Conventional Fixtures LED PAR for $9 ???

JD

Well-Known Member
Ok, from my viewpoint I could not even conceive of pushing a power cord through a grommet, provide free shipping, and be able to do it for $9. So, curiosity has got the best of me about these Chinese DMX LED PARs selling for $9, or specifically four of them for around $37 shipping inclusive. They are RGBW using 1 watt emitters (12 total) and have XLR inputs and outputs. I ordered them. I would fully expect none to work. No, I don't intend to use them for anything, but if by some odd chance they do work, and the application is more of a joke or prop, then that might change. I do intend to rip them down and analyze whatever shows up. Also bought a wonderful $30 DMX board so that I don't have to plug them into anything real.
 
Also bought a wonderful $30 DMX board so that I don't have to plug them into anything real.

Oh c'monnnnnnnn, what's the worst that could happen? Someone wires 120V onto the DMX connector? That's just for convenience so you can power all your fixtures and your console off of one set of cables!
 
Oh c'monnnnnnnn, what's the worst that could happen? Someone wires 120V onto the DMX connector? That's just for convenience so you can power all your fixtures and your console off of one set of cables!
@JD @MNicolai And in the same vein; for easier coordination when you wish to simultaneously evoke the release of synchronous clouds of 'magic smoke'. Thanks @MNicolai I may have otherwise missed the convenience of this cutting edge concept.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
Oh c'monnnnnnnn, what's the worst that could happen? Someone wires 120V onto the DMX connector? That's just for convenience so you can power all your fixtures and your console off of one set of cables!
I suspect their little switch-mode supplies were not Hi-Pot tested. Probably not even Low-Pot tested. Maybe more like Pol-Pot tested. In any case, I don't want the power-up to be more like Buck-Shot.
 
At $9 you're being ripped off, or maybe this site is lying about the price...
upload_2018-8-23_14-42-31.png
 
Could just be the reject pile for defective products with batteries that go boom and this was the easiest way to liquidate the inventory.
 
Well, I ordered them two days ago, with an ETA of next week and the little things showed up this afternoon! Amazingly enough, all 4 work! Bright too. Now, the dimmer curve is about exactly what you would expect for $9, and the fans change noise level depending on what angle you hold them at, but so what. Not like I would use them for anything important. Of course, I had to take one apart. Little 12 volt switch-mode in there. I might try seeing how well they run off of a battery.
 
Well, I ordered them two days ago, with an ETA of next week and the little things showed up this afternoon! Amazingly enough, all 4 work! Bright too. Now, the dimmer curve is about exactly what you would expect for $9, and the fans change noise level depending on what angle you hold them at, but so what. Not like I would use them for anything important. Of course, I had to take one apart. Little 12 volt switch-mode in there. I might try seeing how well they run off of a battery.
That is exactly what I would do with them. Run them in battery powered mode on portable props with wireless DMX. At $9 you cant really lose can you. FWIW I have some very cheep LED pars in a show at the moment. They what I require them to do.
Regards
Geoff
 
That is exactly what I would do with them. Run them in battery powered mode on portable props with wireless DMX. At $9 you cant really lose can you. FWIW I have some very cheep LED pars in a show at the moment. They what I require them to do.
Regards
Geoff
So, with only one rail they run the fans full out. Soldered in a 120 ohm 1w resistor which cuts the fans to 4.5 volts and they are inaudible. Still good airflow. Ran them for 2 hours and they still felt close room temperature. Yea, 12 volt gel-cell and they are a pretty good prop light. Nice little 4" aluminum plate for a heat sink. Really wasn't expecting anything and ended up with a fun toy.
 
Ummm pictures??

Why rob us of these amazing 9$ fixtures.
 
You all of course realize what has been posted is a counterpoint to the whole Trump Tariff War! So you saw something from China (stolen technology), now analyze it's simplification or improvement in making a better product. Full circle now.
 
Ummm pictures??

Why rob us of these amazing 9$ fixtures.
At work right now, but here were the Ebay pics. I'll shoot some pics of the guts tonight.
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I might have got the last of them! Here is the original listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/4PCS-RGBW-12LED-8-Channel-High-Power-Stage-PAR-Light-DMX512-Strobe-DJ-Party-I5J5/352116775672?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

EDIT: Very interesting- Monday, these things were all over Ebay at that price. Friday, all gone! "You like? Price Double Now!" That's the second time this year this has happened to me. (Same thing with inexpensive cable ramps back in March.)
 
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Well someone got lucky. Lol

I wonder if the competitors scoop them up and diagnose them then scrap them.
 
Well someone got lucky. Lol

I wonder if the competitors scoop them up and diagnose them then scrap them.
I think the MO is that they build a ton of something and dump it on the market.... but that's the end of it, they don't build any more. Some of these importers with Ebay stores buy up big lots and sell them dirt cheap. Other importers buy big lots but wait on the listings until the cheap ones are gone, or simply list them at a higher price and wait for the low prices ones to burn off. Once the cheap ones are gone, people have to buy the higher priced ones. If sales stall, they dump the price.
The latest trend is that these sellers do both, but package the deals differently. For example, 4 for $37, 2 for $26, and 1 for $16. They play it almost like puts and calls on the stock market.
The (no-name) Chinese companies also don't bother with the parts end of the business. Build 100,000 of something, then move on. Sellers will usually replace failed products out of their own inventory, or simply send you the next similar that comes down the pike. I should say "the better sellers." Many simply make it not worth your while to return the product! It would cost me almost $9 to ship the $9 PAR back. Who's going to do that?

Oh, and here's the latest great deal:
"2X SPEAKON TO SPEAKON 50 FT. TRUE 12 GAUGE WIRE AWG DJ/ PRO AUDIO SPEAKER CABLE"
Really? $9 each for 50' speaker cables with NL4 connectors and free shipping? Yea, picked up a couple. 15 AWG copper clad aluminum. Picture shows NL4 Neutrik connectors, or at least the first picture does. Scroll through the rest for the truth! Also, zoom in on the cable label: 2x2mm. They work, but I'll just use them in the shop.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2X-SPEAKON...831807?hash=item1a293a3b3f:g:2r4AAOSwK~da8poX
 
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And here are the guts. I unscrewed the 12 volt switch-mode supply for a better view. Note how AC cable is soldered to the back of the board. Guess they couldn't find a matching connector that would fit the conductors of the AC cable. That feeds the fan and the digital board in the back that contains the display, buttons, a micro, and some drive transistors. Other board is for the XLR connectors.
a.jpg

Next is the front half with the heat sink and fan. The 150 ohm resistor is what I added to slow the fan.
b.jpg

Taking the fan and the heat sink out, the front has the surface mounted LEDs and surprisingly, individual little lens tubes for each LED!
Best part is, I put it all back together and it still worked.
c.jpg
 
I bought some 20 buck UV only units... and WOWZA.. those little pups are powerful.. made a flourescent orange
plastic mallet look like it was going to explode from 20 feet away.
 
Have to laugh a bit about the color coding. You have RGBW LEDs and a 5 wire harness with Red, Green, Blue, White, and Yellow wires.... Yet, the Red feeds the blue, the Blue feeds the red, the Yellow feeds the White, and the White wire is common plus. Well, at least the Green feeds the green!
 

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