LED Lights
 

I know I Know it's been talked about alot.

What I want to know is what strips you are using?

Are you using 5050, 3528 or some other type?

I am looking for the brightest RGB strip I can get. Plan to do a lot with this stuff so I want to know what is the best one to get.

from what ive read alot of guys are using the ones from superbtightleds.com too but not sure which model. i want to use the 5050 too but not sure how much the "waterproof" would really matter since they will be high in the engine compartment and the cabin. If water is that high, $150 in lights is the least of my worries.

I bought these for under my deck by the hot tub. EXTREMELY happy with them. Boat is next. Shipped quickly from Ping Pong.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110966703890...84.m1497.l2649

Bright white light when you need to see. Endless color/speed changes. Very bright with dimming ability. Only thing that makes them "waterproof" is the strip is inside a clear flex tube.

Connectors at the end to add and control multiple strips from one remote/power source.

I'm considering the 5050's for "runway" lights on the trailer.

5050's arent waterproof are they?

Get the 5050 but the brightest are 300 smd, you can also get a music controller for the lights works awesome!! I get them from amazon. They are supposedly waterproof but they only last me one season. But who cares three 16.4ft rolls and one controller is less than $100.

We'll see.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5M-10M-15M-2...-/170921682766

Are you saying the 300smd is brighter than the 5050? I haven't been able to find any specs yet.

If so, good info.

Well if I am not mistaken 300 SMD just means 300 surface mount diods.

From what I can tell it looks like the 3528's are not water proof and the 5050's are. Other than that it looks like they are the same

Well the best deal I could find on a buy it now was 15.99 for just a roll. That was a 300 RGB strip. Says they are 3528's and waterproof. If you need a control there were cheaper package deals from other places. I just want to LED's gonna get a different control.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/RGB-5M-3528-...item3ccb47ea80

Correct they make 150 and 300 versions obviously the 300's are brighter. I have always bought the 5050 version from amazon

SMD 5050 LED Flex Strip light
They are called SMD 5050 because the dimensions of the chips are 5.0mm x 5.0mm. These LED chips have 3 LED chips in one housing (sometimes called tri-chips), and are a lot brighter than individual 3528 LED chips.

They are used when you need high illumination for your project area. Theoreticly, SMD 5050 LEDs can offer a light output 3 times that of the 3528 strips, and therefore the 5050 LED is well suited for lighting up areas that may be subject to high levels of ambient light.

Though they produce more heat, it is still drastically lower than other lighting options. The 5050's are different from the 3528 LEDs in that 5050s can combine the three different chips to inside the housing to create millions of color variations. The 3528 SMD led strips come in one color only.









They are called SMD3528 because the dimension of the chip is 3.5mm * 2.8mm. These LED chips (one LED per lighting source) are bright but not as bright as the 5050. These lights are great for LCD TV backlighting, color splashing walls, accent lighting for plants, pictures, under tables, bars, etc. 3528 LEDs can be most cost effective, but will not be as bright when compared individually to a 5050 chip.

However, we offer LED single-color flex strips with a large number of 3528 LEDs per foot compared to our competitors! PAY ATTENTION to how many LEDs/ Meter or Foot. You may be getting a lower price per reel or by the foot, but you are not getting as many LEDs!







http://www.bestlightingbuy.com/media/wysiwyg/SMD.jpg

Good info, because alot of the sellers on Ebay list them as 3528/5050 SMD stips. Going to have to pay attention to what they are selling.

Well I bought a setup to play with. SMD5050 with a 44 key remote for $22. Stuff is bright and I can see me doing alot with it.

Pics?

Have not installed it yet. Just playing with it at this point.

I take it that they are the ones that switch colors?

Yes RGB.

With the right control you pretty much can do any color. Even this basic one does a 7 color fade change with strobe.

We are in the middle of putting in (16) 36" Maxxima red 5050's in the Donzi. They are very bright and waterproof.

You can buy it in rolls for much less and cut it to the length you want. 5 meters of 5050 is less than $20 on Ebay.

Not being overly handy with wiring I had a question about this kit. It says 12 V DC but in the picture it shows has a regular 120 outlet plug. Can I just cut off the that plug and put on connectors and hook it to the batteries?

http://www.amazon.com/TaoTronics-TT-...I2RDAXE14BUDAA

Where did you buy it at??

It may come with a pigtail for 12volt. If not it is a common plug just go to Radio shack and buy one. You may want that 120volt adaptor for latter.

Jeff,

This is the one I bought to play with. I will be getting waterproof ones for the boat I think.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5M-5050-RGB-...item4d009baa33

Made this from the 3528 $15 ebay LED roll. So far they seem to be holding up. I'd think the turning off/on at this rate will shorten the lifespan considerably?? I also bought a roll of Pipe Dream Leds to light up the inside of my speakers, but that was $120 for a 15' roll. Do to the work involved on those, I didn't want to risk having the cheap ones burn out. There is a big difference in quality between the 2 set, not sure its a $100 difference though. :). The Pipe Dreams have a wider voltage span that I preferred for when in my slip and plugged into shore power, where my battery charger will hit 15v?? during the 1st stage, where as the ebay ones have a tighter voltage range, as I understand it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpuQCw5s5iQ

I need to redo a bunch of mine in the boat. The cheap ones I got off eBay just don't hold up. The wire connections are always breaking off and are so small they are hard to fix. Let me know if you find some good ones.

Do yourself a favor and buy the no solder connectors. Unless you are VERY good at soldering and have a good quality gun, you will find it very difficult to solder the pig tails to the strips if you cut them.

X100
The factory solder joints on mine break off and it's near impossible to solder them back on. Less aggravation to just replace em

What control are you using?

Are those just a single color LED?

How is the quality? I love eBay for certain things but when it comes to anything lighting, a lot of stuff on there is complete junk

From what I can see it, is the same stuff that you buy at the Auto parts store. It's just alot cheaper. Have not installed any of it yet. But I have been tinkering with it. A 7' piece I stuck to a plastic trim is still stuck, and has not broken or anything.

If I can find out what control US1 Fountain is using, I am going to do some reall intresting stuff with this.

Would love to get a music controller for mine! Where do you get that? Link?

I also bought a bunch of these on Ebay and have been super impressed. dont know who they sell them that cheap.

i get mine on amazon, lights and music controllers, the lights only last me a year getting exposed to salt and hosed down every week but the controller still works fine. They are so cheap it easy just to replace them once a year.

Ok I found the control that was talked about on OSO before. This company has several differnt controls.

http://www.oznium.com/led-controllers

Also looking at the ones on Ebay to see if any of them will do what I want to do. But I am looking for a control that will be pretty programable.If you just want one to flash the lights to the music I think several of the ones on Ebay will do the trick.

This is the thread where these controls were talked about before.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...ntrollers.html

Just trying to get all this info in one spot.

i have the first two that are on the page they both work awesome the lights change colors with the music.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...ic%2Caps%2C192

The only thing that seems cheaper is the wire connections... I used some dialectic grease and heat shrink over the connections, in stock form seems if they get pulled they will come apart, I secured mine.... we`ll see how they hold up


I take that back the 3M backing is nowhere as good as the more expensive ones. Home Depot and other box stores sell the 3M double sided foam tape, 150' for $15. I used that instead.

http://33outlaw.zenfolio.com/img/s4/...44542512-4.jpg

the 3m tape that comes with the light sticks fine, but it seems like it lets the moisture get to the back of the strips, I am going to try the foam tape this time also.