Cuttable LED strip for rock lights

[AnimalHippie]

I have been looking into making my own rock lights. I was just curious if anyone had used the cuttable LED strip. if so what type & are you happy with the results? My LHS has a few different rolls of it for $10 a foot. Just wanted to check with you guys before I pulled the trigger. Thanks for any and all info

["MIS-TAKEN"]

Working on similar projects. You need to find out the ratings do some math get some resistors, trial and error YouTube is your best friend and Alibaba Express

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[Ditchrat]

Originally Posted by AnimalHippie

I have been looking into making my own rock lights. I was just curious if anyone had used the cuttable LED strip. if so what type & are you happy with the results? My LHS has a few different rolls of it for $10 a foot. Just wanted to check with you guys before I pulled the trigger. Thanks for any and all info

Yep work great at 12v and water proof

[Jim85IROC]

I bought a whole 5 meter strip of stuff designed to run directly off of 12V (resistors are built right in) for less than your hobby shop sells a single foot for.

The vendor I bought mine from doesn't list it anymore, but here's the same thing:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Colorful-Wa...r=500652220417

If you run a 3S system, the 12V strip makes life easy. I tend to prefer to run all of my LEDs directly from my battery.

[AnimalHippie]

Originally Posted by Jim85IROC

I bought a whole 5 meter strip of stuff designed to run directly off of 12V (resistors are built right in) for less than your hobby shop sells a single foot for.

The vendor I bought mine from doesn't list it anymore, but here's the same thing:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Colorful-Wa...r=500652220417

If you run a 3S system, the 12V strip makes life easy. I tend to prefer to run all of my LEDs directly from my battery.

Hey Jim, you happen to have a picture of your rig lit with those lights?

[Ditchrat]

There you go, taken in absolute darkness and no flash







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[83trekker83]

Very cool, i have a roll coming from Hobbyking i got as a filler to get free shipping. I also picked up a mini 3s lipo that will fit in the front tray of my trx4 bronco and will run it directly off of that with other accessories.

[Voodoobrew]

From amazon reviews, it seems like many of the strips have solder joints at cut zones every 3rd light or so that are fragile. Just something to be aware of.

[Ditchrat]

Originally Posted by Voodoobrew

From amazon reviews, it seems like many of the strips have solder joints at cut zones every 3rd light or so that are fragile. Just something to be aware of.

No they are not.


There is a cut line every 3 lights. That cut line splits a pair of copper pads. All of it is covered in flexible, clear silicon covering.


The pads are very small, and admittedly hard to get the silicon off to solder on. I messed up a few getting the silicon off. After I figure out a sharp knife cut above, then a twisting motion to strip away I didn't damage any.


Anyway here is an even better and brighter way.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/5x-White-CO...EAAOSwRUhY9xZp


They come in lots of shapes and sizes.

[Voodoobrew]

Originally Posted by Ditchrat

No they are not.


There is a cut line every 3 lights. That cut line splits a pair of copper pads. All of it is covered in flexible, clear silicon covering.


The pads are very small, and admittedly hard to get the silicon off to solder on. I messed up a few getting the silicon off. After I figure out a sharp knife cut above, then a twisting motion to strip away I didn't damage any.


Anyway here is an even better and brighter way.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/5x-White-CO...EAAOSwRUhY9xZp


They come in lots of shapes and sizes.

I was researching this type of light for a fish tank lid, and across many brands (perhaps not yours) There were literally hundreds of issues where half the strand stoped lighting up from corroded and broken contacts at the cut lines.

1 out of 5 starsDon't like the product
ByMojo-JoeJoe04on May 28, 2018
Color: 5050RGB-10m-600leds-Waterproof kitVerified Purchase
Don't like the product. The sticky backing isn't to strong and in one of the strips the soldering was done wrong causing one of the colors to not light up. I bought 1 two pack and stung it now. Now I just want to take them down. I would return the product but due to I went on vacation and would be gone for a month I won't be able to do it.

1.0 out of 5 starsCheap quality.
ByAmazon Customeron May 7, 2018
Color: 5050RGB-10m-600leds-Waterproof kitVerified Purchase
Cheap product. Solder joint in the strip failed within 2 days. Mounted them in my liquor cabinet and it looked great. Then suddenly only the green channel was working.
The power adapter and LED controller are awkwardly placed in the middle of the power cords leaving almost no way to hide them.

1.0 out of 5 starsBroken right out of the box
ByGary D.on July 12, 2018
Color: 5050RGB-10m-600leds-Waterproof kitVerified Purchase
There appears to be crappy soldering in the strip. The blue channel is broken about 5 ft down the strip. If I twist the area at the open, I can get the blue to function so it must be a bad solder at the led.

1.0 out of 5 starsAvoid this garbage.
ByAmazon Customeron July 14, 2017
Color: 5050RGB-10m-600leds-Waterproof kitVerified Purchase
Don't waste your money, these are total garbage. The leds are bright, but the cheap tape they use doesn't stick, and where the solder connect pieces together come loose. I've had them installed for an hour and had to resort to glueing them into place and now lights are already not working.

I could find many more of these comments but, any ways, yea its a thing.
Happy however its not an issue for you.
But don't assume they are all going to be like that.
If you only use short 3 light sections at a time it dosen't matter any how.

Also many users reported that they weren't waterproof for more then a few days. Maybe in an RC they would never see enough water to matter, but again be aware of it.

I do like the LED's you found on ebay, I ordered a set, not sure what I will use them for but that's a good price.

[ferp420]

I have the black light strip and the white strip the black light makes awsome rock lights and interior lights i painted my skully driver floresent green he lights up nice and bright under black light even in full sun i found them very easy to work with i havent had any sections go out yet in almost 2 years i use both white and black lights in my diy light bars the purple looks awsome haloing the white light

[Jim85IROC]

Originally Posted by AnimalHippie

Hey Jim, you happen to have a picture of your rig lit with those lights?

I haven't gotten them onto the truck yet (I mean, I've only had them for about 10 months...), but Ditchrat has you covered.

Originally Posted by Ditchrat

Anyway here is an even better and brighter way.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/5x-White-CO...EAAOSwRUhY9xZp


They come in lots of shapes and sizes.

Just be aware that these can get real hot, so you need to use aluminum brackets or standoffs to keep them off of your plastic parts. Plus, for rock lights, I don't like them to be too bright, because it can be so bright that the whole area gets washed out, and it can make you "snow blind", which makes everything harder to see. I like a nice bright forward light because I need it to project a long way, but the rock lights I like a little dimmer.

These small COB lights are GREAT for DIY light bars and bumper lights though.

[Ditchrat]

Originally Posted by Jim85IROC

I haven't gotten them onto the truck yet (I mean, I've only had them for about 10 months...), but Ditchrat has you covered.


Just be aware that these can get real hot, so you need to use aluminum brackets or standoffs to keep them off of your plastic parts. Plus, for rock lights, I don't like them to be too bright, because it can be so bright that the whole area gets washed out, and it can make you "snow blind", which makes everything harder to see. I like a nice bright forward light because I need it to project a long way, but the rock lights I like a little dimmer.

These small COB lights are GREAT for DIY light bars and bumper lights though.

I run red for both those reasons on my G6/trail truck. However both good points. Having an one off switch is almost mandatory to use them.

[AnimalHippie]

Thank you guys for all of your responses!

Ditchrat, are those the 3 LED or the cob that you have on yours? That thing is lit up!

I was thinking the 3 LED strips that you cut off the roll would be perfect. One strip per wheel well. I've been looking at the cob style for making a light bar. From what I've read about the cob style can get extremely hot & I rather not have that heat in my fender wells. I've been looking for a small cob like 1"-1 1/2" long to put it on my bumper inside my stinger for protection. No luck yet.

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["MIS-TAKEN"]

Originally Posted by AnimalHippie

Thank you guys for all of your responses!

Ditchrat, are those the 3 LED or the cob that you have on yours? That thing is lit up!

I was thinking the 3 LED strips that you cut off the roll would be perfect. One strip per wheel well. I've been looking at the cob style for making a light bar. From what I've read about the cob style can get extremely hot & I rather not have that heat in my fender wells. I've been looking for a small cob like 1"-1 1/2" long to put it on my bumper inside my stinger for protection. No luck yet.

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That's where you run the resistors to drop the heat load.

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[Jim85IROC]

Originally Posted by "MIS-TAKEN"

That's where you run the resistors to drop the heat load.

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You're better off using a buck converter (i.e. a BEC) instead of piling resistors on. It's more efficient and just as easy to wire in. You can buy adjustable buck converters on ebay for $0.75 each in packs of 5 or 10.

Keep in mind that there's a minimum voltage that those COB LEDs work at, and even at that voltage they can be pretty bright. The only good way to dial back the light is with a PWM signal.

["MIS-TAKEN"]

Originally Posted by Jim85IROC

You're better off using a buck converter (i.e. a BEC) instead of piling resistors on. It's more efficient and just as easy to wire in. You can buy adjustable buck converters on ebay for $0.75 each in packs of 5 or 10.

Keep in mind that there's a minimum voltage that those COB LEDs work at, and even at that voltage they can be pretty bright. The only good way to dial back the light is with a PWM signal.

I use led 20ma current limiters in parallel to get the current i need with out the heat.

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[AnimalHippie]

Just found a company with a really nice product. Flexfire LEDs I talked to a guy there. He said the ultra bright 12v strip would work for what I'm after. It's cuttable every inch. 3 LED per inch. He wasn't sure how they'd do at a lower voltage tho. They are also fully waterproof.

[Hydrocarbon92]

Heat really depends on if they were designed for true 12v or a 14v automotive app. I've used the non-COB strips for years now and they still work fine. I'd recommend the IP67-rated kind with the thick silicone coating or the kind that come bonded to aluminum inside rails. Also note that the common type is 3 LED/segment, which is usually 60 LED per meter. They make less dense 30/m and up to 120/m and higher. The best value tends to be "5050" size LED chips.