FAST Finally Affordable Snowfall Tube

F.A.S.T (Finally Affordable Snowfall Tubes)

• NOTE - THIS PAGE IS A WORK IN-PROGRESS - IT IS NOT COMPLETE YET *

What is FAST

Fast was created by Cory Helmuth as a inexpensive substitute for commercial snowfall tubes. It consists of a FAST Controller PCB that drives 1-8 LED Segment PCBs each with 7 LED's per segment for a total of 7-56 SuperFlux LED's and 6" to 48" in length.

Typically the RGB LEDs are common anode to support typical usage with DCSSRs or other DC controllers that implement switched grounds and common

How to calculate the values of the limiting resistors using Ohm's Law

When usng 5vdc:

P = V x I = 8.9 x 18.9mA = 168mW so again you need a 1/4W - you can use Mouser 291-470-RC

If you fully populate the board you will require eighteen resistors for EACH color so in all you will need seventy-two resistors for each strip - -

Using the Super Strip

The Super Strip can have an RJ45 installed at each end of the strip. The connections are identical for either end so it doesn't matter which side is plugged in. Note that if you are not planning to daisy-chain the strips, that you can get away with installing just one connector. A fully populated strip draws up to 360mA per color (18 LEDs x 20mA = 360mA) so it is not advised that you daisy-chain the strips since the current draw would be too much for Cat5 cabling.

The pinout of the strip is as follows:

• Pin 1, 3, 5 and 7 are physically tied together and are typically connected to the +DC output of the power supply that is being used.
• Pin 2 drives the Red LED path
• Pin 4 drives the Green LED path
• Pin 6 drives the Blue LED path
• Pin 8 drives the White LED path

NOTE - Regarding the RGB LEDs - the actual color lit may be different than the path color - it is important that you verify this BEFORE installing the LEDs and resistors on the strips. This is due to different manufacturers not using standardized pinouts for the colors used. The first group buy had the Green and Blue colors swapped while the latest group buy had the Red and Green swapped. You may want to monitor the forum closely to ensure which layout is correct.

NOTE - Regarding the White LEDs - the silkscreen has always been incorrect for the White LED position - it is 180deg out from what they should be. Here again, you will want to monitor the forum to ensure there has not been a change to the layout but so far, this has always

There are a variety of controllers that can be used to drive the FAST. Examples of these are the Frank's Ren24LV, a Ren64XC with DCSSRs and the Ren48LSD. Note that the Ren48LSD was designed specifically for the purpose of driving Super Strips. The Ren64XC/DCSSR combination will work as well but it's a more expensive, larger and more cumbersome configuration to use but if you are driving other higher current DC devices, it can work fine.