RGBW LED Lightstrip (Project Cribs)

[Eric_Inovelli]

Sorry if these questions have already been answered – I’m just catching up to the community!

@flipontheradio

Did the 6" led strips sell out? I could have sworn I saw them yesterday but couldn’t find them just now when checking out?

No, we likely didn’t have them up as we were still finalizing a date for them to be released. They weren’t a part of our original spec, but we placed the order a couple weeks ago. They will likely be available mid-end of January 2021. We’ll put them up officially once we know for sure.

@jesusmanuel80

is it 1 “L” Connector for $4.5? or how manny are included in the box?

@jesusmanuel80

Wow, that’s expensive for a single connector

Lol, yeah… I promise we’re not making any money on these. Pretty much a break-even.

@stu1811

Is there a plan to release an L adapter orientated differently? Like the below…

Not at this time – we are discussing a way to create more of a flexible adaptor (rather than the hard ones), but we’d like to see how the lightstrip does from a sales standpoint before investing in any new accessories (so far so good though!)

@vreihen

Is the LED ribbon flexible enough to bend inside/outside corners in this orientation???

@Bry

It’s flexible, but you’re not going to get a sharp right angle. I’d be leery of flexing it in this way. I’d want an adapter such as Stu suggested.

@Bry’s answer is correct – it’s basically the same as Philips Hue in terms of bendability.

@Ma2J

Nice to see the 6’ extensions! Will those have adhesive as well?

That’s actually a good question – I don’t believe they do, but let me confirm. The ones we received did not have adhesive on them.

@MRobi – looks like @Chris and @harjms took care of your questions

@mikkle

Excited to get my hands on this new product. Can you please clarify what you mean with the lumens degradation, and how it relates to the extension cords? More specifically, would I experience lower lumens if I used say a 6’ strip, two 6’ extension cords, followed by another 6’ strip on the same controller? Would that count as 12’ of length, or 24’ of length? Thanks!

Great question – the extension cord will not have any effect on the degradation as the total power output would be the same (ie: no additional LED’s will be lit/consume power). Thanks for asking this question!

@petro

@Eric_Inovelli how can one reach out and become a beta tester for products in the future? Is there an application process? I would most likely approach this from an OpenZwave/HomeAssistant side.

Typically we select people that are active in the community and people that have various hub/gateways that we do not have. Feel free to shoot me a PM as we have a few HA/OZW testers, but we could use another one. Plus people come/go (life happens) so we’re always changing up the testers.

@TerryDactyl

What are the options if you need an extension cable shorter than 6ft?

At this time, the 6’ is the only option. You could just roll it up to be shorter than 6’ if you wanted though.

[Ma2J]

@Eric_Inovelli

@jesusmanuel80

is it 1 “L” Connector for $4.5? or how manny are included in the box?

@jesusmanuel80

Wow, that’s expensive for a single connector

Lol, yeah… I promise we’re not making any money on these. Pretty much a break-even.

Yes, I can attest to how much cables can cost. 99% of the cost is the connectors themselves. The wire is basically free. So, to me, $4.50, is relatively cheap.

[vreihen]

@Eric_Inovelli

@Bry’s answer is correct – it’s basically the same as Philips Hue in terms of bendability.

For someone who has never bought or handled the competition’s products, this is totally useless.

Seriously though, am I the only person in the world who has to deal with things like fiber optic cables that have a manufacturer-specified minimum bend radius…that is specified in numeric measurements and not how crunchy a well-done a slice of bacon is cooked???

[harjms]

@vreihen

has to deal with things like fiber optic cables that have a manufacturer-specified

Nope, you’re not the only one. It was more of a pain in the data center for some of the links we had (100 gig ROADM links) than where I’m currently at (fastest speed is 1 gig to the backbone). Regardless, the installers have to ensure they don’t exceed bend radius.

[stu1811]

@vreihen

Seriously though, am I the only person in the world who has to deal with things like fiber optic cables that have a manufacturer-specified minimum bend radius

Ha. It’s amazing how easily fiber breaks. That’s why I use copper wherever possible. Copper is also way easier to cut to length.

[harjms]

Yea? Run that copper over 100 meters at 40 gig.

[stu1811]

Yea yea. Most of the stuff I do is 1 gig.

[jlv]

I’m so sorry I missed this thread back earlier this year! As part of my kitchen remodel (for which I got 10 Red dimmers), I had literally just finished installing Lightify LED strips above and below the new cabinets when the official announcement for this product came out. Now I’ll miss out.

[ducttapebeiler]

[quote=“Eric_Inovelli, post:63, topic:24, full:true”]

@djw

Great question – it is 16’ before the degradation of lumens kicks in. We are looking at providing an amplifier of some sort for the longer runs, but for now 16’ is the max you can go and what the firmware is written for.

Do you have an idea of when this amplifier would be available? Planning on doing some major remodel with rgbw light strips but I need a lot more than 16ft for my plans. Already have one room with a rgbw controller hooked up to a amplifier.

[oreillym0]

Hi all, first post here.
Just wondering if you know how the animations will work with the “T” connector?
Does the animation split and continue down both forks?
Also, if the “T” connector is placed right off of the controller would you be able to run 2 of the 16foot lengths off of one controller?
Thanks so much!

[jtronicus]

@oreillym0

Just wondering if you know how the animations will work with the “T” connector?
Does the animation split and continue down both forks?

Animations will go down the straight side of the connector. When it reaches the end, it will continue on from the other side of the connector, like this:

@oreillym0

Also, if the “T” connector is placed right off of the controller would you be able to run 2 of the 16foot lengths off of one controller?

I believe the current firmware supports up to 130 “pixels” (each pixel being an RGB LED). There are 8 pixels per foot, so this would mean a potential maximum of 16 feet with the current firmware. Since the T connector is not splitting the signal into 2 simultaneous strips, you would not be able to run 2 16-foot sections as this would exceed the 130 pixel maximum (32 feet would be 256 pixels). The controller also has a 2-amp limit and will automatically dim the LEDS if this limit is exceeded. Even if you could run more than 130 pixels (future firmware updates may be able to increase the limit), you would likely need an additional power inserter in order to maintain full brightness

[oreillym0]

This is exactly the info I was looking for! Thanks so much!
Also, on a side note, if it’s possible to make them split and go down each fork I feel like it could make for some pretty cool animations.

[jtronicus]

@oreillym0

if it’s possible to make them split and go down each fork

It is theoretically possible to build such a splitter, but I have not tested it myself (and I dont know if Inovelli has any plans to create one at this time)

Here is how the LEDs are controlled:

• Controller sends a stream of data for all pixels down the “Data Out” wire.
• The first pixel takes the first set of instructions, sets the color, and sends the REMAINDER of the instructions to the next pixel
• The next pixel takes the first set of instructions (which was originally the second set), sets the color, and sends the remainder to the next pixel.
• 
• Process continues until the data stream stops or it hits the end of the line.
• The end cap routes any leftover commands on the “Data Out” back down the “Data In” wire.
• When using the provided T connector, information travels like this (red lines represent the data wires)
  
• In order to split the signal and get 2 simultaneous runs, you would need to have a splitter that works like this:
  
• When using a custom splitter like this (which I have not personally tested but should theoretically work), you only need 1 end connector, and it should be on the leg with the most LED pixels on it. If both legs are the same, it can go on either one.

[oreillym0]

This looks like something that I could set up if I had a couple of their extension wires. Just have to cut them and strip the wires and connect them up appropriately.
Thanks so much for the info! This is a way better answer than I could have hoped for!

[oreillym0]

Also just noticed that based on this wiring, is it not possible to individually control the warm white and cold white? Based on this it looks like they are only controllable as a group…while the RGBIC is individually addressable. Basically looks like CW and WW are just used as ambient light while the RGBIC is used for the fancy stuff.

[jtronicus]

@oreillym0

is it not possible to individually control the warm white and cold white?

You are correct. The Warm White and Cold White LEDs are physically different LEDS from the RGB module. WW and CW are both separate channels and are not individually addressable

[Snell]

Thanks for the diagram. The fact that the white are not individually addressable is disappointing but I still have plenty of uses for the ones I ordered and the way the T will work is pretty interesting as well. Could make for whole new styles of icicle lights that would be much easier to set up.

A follow up question though for the T. What happens if there are multiple Ts? Will it go down the main “straightaway” first then come back to the T split off in order?

[darthandroid]

Yes, but in reverse order. Once the signal reaches a T junction, it will completely evaluate both ends of that T before any previous T junctions.

Ctrlr -> T1 -A1-> T2 -A2->
         |B1      |B2
         V        V

In the above, it’ll do A1, A2, B2, B1 because the signal has to complete all of A1 (including any T’s on it) before it can begin B1.

[jtronicus]

@Snell

The fact that the white are not individually addressable is disappointing

I thought so at first too, but then I realized a few things:

• Since the WW and CW leds are physically separate, it would make animations look “off” if it was alternating because of the spacing differences if using a combination of white + color.
• I can mimic a color temperature with RGB values. It wont be as accurate, but I dont think I will notice it if the strip is displaying some sort of animation.

@Snell

What happens if there are multiple Ts? Will it go down the main “straightaway” first then come back to the T split off in order?

It will go down the straightaway first, then each leg (starting from the leg farthest away and working its way back to the controller)

[Snell]

Thanks for the answer. The reason I mention individually controlling white is because most of my colored lighting has 2 purposes. Decorative or informative. If it is informative, to date, it has been pretty basic because most things only allow one color. This would allow multiple elements to be covered at once (like the Inovelli LED bars on switches, but able to be put somewhere more visible).

The decorative is the biggest (by far) for my household and again breaks out into two categories. Single color generalized lighting (meaning single color at a time for an area, not necessarily just Red, or just Green) OR small areas of lights as distinct colors. Right now we have a tough time doing that latter one without going to WiFi and some other system (like my Particle Photons). A common example would be Christmas lighting. We were going to have these go red/green/white in a pattern across the front of the house, or side or such. Or behind a window. But since the white is not individually controllable, have to change the plan. Still have uses and since they are not arriving in time to put up anyways it is a moot point.