Pixel Controller Build
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- Опубликовано: 1 июл 2024
- This video walks you through the assembly of a new pixel control box. The components used in this build are listed below along with links to where you can purchase the parts.
Controller: Experience Lights 16 output Pixel Genius Controller
experiencelights.com/16-outpu...
Enclosure: Your Pixel Store Large Enclosure with mounting plate
yourpixelstore.com/product/yp...
Power Supply mounts: Your Pixel Store power supply mounts. The enclosure comes with one set, you need order more depending on the number of supplies you install.
yourpixelstore.com/product/po...
Temperature Controller: Your Pixel Store temperature controller
yourpixelstore.com/product/di...
Four 12 V Meanwell power supplies: Multiple sources, Your Pixel Store, Wally’s Lights, Wired Watts
X-Connect pigtails: Multiple sources, Your Pixel Store, Wally’s Lights, Wired Watts
0:00 Intro
3:08 Power supply mounting
5:03 Fuse Boards
7:14 Power supply wiring
8:38 Bottom plate install
9:21 Cable gland install
11:20 X-connectors
14:56 Top plate install
17:42 Controller output wiring
19:25 Ethernet cable wiring
24:11 Temperature controller wiring
26:16 Review 
Хобби
WE REALLY NEED TO GET TOGETHER AND MAKE A LIST OF ALL THIS STUFF.
I am really new to this and plan on building one for next year. I learned so much from you! Earned a sub!!
Glad the video was helpful
Nice tutorial, enjoyed watching, thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it
Good looking kit. Goes together nicely. Building mine from scratch and got a lot of tips from watching you. Thank You.
Glad to help
Some good tips in there. Thanks
Any time!
The blue tubing that comes with the kit is 1/2" PEX. Also for sale at HD/Lowes in the plumbing aisles.
Didn’t know that. Guess I should have figured it out. Thanks for the insight
Really nice, thanks for sharing. Are you using 12 gauge from power supply to fuse boards?
Yes I am
Looks good. I did a similar-ish build earlier.
I like the box. It's very solid. I struggled with the carriage bolt things for a while until.. Mynor filled me in. Also the silver vs 'dull' bolts being different lengths. It's not *that* much of a difference that it's immediately obvious..
I have a quibble with the box - which is that the triangular key has a MUCH larger triangle in the key than in the slot. Which means you can't leave it in - it just falls out. it's *way* too loose. And you have to use the key to latch the door. I'm not worried about people opening it up and stealing things out of it, so I'd probably have to screw something into the housing somewhere to hang it off.
Also - "We're just about finished" .. I'm also struggling with how to mount this thing. I suspect I'm just going to end up leaving it on its side, like you have it here - for access to the pigtails, but it won't stand up like it wants to... I'd be interested to see if /what you come up with for that.
For mounting it I plan on using the large hose clamps that came with it, feeding it through the back brackets and the mounting it to a pole by my Megatree.
I do like this box a lot but it would be nice if you could open and close it without the key
I'm searching for reviews on this box - not much that I can find. Since you are one of the few people that I can find, one question - any regrets with the purchase? It's a bit on the high side - especially with shipping, so I'm trying to do my due diligence before making a purchase. Any comment would be appreciated.
Comment directed to wibblywotsits
@@paul_dz Hey Paul. So, here's my thoughts :
I built and installed mine after the Halloween holiday, and left it out over the winter period. I get snow, and cold temperatures, and also rain.
It's big. But solid. I put a Genius GPX 16 and two power supplies inside mine. That combination led to a problem with the pigtails being super close to the bottom panel holes. I got 'em in there, but it was an awkward placement, certainly. The mounting board I got from Mynor has the phoenix connectors close to the lip. Not a deal breaker, but even so.
The unit itself is heavy, and includes some mounting grips. I guess the idea is to mount it to a vertical pole, or 4x4 or something, but I didn't have a convenient place. That - coupled with the fact that the pigtails all come out the *bottom* = meant I lad to lay it on its back.
I'm not particularly happy with that orientation. The lid I left closed, although not *locked* because - the OTHER issue is that the trianglular key-thing doesn't fit the lock. It's way too big and falls out, and I didn't want to lock it and then have the key disappear.
Soo.. It was out all winter, coped with the Christmas show fine, but I had almost no snow. Turned the show off Jan 10th, left it out there a few weeks while I decompressed, came to break down my show mid-feb and the enclosure has water in it. It *might* have gotten in through the lid ( the door faces up, not forwards). Or through some vents, although that seems unlikely. It was raised 1' off the ground, so it wasn't snow piling up against it.
It also wasn't *enough* water to fry anything. Just a slosh in the bottom. But all the electronics were off, so nothing shorted or died.
Wasn't so happy with that, tbh. and right now it's on my workbench waiting for me to do a thorough testing.
I suspect if you mounted it vertically, with the lip overhanging, like it's *designed* to, then it'd be fine. But on it's back it's not.
And the bottom orientation for the pigtails makes it super awkward to do anything else.
@@wibblywotsits Thank you for the taking the time to write a very thorough review - much appreciated.
I'm thinking the orientation had to do with the water getting in - maybe some wind swept rain. I would be mounting on some type of post so I think it would not be an issue.
As for the room with the pigtails - it's a shame that the mounting board would place the components so close to the edge - there must be a lot of free space at the top of the cabinet. Maybe I should consider making by own mounting board if I was to go with the enclosure - have to give it some thought. Thanks for pointing it out.
That key looks the same shape as a gas fireplace shut off valve
You know you might be right.
Why did ya switch from Falcon controllers? Just ordered 3 new F16V4.
Instead of the Meanwell supplies, switch to breakout board HP server power supplies. The come in 700 and 1200/900 watt units. They are super robust in a small package.
But I custom build all my controllers and dont use the premade Bud box units. Cheers !
I still use my falcon f16v3. Just decided to try out the genius controllers. I like there new differential receivers. As for GP power supplies, just haven’t gotten around to trying them out.
Im new to the hobby. for my first year i was going to start with a controller and roofline lights. I luv your icicles. How many ft of icicles can i cover with one of these 16 port boards?
It depends. If you do power injection you can put more on an output then if you don’t. There are 150 pixels per 8 ft section. If you are using 12v pixels and run them at 50% brightness you can easily do two sections without doing power injection per output. Hope this helps.
Do a mega tree first. Its a great learning curve display!
fascinating ! I how I can get my head wrapped around this !
Lots of online resources, check out xLights.org. There is also some good RUclips channels out there on getting started. For smart LED’s Canispater Christmas had some great content.
What software do you use to control all this? My stuff is so small and it is just WLED still.
I use xLights. There are several others you can use. xLights is very powerful and there is a lot of community support. It is also open source.
I am new to this hobby. Does V- cable from distro board go to V- on power supply or to the L on the power supply? I can't tell from the video. Thank you.
Yes- V- to V- and V+ to V+
Could you give a list of materials and were you got them. Thank you Rick
I have the major components in the description. Do you need more details?
Do you have a wiring diagram to follow? I am building same setup and need help.
I have not created a wiring diagram. Generally you connect the 120v plug to the AC side of the power supplies. You then connect the DC side of the power supply to the controller. One power supply connects to one side of the controller and the other power supply connects to the opposite side of the controller. In other words each power supply powers 8 ports on your controller. Hope this helps.
About the Genius controller, is there a relay output to turn on the power supplies?
No- don’t think I have seen any pixel controllers that do that. The Genius controllers operate on 12 VDC, so they are powered up by the power supplies inside the box.
Might want to branch out a little. The Dig-Uno, Quad and Octa boards all have a delay out put that can be used to turn on the power supplies. Just need to provide 5v to the ESP32 chip.
@@eekedout did not know that, thanks for the info
Are you using 1 power cord for all four of your power supplies? Can you show me how you have them linked? I know I must have not been seeing it correctly but it looked like the power wires were the same colors as a pigtail?
I did only use one power cord. Most people use 2. You need to check your load and the gauge of your plug makes a difference as well. For AC power I used black for load, white for neutral, and green for ground. If you are unsure use two power cords. For DC power I used red for V+ and black for V-. So there are two types of black wires. Hope this helps.
@@bergmannlights5149 Thanks for the info. Do you know what gauge your power cords are? I believe the ones that I got were 18 AWG. They 16 AWG, Do you think those would be better to use for multiple power supplies. I used to use one cord for each PS but now I've been only using 1 in my boxes with 2 PSs. Having fewer plugs is a definite plus.
@@chestercampbell5681 bigger is better. Go for 16 awg. One 16 awg for 2 power supplies is good in my experience
@@bergmannlights5149 I would love to see a better shot on how you did the wiring for 1 power cord for all 4 power supplies. Is there a diagram or something you can post? Is the cord going into one powersupply and daisychaining them? I wish you would have gone over that in the video.
The thicker the wire the better do go for 16 awg or better for 4 power supplies. I just ran jumpers from the power supplies using 12 awg wire.
Why so many power supply?
For power injection. I probably have more then I need but better safe than sorry.
It is a nice video and a clean build, however... as a retired industrial controls systems engineer I cringe at the power supply mounting where you cover up the bottom supply fans. It may work ok in the reality of Christmas lights and cold weather, but I believe it is a bad design. Give them some breathing space..
Thanks for your insights. There is about 3/8 of an inch spacing between the stacked power supplies so the fan is not covered up. Also have a large fan, 9 inches I think,on top to pull cool air through the box.
@@bergmannlights5149 Was looking into using this box - and your video is very helpful to get a hands on feel for it. Regarding this comment which seems like a valid concern - is there room to add spacers to increase the breathing space between power supplies - say maybe one inch?
Yes this box is very large. You could have a stack of 3 power supplies so if you have two of them you will have plenty of space.