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Mega tree help
#1
Hi I did just email this question in but thought I'd ask on here too as others may be interested. I currently have one SD card controller with one set of WS2801 pixel lights which is fine for my little halloween show, but for my xmas show I wanted to add two more sets of the same lights to make a small mega tree (can you have a small mega tree ?!!!), but how do I wire the extra light strings to the controller or to each other? Do I wire all the strings into the same slots on the controller? Also how do I set the controller configatration up in device manager? Do I set the out puts to 3.
One other thing with just the one string connected how many channels do I set, is it one per bulb i.e.50 or one for each colour per bulb?

Finally any general tips for creating a mega tree?

Sorry thats a lot of questions in one, but for us novices any help is appreciated Smile 

Phil
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#2
(26-09-2016, 11:44 AM)magical46 Wrote: Hi I did just email this question in but thought I'd ask on here too as others may be interested. I currently have one SD card controller with one set of WS2801 pixel lights which is fine for my little halloween show, but for my xmas show I wanted to add two more sets of the same lights to make a small mega tree (can you have a small mega tree ?!!!), but how do I wire the extra light strings to the controller or to each other? Do I wire all the strings into the same slots on the controller? Also how do I set the controller configatration up in device manager? Do I set the out puts to 3.
One other thing with just the one string connected how many channels do I set, is it one per bulb i.e.50 or one for each colour per bulb?

Finally any general tips for creating a mega tree?

Sorry thats a lot of questions in one, but for us novices any help is appreciated Smile 

Phil

For 2801 Pixels on the SD card Controller you need to wire them in one long string. They often have a connector on the end of the string so you can simply plug in an additional set.When connecting additional sets be sure to inject power to the start of each set, to do this simply run cables from the 2nd set back to your power supply for the + and - power wires.

The SD card controller will support up to 1000 pixels, but for best results we recommend no more than around 300 per SD Card Controller. For larger displays we recommend the Ethernet Controller which has 8 separate outputs and will support several thousand pixels of different types.

On the SD Card Configuration, if you have more than 255 pixels you will need to enable multiple outputs and and be sure to check the "Single Port" checkbox. The SD card has 4 outputs (1 External and 3 Internal) and supports 255 pixels per output; but but the internal outputs are for 8806 use only. By ticking the "Single Port" you are telling the controller that all 4 x 255 pixels should be allocated to the single external port. Thus giving you you control of upto 1020 pixels on the one output.  Note that the first 255 pixels will be on the controller ID you have configured in the RS485 settings, The next 255 will be on the controller id +1, the next 255 on controller Id +2, etc. So If you have your SD card controller configured as ID 5 and have 3 outputs of 255 on single port, you have:

Ctrl ID       Channels        Pixels
  5              1-255            1-255 (First 255 Pixels on your string)
  6              1-255            256 - 511 (Next 255 Pixels on your string)
  7              1-255            512 -767 (Last 255 Pixels)

So in effect your SD card controller has 3 IDs (5, 6 and 7).
For best performance you should only configure the controller to match the actual pixels you have connected.

The 'Outputs Per Channel' setting is up to you. If you want to control every pixel individually then leave this set to 1. If you want to reduce your channel count and make it easier to program then set this to 2 or 3. With it set to 3, channel 1 will control pixels 1 to 3 together as though they are one pixel, Channel 2 will control pixels 4,5,6 etc. When we controlled our MegaTree of 1440 pixels on SD Cards we used 4 SD Card Controllers and controlled pixels in pairs. That seemed to work well. (We now use an Ethernet controller and control pixels individually).

There are many ways to build a MegaTree. We just use a wooden post and a metpost. We have 12 eyelets at the top of the post that we connect nylon rope to. The rope is then pegged down with tent pegs to make the tree shape. Pixels are then cable tied to the nylon rope.  For taller ones you can use a metal scaffold pole. (a Frying pan with holes drilled round the  side can also be used at the top of pole to secure your lights/guide wires).

To make programming easier we have lots of features in the Show Designer for Pixels. Such as the Mega Tree effect (shown below) that allows various spiral and chase effects to be created. This needs the Professional License though.

   

Hope that answers your questions.

Craig
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#3
(27-09-2016, 09:18 AM)Craig Wrote:
(26-09-2016, 11:44 AM)magical46 Wrote: Hi I did just email this question in but thought I'd ask on here too as others may be interested. I currently have one SD card controller with one set of WS2801 pixel lights which is fine for my little halloween show, but for my xmas show I wanted to add two more sets of the same lights to make a small mega tree (can you have a small mega tree ?!!!), but how do I wire the extra light strings to the controller or to each other? Do I wire all the strings into the same slots on the controller? Also how do I set the controller configatration up in device manager? Do I set the out puts to 3.
One other thing with just the one string connected how many channels do I set, is it one per bulb i.e.50 or one for each colour per bulb?

Finally any general tips for creating a mega tree?

Sorry thats a lot of questions in one, but for us novices any help is appreciated Smile 

Phil

For 2801 Pixels on the SD card Controller you need to wire them in one long string. They often have a connector on the end of the string so you can simply plug in an additional set.When connecting additional sets be sure to inject power to the start of each set, to do this simply run cables from the 2nd set back to your power supply for the + and - power wires.

The SD card controller will support up to 1000 pixels, but for best results we recommend no more than around 300 per SD Card Controller. For larger displays we recommend the Ethernet Controller which has 8 separate outputs and will support several thousand pixels of different types.

On the SD Card Configuration, if you have more than 255 pixels you will need to enable multiple outputs and and be sure to check the "Single Port" checkbox. The SD card has 4 outputs (1 External and 3 Internal) and supports 255 pixels per output; but but the internal outputs are for 8806 use only. By ticking the "Single Port" you are telling the controller that all 4 x 255 pixels should be allocated to the single external port. Thus giving you you control of upto 1020 pixels on the one output.  Note that the first 255 pixels will be on the controller ID you have configured in the RS485 settings, The next 255 will be on the controller id +1, the next 255 on controller Id +2, etc. So If you have your SD card controller configured as ID 5 and have 3 outputs of 255 on single port, you have:

Ctrl ID       Channels        Pixels
  5              1-255            1-255 (First 255 Pixels on your string)
  6              1-255            256 - 511 (Next 255 Pixels on your string)
  7              1-255            512 -767 (Last 255 Pixels)

So in effect your SD card controller has 3 IDs (5, 6 and 7).
For best performance you should only configure the controller to match the actual pixels you have connected.

The 'Outputs Per Channel' setting is up to you. If you want to control every pixel individually then leave this set to 1. If you want to reduce your channel count and make it easier to program then set this to 2 or 3. With it set to 3, channel 1 will control pixels 1 to 3 together as though they are one pixel, Channel 2 will control pixels 4,5,6 etc. When we controlled our MegaTree of 1440 pixels on SD Cards we used 4 SD Card Controllers and controlled pixels in pairs. That seemed to work well. (We now use an Ethernet controller and control pixels individually).

There are many ways to build a MegaTree. We just use a wooden post and a metpost. We have 12 eyelets at the top of the post that we connect nylon rope to. The rope is then pegged down with tent pegs to make the tree shape. Pixels are then cable tied to the nylon rope.  For taller ones you can use a metal scaffold pole. (a Frying pan with holes drilled round the  side can also be used at the top of pole to secure your lights/guide wires).

To make programming easier we have lots of features in the Show Designer for Pixels. Such as the Mega Tree effect (shown below) that allows various spiral and chase effects to be created. This needs the Professional License though.



Hope that answers your questions.

Craig

Excellent, thak you very much
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#4
Further to my last, at the moment I have the sd card controller and one set of WS2801 pixels. When I am in show designer in the configurator I have created a group called RGB pixels, device is number 3. In that group is each pixel one segmant so there are 50 segmants for that group,? I want to control the pixels individually
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#5
Yes that sounds correct. Be sure to select "RGB" as the colour.

   

Alternatively, if you have the Professional License, you can create the pixels as a 2D Group (See the 'Pixel RGB Strip' thread for more details ).

Craig
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