DIY Portable Uplights build

[scornil01]

Hello All;

Had a brain child today and wanted to share. Im thinking of making a Battery powered RGB Uplight/Par light. Similar to this:

http://www.fullcompass.com/prod/253005- ... aQod3NkPZQ

I think this would be a lot more convenient and just more practical when doing outdoor events where wall outlets are minimal. Ofcourse I'm not gonna spend 250 on a single light for this convenience so i will try to make my own.

Im planning on using this 5 meter LED strip:

http://www.supernight.cc/supernight-tm- ... oller.html

I will be cutting the Led strip into 5 separate meters to get 5 separate lights and organize into wide rectangle or small square enclosures.

battery:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/162023098224?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

Will be using these controllers since i only need single color at a time and no FX or DMX (well as of right now):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201243376458?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

dont know yet what else i would need since im just planning as of right now:

My Math:

So im wondering how long that battery can power 1 meter of the LED strip.

LED strip specs states that 1.2 amps working current per meter. Battery has a capacity of 9800mah=9.8 A/h

9.8/1.2 = 8.16 hours .... Is that a correct way of calculating how long it can theoretically last before the light dies out?

i found this video where a guy used 8 AA batteries to get 12v and able to power 2x2m strip lights for 3 hours (from his description). I found that a AA battery is 1.5v and ~2600mah. So 8 batteries in series is 12v but still ~2600mah? dont know if hes telling the truth

https://youtu.be/NdoFUBd7aI8

How would the battery life differ if i link the battery in parallel with multiple meters instead of series?

i will be ordering the parts listed above soon so ill be doing some actual tests on the battery life duration with 1m, 2.5m, and 5m of the LED. Would love to get some feedback from all the geniuses here that are always helpful

[CoronaOperator]

Your calculation would assume all colors on (white) @ full output. I'd expect you to get proportionally longer battery life using just 1 color or 2 colors blended. Again, longer life if you dim down the strip.

btw, I have used shelf edging strips to keep those LED strips straight. They are cheap, lightweight, and the right width. Just stick the strip inside the channel. I have never had any luck with the self adhesive glue strips that those cheap chinese LED strips come with. I peel as much of it off as I can and use a good 3m double sided tape. You can find that at the big box home improvement stores.

[escapemcp]

I have never had any luck with the self adhesive glue strips that those cheap chinese LED strips come with.

Good, it's not just me. Got to run 10m of the things in my 'Rents new kitchen in a few weeks. I will go for the 3M insurance option that you mentioned. Thx

[scornil01]

Thanks for the tip Corona!

[BrentEvans]

Just a thought... It's not battery powered but at 10 watts it almost doesn't matter...


http://www.amazon.com/Trendmart%C2%AE-S ... +led+flood

[J_Dunavin]

Interesting that this has come up.
I have been playing around with "neopixel" strips, which contain the same 5050 led, but do not come with a controller. My goal differs in that I want to control them via DMX. I am already able to control them via Arduino, and there is a DMX Arduino add on.

Anyway my suggestion, is that the led strips have a lot of light that bleeds though on the side.
I built up a cardboard fixture in the shape of a V to try and beam the light, like a headlamp on a car. I lined the inside with tin foil, just to see what happens. It really helped control the light and was much brighter in the beam path.
I think that if I were go for a finished product that the inside of my fixture would have a mirror material, lining the inside to help beam the light and maybe a frosted plexi cover to diffuse the light.

[jimbo7]

I built up a cardboard fixture in the shape of a V to try and beam the light, like a headlamp on a car. I lined the inside with tin foil, just to see what happens. It really helped control the light and was much brighter in the beam path.

Yeah, we're gonna have to see this contraption to know what you're talking about

[J_Dunavin]

Ok... Don't laugh... It was just a test....

[CoronaOperator]

Ok... Don't laugh... It was just a test....

As a colleague of mine would say ... "That's good enough for the girls we sleep with!"

[J_Dunavin]

It did prove anyway that the light can be better focused.

[scornil01]

So after more research last night i found that after purchasing all materials needed (1m LED strip, led controller, material for enclosure, input/output plugs and sockets, and all the connection wire necessary) it breaks down to about $13 a light excluding the battery. That sounded awesome until i dug around the internet more and came across this thread in another forum:

https://serato.com/forum/discussion/1523504

basically finding some cheap but nice chinese rgb par lights that includes DMX capabilities for around $20 and just modding to accept the dc battery.

i found these 18W uplights that range from $17-$24 depending on the bulk:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/18LED-RGB-PAR-S ... 1917017793

Here is a video of the par in action:

https://youtu.be/k3y4rQzVGuE

As much as i love being the DIYer, for just about $5 to $8 more i can get the same product with dmx and without all mass amounts of soldering i was anticipating and making the enclosure.

so for the LED strips ill probably just make a 1 meter long LED bar utilizing the full 5 meters in one fixture and use it on a truss instead of uplighting.

[scornil01]

Interesting that this has come up.
I have been playing around with "neopixel" strips, which contain the same 5050 led, but do not come with a controller. My goal differs in that I want to control them via DMX. I am already able to control them via Arduino, and there is a DMX Arduino add on.

I found this yesterday when looking up DMX and LED strips:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hot-DMX512-Deco ... SwSzdXBwcO

however i couldnt find any info of people actually using it and setting it up.

I also found this video where a guy implements a wireless DMX receiver which adds more convenience:

https://youtu.be/cO8tr2UhnlI

i think this is the board he used:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1PCS-Wireless-D ... SwaNBUfc-7

[CoronaOperator]

i found these 18W uplights that range from $17-$24 depending on the bulk:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/18LED-RGB-PAR-S ... 1917017793

Those work fine for wash lighting. I have a few at work. For direct lighting like on the back truss forward washing a band towards the crowd I like the all in one leds. That way you don't see the individual colors like on these cheaper ones but for washing a wall or a person these work good. These cheaper ones don't dim all the way down, they'll dim to like 15% and then just black out. Where that sometimes comes into play is when you have a blended color and want it really dim. For example a magenta (75% blue / 25% red) and you dim that down, once you hit that threshold, the reds will blackout leaving you with a dim blue. Not a big deal unless you are into subtle theater like effects.

One of my favorite uses for these lights is I have one hung on the back truss pointing directly on the mixing board on stage (straight blue dimmed down). You can see the mixer and it isn't distracting to the crowd like a white goose neck light is.

[Drey Chennells]

Just a thought... It's not battery powered but at 10 watts it almost doesn't matter...


http://www.amazon.com/Trendmart%C2%AE-S ... +led+flood

If it helps we've used a variety of these from 10-100w. Quality across the couple dozen or so was pretty consistent, I think 1 doa.. They throw light a bit better than expected for the price, relative to their power rating. Remote control worked well too as some were mounted 15'+ up on truss..

[J_Dunavin]

Oooo I like those.