Hey guys complete newbie to the whole LED lighting scene so forgive me if the questions I post sound a bit daft
Thinking of doing some work to a bar & cabinet I'm about to make for my place and was looking for some LED lighting solutions. More specifically I have no idea what I should get.....
Basically I'm looking for an RGB solution to display multiple colors solid-on or special effects controller with fade, strobe, different colors, chase etc.
I found something on E-bay http://cgi.ebay.com/Commercial-grade-LED-strip-lighting-lights-ultra-bright_W0QQitemZ7589447790QQihZ017QQcategoryZ58145QQcmdZViewItem which looks like what I want but I'm worried about the quality of the lighting. The controller appears to be able to do what I want but I want to be able to contol the timing so that either its short fast sequences or longer sequences.
Secondly I'd like to be able to control the intensity of the LED bulbs ( I dont know if this is possible with LEDs but it would be nice).
Thirdly I'm looking for a strip thats about 4-5 meters long and then splits off ie a Y pattern to two more LED strips off about 3 meters each. I'd also like a second solution consisting of 3-4 pieces of seperated 2 meter length pieces running in an 'extended Y' configuration (its something similar to the 2nd set of pictures). Both these setups need to be able to work in a 220V - 240V enviornment.
If anyone knows any stores that sells custom lengths or could tell me what I should look out for in terms of features of which LED bulbs & controllers I should look out for. I dont mind paying a bit more for the higher end quality parts I'm looking for a simplified solution. I was talking to an EE friend of mine and his soluion was to plug a PC into the controller board to control everything........
To give you an idea I'm looking to build something like this:
http://www.europebynet.com/images/Products/ILSBD002/ILSBD002_D.JPG
http://www.europebynet.com/images/Products/ILSBD002/ILSBD002_D2.JPG
http://www.europebynet.com/images/Products/ILSBD002/ILSBD002_D4.jpg
http://www.europebynet.com/images/Products/ILSBD002/ILSBD002_D3.JPG
They have a controller on their website http://mfgcn.com/_wsn/page7.html but it looks like that plugs into the serial port to get the desired effects. I'm guessing I can just preprogram it and let it be? Would it be hard to code for something like that (I'm clueless when it comes to this stuff). I'm really not to keen on plugging my laptop in every time I want the effect change I would rather pay for an external controller box. Though if something could be arranged through a simple connection like a USB one I it would make my life easier.
This is also something else I like:
http://www.pulsarlight.com/Hi-res/QE2 129.jpg
http://www.pulsarlight.com/Hi-res/QE2 131.jpg
http://www.pulsarlight.com/Hi-res/QE2 132.jpg
http://www.pulsarlight.com/Hi-res/QE2 127.jpg
One thing I dont like is what looks like color bleed in the white shot though I'm guessing there isn't much I could do about it? My best guess is that I need a true RGB solution vs 3 sets of LED lights in individual colors?
I'm basically looking for a higher end LED lighting solution with very even color changes, I take it this is a task of the programming but if a utility is given to me to work out the minor kinks it would be great If anyone could help me out I'd really appreciate it
Vendors feel free to pitch me your products.
Edit: Images converted to links - hotlinking not permitted - Empath
Thinking of doing some work to a bar & cabinet I'm about to make for my place and was looking for some LED lighting solutions. More specifically I have no idea what I should get.....
Basically I'm looking for an RGB solution to display multiple colors solid-on or special effects controller with fade, strobe, different colors, chase etc.
I found something on E-bay http://cgi.ebay.com/Commercial-grade-LED-strip-lighting-lights-ultra-bright_W0QQitemZ7589447790QQihZ017QQcategoryZ58145QQcmdZViewItem which looks like what I want but I'm worried about the quality of the lighting. The controller appears to be able to do what I want but I want to be able to contol the timing so that either its short fast sequences or longer sequences.
Secondly I'd like to be able to control the intensity of the LED bulbs ( I dont know if this is possible with LEDs but it would be nice).
Thirdly I'm looking for a strip thats about 4-5 meters long and then splits off ie a Y pattern to two more LED strips off about 3 meters each. I'd also like a second solution consisting of 3-4 pieces of seperated 2 meter length pieces running in an 'extended Y' configuration (its something similar to the 2nd set of pictures). Both these setups need to be able to work in a 220V - 240V enviornment.
If anyone knows any stores that sells custom lengths or could tell me what I should look out for in terms of features of which LED bulbs & controllers I should look out for. I dont mind paying a bit more for the higher end quality parts I'm looking for a simplified solution. I was talking to an EE friend of mine and his soluion was to plug a PC into the controller board to control everything........
To give you an idea I'm looking to build something like this:
http://www.europebynet.com/images/Products/ILSBD002/ILSBD002_D.JPG
http://www.europebynet.com/images/Products/ILSBD002/ILSBD002_D2.JPG
http://www.europebynet.com/images/Products/ILSBD002/ILSBD002_D4.jpg
http://www.europebynet.com/images/Products/ILSBD002/ILSBD002_D3.JPG
They have a controller on their website http://mfgcn.com/_wsn/page7.html but it looks like that plugs into the serial port to get the desired effects. I'm guessing I can just preprogram it and let it be? Would it be hard to code for something like that (I'm clueless when it comes to this stuff). I'm really not to keen on plugging my laptop in every time I want the effect change I would rather pay for an external controller box. Though if something could be arranged through a simple connection like a USB one I it would make my life easier.
This is also something else I like:
http://www.pulsarlight.com/Hi-res/QE2 129.jpg
http://www.pulsarlight.com/Hi-res/QE2 131.jpg
http://www.pulsarlight.com/Hi-res/QE2 132.jpg
http://www.pulsarlight.com/Hi-res/QE2 127.jpg
One thing I dont like is what looks like color bleed in the white shot though I'm guessing there isn't much I could do about it? My best guess is that I need a true RGB solution vs 3 sets of LED lights in individual colors?
I'm basically looking for a higher end LED lighting solution with very even color changes, I take it this is a task of the programming but if a utility is given to me to work out the minor kinks it would be great If anyone could help me out I'd really appreciate it
Vendors feel free to pitch me your products.
Edit: Images converted to links - hotlinking not permitted - Empath
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