klinnks

Member
I am wondering if anyone has any products in mind that would work my the show I am building. The design calls for globes in a tree that are all RGBW, DMX controllable, and wireless. I have found a lot of LED gear out there but nothing that meets all three requirements. I don't need to it be a globe as I can make them myself but need the LED to put inside it. My hope was to find one that has a build in decoder so I don't have to run each globe's RGBW leads back to a DMX decoder. If it's something I can run on 12v - 24v then I can craft all the cabling myself but all the RGBW bulbs I am finding online are for 120v. If anyone has any products in mind they have seen out in the industry please let me know. I am also going to reach out to tmb and Enttec to see if they have any ideas for me. Thanks for checking.

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What parts do you want wireless?

The whole thing?

How big is the globe?

How big is the budget?

A few questions to help us along.
 
What parts do you want wireless?

The whole thing?

How big is the globe?

How big is the budget?

A few questions to help us along.
Sorry, should have explained that better. The unit is on casters so all the globes can be cabled to one power and DMX source contained on the unit. There are 20 globes total on the unit with a mix of 4" , 6" , 9" diameter globes. I need to build 6 of these units total. There is no budget right now, it's "how much will it cost to get it done."
 
Enttec has a ton of great 12v & 24v solutions for controllers. Superbright LEDs has Controllers, power supplies and led tapes and I'm sure the y have something you can build for a one off.
 
Enttec has a ton of great 12v & 24v solutions for controllers. Superbright LEDs has Controllers, power supplies and led tapes and I'm sure the y have something you can build for a one off.
I just contacted Enttec and am hoping they can help me. My concern in a lot of these companies specialize in pixel mapping which doesn't require as bright of LED's as say a standard LED fixture. I need something that can illuminate the globe and compete with conventional stage lighting. The designer also wants the light to come from a bulb inside the globe so I am looking for more of a light bulb than tape or dots. I should also note this show is going on tour so I don't want to go with the cheapest gear that isn't as serviceable. I have used a lot of SuperBrightLEDs products but would like to stay away from external decoders since they add a lot more wiring to the mix that could potentially get damaged out on the road.
 
Sorry, should have explained that better. The unit is on casters so all the globes can be cabled to one power and DMX source contained on the unit. There are 20 globes total on the unit with a mix of 4" , 6" , 9" diameter globes. I need to build 6 of these units total. There is no budget right now, it's "how much will it cost to get it done."
@klinnks Am I understanding you correctly; 20 globes per unit and six units in total for a grand total of 120 globes of at least three differing sizes? Perhaps you'll type this one more time a little slower and I'll read it even slower next time. Possibly @jim@RC4 would have something to suggest for your application.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
@RonHebbard You are indeed understanding me correctly. 120 globes total in 3 different sizes. I am not necessarily looking for the globe since I can purchase that separately but more so the RGBW LED that I can put inside it to illuminate it. I will have a chat with them over at RC4, thanks for the suggestion.
 
@klinnks we have several options, all ideal for the task.

"No budget" is a problem... but we have a rental program! How long is the run? Sometimes we can get the job done for literally next-to-nothing. And technical support to help you find the right LEDs, batteries, etc., is no charge. It's what we do.

@RonHebbard thanks for the mention -- very much appreciated!

Jim
[email protected]
866-258-4577
 
Ketra A20 lamps with their N3 interface can do this but I believe they only have 120 volt and its lamp in the $50-100 range. The good thing - 1-120 volt feed and individual lamp control of rgb . You may need more interfaces if you want individual control of 120 lamps and/or less latency.
 
I've used the Astera AX3 before. Wireless DMX and battery powered.
They last about 8 hours on 100% brightness and are a bright enough spot for about a 20' throw. I used them outside for columns.
I had like a beta version and with wireless was not solid, but they have demos of using 100 of them outside a mansion and its impressive.
 
I've used the Astera AX3 before. Wireless DMX and battery powered.

It looks pretty nice. http://astera-led.com/ax3/

The specs for wireless are a bit unusual, however. They state compatibility with CRMX (which is LumenRadio) and W-DMX (which is Wireless Solution). All good -- most likely Lumen CRMX, which is W-DMX compatible (only DMX channel data, not RDM). But CRMX only operates at 2.4GHz. W-DMX has 5.2Ghz and 5.8Ghz devices, but not 868Mhz or 900Mhz. There is no licensed wireless technology in those bands that is Lumen and WS compatible. That section of the specs is kinda lacking.

Love the overall product, though!

Jim
RC4
 
I am wondering if anyone has any products in mind that would work my the show I am building. The design calls for globes in a tree that are all RGBW, DMX controllable, and wireless. I have found a lot of LED gear out there but nothing that meets all three requirements. I don't need to it be a globe as I can make them myself but need the LED to put inside it. My hope was to find one that has a build in decoder so I don't have to run each globe's RGBW leads back to a DMX decoder. If it's something I can run on 12v - 24v then I can craft all the cabling myself but all the RGBW bulbs I am finding online are for 120v. If anyone has any products in mind they have seen out in the industry please let me know. I am also going to reach out to tmb and Enttec to see if they have any ideas for me. Thanks for checking.

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Sounds like Pica Cubes might could do this....
http://us.rosco.com/en/product/pica-cube-4c
12VDC-24VDC powered, take DMX in, RGBW LED avail, 2.5"x2.5"x3.6" long (small easy to build-in), and has accessory mounting capability that could be used for globes. I'm an engineer with TheBlackTank, the company that designed these for Rosco.. call us and we'll see if we can help.
 
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There is no budget right now, it's "how much will it cost to get it done."

The no budget is tough. What I would look for is a DIY style system. http://www.holidaycoro.com/Dumb-RGB-50-Node-String-With-Waterproof-Connectors-p/58-wp.htm

Those are dumb, they have smart ones as well.

Dimming is where the price starts to go up. If you want control of each globe it will be even higher. The above link has suggested controllers with it.

Wireless gets the price even higher, but if you are really strapped for cash there are very inexpensive wireless solutions but the reliability will be suspect.

If they could give you a number to aim for for the lighting side it would make picking a solution a lot easier.
 
I should have been more clear, we are willing to spend money on it -- there is just no set limit yet. I am looking to get a price for the project to the company to see if they want to go threw with it or not.

@theatrewireless I'd love to chat more to see if you could give me a ball park cost and spec out the gear needed.

Sounds like Pica Cubes might could do this....
http://us.rosco.com/en/product/pica-cube-4c
12VDC-24VDC powered, take DMX in, RGBW LED avail, 2.5"x2.5"x3.6" long (small easy to build-in), and has accessory mounting capability that could be used for globes. I'm an engineer with TheBlackTank, the company that designed these for Rosco.. call us and we'll see if we can help.

These seem like a really good option, thanks! I am leaning toward have one battery power all the lights for the globes since it will be a lot easier to charge vs. having to plug in each individual unit at the end of the run.

Thank you all!
 
If you want individual control of RGBW for each of your 20 globles that's 80 channels per unit. Even if you get creative with your wiring it would be hard to bring that down to a number of channels that I would want to buy or rent individual wireless dimmers for.

What I would do is transmit the DMX universe wirelessly with something like RC4's DMX receiver and handle the dimming on in the unit itself. Environmental lights sells 32 channel LED dimmers for a pretty reasonable price and they're already labeled for RGBW so you don't have to think too much about wiring. If that's too much then a chinesium version of the same dimmer is all over Amazon for <$100. Then I would get a high power RGBW LED module and a wide angle lens for each globe. Over do the current limiting resistors quite a bit and you're off to the races (~3V LED forward voltage from a 12V dimmer with a 100 ohm 1W current limit resistor would give ~100mA max current and be plenty bright for most applications for example). Just make sure you have a large enough battery to handle the current draw and duration required. Doing it this way would be more labor intensive than finding DMX fixtures that fit right in, but if you can't find something perfect off the shelf that just works then you might as well build what you want rather than modifying something that may or may not work in the end.

EDIT: Just reread the part about these touring. I linked to the 2.4GHz DMX receiver. If the show is staying in the US and Canada I would go with the 900MHz version for reliability. Try to find a way to have a connector at the globe so it's removable and send lots of spares so the roadies won't curse your name when one of the globes breaks.
 
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Over do the current limiting resistors quite a bit and you're off to the races (~3V LED forward voltage from a 12V dimmer with a 100 ohm 1W current limit resistor would give ~100mA max current and be plenty bright for most applications for example).

This is great. Understanding current limiting is not difficult and shouldn't be feared. A huge world of opportunity is opened up when you dive into this stuff. Nice!

Jim
RC4
 
@ship this has finally come to a head where you should weight in.
 
@ship this has finally come to a head where you should weight in.
What is above is good and sounds like good solutions. I was initially thinking individual nodes to cores. How soon due the first question I would ask . This will take time to invent for anyone.
 
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Hello Klinnks, I may have a solution for your globes if you are building from scratch. LED RGBW dumb tape spiral wrapped on tubes for light source inside the globes. Northern Lights Electronic Designs right here in Minneapolis has a driver circuit board for 4 channels of LEDs that can be fitted inside the tube of LED tape. You then run 12 or 24 vdc power and DMX daisy chain to every globe. You will need a wireless DMX receiver on each wagon. Here is the link to the circuit board. http://www.nledshop.com/fourchan/ The board is under $15 and I can recommend were to get RGBW tape through Aliexpress for under $5 per meter. You can reach me directly if you want to discuss your project in greater detail. I am at the Children's Theatre Company.
 

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