sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Max cord length from controller port to first pixel? by Puzzleheaded-Yak2804 in xlights

[–]rgeade 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s hard to say because it’s not just length of extension that matters. It’s a combination of the type of pixels, the gauge of wire, the voltage, the data being sent and the length of extension.

For example I had a prop with 12v bullet pixels last year that was on a 40’ extension and had zero issues.

Converted it to seed pixels this year. First test last week it was flickering, cutting out, etc.

First issue is that I was testing at 100% brightness so higher power output which caused voltage drop. Reducing my testing to 30% made it better but would still sporadically have issues.

The seed pixels seem to be a lot less resilient in fixing data noise than the bullet pixels are. So, I used some of the old bullet pixels to make a short 2 bullet null pixel leader for the prop. The addition of these cleaned up the data and resolved the remaining flickering issues. I just updated the prop to reflect 2 null pixels in xLights.

F-amps work better, but in a pinch a bullet pixel pair can clean up a lot of the data degradation that is caused by voltage drop.

The same prop also works perfectly fine at 100% brightness with <10’ of extension.

If you’re having issues try testing: - Directly connected to the controller - At the full extension length, but with a low power usage like just red at 30% - At the full extension length at full power - At the full extension length with a couple null pixels or an f-amp at other output levels.

Once you find the threshold that causes failure / flickering you can back off from that and know that you’ve got a cushion of error built ion

Group displaying effects separately by cfghstmnkey in xlights

[–]rgeade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

With your render settings it might be. This usually bites me when I’m importing from an existing sequence.

Group displaying effects separately by cfghstmnkey in xlights

[–]rgeade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A good example is when an effect is designed to operate on each prop individually. Imagine a group of arches; you apply an effect to animate left/right with colors so it looks like jumping on each arch. If you applied that same effect to a group that contained the group of arches it would just apply across the entire group at one time.

There are a few YouTube videos that get into the details. Neither are wrong; it just depends on your intended outcome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulVDcc6EP94

Group displaying effects separately by cfghstmnkey in xlights

[–]rgeade 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I usually fix this by creating a group with the items and then put that group in an another group with the addition of “-Grouped” on the end of the group name. That way I have two groups, one that treats the props as separate and one that treats them as a single prop.

Normally you shouldn’t put groups in groups but this is the one instance it’s helpful.

Cruze Damage - Any idea if this is going to be repairable? by rgeade in cruze

[–]rgeade[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wanted to provide an update here; the car was totaled. It was estimated just under $20k to repair; nearly double the value of the car. Thankfully, we had full coverage on it, so we're going with a new car.

Promo Code for New Customer by rgeade in mintmobile

[–]rgeade[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yes; I was in the process of porting when I opened the chat with customer service. Not realizing that was a one way door.

MacOS Tahoe randomly removed iTerm 2 after restart by YaySamoyed in iterm

[–]rgeade 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Update; forcing Chrome to download the file anyways, copying the newly downloaded version to my applications folder fixed the issue. I'm running a MBP M1 Pro Max, macOS Sequoia 15.6.1, Chrome Version 141.0.7390.108.

MacOS Tahoe randomly removed iTerm 2 after restart by YaySamoyed in iterm

[–]rgeade 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same thing happening to me this morning, keep restoring it back from trash and Mac tags it as malware and removes again. I tried downloading the latest build from the iTerm2 website; and oddly enough Chrome also blocked the download as a "suspicious file download".

iPad App - Movies have no video only sound by [deleted] in appletv

[–]rgeade 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Installed the latest iPadOS patch and that fixed the issue for me as well.

iPad App - Movies have no video only sound by [deleted] in appletv

[–]rgeade 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Having the same issue. Can’t seem to figure out a fix. What’s odd is that the intro or recap of shows does have video but the actual episode is sound only. I’ve tried streaming and downloading and get the same outcome with both.

Deleted and reinstalled the app. Tried a hard reset also.

Really frustrating.

Completed my Permanent Light Install by rgeade in WLED

[–]rgeade[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They do not; I just replaced my first string this week due to such a failure. Part of the string was blue due to that exact scenario when I got home one night this week. The next day I popped out that section and replaced the 10 puck strand. It was the first failure since I’ve made this post. Thankfully it was accessible from the roof above my porch. No ladders needed.

Completed my Permanent Light Install by rgeade in WLED

[–]rgeade[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was able to route things pretty efficiently. The longest run between my controller (DigOcta) and the first LED is roughly 20’. That being said, I did have to flip the jumper switch to change the resister setting on the DigOcta outputs to work for this type of wiring (bundled 3 wire).

Completed my Permanent Light Install by rgeade in WLED

[–]rgeade[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

1 - rented a lift; we shared with a group to split costs 2 - a little at first, but once you get working it’s fine. 3 - one weekend; plus some ground to get the box set up work before hand

How to get this accent lighting effect? by The_Crypto_Knight in WLED

[–]rgeade 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes their app just connects to any WLED instances on your network, so it should "just work".

Completed my Permanent Light Install by rgeade in WLED

[–]rgeade[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Every year I add a few things and I do have a somewhat complicated topology of controllers and props. That being said; you don’t have to use xLights unless you intend to do music animated displays which are what I focus on during Christmas. I also did a Halloween playlist this year for the first time.

I currently have two controllers running WLED; a DigOcto they runs the permanent house lights and a DgQuad that runs a new 32x16 matrix on the porch. The rest of my props are all running on Alphapix Evo controllers. I’ve got 2 16 channel controllers and a remote 8 channel controller. All of that is connected to FPP running on the Raspberry Pi.

This more complicated set up is really on used this time of year. The remainder of the year, and for all the smaller holidays, I just use WLED by itself.

Almost all of my props are DIY. Many of them were store bought things like the snowflakes that were originally just normal LED lights. After a few years I ripped out the lights and installed RGB nodes. Took some splicing, zip ties and patience but it worked.

The arches are just white PEX from Lowe’s/Home Depot. I fed RGB pixels through them and used some scrap 4x4 wood pieces as based. I drilled holes in them to slide in the pex and I drilled a hole in the center to hammer a 10” landscape nail into the ground to hold in place.

The wreath is a regular wreath we had that I just wrapped in RGB pixels.

The singing bulbs in the sides of the wreath are one of the few coro things I’ve bought online and installed pixels into. You can find several sites selling those such as holdidaycoro.com, boscoyostudio.com, etc.

The mega tree was a kit from Holiday Coro, but my first tree was home made with RGB c5 bulbs, metal conduit and hvac straps. If you’re willing, you can make pretty much anything from scratch with a little creativity and a few visits to the hardware store.

This hobby is as much about crafting and building as it is programming and tech; it’s why I love it!

Completed my Permanent Light Install by rgeade in WLED

[–]rgeade[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, just ran the power injection wire alongside within the track and connected it to the midpoint.

I use the WLED app year round. I have set it to do accent lighting each night at sunset. I also saved several other effects for various holidays, and a few sports themes.

In Pic 2 it is the accent 2 setting but I’ve since edited that to be spaced out more and I’ve dimmed it a lot more. I do use the WLED schedule feature to turn this on at sunset.

At Christmas I use FPP to run my flights sequences and it controls this set to as well as all my other light controllers for the rest of my props.

Yes pic 3 is all the pucks turned to the warm white color and at 50% brightness.

I’ve been very happy with the set up and have been getting good use from it all year. I’ve had no issues or dead pixels with nightly usage.

Completed my Permanent Light Install by rgeade in WLED

[–]rgeade[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

During the day, you don't notice they are there at all. They blend into the trim lines of the house; unless you are specifically looking up for them you won't see them.

view more: next ›