How To - Chain Pixel Props Like a Champ - Part II
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- Опубликовано: 31 июл 2024
- How to - Chain Many Pixel Props, Like a Champ - Part II
(aka Making the Most of your Controller Outputs)
In this video, I show the wiring diagram and how to wire the self power injection test setup. I also walk through the steps of splicing pixel wires to add self power injection wires.
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Timeline
00:00 Intro
00:35 Wiring the Self Power Injection Test Setup
05:49 Adding Self Power Injection Wires
07:32 Tools Needed
08:52 Gathering Self Injection Wires
10:55 Separating and Exposing Pixel Wires
15:02 Comparing 18AWG to Pixel Wires
15:44 Soldering Wires to Pixel Wires
20:15 Sealing Solder Joints
22:16 Review of Completed Wiring
22:41 Summary
Music Credit:
Better by Anno Domini Beats
Referenced Videos and Links
How To - Chain Pixel Props Like a Champ
• How To - Chain Pixel P...
WAGO Lever Nuts
amzn.to/3HMwWGL
Monoprice Nimbus Series 18AWG 4-Conductor CMP-Rated Speaker Wire, 100ft (pure 100% oxygen free copper)
www.monoprice.com/product?p_i...
IRWIN VISE-GRIP Wire Stripper, Self-Adjusting, 8-Inch
amzn.to/3zScjak
5” Wire Cutter
amzn.to/3n7SWm1
Weller WLC100 40-Watt Soldering Station
amzn.to/3n6Chz4
Soldering Iron Tip Cleaner
amzn.to/3NarkHx
Alpha Fry 60-40 Rosin Core Solder (4 Ounces)
amzn.to/3NdKQCJ
Helping Hands
amzn.to/3zOyWfP
Liquid Electrical Tape (4 Ounces)
amzn.to/3Od2wQg 
Хобби
This is the best video out there explaining how to wire props. Thank you so much for posting this video!
Glad it was helpful!
great info thanks for sharing
Hey Steve,
Nice video lots of good info.
This is going to be my first year. Didn't know you can self power inject like the way you do it. 👍
Thank you so much
Steve, great videos and lots of information. Question. Some of the Power T injectors (like from Wired Watts) have all 3 legs spliced in the middle (There is no break like in your previous diagram). Would your self Injection work with 2 of those at first pixel and last pixel and an extension running between the 2 power Tees? Secondly what's the most pixels you think you could power (12v) off of one self injection?
Thanks Andrew! For the power injection Ts you have from wired watts, since V+ traces through all connectors, you could definitely use two of them as you described to self power inject and balance power. The shorter the line between the tees for power balancing, the better.
For your second question, download the spreadsheet from Part 1 of these videos. The link in the description to the Google doc file lets you adjust parameters. The number of pixels you can fully power (when power balanced) is highly dependent upon the output brightness set for the pixels. Most people run the pixels at 30% output brightness, and that’ll let you run 3x the number of pixels compared to running them at 100%.
I've been considering the liquid electrical tape. My concern is the need to remove it sometime later. What's your experience with removal? Do you just have to cut the connection out and consider it a loss?
I’ve used it plenty but never had to remove the liquid electrical tape. Once it’s on, it’s like a latex covering over the wires. I suppose you could peel it off once it’s all cured and dried if you wanted to access the soldered connection.
Desoldering and resoldering wires can get messy, so I would just cut the wires free and re-do whatever it is you are trying to connect.
Hello Steve, great video and thanks for sharing the info about self power injection. From the pigtail how do you know which one is v+, ground and data? I thought I found it by tracing back to the board but it blow fuse and I think some thing is not right. Thank you very much.
Thanks Charlie. Looking at the pigtail, usually the two pins next to each other just below the alignment notch are the V+ and GND pins. The third pin opposite the alignment notch is usually the data pin. If you have a voltmeter, you can check which one is which. You’ll know you have the pins correct when the voltmeter shows 12V. If it shows -12V, you have them backward.
Another thing new pixels have now are markings along the wires themselves indicating which wires are V+, data, and GND. The wires between pixels usually have the data wire on the middle with the V+ and GND on opposite sides of the data wire.
If you’re blowing the fuse, you most likely have the V+ and GND wires mixed up.
@@NiFamilyLights Thanks Steve for the the info and will try it again. I think I have V+ and ground may be mixed up.
Great video...I've been looking for something like this for several months!
I have a run of lights that I want to inject at the end. Can I use this method to run the wires from the PSU to the end of the run? Would I need to run pos and negative to the end or just the positive?
Thanks for the comment and happy that it was helpful for you. Yes, you can power inject at the end of a run of lights. You do need to run both positive and negative to the end, not just the positive.
Great video as always! I'm hoping to clarify that the splices come after the 1st pixel and before the last pixel. Or do the splices come before the first and after the last? Or doesn't it matter?! Thank you for making these videos!
Thanks for the comment BMac. Mine are wired before the first pixel and after the last for the best results. However, doing it after the first and before the last probably won’t make that much of a difference.
Can I self power inject 1 b4 last pixel?
I cut of the 100th pixel due to the fact the prop required 99. So I already had to solder a pigtail at the end. So not so much wire left at the end. Was thinking of going between pixel 98 and 99
Absolutely, you can do that, and it will work just fine.
Steve, Great video, as usual..! Congratulations..!
At video timeline 11.58 , stripping wire, isn’t using wire stripper instead of utility knife, would be more convenient? Wire stripper works great for me .
Secondly, will it be possible for you to make some videos on how to set up this in xLights & Falcon Controller ? Can we do adding props as virtual ?
Thanks again for all great work..!
Thanks for the comment J Patel!
At 11.58, my wire strippers are great for stripping cut wires. I haven't tried using them with uncut wires, so will have to give that a try.
For xLights and Falcon controller configurations, there are a bunch of videos covering those topics at videos.xlights.org. Thanks for the idea. I may make a video in the future showing how these props would be setup in xLights and with the Falcon.
@@NiFamilyLights I use those wire strippers to strip wire in the middle of a run. Works great ands I highly recommend!
Did you have much problem with water intrusion in the balancing set up with the Wagos? Maybe props hanging against a house?
@Tydins Ct Lights, the wago lever nuts were used for demonstration purposes only, as it was easier using them to change out the wiring for demonstration purposes.
For my actual props, the extra wires are soldered and sealed with heat shrink and/or liquid electrical tape.
Some pixels you purchase come with two wires at the beginning and the end of the string. Can you power inject using those two strands or do you have to run your own wires? Can you show that setup please. Thank You
John, yes, if your pixels have extra wires for power injection, you can definitely use those to power inject that set of pixels. It can be done very similarly to how I show in this video. Use a high quality cable to go from the V+ from the first pixel to the V+ wire of the last pixel in the string. Then do the same for the GND (aka V-).
Ideally, the power injection wires are short, and it makes sense to make those connections once the pixels are pushed into a prop so you have just enough wire to make the connections.
Dumb question but what kind of soldering wire are you using and do you recommend?
This is what I use. It works well with basic soldering irons. www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00030AP48?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Hi Steve,
I am still confused. How do you use these wires to power inject?
Hi Edna, if you haven’t already, I recommend you watch Part 1 of this video series. That video explains how these wires are used to balance power and the benefits.
ruclips.net/video/Zb_c_tNSt90/видео.html
Are you aware of anyone doing commercial versions of self injection? Like the injection T's became common or order.
Brad, no I'm not aware of any vendors creating products for self power injection. It would be nice if such a thing existed where you can specify the length between the two ends, or have options for standard lengths like 1', 3', 5'.
The technique at the moment is more DIY compared to traditional Tee Power Injection which appears to be the only vendor adopted power injection method.