[Patrick Tresch]

But what connector standard will you use?
I like the LitePanel standard as I allready have a lot of cables and accessories.

Pat

 

[Matt Ferraro]

1m is my vote

 

[sam karr]

I'd like a 3 meter cord. . . something about 10 feet.

Stephen

Agree

 

[Brandon J.F.]

But what connector standard will you use?
I like the LitePanel standard as I allready have a lot of cables and accessories.

Pat

2.1 x 5.5 Barrel Connector. The same as what LiteGear uses.

1m is my vote

I'm thinking we will do have a 1m (3.3 feet) cord and then also include an extension that's ~3 meters. That way everyone is covered.

 

[Jamon Lewis]

I vote for 3.3m

 

[Robert Andriessen]

sounds perfect to me

2.1 x 5.5 Barrel Connector. The same as what LiteGear uses.

I'm thinking we will do have a 1m (3.3 feet) cord and then also include an extension that's ~3 meters. That way everyone is covered.

 

[Patrick Tresch]

sounds perfect to me

+1

Pat

 

[Nils Ruinet]

I'm thinking we will do have a 1m (3.3 feet) cord and then also include an extension that's ~3 meters. That way everyone is covered.

Sounds good. We can always make it shorter if we want to.

 

[Brandon J.F.]

Sounds good. We can always make it shorter if we want to.

Sure, and there will be extra barrel connectors you can use with your own wire. Lots of options.

 

[Stephen Pruitt]

Great! Sounds like you've thought of everything, Brandon!

Thanks again.

Stephen

 

[Joachim Hoge]

I prefer a longer cord too, 3m sounds good

 

[Alvise Tedesco]

Yep. Longer cord forever. V-locks helps sand-bags when booming fixtures..

 

[Brandon J.F.]

I've been dealing with logistics stuff all day. Sorry for the delay in replying to your emails. I'm starting on that now.

 

[Brandon J.F.]

Powering a strip off a V-mount with a D-tap works fine. Someone asked after reading some of the comments here. It's a common setup and no problem.

Almost done with your emails...

 

[ericyoung]

Oh ok, I thought googling around a lot there were some D-tap at 12V so I assumed that was a standard. So if it is unregulated, I'll need to regulate that or find a 12V battery with lots of amps. I've seen some cheap ones that do 12v and 7amps, for around 30 euros.

There are some battery plates that provide a regulated 12V D-Tap output. Not sure of any batteries with built in D-tap that do that though - it's not common as far as I know.

Also, some D-Tap battery plates (some IDX ones for example) are only rated as low as 50W (4.2A at 12V) and even have 5A fuses - presumably because the internal wiring and/or contacts are only rated for 5A.

The Red V-Lock plate D-Tap has a 70W Max label (5.8A at 12V).

So not all batteries, not all battery plates or their internal wiring/contacts, and not all D-Tap outputs will be able to safely provide enough current (assuming these strips go up to 8A) to drive a full 5m strip at full brightness. Wires/contacts/connectors overloaded beyond their rated current can overheat/melt/catch fire, so everyone be careful!

Same goes for any DIY power wiring, extension cables and connectors - they need to be rated for higher than 8A continuous current if intended to power a full 5m strip at full intensity (although most ratings have a certain amount of safety margin - that should not be relied on for obvious reasons), and your power source/battery can actually provide that much current.

[Edit] Basically if any of the power wiring, extension cables and connectors are getting more than moderately warm to the touch, then it should not be used, or only for a shorter strip drawing less power. Also, cable drums, coiled cables, or straight cables in confined spaces. looms, or cable runs on set/in vehicles may run hotter than loose in open space due to lack of air circulation.

 

[ericyoung]

More questions for you Brandon :smile:

1) If making a panel with a full 5m strip is drawing around 8 Amps (using Lite Gear as guide) at full brightness direct from a battery (no controller/dimmer), how do they behave as the nominal voltage drops as the battery discharges?


2) Do the controller/dimmers have voltage regulation?


3) Presumably if the power source can't provide 8 Amps, a 5m strip will just be dimmer than it would be at 8 Amps?

 

[Brandon J.F.]

If a strip is under-powered the LEDs at the end won't be full brightness while those at the beginning will be. How it all balances out depends on how under-powered you are.

 

[Paul Rondeau]

So it sounds like V-mounts are good for shorter than 3.5m strips, if you have plate with a tap rated for 70W.

For a full 5m strip, it seems like something like this 12v 12AH battery should be good for about 90 minutes of run time? Using the cigarette adapter.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...ATM_MM_12XLRATM_Starved_Electrolyte_Lead.html

 

[ericyoung]

So it sounds like V-mounts are good for shorter than 3.5m strips, if you have plate with a tap rated for 70W.

For a full 5m strip, it seems like something like this 12v 12AH battery should be good for about 90 minutes of run time? Using the cigarette adapter.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...ATM_MM_12XLRATM_Starved_Electrolyte_Lead.html

The Ampere-hours ratings of batteries are only ever a guide as they are measured under specific current draws, and voltages with specific loads. If you are drawing higher current than the manufacturer tested at, it will run for less time than the Ah rating would suggest. And lead acid batteries especially don't like being deep discharged, so avoid running it flat. But yes, in theory.

 

[Poi Boy]

This is my favorite battery, I've really had great results powering all sorts of things with them. Vagabond Mini™ Lithium (120VAC model) from paulcbuff.com
Aloha
A