NAS Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I know this is OT but I reckon I have saved up enough Karma to get away with it. I am at my wits end. Long story short I have a need for a roll of 5050 mono LED strip. That easy. Powering it ... also easy. What I just dont get is why 5050 mono (i.e. not RGB) LED strip is 12mm wide and all the advert for the clip type connectors are either 8mm or 10mm wide: Anyone worked with this stuff and can shed some light Quote Link to comment
c3 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 http://www.724light.com/led-strip-clip-for-5050-3528-5630-single-color-strip-connect-optional-10mm-8mm-12mm-2pin-easy-adapter-p-103.html of course now I am curious about the project Quote Link to comment
NAS Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 Well at least we know they exist... ta ! I am amazed really. ebay globally is jammed packed with cheap 5050 strips and the correct fittings are as rare as hens teeth. I managed to use this web site to find a couple more but like this one they are all China fronts which dont excite me for obvious reasons. The project really isnt exciting. I want to light up a 24U rack (on demand) and also back light a set of floor standing surround sound speaker for less direct and discrete movie watching lighting Quote Link to comment
jevans04 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I've bought 2 of these for backlighting TVs in my house. About $15 total cost with power supply and remote control. I programmed my Harmony remote to turn on the LED backlighting when TV powers on. http://www.ebay.com/itm/3528-5M-SMD-Flexible-LED-Strip-Lights-cool-white-IP33-Dimmer-12V2A-Power-/310621089492?pt=US_String_Lights_Fairy_Lights&var=&hash=item485275aed4 Quote Link to comment
NAS Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 That is the first time I have seen a remote kit for it that isn't touted as RGB only. I will absolutely look into that. I notice that the link you posted is for a 3528 series LED strip. These are 1/3 of the brightness of the 5050 series so I discounted them (as in each application i likely only have a metre of LEDs to power in one location I assumed i needed all the oomph i could get) The upside of the 3528 LEDs though are that connectors are common and cheap. Not sure what to do now. The only place I can find 12mm tail connectors is ordering direct from shady China web sites I have to be missing something no way I am first at this particular design party Quote Link to comment
StevenD Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I just solder ends on to my 5050 strips. In the long run, they seem to be more reliable in the long run. These are the ends I solder on: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001RNHQ3S Quote Link to comment
NAS Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 It never occurred to me to solder but I like the idea especially with those cables. In the end less to go wrong. Quote Link to comment
unevent Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 If you get the 3528 with 600/5M reel, they should be close in brightness to the 5050. Quote Link to comment
StevenD Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 If you get the 3528 with 600/5M reel, they should be close in brightness to the 5050. I tend to buy the 5050 600/5M rolls. They are crazy bright. Quote Link to comment
cassiusdrow Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I've bought 2 of these for backlighting TVs in my house. About $15 total cost with power supply and remote control. I programmed my Harmony remote to turn on the LED backlighting when TV powers on. http://www.ebay.com/itm/3528-5M-SMD-Flexible-LED-Strip-Lights-cool-white-IP33-Dimmer-12V2A-Power-/310621089492?pt=US_String_Lights_Fairy_Lights&var=&hash=item485275aed4 Same seller has a similar package including a 5050 strip. http://www.ebay.com/itm/5050-5M-SMD-Flexible-LED-Strip-Lights-cool-white-IP33-Dimmer-12V5A-Power-/111038630956 Quote Link to comment
jevans04 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I only use the ones I posted above at either the 50% or 75% brightness level for backlighting in a dark room. I certainly would not want brighter, but I do use the entire roll of LEDs around the back edge of my 65in TVs. Quote Link to comment
NAS Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Continued thanks for all the tips. The problem with ebay and these kind of things is they are so many gotchas and bad docs. These ideas are invaluable. For reference I contacted a couple random sellers of those snap tails that are "supposed" to support 3528 or 5050. Simply put they dont they are all 8mm 3528 that I can see. A textbook case of sellers copying the wording from other sellers blindly. Thanks for the extra ebay links as well. Not being USA based I cannot buy them direct but once i get some key words i can usaully find things on this side of the puddle. Perhaps it is time to buy some of this to play with it is not exactly expensive... I have a sneaking suspicion i can replace quite a bit of stuff in my home an office with this if i wanted too. Quote Link to comment
StevenD Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Perhaps it is time to buy some of this to play with it is not exactly expensive... I have a sneaking suspicion i can replace quite a bit of stuff in my home an office with this if i wanted too. I have replaced ALL undercabinet lighting in my home (kitchen, offices, etc) with 5050 warm white strips. I used to use 120v "wedge" style bulbs, and I was constantly replacing those. I also used it on an outdoor umbrella. I need to take a pic of that. I even used it in the back of my truck! Quote Link to comment
jbartlett Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 By backlighting, do you mean that the LED's are attached to the back of the TV and light up the area around the TV in order to reduce glare from the screen? I ask because up until now, I was thinking that you were replacing the LED backlighting inside the TV itself. Quote Link to comment
NAS Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Almost certainly general backlighting. boblight is something to look into and is popular and rather clever. For me I am looking to find something that can light up the corners of the room just enough to compliemnt movie watching and since every corner (ish) has a 1M tall speaker and a speaker cable run this sounded perfect. Quote Link to comment
jbartlett Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I may look into that. I can't watch movies with the TV providing the only source of lighting, just bugs me. I have to turn on the light in the room behind the couch. Edit: Nope, Boblight is too distracting! Quote Link to comment
jevans04 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 By backlighting, do you mean that the LED's are attached to the back of the TV and light up the area around the TV in order to reduce glare from the screen? Backlighting the area (wall) behind the TV. It greatly reduces eyestrain, and is supposed to make the colors more vivid. Here are some pics (someone else posted) of how it looks: http://www.avsforum.com/t/1450484/official-panasonic-tc-pxxst60-series-thread/6030#post_23414707 http://www.avsforum.com/t/1450484/official-panasonic-tc-pxxst60-series-thread/5940#post_23407914 Quote Link to comment
N4TH4N Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Heres the back lighting i use in my bedroom. It's RGB but it also does pure white and has adjustable brightness. And the pure white i use to light my stairs. I have aluminium stripping for the stairs and just bare for behind the TV. From memory both of my led strips are 10mm (5050 = 5mmx5mm led's + surrounding area) you may struggle to find 8mm 5050. I also just solder mine. Quote Link to comment
jbartlett Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 I like the stair lighting. Only thing I'd recommend is to fashion a cover so the light is directed all on the stairs and not up. Also reduces eye glare/night blindness. Quote Link to comment
N4TH4N Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 I like the stair lighting. Only thing I'd recommend is to fashion a cover so the light is directed all on the stairs and not up. Also reduces eye glare/night blindness. They are in aluminium stripping with a frosted cover. The picture is a bit misleading, but in person they are not too bright. Also in person they light up the dark bit in the pic. Its just hard to get a pic of lights on a phone. It provides an even light from the hallway downstairs all the way upstairs with only around 5w used. I have them on a timer turning on at 5:00PM and turning off at 5:00AM. It costs around $7/year in power to have them running 12 hours a day. Quote Link to comment
NAS Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 I am really liking where this thread is going so I have ammended the opening topic descritpion. One thing i would ask though is that if you are going to post nice pictures and examples can you also post the technical details i.e. type of LED, PSU, connector and anything else of relevance. ta Quote Link to comment
NAS Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 Update: I have been told 10mm tails will/should fit 505 LED strips. They are so cheap I will get some and find out Quote Link to comment
N4TH4N Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 The stairs are 12v 5050 pure white LED's, purchased off eBay, ~$13 for 5m. They are mounted inside some aluminium stripping also purchased off eBay, ~$60 for 5x 1m strips. They are powered from an old routers 12v 1.5a plug pack connected via a 12v digital timer also purchased off eBay for ~$12. The TV are 12v 5050 RGB LED's, purchased off eBay, ~$18 for 5m, including remote and control box. They are just stuck onto the back of the TV and i have soldered them together in the corners with 4 small wires. They are powered from an external molex from my media centre. Quote Link to comment
NAS Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 the small white box at the back of the TV is that a dimmer and if so how you you control it IR or RF? Quote Link to comment
N4TH4N Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 the small white box at the back of the TV is that a dimmer and if so how you you control it IR or RF? Its a dimmer/color selector and its IR but i rarely use it since its powered on when the media center is turned on. So for the most part it stays on the same settings. Quote Link to comment
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