Bad wire or something else?

F

fabiousa7

Member
Hi all,

I'm trying to get the arches I recently built up and running but facing some challenges.

Is there a number of ohms that is too much resistance for the data to work? I think this wire I bought isn't too good, it's 18ga and I was trying to go about 18ft from my power box to my first arch and I get 5 white pixels on.

I tried:
plugged other pixel strings in place
Re-did my pigtail connections
Moved to other ports in the controller
Unplugged the chained arches to drive just the first one alone

Arches 4 and 5 are closer to the controller and work fine.

I have power injection between each arch so 75 pixels.

Any help is welcome.
78181e5593928044402eea4e2cb46dd1.jpg
7fcf6b17370e53f963bbcc99062690c8.jpg


Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
No, I didn't. But now that you said it i'm feeling pretty dumb for not doing it.
Last year I bought 6000 pixels directly from a manufacturer in china, I tested about 50 of them and didn't have any issues, so I just trusted that the rest was going to be good as well.

Earlier today (before it got dark) I tested with two fresh strings of pixels and they didn't work either, that's why i was leaning towards the wire.
 
Which controller are you using ?
Check your controller configuration ?
Check All connections including data at controller .
Sequence configuration is correct for controller output ?
Check fuses for each output on controller .
You're certain you're connecting to the input end of each string of pixels ?

I believe 15ft. from the controller was an average max distance before a null pixel would be suggested/required to extend for further distance .
You should still see data though at 18 ft .

White pixels does signify no data as you suspect .

Don't beat yourself up over not pretesting . The excitement and time of year add to complexity !

Great work on the arches .
 
Last edited:
angus40 said:
Which controller are you using ?
Check your controller configuration ?
Check All connections including data at controller .
Sequence configuration is correct for controller output ?
Check fuses for each output on controller .
You're certain you're connecting to the input end of each string of pixels ?

I believe 15ft. from the controller was an average max distance before a null pixel would be suggested/required to extend for further distance .
You should still see data though at 18 ft .

White pixels does signify no data as you suspect .

Don't beat yourself up over not pretesting . The excitement and time of year add to complexity !

Great work on the arches .
Click to expand...
Thank you for the suggestions.

I use sandevices E-682.

I was using the test function on the controller to reduce points of failure.

I tried multiple ports, and channels configuration.

Tomorrow I plan to move my controller closer and try a shorter cable, if that works I'll then proceed to try using null pixels (haven't done that yet) that way I can place the controller where I want for next year.

I'll report back once I try it.


Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
Do you have your number of outputs set, pixel type, number of pixels for each bank? Maybe post a screenshot pic of your E682 setup page
 
I never saw that you tried switching out the wires. If you suspect the wires, then switch out the wires. Any gauge, any length wire can potentially be bad. It's not that common, but it does happen.
 
Do any of the output ports work? Connect the arch to a working port. That will tell you if the issue is controller or not. If the pixels flash then your controller config is wrong. If you still only get a few white pixels then the issue is not the controller (or at least not only the controller).
 
You guys are awesome.

I added 2 NULL pixels even spaced on the wire and it worked perfectly!!!

Now I'm running all 5 arches out of two ports of my controller.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
I wasn't able to upload a video, but here's a picture.

Thank you again for the help.
95b6729fbb5441b923e41e5e9d5e73bb.jpg


Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top