Permanent and AFFORDABLE Holiday LED's
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- Опубликовано: 1 июл 2024
- DIY permanent LED lights for your house! I'll show you a cool way to mount them. Here's all the stuff I used!
500-pk LED Pixels - amzn.to/41sgntJ
T-Tap Conectors - amzn.to/3v0UmpJ
3-wire - amzn.to/3RKE90D
2-wire - amzn.to/4aoueVF
Butt Conectors - amzn.to/3Rpn2Aa
Power Supply - amzn.to/3RoPVMJ
DigQuad - www.drzzs.com/shop/digquad/
Waterproof Case - amzn.to/41GDwc1
Cable Pass-thrus - amzn.to/3RmPHG5
Gutter DownSpout - www.homedepot.com/p/Amerimax-...
Step Drill Bit - amzn.to/3tm9fSU 
Хобби
Those channels look like a great place for birds nests and bee hives. Well protected and out of sight.
🤷🏻♂️ Time will tell.
Something to consider before you embark on making your own LED channel vs. buying something pre-made - Time and Tools still cost money. And the more professional of a look you want, the more time and money you will invest. Don't undervalue the time you'll save buying pre-made pixel channel.
Can’t argue with that. Clearly you need some tools to do this properly. And it for sure takes some time. For me, time well spent mostly because I like doing this type of thing.
On the other hand, don't underestimate the value of what you're learning. 😊
When I saw the title tag “AFFORDABLE” and it started with “this took a *lot* of weekends and a *lot* of manual labour” I knew it was going to be the “my time/energy is free” type of affordable
You must be selling these things.
What you comment can apply to EVERYTHING. People can go out to breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day, hire a chef, or have food delivered, cuz you know, time grocery shopping and cooking takes skills and cookware.
Buying the tools it takes to make one project doesn't end at that one project. A drill and saw can be used around the house for other stuff.
@chrisophec.482 Funny you say that.......you also get better as you go. First 20' took me hours to get installed. Last 20' took me 10 minutes. Once you learn what to do, stuff moves a lot quicker!
10:59 the perfect habitat for birds and bats my dude. I’m referring to the attic (mostly) but the light idea is top shelf.
Yeah....totally possible that birds decide to start nesting up there. I'm definitely gonna have to keep an eye on that and add modifications if it becomes an issue.
Thank you for taking the time to share your process.
Thanks dude, appreciate that!
I love the detail you put into this video. 👍👍
Thanks so much, I really appreciate that!
Christmas lights are something i dread every year. A one-time install with multiple uses year-round is right up my alley. Thanks for some great ideas!
Exactly why I wanted to do this! Also tired of storing a ton of C9 light strings and all the extension cords!
Awesome job - I really like your design!
Appreciate that! Thanks a ton!
This was so well explained. Thank you! I really appreciate you walking through the process in a way that people can follow rather than building up to some big reveal and making things opaque.
ROFL! Ahhh….the big “reveal” videos. 🤣 Thanks for watching!
Excellent video! A friend of mine and I talk about nerdy projects all the time and we agree - the packaging is the real challenge. You did a great job of covering what is usually the most difficult aspect of these projects.
Appreciate you saying that Abe! You and your friend are right on point!
Nicely done. Perfect amount of detail and good logical flow of your thoughts.
Thanks so much George!
Great work, great explanation, great video. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, learning and projects!
Thanks so much! Appreciate you comment!
I can see that in your situation it's better for the bullet lights than the strip lights. You have done a very good job! Also, you have explained it well!
Good luck on your next projects. I hope I explain mine half as well as you, Sir! 🙂✌🏽
Thanks so much. I definitely have some different style lights in mind for some future projects. Really appreciate you taking time to comment!
wow!!!!! frickin amazing man! thank you so much for sharing! i need to do that asap! that is so nice! you are very creative...
Thanks a ton for the positive comment! I really appreciate you dude!
Neat concept/execution that can be used for other things as well. I appreciate the ingenuity and innovation.
Thanks! Appreciate the comment!
Great Idea! I’m Definitely Doing this!
Right on! Good luck on your project!
Great idea! I have been thinking about doing something like this for my house. Thank you for the blueprint.
Very happy to help!
Wow this is fantastic! I really enjoyed your breakdown. I would love to do something like this on a more basic level to just highlight all the roof lines of my barn. Lucky for me, when and if I do decide to tackle this project, my life long best friend is an electrical engineer that is just amazing with stuff like this. No need to break my brain trying to figure this stuff out if he can do it in his sleep lol. REALLY nice job! I bet to solve the bird and critter issue would be to make some framed screens that would just sit on your spacers you used for the screws. Easy to pop off if you needed access. Thanks for sharing 🤠
Love that idea! Thanks Cowboy Steve! 👍👍
Great idea. I did this to my house and used j channel vinyl and it worked great
Right on! I figured J channel would work pretty well.
Awesome build!
Thx dude, appreciate that!
Very informative and quality video! I would like to see the rest of the build like the controller and stuff too if possible! You’re getting my subscription for everything I said above but probably more for the shirt you’re wearing, classic!
Haha, classic indeed! Yeah I can do a video on the controller and specifically how I wired that and got it onto my network. Thanks for watching and subscribing!
Great job, I think I am going to do this, I need to learn more about how to operate the LED's first. Thanks
Lots of good videos out there. Tons of options. Study WLED, and check out the channel “The Hook Up” Appreciate you taking time to watch and comment!
Bro! This is an excellent video. Thank you kindly.
Thanks for watching and taking time to comment!
Thank you, thank you! Well done and extremely helpful.
Happy to help. Thanks for watching!
That's a great DIY job! I bought 200 12v pixels with the plan to find some sort of pvc channel and drill the holes as you have. I couldn't find any suitable channel here in the UK that was fairly cheap and available that I could be sure would work with my roof. After finding some 45x25mm channel I thought might work, and then working out how I'd drill the holes the correct size and accurately spaced with my available tools I just looked into Permatrack. Surprisingly available here, 2" hole centres, side firing to suit my roof and £150 for enough to do my roofline. Due to my initial DIY 3" spacing calculations I had to buy another 100 pixels. I'd left it too late this year to do the full install so I did the controller box and just strung the pixels out for Christmas.
Thanks James. At least you got them all working on the controller for now! The spacing can make a huge difference on the number of pixels needed (as you just learned). Appreciate you watching!
Simple jig for drilling the holes: Starting with a block of wood, drill two holes the desired distance apart. Insert a pin or dowel in one of the holes. Use the other hole to guide the bit. After drilling the first hole, advance the channel so the first hole and the pin meet. Use the guide for the nest hole. Rinse and repeat.
That’s an awesome pro tip! I’ll be using that on all kinds of projects!! 😎
I agree. Large repetitive jobs like that are perfect to spend 5 or 10 minutes making a jig for. Makes it quicker and reduces fatigue.
@@drewspears5301 Also reduces error.
fantastic video.vey well explained.would love a video on the controller ,you explain things so well
Thanks dude. Appreciate you saying that! I am planning a video on the controller.
Great idea, thanks for sharing. The first company to come up with an affordable option will get TONS of sales on these mounting systems
Yeah for sure. Lots of people/companies doing these permanent lights these days! Thanks for watching!
Awesome video! Thanks!
The man the myth the legend! Thx for watching and for all of your great content dude!
Appreciate the video. Great alternatives to permatrak
Appreciate the comment! Cheers!
Looks great. I did ws2811 pixels this year also. I tried using j-channel and pvc, but wasn’t having luck with making clean holes. I gave up and shelled out for permatrack. Yes, it was more than my supplies, but it is great quality. I ran 12v pixels with 16ga and only had to inject once every ~200 leds. I picked up an esp32 and 5v pixels for a wreath. Then I also got 7 bulbs from aliexpress loaded with WLED in my outdoor sconces. Next year I think I will do the top ridges of my roof in ws281x C9 or C7s if they are available.
Permatrack defintely looks good and cuts down on a lot of work! I like your idea about some C9’s…..always been my favorite bulbs!
Something to consider if you are doing this, look into 12V or 24V modules. When you get into wire lengths of 100ft, voltage drop starts to come into play and 5V may not be enough to make it 100ft+ to the end LEDs. Usually this shows up as color issues at the end of the string.
Voltage drop for sure comes into play. When testing long runs I could definitely see a change in the color by the end of the strands. Power injection is a must. Using a larger gauge wire (larger than the strand wire) and injecting at the end of every strand seems to do the trick pretty well. Definitely can't rely on the strands themselves to keep the voltage. I assume that would be regardless of the voltage, but probably more pronounced with 5v like I did. Either way, great call out!
On his diagram it looked like he tapped 5v into every new strand.
@@joe_duck correct
I truly love the way u did your lights and basically followed your idea. I haven't put lights on the house yet due to bad weather this week. I'm trying to see where u ran the t-clips on the wires if u don't mind sharing? Awesome job, and thx for sharing your knowledge!
Thanks for the comment! When it comes to the T clips for doing in-line power injection, there should be a little power injection pigtail at the beginning and end of each of the LED segments. I used the one at the end of each segment to connect the T to. On the power injection line itself, I just used a utility knife to carefully remove the outer casing, exposing about an inch of the red/black wires inside. Then crimp the T connector around those black/red wires. I just ran the power injection line parallel with the LED segments, and then figured out where to splice in that T connector. This was way easier to do once the power injection line was already run. PAY CLOSE ATTENTION to the +/- so you don’t accidentally inject the power backwards. That would cause all kinds of problems. Ok, one last thing….depending how long your run is end to end, you may need a larger gauge wire for power injection. This also depends heavily on what voltage your lights are. 12v is better over long distances than 5v when it comes to voltage drop in the wires. Higher volts also won’t require as large a gauge wire. Lower volts means you need more current, means you need a bigger wire. So in my case, I have 722 LEDs spread across about 200’. Even with an 18awg parallel injection line adding fresh power every 50 LEDs, I still get a visible color drop towards the last 50’ of that run when trying to run true white on these LEDs. Most other colors I really don’t see a difference. So, I will likely add one new power injection straight from my PSU and tap that into the last 60-70’ of that run. And that new injection line is gonna be bigger, probably 12awg wire instead of the 18awg. I think that’s gonna correct the voltage drop.
Sorry I went on a bit of a tangent there! I hope that’s helpful!
Dude, impressive as hell! 🤛 what a project. Design, fabrication, installation…🫡🤯 cheers, big time. 🤘
Thanks a ton! I appreciate that!
Best video I've seen on outdoor lights. Please make a video on just the control and the programing. I want to put my box outside but I want to load programs remotely if possible. Thank you.
Appreciate the comment! Working on that video already. So long as they can get Wi-Fi, then they can totally be outside. Do your homework on WLED software. It has a lot of great features.
Thank you so much for specifically discussing what others have glossed over. If you wanted to go into even more detail in how you ran the cables from the controller and how you routed them through your attic or crawl space or whatever, I would appreciate it! We have different roofing styles but to gather ideas for how to run mine would be greatly appreciated. Even if not, great work on this one and thank you again!
Hi Ben. Thanks for the comments. I could go through that in a quick video pretty easily. There a few points I didn’t touch on in regard to actually attaching the cables and running them. Good call!
@@DadDoingStuff I'd be interested in that as well. Great video btw. ....and go Pens! ;)
@@DadDoingStuff I would be interested as well. Thanks! Awesome video!
Great job! I've been wanting to remount my pixels in a similar fashion (currently using pixel mounting strips zip tied to PVC pipes). But, like you, I'm not willing to spend the money on Permatrak. This appears to be a great alternative. Thanks for sharing.
Happy to help. I think any decent J channel or C channel would work. Good luck on your project!
Used downspout as well, but cut them in half on the other axis. Got two 1-1/2” deep channels from each 2x3” piece. You can also get a vinyl glue for joints.
Hmmmm🤔 never thought about glue. Good call. Did you rip them with a table saw? If I did it again, I might actually use some power snips. Vinyl sawdust is pretty statically charged so it makes a big mess.
@@DadDoingStuff yes, cut them on a table saw. Agree it’s statically charged and messy. But it works! Used the RH Adhesives HH-66 Vinyl Cement. My install was just over 120ft 700+ pixels
This is pretty genious!
I did something similar with a color matched vinyl siding j channel to my soffit for my Govee lights
Vinyl siding J channel.....that's a great idea!
@@DadDoingStuff I got beat up pretty bad on Reddit for it, but I think it turned out pretty good for what was easily avail
Don't worry about internet haters dude. Unfortunately, there are a ton of them out there. Only reason I didn't use J channel is that I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for.
@@DadDoingStuff I typically don’t let the haters bother me. I have a channel as well and learned you gotta have thick skin to be a content creator. Lol
Great information. If i could get a pixel string with RGBCW/RGBWW/RGBCCT I would totally do something similar. Can't seem to fine pixel strings with those led types though
Thanks! Yeah I’ve only seen RGB or RGBW. Do those others do anything well beyond RGBW? (I’m still a noob when it comes to in-depth LED knowledge)
I’m installing 12v pixels now on my house. I special ordered flat pixels spaced @12” in custom lengths from an online vender. 4 strings of 100 pixels were 100$. I’m using 5/8” x12’ long J channel from Lowe’s. Mounting under my eaves. I’m half way done now it looks like Govee or Jelly fish lighting. I’ll have about 400$ in it. I looked into custom 8’ long metal track online but it was gonna be more for the metal and shipping than the lights, wire, etc. great job by the way very informative.
Awesome job! Your build sounds legit, and affordable!
But if it looks looks like Govee lighting, then the Govee lighting would be cheaper with much less DIY? genuinely not intending to be snarky, but genuinely curious as to why you choose DIY? (I keep vacillating between Govee and DIY but moving towards Govee)
@@jerseyman99 I’m curious about Kevin’s answer as well, but for me it completely depends on what type of installation you need. Govee is definitely more plug n play, but the adhesive based mounting makes me nervous about its longevity. Also need to make sure you have 110v AC outlets placed in the right spots to plug in their controllers. If I had white soffits and access to power outlets, I’d definitely consider Govee as an option. The last thing that I don’t fully know about Govee is if it requires an active internet connection or not. (Lots of IOT devices do these days) My WLED doesn’t require an internet connection to run as it only relies on my local network for any configuration. That said, I also can’t turn my lights on/off remotely when I’m not home. But given everything is on a calendared schedule, that capability isn’t something I need or would use.
Love the video! Please increase your general audio level...I had to crank it all the way up just to barely hear you. Otherwise, the content itself is spot-on!! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the feedback. Since that video I finally threw down on some actual wireless mics. Audio should (hopefully) be on point going forward. Appreciate you watching!
Good thing you have a programmable controller. An interesting Christmas concept that's fascinating with lights is the sequence: set all green; walk a red led through the string; increase to two red leds and walk that; increase by one red led until the whole string is red; then start with one green led and walk that to the end; increase then green by one led and walk it until you have a green string again; repeat. The thing you can vary is the walk speed. The larger the ealking group, you might need go slow the walk speed down to get a consistent effect. Have fun programming. You can also apply this concept and variations to other colors.
Love that idea dude!
@@DadDoingStuff
Don't forget to switch off the green pixel before walking red into same pixel address, otherwise you'll get shades of brown. You'll enjoy inverting bits that are on to off and vice versa. Best thing to do is create an array in memory of total number of lights x 3 (RGB colors). Then map that array onto the data line map via fast write. Or do it the hard way, bit by bit. Kinda way the controller is set up to do that with it's internal color programming as well. You simply write to the array via DO WHILE, IF THEN ELSE loops. Don't forget DELAY, DELAY INCREMENT, and DELAY DECREMENT variables. Many ways to implement it in code from simple to complex. It will be a learning curve. A few months later you'll say "I shoulda wrote it this way and saved time and lines!" We all go through that learning an IT language.
Thanks for sharing your great doable idea and links for items to buy. Would you add some links for the videos you watched to make and set up the control box and software you chose to use since you didn’t show that part of the project. I do lots of handyman stuff, but electrical is my weakest area. Thanks again!
Thanks for the comment Steve. I will be adding a video where I talk further about the controller and such. But, go check out some videos from these guys.
youtube.com/@TheHookUp?si=8UhQzSFfu8f_YdWU
youtube.com/@DrZzs?si=hXo4bOwX8uMY_Y3F
Both are great resources.
Great job. The only problems I see are with birds wanting to nest in them or vermin (rats, squirrels) using them as raceways to get around/enter your home. Also, you didn't say why you chose 5v over 12v but using the 12v WS2811s would have been slightly more expensive but would have meant you wouldn't need to inject power as often if at all. I have A LOT of experience with these lights and there are places I would recommend one over the other - there's no wrong choice but in running long lengths for permanent installation like yours I recommend going for the 12v if for no other reason than not having to inject power every 50 or 100 lights. Depending on the installation, 12v may eliminate the need to inject power altogether and that can make up for the extra cost of the 12v lights.
Hi Roy, I’m definitely still a noob and learning more all the time about the voltage part. In my mind, less volts = less fire risk. (That could be WAY off base, but it seemed to make sense) That was the primary reason for using lower voltage. I did have to inject power every 50 pixels which was a bit more work, but not terrible with a parallel injection run.
I’m not worried about squirrels or rats here, but birds could be a concern. I’m already thinking about how to solve for that should it become a problem. We also get wasps that like to build nests in our eaves, so I need to keep an eye on that as well.
Appreciate your knowledge and comment!
I have a feeling Clark Griswold might not approve!!🤔🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Seriously, cool job 👏 subscribed 😄
Those little lights aren’t twinkling Clark. 🤣🤣🤣
awesome video. do you have another showing the configuration/wiring of the power supply, controller, etc...
Not yet......but I'm gonna do one. Lots of people asking about that part. Thx!
I just watched another video on this where the guy used PVC pipes to hold the ARGBs, and he used a CNC to cut all of the holes needed to mount the lights. While it looked OK, I think your method looks A LOT cleaner than PVC pipes, but more importantly, your method makes this something that just about anyone can do, not a whole lot of people have a CNC machine, which are fairly expensive, including the "entry level" CNCs. GREAT VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks I really appreciate that! I have seen a few that did PVC. I don’t want to knock them, but no way I was gonna mount PVC pipes permanently on my house! Thanks for watching!
Cool, You made wire gutters...:)
Yeah pretty much! 😂
Its all great unless your house has soffits. The overhangs on many homes are not open like your home. That makes work, looks great!
Yeah this wouldn’t work for soffits. Most soffit installations I’ve seen use puck style pixels or strips. There seems to be a lot of products available for soffit mounting, but they aren’t cheap. I did this because I don’t have soffits and couldn’t find a suitable product that I actually liked for my type of setup. Appreciate your comment!! 🤘
Nice job
Thank you sir! Appreciate that.
Thanks for this video and the diagrams. Well done. i was a little unclear on one thing. For each down spout tube, did you cut it to get two usable channels? Or did you just cut off the top producing one channel. Thanks.
Good question. I cut it in half, getting a pair of 10’ channels from each downspout.
Very cool!
Thank you very much sir!
I'm a bird and I love this guy.
😂
I came to the comments to look for a comment like this lmao
😂😂 Might be totally right dude! 🤷🏻♂️
Great video. I think the only change I would make is, instead of cutting the wires and using all the butt connectors, you could slide a piece of shrink tubing over the wire before connecting. Once they're connected, hit it with the heat gun and you've got a much faster waterproof connection that, if need be, can still be sliced and disconnected for maintenance or replacement.
Not a terrible idea. I dove into this with so much confidence that I’ll NEVER have to cut those apart……maybe. 😂 Actually I’ve been looking at better waterproof 3-wire connectors. Something that would let me just unscrew them if needed. Pretty sure my next project will have something like that.
Deutch make some pretty good weather proof hi-reliability connectors. Have used them on automated agricultural equipment and similar projects. Clever use of downspout vinyl as packaging is the bug for things like this. Good job !
@@DadDoingStuff
for reference on why the 1/2" bit was too big, 1/2" is 12.7 MM, there are 25.4 MM in 1", the 15/32" bit gives you a hole that is 11.90625 MM which is why it's a better fit for 12 MM.
Thanks dude! You did all the math that I was too lazy to do. LOL I kinda wonder now if 11.9mm is even better fit than 12mm. They fit nice and snug for sure!
@@DadDoingStuff a LOT of the CAD blocks I work with are in Metric but I draw houses in Feet and Inches so i've had to commit to memory the 25.4mm=1" conversion ratio and I would say the 11.9 would be a tighter fit and as long as you can still insert the object tighter is always better in this case. But I think you learned why some people are willing to spend the money on the premade pieces, cause it takes a real commitment to saving money to do that many holes.
Dude, you aren’t wrong about the commitment!
outstanding !
Thanks so much!
Just what I was looking for, and I'd be stupid not to sub for more- thank you!
Thanks so much! Appreciate you!
This is very nice and professional looking. This system would retail for about $10,000 US.
LOL. It’s kinda crazy how much they can cost! 😳
I have considered this but with all the fires in the last 3 years... Heck no. Great install. I might consider Mattos EVO pixels though as they are UL listed.
It’s one of the reasons I chose 5v lights. I REALLY hope with proper wiring and an oversized power supply that I don’t have any issue!!! I’ll definitely look at those Mattos for future projects. Thanks for watching.
Metal (or plastic) J channel for light mounting and running wire in is a good alternative, just as cheap and much smaller for those who have metal soffits. You can also mount close to the wall to get more lighting effect on the house itself.
Where do you find plastic J channel? I looked online because I wanted that first. I just never found any. But maybe my Google skills are lacking….🤷🏻♂️
@@DadDoingStuff Big box stores, both Lowes and HD have it. I have that plastic soffet material so can't get to the back of my facia board, and the gutters are right even with the bottom for the most part. Maybe I can do something into the aluminum strip holding the soffet....
@akjammer1 As I was researching this project, I found a lot of products were actually geared towards soffit mounting solutions rather than back side of the fascia. (and most of the content online seems to be centered on Utah for some reason) It's one of the reasons I started looking for my own solution. Also probably better to do the low-profile puck lights with soffits rather than the pixel strings.
@@DadDoingStuff Thanks. Yeah, I've been researching for the past couple hrs myself. The problem with those surface mounted puck lights is the exposure. I like the way yours just have the tips exposed with the rest hidden. Less HOA issues that way. I saw TheHookUp's review of the different lights and still thought yours was better. This'll be a Spring project for me, so I've got plenty of time to come to a decision. I'll probably also buy something in small quantities and test them out. Maybe on the back shed. ;-)
tried 12mm drill bits and they gouged hole , ended up buying metric step drills which works great. love the downspout idea.
Yeah I did the same with a standard 15/32 bit, but it doesn’t make a clean hole in something that thin. Step bits kick butt for clean holes in thin stuff!
My only concern is making a place for birds to next as I already have that 'problem" in my shed over hang, but I do not mind there. I would almost want to keep the other have of the gutter to make a cover, or add something else to over the wires so no birds, or other living thing get up there and chew on stuff.
Totally valid concern. That could happen. I'm gonna keep an eye on them and deal with that if it occurs.
I thought about just installing a strip of mirrors that will reflect my neighbors' lights. lol
THAT is thinking smarter bro!
Those mirrors will be a lot better than last year. Where on earth did you get a WWII diesel powered strobe light?
Great video! I'm planning to do permanent lights this year and you've given me lots of good ideas. I have one question. With all of the strings soldered together, how did you get them installed in the channels? I see 2 possibilities.
1. Install the channels on the house empty. Then install all pixels into the channels.
2. Install pixels into channels first. Install channels on house. Then solder together.
Either way seems difficult.
You aren’t wrong. No way is easy. I soldered mine first, then installed 1-2 channels on the ground before I mounted them to the house. Soldering on the ladder SUX! In fact, I made my strands too long, then just trimmed them down. That’s easier than soldering when they are already on the house. That said, if I started over, here is what I think I would do.
For each section of channel, I would cut the pixels to match that length. So in my case I would trim a 10’ section to 43 pixels. If it was shorter section, like for a short part of the eave, then it would be less pixels. But for each section of channel, it trim the pixels strand then add waterproof 3-wire connectors (kind that screw together). That way I could physically mount each segment of channel without worrying about wires, then just screw them together. Only part to manage after that would be power injection lines, but I think those would be pretty easy if the channels were already mounted. This setup would also make life better a decade from now when I need to paint my house. Because then I could just unscrew the sections of channel and take them down temporarily. Hopefully that all makes sense. I always learn as I go, plus gather new ideas from other viewers.
I like the way this looks better than the J channels but we have issues with paper wasps here and those things would love these lol. It’s hard enough to keep them out of the gutters even with gutter guards on.
Yeah that’s a real possibility for sure. Time is gonna tell, but I’m definitely keeping an eye on it!
🇨🇦 nice wrk Go Leaf’s go.
Haha! Truth be told I’m a Knights fan. But I did get that hat at a Leafs game many years back and it’s my favorite beanie by far! Thanks for watching!
Inwould love a video to be educated about 12v vs 5v. Can you recommend someone you found that helped you as you were learning?
Id love to set these up for feeding and caring for our animals to go around their pens and such. Would be nice during summer to srtup something overhead since its cooler and woukd be easier to weed and harvest the garden fkr morning sales. Thanks for sharing. I live the gutter look and how its hidden and professional looking and a huge time saver. Can these be ran off a small solar panel?
Thanks for all the questions! Check out youtube.com/@TheHookUp?si=m4mYaISdnB2k9IoD to learn more about 5v versus 12v. This guy REALLY nerds out on this stuff.
Unless you have a need to have programmable patterns and such, I would probably steer away from individually addressable LEDs (like the ones I used) and just get standard lit ones that are only one color. They would be way easier to use for those types of applications. Solar is possible, but really depends on size of panel, size of battery, and how many LEDs you were gonna use.
I like it! I would like to find those lights?
Links in the description!
Solder is Better or the butt connectors but you could use Liquid Electrical Tape on the Connecting plugs. I would Recommend to Test any connection you make that is not the one already tested. Also if you Do use Solder Do not use Acid Core! make sure its Rosen Core. On a Hole this is an Really Good Idea. And a Time Saver. you can do this in the Summer when you have nice Weather. i want to Say Thanks for That.
Great info dude! Appreciate that!
Great vid, thank you! I like vinyl downspouts for all kinds of low cost, DIY projects.
You mentioned "injecting" more power to the roof lines a few times. What does that mean?
The basic version:
You get voltage loss over distance (especially with a low 5v system like mine). So the longer the run, the LEDs that are farthest away from the power source won’t be as bright. This is most noticeable when trying to achieve a cool white color with RGB pixels. The initial feed from the controller has positive, negative, and data.
To counter the loss in voltage, you need to add additional power straight from the power supply (needs to be from the same power supply not a separate one) and “inject” that every so often. Each injection can be a home run back to the power supply, or you can run a larger gauge cable and run it in parallel with the LED strands, just tapping into it every so often. Dedicated home runs are best, however they aren’t always practical depending your house and roof layout. I did this about every 50 LEDs.
Also note the every positive off the power supply or controller that goes to a LED or power injection line should always have a fuse inline. Hope that helps!
@@DadDoingStuff OK yes I definitely understand the voltage drop over the lines. So then each 50 lights basically has its own power lines, but they all share a single data line?
@@themarkfunction Precisely!
@@DadDoingStuffAwesome, thank you!
What brand LED’s do you go with and and for the LED controller can you do a video on that. 19:34
These LEDs are Alitove. Link in description. I’m planning a follow up video about the controller and wiring. Cheers!
Great job, great video tHanks.
For Halloween I just light a fire in the front yard.
Most people visiting are amazed...they ask " What is that? " "How does that work?" "Do you buy those or did you make it?"
THAT is the ultimate DIY yard decoration!
jackass
Christmas and Halloween Light show enthusiast here. Good rule of thumb is power injection for 5vdc pixels should be every 50 pixels regardless of how many feet you are going. I use 5vdc pixels on my light shows and my cards are always about 5 feet away from the pixel strands and every 50 pixels use a power injection for both positive and negative lines. 2nd use IP67 pixels for waterproof pixels. 12vdc pixels are better for long runs and less wiring when it comes to power injection. Suggest you NOT use the plastic downspouts unless they are UV rated. Plastic electrical conduit are rated for UV an may be a better solution. Overall, very informative video.
Thanks for the info. Cards? Are those the controllers?
Aren’t vinyl downspouts UV rated already? They do spend their intended purpose in the sun all the time…..
Several years ago they were not and had mine taken down due to how brutal the sun was on them. They were very brittle and had them fall apart when taking them down. You would think the newer ones should be but would would have to research it@@Eggwelder
@@Eggwelder pretty sure they are UV rated already. Don’t think you would normally paint one, so they would be in the sun a lot. Although my channels won’t see much direct sunlight.
Love it. Do you have any melting issues in the summer?
Also, I want to do it around my window. It looks too wide for that. I wonder if I can heat it and reform it on a board so it is thinner. If you need to do the same, can you give that a try with some scrap you may have?
Just find plastic extrusions that are smaller, don’t mess around trying to heat and reform because it won’t end up sufficiently uniform in appearance. If you search for H290 or H291 you will see U-channel in plastic that you could buy in smaller sizes. Good luck.
@stevebabiak6997 thank you so much
Found this stuff AFTER I did my project. 5' lengths, but already in a U shape and relatively cheap. www.homedepot.com/p/Barrette-Outdoor-Living-1-02-in-x-1-379-in-x-59-5-in-White-Vinyl-Fence-U-Channel-73040830/315645143
I'm already working on an idea for doing this around windows. Most likely, I'll be using strips rather than strands for that one. Stay tuned!
@DadDoingStuff Awesome..thank you
just checking, you mentioned about 750 led's/pixels ?, what was your total run length?
I have 722 (about 165’) on LED1, and 162 (about 40’) on LED2. So 884 total pixels on that controller. When I add more to the yard/ house later, I will need to add additional controllers for sure.
We have a security camera that works well on our front porch, but after having christmas lights around the porch the wife likes how much cleaner the picture is and was wondering how we could add lighting without them being "christmas" lights. This maybe the trick. I'm curious on the controller portion, so we could program it for different holidays etc.
Lots of good content on YT for controllers and such. Honestly it depends how plug n play you like things. If you aren’t doing a super large amount, something like Govee lights are a good option to do your own DIY holiday lights but also have the controller part all pretty much plug n play. That said I will be doing a detailed video about my controller and wiring. Hopefully pretty soon.
@@DadDoingStuff myself, I wouldn't have a problem doing wiring, programming, etc., I always like to learn those things. The wife on the other hand would want it simple in case she'd ever have to deal with it.
That struggle is real dude! I will probably never get my wife to use the WLED app or interface! 😂
Have you thought about what you'll do when its time for paint? Do you think you'd take the lights down, mask them, or some other approach?
Paint on the channel will likely last longer than the LEDS. The channel is behind the eve and under the overhang, it's completely out of direct sunlight and the paint will last very long. Only issue would be repainting it when changing the color of the house lol.
@@pibblesnbits I'm referring to typical house painting (eves, walls, etc). Some painters spray, others will use rollers and brushes, but either way, I would think that protecting the lights would be a priority.
@@EvanGossI would assume you would want to either remove the full channel. or atleast mask over either each light or a line over all the LED in a line. you would not want to get paint over the LEDd
Awesome question. I did discuss this with another viewer. Luckily those eaves shouldn't need to be painted often. But that said, I think if I was going to get a full paint done, I'd just take all of the channels down, then re-attach them after. I think it would be less time consuming than trying to mask or paint around them by hand.
Will you please tell me how you control your lights
WLED running on top of an ESP32 controller.
The channel may have been pricey but you said it took you multiple weekends to do this. If you got the channel you could have probably got it done in 1 day. My personal time is worth more than what the channel cost. We did our house with the same stuff but we used the channel and got it done in about 5 1/2 hours. That was on a 3800 sq ft house.
Hey, did you use the same lights from Amazon the the OP linked in his description? And if you did how many of the 10 packs di you purchase? Thanks
Yeah it’s definitely a time = money thing. I kinda enjoy doing this sort of stuff anyway, so I’m ok devoting the time over money. But I do get that some folks value the time more…..and that’s cool too. Either way, I appreciate you watching!
I haven't seen anyone use the downspouts for the pixel outlines before, quite often seen what they call J Channel which is for fascia I believe. Being from the UK I just don't have access to half the things you seem to be able to get at a hardware store that those in America do but we do have square gutting pipes, I had just not thought to cut it in half xD
It would be wise to be some what cautious about where you get pixels from, especially for a permanenet install, the cheap ones are know to die very quickly and often (from personal experience here). The cheaper lights also use cheaper computer chips that are not capable of reproducting the same range of colours, this is something I noticed when I started switch to better quality ones that were just so much more vibrant. The cheaper ones also have more erratice spacing between the pixels and use CCA (copper clad aluminum) rather than pure copper or tinned copper which are much better at conducting electricity so over the length of the string start to change colour as the voltage drops and power injection needs to happen more often.
There are companies in the US that are dedicated to "holiday light shows" like Mattos Designs, Wally's Lights, Wired Watts are just a few I have heard of but never used. In the UK there is Build a Light Show which I have used and been very happy with (no affiliation with any of them).
Lights from these companies also come pre fitted with out door rated pigtale connectors and often come with ready cut out "props" made out of plastic ready to push pixels into as well which are also great fun, singing faces to music are especially enjoyable to watch.
Just something to be aware of with the pixel strip vs strings, the string tend to be a lot more resiliant can capable of being moved around without damage, the same is not true of strip. With a permanent install this is not an issue but if you intend to be able to move them around the strip will fail a lot faster as the strip itself is very fragile.
BRO! Where were you BEFORE I did this! LOL! Great info dude. Thanks!
@@DadDoingStuff You're welcome and feel free to ask anything you like. This is what I do for fun for the last few years. Started of making megatrees outside my house, my current one is about 10ft :)
What kind of pixels are you using for the mega trees, and also how are you mounting/hanging those lights? Also, are you running a separate controller for each of those? Thx!
@@DadDoingStuff I use 12v pixel strings in the exact same bullet style that you have used in this video. Different brands call it slightly different things but something along HDPE Mega Tree Mounting Strip, basically it is a ribbon of plastic with holes every inch that are the right size for the pixel to slot into, I personally push a pixel into every other hole for 2inch spacing, some do 3 inch spacing, some populate every hole, up to you really. You then have a pole (I use piece of scaffolding) which at the top you have a topper which is usually a metal disk with holes drilled around the edge and you attach the strings of LEDs too. Then around the bottom there is a large metal ring, I used a trampoline frame for mine. I believe Mattos Designs have a kit you can buy but i haven't looked into it.
As for the controller, I used one called Falcon F16v4 which has 16 ports (can be expanded to 48 ports) and that can each handle up to 1024 pixels per port but I typically aim for less than 500 per port. If that isn't enough for you you can connect multiple pixel controllers together to controll larger shows. There are other options, I know of a brand call Kulp which I have seen good things about, I just can't get them easily in the UK. I have also seen people running their shows using many ESP32s using WLED so you can go as big or small as your budget, time and SO allows.
Dude! I think you just inspired next year’s video! Sorry one other question. Where physically is your controller and how is it connected to your network? (I guess that’s 2 questions) I ask because my current controller is in my garage. But for the yard, it seems I would want one or more controllers out in the yard temporarily in order to power anything out on the lawn and such. Thanks!🙏
Nice video but more of the lights in action would finish it perfectly!
Agreed, I’ve got a few follow ups from viewers , so I’ll add that to the list!
Nice job batching out the parts. Another option would be partnering with someone with a cnc machine. Cutting similar parts from plywood would be very inexpensive
I would LOVE to have a friend with a CNC machine!!
@DadDoingStuff if you're ever in Southern Cali and have a project in mind don't hesitate to reach out. I have a 5'x8' shopbot
any issues with birds nesting in the open protected back gutter? or wasps?
Great question! Not yet…..but that could definitely be an issue. I’m gonna keep an eye out for the birds. Wasps are more of a concern, but I’m going to have my pest control guy hit those eaves every time he comes out to hopefully keep them at bay. Birds are just gonna be a thing that IF they decide to start nesting, I’ll have to implement a solution.
I would worry about birds nesting in that channel.
Few folks have mentioned that and it’s entirely possible. I’ll definitely keep an eye on it and come up with a solution to fix it, should that happen.
nice bike
I like it….😃 🤘🏼🤘🏼
I want to put permanent Christmas lights on my house so bad, and have already bought some and tried some out.
The only trouble is what do you do when you paint your house? I'm a professional paint contractor and have been doing it for almost 30 years. Every time you paint your house something you can have to be done to all those lights and that's going to be time consuming, and expensive. Just wondering?
Peace from California!
That’s a really good question. It would definitely create a challenge. I’m not a paint contractor so I can’t speak from experience here, but…..how often does it need to get re-painted under the eaves? (Unless changing color entirely) Our house is stucco. It’s 10 years old. Our stucco trim definitely needs a fresh coat. Also I’ve done some of the outside of the fascia trim by hand already. But under the eaves see very little sun/weather. So I don’t know how often they need to be painted. That said, if it was only once per decade, I think you could take these down a few sections at a time and put them right back up. Maybe a good reason to look at waterproof connectors instead of soldered….🤔
I mean unless youre painting your house every few months you would just remove the channels prior to painting.
And here I was almost ready to buy PermaTrack.
Don't get me wrong....permatrack will be WAY less work. But, it will also cost you a ton more. Also keep in mind that permatrack has fixed 2" hole spacing. So you will need more pixels per foot than a DIY if you use permatrack.
@@DadDoingStuff heed the advice of testing the pixels before mounting as I did not and it cost me countless hours of frustration after the fact. Set your pixels on the floor, fire them up and let them burn if for a few days to be sure all is good before getting on that ladder to make the install. BTW: I like the fact that the PermaTrack has a second trim piece for mounting that completely closes off the backside eliminating a place for wasps to build homes. And places like THINGIVERSE offer .stl files for PermaTrack so you can use a 3D printer to make ends, 90 degree turns and more. Just use the type filament that they recommend that will stand up better to the elements. BTW: I am not connected to PermaTrack nor do I benefit by recommending their product.
Love the idea of permanent lighting, but have you found this arrangement to be prone to infestation? Looks like a home to bugs, mice, and birds to me. 🤔
Great question.....don't know yet. It is entirely possible, but they've only been up a month and a half now. I do plan on having our normal pest guy spray for bugs on a regular schedule. I'll keep an eye out for birds and such.
For the 12v power supply, what amp fuse would be required?
Fuses are supposed to be sized to protect the wiring from overheating in case of a short circuit. The supply voltage is irrelevant. 12 gauge wire is rated for 20 amps. A smaller-valued fuse can be used if you absolutely know you won't be drawing more than a certain amount, but know that if you ever do have enough current flowing to blow the fuse it's because something has already failed.
I’m using 5a fuses right now with 5 separate power outputs (2 LED strands and 3 power injection runs) a separate fuse on each. Mine is 5v, and I’m running 18awg wire right now.
@@DadDoingStuffare you talking about the 5A that comes with the controller? Curious Why you chose 5v? AliExpress is having a new year sale now so looking at buying. Did your 500 pack come with 50 per strand?
@@joe_duck yes they were 10 strands in the pack, 50 pixels per strand. I ultimately chose 5v just because it seemed like it would pose less of a fire risk if one of the pixels decided to have a meltdown on me. That said, if I went back to start over, I’d likely use 12v, but only because I have a really long run with 722 pixels in a row. That distance means voltage drop and voltage drop causes color issues. So I had to add a lot of extra power injection points. 12v likely would have required less. So, it really depends on what you are trying to achieve. Shorter runs that are all close to the controller, I think 5v is the way to go. Longer runs, probably consider 12v. And whatever you do, don’t under size the PSU. I learned a bunch watching a channel called “The Hook Up”. That guy knows his stuff! Hope that helps!
@@DadDoingStuff I just watched drzzz on the voltage drop. Basically had about 10 50 strand lights setup. For 12v he had to inject after the 6th strand and after the first on the extreme (all white). Right now I’m on his discord and let me say things got a lot more expensive with the lights they recommend vs what I was going to buy 😂
👍👍👍👍
🤘🤘
I’m going to copy your plan but I know nothing about controllers will you just tell what you used I’m to old to learn about electronics
Study up and learn all you can about WLED, which I’m running on an ESP32 controller. To make my life a bit easier, I got mine already mounted to a DigQuad board. Think of that board as the wiring and the ESP32 as the brains. Best resource for this is DrZzs youtube.com/@DrZzs?si=H24C8RZaAHeRQ9X3
Dig-Quad: LED controller is Out of stock. know of a replacement??
Oh bummer. This one looks similar. www.tindie.com/products/giovannicas/esp32-wled-controller-8chan/ Both are ESP32 based so this should run WLED just fine. That said, I have no experience with this controller.
My only take is that LEDs fail way sooner than expected … to repair/replace don’t seem to be a easy task. The gutter channel, for a rather permanent install, does not look very nice. Thank you for an educational video; the lights look fantastic!
Thanks for the comment! Repairing/replacing was actually one of the advantages to the strings. They are way easier to pop out of that channel and splice in a fresh pixel if needed. Not what I hope to do often, but shouldn’t take more than 15 min if/when one does fail. Strips would be a whole different challenge!
15/32" = 11.90625mm so, I suspect that 12mm is the diameter of those LED bulbs
Correct. They are 12mm pixels.
12v takes more power than 5v. but 5v needs power close to it
while there, why don't you use separate psus?
instead of 80a 5v and long wires you could do 8 10a psus. if standby is issue, just switch them remotely. mains is orders of magnitude less loss
surely you considered this but didn't do for some reason
Great comment dude. I actually didn’t consider that, because when I started, I didn’t really know any better. But I’ve learned a lot through this process. Other than pure white light (which seems to take more juice with RGB pixels), I don’t get much in the way of color loss. That said, I’ve learned that for really long runs, separate PSUs with fewer pixels per is the way to go. As I add more lights to other sections of the house, I’ll definitely be adding more controllers and PSUs.
Please remember that when the voltage is DOUBLED the current is reduced by 1/2. That’s why industrial users require 3 phase 480v for the economical advantage it provides. Remember voltage supplied by a utility is FREE. It’s the amount of current in amps that the consumer uses that determines the amount of the bill.
@@DadDoingStuffHey man, starting out I want to say thanks for the vid. It’s very interesting and I think I’ll use some of your techniques!
Adding on to this chain, I also want to help you with gauging your wires. I’m an automation specialist, so when I saw you used unprotected 18awg from your psu to the controller/ power distro, I got nervous. Haha
I 100% agree that multiple psu’s is a better option if you can do it, but if you can’t, you NEED to increase the wire size from your supply. NEC (national electrical code) standards show 18awg only capable of 7amps on it when everything is rated at 75 degrees C.
For a 60 amp feed, you need 6awg or 8awg (6 is the safer option) and ideally a 2 pole circuit breaker capable of breaking a DC arc (dc arcs are harder to break than an AC arc in case of a short circuit or overload)
Now, all of this is at 5v as well, so a larger wire size will also aid in reducing voltage drop on long wire runs.
My main point is that I have seen some nasty damage from wires being too small and unprotected, causing the wires to become fuses and melting, causing fires. I think most of your wiring is great and on point, I would just like to see that feed line be larger, or use multiple psu’s with the smaller gauge wire.
Dude! Love this info. I also love how much I learn from nice folks like you that take the time to comment. I’ll absolutely upgrade the wires from the PSU to the controller. Good call there. Now about the breaker….I don’t know much about those. It’s for sure on a 15a breaker. But I also have the PSU being fed from a surge protector. (well, a smart plug that’s plugged into a surge protector so I can keep the PSU off when I don’t need the lights and controller online). Not sure if that surge protector makes any difference? 🤷🏻♂️ As one last precaution I also installed a smoke detector right above the control box, just in case someone crazy were to happen.
@@DadDoingStuff Happy to help someone who inspires others, as well as myself! This reply will be a bit long and extra technical, but hopefully it makes sense!
Your head is in the right place, there is just one additional breaker you need to add. The surge protector is good. That is for protecting against a huge surge of power in a short time (the classic example is a lightning strike) and having that on a circuit that is outside is a perfect application. And a 15a breaker before the power supply is good, thats a standard set up and should pose no problems.
The breaker I was referring to is after the PSU but before your fuses. I really liked seeing you added 5a fuses on each circuit, but it is ideal to add an additional fuse/breaker before any load that prevents overdrawing the maximum load of the power supply incase of a short circuit before the 5a fuses and after the PSU (on the 60a power lines). It will also trip in case you add more circuits but don't upgrade the PSU or maybe the power draw per circuit was higher than you expect. Then just a fuse/breaker will blow instead of your power supply, or worse. It is there so if all your circuits individually are under the 5a limit but you have a lot of circuits that total above the PSU output limit, it will protect the power supply.
I know it seems a bit silly, especially if you have the 5a fuses in the same box as the PSU, but is good piece of mind and it'll protect against any future mishaps.
I tend to prefer breakers because they are reset-able, but fuses are cheaper and probably are better in this case. Here's where it gets a bit technical, but if you want to go deeper, you can read the amazing documentation on the breakers/ fuses data sheets (thats sarcasm, try not to fall asleep reading it. lol)
I'm just gonna give some basics about circuit breakers and why there are different types. The main difference that concerns you is the AC current vs DC current. Incase of a short circuit, a DC current line is harder to "extinguish" the arc because it is always on vs an AC current short where it is easier to extinguish because it's constantly alternating from 120v to 0v to -120v back to 0v and repeating, so when it crosses that 0v line, the arc stops. An arc is harder to start the further the 2 conductors are from eachother, BUT if there is an arc that is already started, it can maintain larger gaps as the gaps increase. So, for this reason, on a DC circuit you need a breaker that is able to extinguish a "bigger" arc.
Here is a really good article (I don't think I can post a link, but it's by EEPower, the headline is "AC and DC Circuit Breakers for Overcurrent Protection").
As far as a fuse goes, I don't know off the top of my head, but I think it doesn't matter for AC or DC applications as it's operation is solely based on how hot the filament in the fuse gets. You should have plenty of choices on Digi-key, Grainger, etc for these, and they should specify their applications in their data sheets (I know Digi-key has great documentation on products, so I would recommend looking there first)
Nice effort but the spiders would love me if I made this habitat for them. It’s already a battle to keep them at bay in my eaves.
That’s something I’m definitely concerned about. We do have spiders here. I’m gonna start by having the pest guy spray them every time he does our house. Hopefully that works, but 🤷🏻♂️
A standard quarterly professional treatment should prevent those. We did that our first year in our house on a wooded lot and we went from bug city to bug free exterior. The occasional lady bug makes it inside each winter, but no spiders anymore. Best $100 I spend in life.
Forgive me for such a stupid idea and question, but why don't you just do outdoor rated shrink wrap tubing with a water resistant adhesive sealer? Sure it's not necessarily easier, but I'm sure there's got to be a way to do it, and IF it ever needed to be replaced, it would be easier to replace a strip or string, if those quick connect ends were still there, to where all you had to do was remove a piece of shrink tubing to be able to pull them apart, right? Or am I just seriously overthinking things?
And yes, before anyone says anything, I know I MIGHT need to have shrink tubing on the individual wire strips, to beef it up so the bigger outer one will shrink tightly to everything under it, but still... Even IF you didn't use shrink tubing there just HAS to be a way around the limitations of removing the quick connectors, right?
Oh, one thing to think about, since the whole drain-gutter thing looks like a bird sanctuary... Put some kind of mesh over the top and the ends, to keep birds and rodents from nesting DIRECTLY on top of the LED string wires...
Another thing i would like to say, if you're looking for inspiration for projects like this, is looking on RUclips for a channel called DavesGarage (i forget if there's a space or not) he has done basically the same setup as you, except more high end, and with strips instead of strings... even compared to yours, his is way better looking... but then again, he does LED light stuff for a hobby, and id the creator of the nightdriver project, which is software that is similar to, but more advanced than the WLED project, for ESP boards and the like, although I'm not an expert on the stuff as I've never used it before, so you'll have to figure out which is best for you, on your own. He doesn't show his lights on his eaves very often in his videos unless he's specifically saying something about them, but dam, they look good.
Also, if you want inspiration on Christmas light automation, even though it doesn't specifically say how they do it, check RUclips for an event held around Christmas in my area called "Christmas in wadena" and look at the promotional videos about it, cuz dam... that thing IS, and LOOKS insane, EVERY year, with a new aong once in a great while.
One thing you should know about the Christmas in wadena show, though, is that they put the thing up every year, and don't just leave it up permanently, and I'm sure once you check it out, you'll understand why...
Hey Dude. As with most projects, I learn as I go and often think of things afterward that I would change. Or learn new ideas from viewers 😉 That said if I was gonna start over, I would probably use IP67 waterproof connectors and place them at every junction of the channels. That way if I needed to remove a section to work on it, I could just unscrew both ends and remove that single 10’ section. Definitely more work to install, but could be nice later.
Far as birds…..yeah definitely a concern that I’m gonna keep an eye on. I very well might be adding some little screen covers to keep them off the wiring. Time will tell on that one.
Appreciate the info on the other channels. Lots of great content out there to get ideas!
@@DadDoingStuff to be honest, the Christmas in wadena one was just so you could look at their finished setup, and honestly, unless you are going to rope your local radio station just down the street, into giving you a bit of tower space around Christmas to cover the town with a radio station for the evenings, and have the lights move in special patterns like the Christmas in wadena people do, it's more just a showcase of what a finished product could do, if you wanted to do. I honestly don't think ANYONE would want to do what the Christmas in wadena people do, because the guy that does that, does it as a free will offering to the local food shelf, where he tells people that want to donate, they can drop food or money off in a designated area of the show, and it's one person setting everything up and tearing it down every year as far as I'm aware unless he has any family to help him...
Now the Dave's garage one, that can really give you lots of ideas because he does a lot of stuff when he's not talking about his previous job at Microsoft, with LEDs and things, from small projects to big projects, and he's a good guy to learn a bit about LED setups in general from, even if he doesn't necessarily show putting them together...
The big problem with the factory connectors on pixels is resistance and corrosion. Even under shrink, they corrode. Lastly, most shirk tube large enough for the connector won't shrink tight on the wire. When you need to take them apart, the waterproof connectors are the way to go.
Dave's project is great, but as far as I know, he wasn't supporting the standard protocol used in Christmas displays. If you want to build a show, you need to be able to stream to it with Falcon Player and xLights. Also, Wi-Fi gets saturated with streaming data fairly quickly, so there is a limit to how many Wi-Fi devices you can use. ESP32s with wired ethernet and WLED work well for a handful of strings like, this video shows. A Falcon F16 control board is well worth the money for larger shows.
My show is small but I add a little to it every year.
@@northwiebesick7136 You don't need to blanket the town with your radio station. My setup uses a Signstek FM transmitter and is easily heard for a couple blocks. Much further than you can see the show, and not powerful enough to violate FCC rules. As for all the animations, xLights or Vixen Lights are relatively easy to learn, and both pieces of software are free. It's not a cheap hobby, but it's fun and easy enough to get into.
Remember, those little rodentia love to chew on wires!!!🤔😄
Next time, build a jig. Measure once, everything else works off of that measurement.
Yeah…..got that from few other folks as well. That’s a great idea.
used j-channels for my mounting, but this works
What J channel did you use? I started down that path and just didn’t find any that was the size I was looking for.
@@DadDoingStuff 1/2 in. x 1-1/2 in. x 12.6 ft. from home depot If I remember correctly. I ended up 3d printing a jig to drill out the hole for it and its nice and tight in there.
need to show how it works
Agreed. Working on that one!