3' X 6' Seed Matrix

rayhjr

rayhjr

Supporting Member
I Ordered a 3' X 6' seed matrix from Gilbert Engineering. It is 1" spacing so 36X72 pixels. 2,592 I had 2000 #20awg seeds that was not enough for this matrix. I ordered 3000 #22awg that finally got here this week. I'm going to use the 22 Guage on the matrix. The 22 Guage don't fit as snug as the 20 Guage but it will work. I've decided, for now, to do 9 sets of 4 rows and power on the end. These are 5v.
The 3000 I ordered came in 3 - 1000 pixel spools. I have installed 2 of the 3 spools and they have both been short. 919 on the first spools and 938 on the second. Is this common? I only know because I did not cut anything and when done with 12 rows, 12x72=864 and 55 left. 55+864=919. Second spool was a little better, but I don't think all my missing pixels are on my last spool. Once I'm finished I'll inform Ray just how many I am short.
Not easy to see but I'm 2 thirds done. My right thumb, pointer and middle finger tips are numb! That's having them wrapped or at least a bandaid.
 

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rayhjr said:
The 3000 I ordered came in 3 - 1000 pixel spools. I have installed 2 of the 3 spools and they have both been short. 919 on the first spools and 938 on the second. Is this common
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I would ask for compensation.
81 & 62 pixels short is not good. It makes me wonder if there's a poor worker in China counting by hand, rather than machine count.
 
rayhjr said:
This is what I ordered. 3000, 22awg wire. 5 volt, 5cm
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I'm glad to see someone else is using 5 volt. Most people around here think 12 is the only way to go. Us 5 volt guys get laughed at. 😂 But I'm okay with it.

rayhjr said:
First test seed matrix
There is a bad pixel. Blue is out.
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It's interesting and maybe it's just how the video interprets the light but the bad pixel seems to produce cyan (green & blue) just fine. Is white seperate on these strings, because its working too? 🤔
 
ErnieHorning said:
I'm glad to see someone else is using 5 volt. Most people around here think 12 is the only way to go. Us 5 volt guys get laughed at. 😂 But I'm okay with it.


It's interesting and maybe it's just how the video interprets the light but the bad pixel seems to produce cyan (green & blue) just fine. Is white seperate on these strings, because its working too? 🤔
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This is my first go with 5v. I am pleased so far.

White actually shows as yellow. They are RGB pixels. On solid blue the pixel is dark.
 
rayhjr said:
After many delays, I have something working.
I need to build a frame for displaying and viewing.
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What spacing of the seed pixels are you using? Is 5cm (2") spacing too long for this 1" seed mount matrix panel? If I go down to (2.5cm) 1" spaced, my worry is that is will be too tight to allow the seed to properly push through the panel and lock in place. I have tried to get more details from Jason at GE USA as their site has very little details and not even one single photo of this particular matrix panel. Any details you could share would be most appreciated!
 
I posted some pics in this thread, post 13, that GE sent me.
Yes I used 2" spacing 22awg wire. I'm not sure about 1" and how well they will fit but probably will fit just fine. I
went with 2" because several people on the forum advised 1" was a pain to splice. I also think 20awg will fit better
than the 22awg I used.
They may be getting ready for or traveling to a Mini or something, give them some time, I'm sure they will get back to you.
Pushing them was painfull, wrap your fingures or use something for protection. Good luck!
 
rayhjr said:
I posted some pics in this thread, post 13, that GE sent me.
Yes I used 2" spacing 22awg wire. I'm not sure about 1" and how well they will fit but probably will fit just fine. I
went with 2" because several people on the forum advised 1" was a pain to splice. I also think 20awg will fit better
than the 22awg I used.
They may be getting ready for or traveling to a Mini or something, give them some time, I'm sure they will get back to you.
Pushing them was painfull, wrap your fingures or use something for protection. Good luck!
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Thank you so much for your reply.

I was thinking about getting 3cm (1.18") pitch seeds which are 24awg as opposed to the 20awg 5cm( 2") spaced ones. And you said the 20awg may fit better. I'm going with 12v power and an 8 output controller. So, I'm not sure why splicing would be needed. I want to make a 4x6 matrix (2880 pixels), so with 8 connections (power+signal) to the controller it would have 360 seeds per run. At 12v, power injection shouldn't be necessary, if these pixels are indeed 1/3 the power consumption of traditional bullet style as people say.

Why exactly are the seed pixels painful to push into the board? Is it a pinch point or are the inside cut edges sharp. I can't imagine it would take much force to push them through, it appears as though the edge wires are what holds them in place.

My first option before seeing the seed type panels from GE was to use adapters like these from Boscoyo Studios:

Those claim to be easy installation, however, threading 2880 seeds into adapters would also be a lot of work as well. Just wondering your opinion between those two methods, as you are the "only" person that I can find anywhere that has posted info for the GE seed panels. I have to say that the lack of response and assistance from GE has me soured to their customer support. I've had lots of dealing with Boscoyo and they are very responsive. This, if I do go that path, will be my first purchase from GE.
 
They pop right in, it's just doing almost 2600 in a couple of days had my fingers tip almost numb,
even with having them wraped.
The 20awg wire would just fill the space fuller and have less play.
Maybe I need to post a review to GE's web site with Pics.
After filling the matrix, I had 5 bad pixels right from the start to replace.
I just relized I never posted How I ended up wiring it. It has 6 sets of 6 rows. All cat5 wire. One set
data and 3 sets power from each output. I forget exact numbers but even at full power it was less
than 1 amp per set. I'm only running at 25% so well below amp rating for wire.
I go 72 down turn around and 72 back so 144 per power injection point with power on both ends
of the set. 432 per data output. 6 outputs on a PB16 with a 40 amp power supply. I'll get some
pics tomorrow. All wiring is on one end of matrix.
I did have to up the gama to about 2.6
 
Unless I'm completely missing it, I can't leave a review on the GE website.
Here are some pics.
 

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rayhjr said:
Unless I'm completely missing it, I can't leave a review on the GE website.
Here are some pics.
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Didn't see this before my reply... Strange, why would they not want to have as many "as-built" examples as possible. Would increase sales dramatically, I would imagine.
 
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