LEDs no controller for costume..

EL Wire/Tape/Panels, LEDs, pixels and strips, LCDs and TFTs, etc products from Adafruit

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Ringshadow
 
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LEDs no controller for costume..

Post by Ringshadow »

Short of it, I've previously had success on a lit prop with an LED strip I wired with AdaFruit parts, no controller, just on/off switch. This was several years ago, and I couldn't find the LED strip I'd used at the time. I purchased an on/off LED strip from amazon but frankly, it's ... sub par. yes I can control the lights with a built in switch, but there's very few lights involved. I wanted something brighter and I've done this before, no problem right?

On my counter is an RGB LED weatherproof flexi-strip 60LED 2m strip, connected to a female DC power adapter, connected to the suggested 8 AA battery pack. It came with four wires attached, I taped off the blue and green wires because.. I don't want to deal with a controller. I just want on and off lights. Well, the lights aren't coming on.

From some of the tutorials in the learn section, this should be working. I'm seriously disheartened. I'm the most basic level of amateur and uncertain where I've gone wrong. I'm sure I've missed something obvious and I'll be honest, if this comes down to wiring a controller it's all being tossed back into the box. Any suggestions welcomed.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: LEDs no controller for costume..

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

On my counter is an RGB LED weatherproof flexi-strip 60LED 2m strip, connected to a female DC power adapter, connected to the suggested 8 AA battery pack. It came with four wires attached, I taped off the blue and green wires because.. I don't want to deal with a controller. I just want on and off lights. Well, the lights aren't coming on.
There are many different types of LED strips. You have not specified which one you are using. Some do require controllers. If you can provide us with links to the specific products you are using, we may be able to assist.

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Ringshadow
 
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Re: LEDs no controller for costume..

Post by Ringshadow »

https://www.adafruit.com/product/346

That's the title. RGB LED Weatherproof flexi-strip 60 LED/m

If this does need a controller, welp. I said I'm a beginner and if that's the case, well I done goofed, and will happily accept a recommendation of one that doesn't need one (and can hopefully run off my 8 AA battery packs I now own).

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Jeremy97469
 
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Re: LEDs no controller for costume..

Post by Jeremy97469 »

The information on the LED light strip you ordered does not require a controller. It only requires 12V like your 8AA battery pack. My suggestion would be to check the wiring polarity to see if it is backwards. If the battery + doesn’t go to the LED + and the battery - doesn’t go to the LED -, then the LEDs will not work at all.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: LEDs no controller for costume..

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

That strip should work without a controller. 4 wires are required to light the whole strip. There should be red, blue and green wires, plus a 4th wire that is usually either white or black.

Connect that 4th wire to the positive terminal of your 12 battery pack. Connect each of the other colored wires to the negative terminal to turn on the corresponding colors of the strip: red = red, green = green & blue = blue.

If you run into problems, post some photos showing how you have everything connected, we can try to diagnose the issue.

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Ringshadow
 
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Re: LEDs no controller for costume..

Post by Ringshadow »

Image

Rookie mistakes were made. I'm used to only having black and red wires, and the tutorials on here didn't help the confusion. Thank you, and let there be light!

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: LEDs no controller for costume..

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Awesome! Thanks for the update.

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Ringshadow
 
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Re: LEDs no controller for costume..

Post by Ringshadow »

And now to show the first step in the project. This mask will be going with me to Lost Lands in September, hopefully with a matching light-up tail. We'll see! yes I made a mistake with the dremel, it is what it is.

Image

And for a transition between the previous LEDs and these, see this tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@argonmasters/vi ... 8668368174

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