LED Flex Light - Cutting & wiring for portable power

[jlkenny0]

Hello lighting and electrical experts! Please help

I have found a 16.4ft strip of LED flex rope that I would like to cut down into 3 pieces, available in DC12V or DC5V. I think that I should be able to connect this to an SPI controller and then power it by a portable battery bank.

Yes? No?

What do I need to know to make sure that I order all the right component pieces?

Thank you,
Juicy with Frick Frack Black Jack

[Popeye]

Depending on the manufacturer it may be marked at intervals, 3'? 5"??, where it can be cut. Unless labeled I'd try 5V first. You need to make sure the polarity is correct and it may not be marked or LED's can burn out.
Try checking the mfgrs web site. Adafruit has controllers and good info on using them. Their prices seem to have come down since before Covid.

[Elorrum]

I think a 12v source would be easiest for many kinds of battery arrangements, either one 12 volt battery or 8 single 1.5v batteries (d cell alkaline batteries off the shelf in series, in a holder, Duracell D batteries rate themselves 10,000 mAh at 500 mA draw., or maybe 3-4x3.6v rechargeable lithium. I'm reaching over my head here, that would be something I would research.) Next battery capacity will be dictated by your power draw and how long you want the lights to be on before needing to replace or recharge your batteries. I googled an 18' strip and saw it had a 5 amp need. It looks like a basic controller sold with strips, with a remote for preprogrammed chasing or color changes is basic wiring with voltage of batteries must match voltage requirement of your lights.

I have a Lavolta strip light I got from parts express that has a 12v barrel plug input to the controller,Kind of like this https://www.parts-express.com/Lavolta-H ... gn=8280252 with the 4,6? Pin connector from the strip. 2 amp draw. very basic flash or solid color. I run it on a 7Ah nimh 12v rechargeable battery, I got at a surplus store, maybe for an r.c. vehicle originally. I didn't do any math, plugged it in, and so far so good. A couple hours a night for two or three nights. I haven't run it down to nothing in a weekend. Your mileage may vary. Have fun, and if Token answers, listen to him. If you know how to program a controller like arduino, this project is way beyond my simple abilities to help with.

[Token]

I’ve been summoned!

If it is the new fancy LED Neon Rope - basically a standard led strip molded in a diffuser nylon …

… there are instructions:

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/ad ... -guide/all

Very similar to led strips but some cutting of the vinyl needed with an exacto knife or similar.

[Token]

Part 2:

These gizmos usually draw ~ 12W per meter.

If you want to run each 1 meter segment, once cut, say 10 hours, you need a 120Wh battery each length. Lots of power needed.

That’s just about 8 D-cell alkaline cells per string per night. Allot of battery!

Or you can get LiFePO 120Wh they sell for motorcycles and similar, bit bulky and very square, but rechargeable. Cheaper than all those alkaline’s tho.

Maybe look at the power consumption on the 5V version and see if it is less than 12W/m.

[BBadger]

They can use that much power, but usually it's a third the maximum power that will be used in practice. One can get away with even less brightness too, and it'll still look good.

If you can get a rope or strip light that runs on 5V, using those USB phone battery banks works really nice. Just keep them shaded so they don't get too hot.

[Elorrum]

If you can get a rope or strip light that runs on 5V, using those USB phone battery banks works really nice. Just keep them shaded so they don't get too hot.

Great idea. I forgot about these. Small, and per specs impressive capacity.

[jlkenny0]

Hi Everyone! Thanks so much for talking me through this. Conferred with an LD friend and I think I have this worked out. I am testing 2 routes.

1. Buying the silicone tubing for regular LED strip to test if that will give it enough stability to handle the wear and tear of a movable garment without breaking the points in the light. This is great because the strip itself is already AA battery powered. I believe this should work well but I also want to step it up a notch so I'm also investing in option 2

2. Bought LED addressable flex rope (5V) so that the entire light strand can be fully customizable and controlled by an app on your phone. Did the math and bought a battery pack with 26800 mAh that should run a 1meter piece of this rope for 10 hours + (fingers crossed). Bought the SPI controller and the wire connectors to install the light strand to the SPI controller. Then the 5VDC to USB cord to the battery pack.

I think I have though of everything and if this is successful I will be making a really fucking badass light up accessory for the playa that can be cherished for a very long time and washed every year after the burn by removing the light strand from its sewn in casing and thrown in a washing machine.

I will keep you posted if it works

[BBadger]

There are also addressable LED copper fairy lights which are also flexible, though not pixel dense.

[jlkenny0]

There are also addressable LED copper fairy lights which are also flexible, though not pixel dense.

These will not withstand many uses and packing and unpacking. Im trying to make a light up product that is not disposable, that could last a very long time with proper care. Ability to remove the lights to wash the garment, etc etc.

[BBadger]

I've found copper fairy lights hold up quite well over heavier, bulkier, less flexible setups involving strips, especially with wires and soldering joints that get yanked or snagged, etc.