Group Buy: Budget CRI 95 LED Strip Lights

[Troy Dunn-Higgins]

Any updates on the strips, Brandon? I understand that you have been under a great deal of pressure recently but I placed my order almost three months ago.

 

[LEON J-L]

Any updates on the strips, Brandon? I understand that you have been under a great deal of pressure recently but I placed my order almost three months ago.

3 months only ? how lucky, I waited already 3 years already !

 

[Brandon J.F.]

Any updates on the strips, Brandon? I understand that you have been under a great deal of pressure recently but I placed my order almost three months ago.

I'll email you directly, Troy.

3 months only ? how lucky, I waited already 3 years already !

Strips started shipping ~30 days after the group buy ended. You chose to wait for the controllers to be ready, which I admit took way longer than we all expected. They are done now, absolutely rock-solid, exceed the original spec, and I will have the remaining 700 units the first week of March. Due to Chinese New Year right now, there's nothing I can do to make it faster. Did you email me your address at confirmyourshippingaddress@gmail.com?

 

[LEON J-L]

I'll email you directly, Troy.



Strips started shipping ~30 days after the group buy ended. You chose to wait for the controllers to be ready, which I admit took way longer than we all expected. They are done now, absolutely rock-solid, exceed the original spec, and I will have the remaining 700 units the first week of March. Due to Chinese New Year right now, there's nothing I can do to make it faster. Did you email me your address at confirmyourshippingaddress@gmail.com?

Yes, twice, thank you.
Please note Brandon that I am not complaining , just stating the fact that patience is a virtue
and I understand the huge efforts you had to go through to deliver this.

 

[Kazu Okuda]

i have 2 controllers on order that id like to get out from. Anybody interested in them?

 

[Lawrence Le]

i have 2 controllers on order that id like to get out from. Anybody interested in them?

I'm interested. PM'd you.

 

[Abiodun Shote]

Hello Brandon,
I have 5 strips, do I need 5 Power Kit/D-tap cables to power the strips? secondly, any link to a cheap alternative pending when we receive the controller you are working on? Any update on the video you are working on?

Thanks alot

 

[James Jetel]

For anyone confused about components needed to get from having strips to making fixtures - here's my experience as someone who know nothing about building lights in a DC environment. As a caveat - I still don't quite understand the math on all of it, because things are working for me when the math would indicate it shouldn't. I just sort of went at it, so if anyone sees anything that will potentially blow up on me. Please say something - I'm not an electrician. If anyone has suggestions or improvements, happy to learn.

I made 2x bicolor fixtures in Kino 4 Bank 2 Footers. I've attached. There are a few components and tools that you need to make this work. The difference between the Flo 4 bank style of kino vs. the LED is the Flo style already has standoffs for you to put your panel on. Also, the shell is more readily available. The Freestyle LED shell is special order and has a bracket that you'll have to take out. The upside to the Freestyle is when you take out the bracket the fixture itself is really light. You'll need M4 screws, nuts, and fender washers to make it work though.


TOOLS:
Good pair of Wire Strippers
Screwdriver
Precision Screwdriver Set
Right Angle Snips
Exacto Knife
Hot Glue Gun - For covering Soldered connections
Scissors
Dual-Lock -
Industrial Velcro with Adhesive Back
Soldering Iron & Appropriately Sized Solder
OPTIONAL TOOLS:
These Wire Strippers - Not necessary but a tremendous time and frustration saver.



COMPONENTS:
An AC-> 12v DC Power supply. I bought mine from LEDSupply. https://www.ledsupply.com/power-supplies/mean-well-hlg-series . To be honest, these are probably overkill, and they're heavy as hell. I bought it anyway. For my fixture I used about 4 strips. Each strip can pull about 7-10a of DC 12v. So I needed a 40a power supply. The folks at LEDSupply said the following "You are on the right track with the HLG series. Your strips will require a total of 336-Watts. You should oversize your power supply by 10-20%, so I would recommend the 480-Watt Model (480-Watt, 12V). The Function Type (A,B or blank) is up to you, but I can say that the "B" type is typically more readily available." Unfortunately the 480 was out of stock and I was on a time crunch so I got the 600. It's 10lbs.


Grounded Plug

14awg Jacketed Copper Wire - Worth buying nice stuff because it's going to be handled a lot. Not Grounded. Will be used to run from your Power supply to your fixture. I made 15 foot lengths. Brandon said that run is too long to adequately carry voltage, but I'm not having any issues as of yet.

High Amp DC Connectors - I bought Anderson Powerpoles They are great, but the caveat is you will have to buy the special crimper called Tricrimp. Great tool though. These are used to connect the DC out leads to your fixture.

Some form of Corrugated Plastic. The stuff I had was from a local greenhouse. It was more rigid than Kino's coroplast

18-22 gauge tricolor wire - I used this 20awg . Used for soldering between strips and as leads from your fixture to your Phoenix Connectors

Phoenix Connectors - I used PH3 male and female because I was using bicolor strips

Heatshrink Tubing

Heatshrink Butt Splices - Connecting your strips and making your 3 wire lead out to Phoenix connector

Tutorials for using any of these things can be found on Youtube. The most helpful Anderson Powerpoles tutorial is here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzLvdR6X81k&ab_channel=w2aew

 

[Rob_Austin]

An AC-> 12v DC Power supply. I bought mine from LEDSupply. https://www.ledsupply.com/power-supplies/mean-well-hlg-series . To be honest, these are probably overkill, and they're heavy as hell. I bought it anyway. For my fixture I used about 4 strips. Each strip can pull about 7-10a of DC 12v. So I needed a 40a power supply. The folks at LEDSupply said the following "You are on the right track with the HLG series. Your strips will require a total of 336-Watts. You should oversize your power supply by 10-20%, so I would recommend the 480-Watt Model (480-Watt, 12V). The Function Type (A,B or blank) is up to you, but I can say that the "B" type is typically more readily available." Unfortunately the 480 was out of stock and I was on a time crunch so I got the 600. It's 10lbs.

Would the 12v 240w version be right for 2 bi-color strips run thru one controller?

If so, is type A or type B better?

And are these quiet?


I realize the quality is probably not comparable, but has anyone used something like this temporarily while they await their koraled power?

 

[Brandon J.F.]

Update: I will have 400 more controllers on the 8th and the rest of them on 15th.

Still working on all the strip/mat/power upgrades and won't be done until probably this weekend.

 

[Peter Trilling]

I'm waiting to receive:
2 V120 5m Variable LED strip lights
Power supply
Updated Controller
Connector kit
Pkit Powersupply

Would anyone like to take these off my hands?

email me: pt@trillpix.com

 

[Lawrence Steele]

The controllers are all arriving slowly. The question is, when does all the rest arrive?
I ordered and paid for the tubes over a year ago. 9 months ago the PowerMats and PowerUnit. At that time I had the impression that the tubes and the mats were finished, and that there was no need to wait over another year.

 

[Brandon J.F.]

Lawrence, I've answered all this in the Facebook group that you are in and I wrote you directly. The new things you mentioned aren't part of the group buy and won't ship until group buy is done. I know you got your strips and controllers ages ago so you are anxious to get the rest as soon as possible, but I have to finish the group buy first. I will have the next shipment later this week and the final shipment of controllers next week.

 

[Alvise Tedesco]

Update: I will have 400 more controllers on the 8th and the rest of them on 15th.

Still working on all the strip/mat/power upgrades and won't be done until probably this weekend.

Hi Brandon.
Sent you an email (@koraled), when you wrote on facebook about the last chance to switch order and get a discount going with mats, but didn't get an answer.
Thanks
Alvise

 

[Brandon J.F.]

I wrote you back on Messenger, Alvise.

 

[Tony M]

Can I get my controller and other stuff now?

 

[Brandon J.F.]

The next shipment is on the way. As soon as they are processed and ready to ship I will post here.

 

[Abiodun Shote]

I have written several emails and practically begged for how to turn this thing on after my initial mistake. I just want to turn them on! What do I have to buy (on your site or anywhere else) to get this useful. I thought it was more of a plug 'n' play system rather than a DIY system.

BTW I don't have my controller yet, when am I getting it? I really don't want to add to the pressure but this spools have been paper weight for me (since my initial mistake) and my understanding (or assumption) is that getting my controller will make the spools useful for me

Hello Brandon,
I have 5 strips, do I need 5 Power Kit/D-tap cables to power the strips? secondly, any link to a cheap alternative pending when we receive the controller you are working on? Any update on the video you are working on?

Thanks alot

Hello Brandon, I would appreciate your help in getting to power the strips. Given that I've managed to burn out my ptap cable, how do I power these strips, what do I need (and probably the links)? Thanks

 

[Brandon J.F.]

Abiodun, please email me and I'll walk you through it. It's all quite simple.

 

[Eric Santiago]

Update: I will have 400 more controllers on the 8th and the rest of them on 15th.

Still working on all the strip/mat/power upgrades and won't be done until probably this weekend.

Brandon I havent received any emails and honestly dont ever go on facebook.

I dont have an account and dont plan on starting one for this.

Can you please tell me why I am still waiting this long for my controllers?