Difference between revisions of "Jumbo Tree Ornaments"
ErnieHorning (talk | contribs) (Refined the introductory wording, clarified that the wiring follows the Ren48LSD pinout while noting that other RGB controllers can be used with appropriate wiring, and added a brief note that the construction techniques are equally applicable to modern pixel-based lighting.) |
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| − | One year I wanted to | + | One year I wanted to add large RGB LED ornaments to a tree, but all of the commercial products I found were made from opaque plastic and weren't nearly large enough. So I built my own that could plug directly into a Ren48LSD controller. |
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'''Materials''' | '''Materials''' | ||
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:* Dumb RGB strips (the roll kind) | :* Dumb RGB strips (the roll kind) | ||
:* An RJ45 breakout board | :* An RJ45 breakout board | ||
| + | |||
'''Shapes & Assembly''' | '''Shapes & Assembly''' | ||
I Googled "3D geometric shapes" and found plenty of examples, some I could print out and cut out of coroplast, then hot glue together. For example, here's a cube that's one piece of corplast; scored, folded and glued together it made for a nice box for testing the concept. | I Googled "3D geometric shapes" and found plenty of examples, some I could print out and cut out of coroplast, then hot glue together. For example, here's a cube that's one piece of corplast; scored, folded and glued together it made for a nice box for testing the concept. | ||
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[[File:DSCI0454.JPG|250px]] [[File:DSCI0460.JPG|250px]] [[File:DSCI0458.JPG|250px]] | [[File:DSCI0454.JPG|250px]] [[File:DSCI0460.JPG|250px]] [[File:DSCI0458.JPG|250px]] | ||
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Since all I had was scrap coroplast and no really large pieces, most of the shapes required cutting out individual pieces for a shape and hot gluing them together at the seams. It was a tedious process but it worked -- and I got rid of a lot of loose pieces of coroplast that weren't much good for anything, such as these two: | Since all I had was scrap coroplast and no really large pieces, most of the shapes required cutting out individual pieces for a shape and hot gluing them together at the seams. It was a tedious process but it worked -- and I got rid of a lot of loose pieces of coroplast that weren't much good for anything, such as these two: | ||
| + | |||
[[File:DSCI0468.JPG|250px]] [[File:DSCI0653.JPG|250px]] | [[File:DSCI0468.JPG|250px]] [[File:DSCI0653.JPG|250px]] | ||
| − | For illumination, four short RGB strips were zip-tied to a 6" piece of PVC. The connection wires were then brought together and soldered to a home-etched RJ45 breakout board; +5v to pin 1, reds to pin2, greens to pin 4 and blues to pin 6, following the Ren48LSD's output | + | |
| + | For illumination, four short RGB strips were zip-tied to a 6" piece of PVC. The connection wires were then brought together and soldered to a home-etched RJ45 breakout board; +5v to pin 1, reds to pin2, greens to pin 4 and blues to pin 6, following the Ren48LSD output pinout. If you're using a different RGB controller, simply wire the strips to match your controller's output connections. The extra wire was simply coiled around the pipe, allowing for plenty of adjustments afterward. | ||
| + | |||
[[File:1-led strips.JPG|250px]] [[File:2-rj45 adapters.JPG|250px]] [[File:3-ready to glue.JPG|250px]] | [[File:1-led strips.JPG|250px]] [[File:2-rj45 adapters.JPG|250px]] [[File:3-ready to glue.JPG|250px]] | ||
| + | |||
Then the PVC was simply hot-glued to the bottom of the nearly-completed ornament and allowed to set up. A square hole would be cut into the ornament's last panel and the RJ45 jack hot glued to it from the inside, making for a highly water-resistant design. | Then the PVC was simply hot-glued to the bottom of the nearly-completed ornament and allowed to set up. A square hole would be cut into the ornament's last panel and the RJ45 jack hot glued to it from the inside, making for a highly water-resistant design. | ||
| + | |||
[[File:4-glued in.JPG|center|500px]] | [[File:4-glued in.JPG|center|500px]] | ||
| + | |||
Five basic shapes were made; some shapes were duplicated. | Five basic shapes were made; some shapes were duplicated. | ||
| + | |||
[[File:DSCI0655.JPG|center|500px]] | [[File:DSCI0655.JPG|center|500px]] | ||
| − | Some reflective stickers were added to the sides to provide more interest and also reflect other lights when the ornaments were not lit. The ornaments were very light weight and were suspended in the tree by the cat5 | + | |
| + | Some reflective stickers were added to the sides to provide more interest and also reflect other lights when the ornaments were not lit. The ornaments were very light weight and were suspended in the tree by the cat5 power wires! | ||
| + | |||
[[File:DSCI0966.JPG|center|500px]] | [[File:DSCI0966.JPG|center|500px]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | :Today, individually addressable pixel strings can also be used to illuminate similar ornaments, but the construction techniques described here work equally well with many different lighting technologies. | ||
Latest revision as of 09:47, 21 July 2026
One year I wanted to add large RGB LED ornaments to a tree, but all of the commercial products I found were made from opaque plastic and weren't nearly large enough. So I built my own that could plug directly into a Ren48LSD controller.
Materials
- Coroplast
- Hot glue
- Short 6" pieces of PVC
- Dumb RGB strips (the roll kind)
- An RJ45 breakout board
Shapes & Assembly
I Googled "3D geometric shapes" and found plenty of examples, some I could print out and cut out of coroplast, then hot glue together. For example, here's a cube that's one piece of corplast; scored, folded and glued together it made for a nice box for testing the concept.
Since all I had was scrap coroplast and no really large pieces, most of the shapes required cutting out individual pieces for a shape and hot gluing them together at the seams. It was a tedious process but it worked -- and I got rid of a lot of loose pieces of coroplast that weren't much good for anything, such as these two:
For illumination, four short RGB strips were zip-tied to a 6" piece of PVC. The connection wires were then brought together and soldered to a home-etched RJ45 breakout board; +5v to pin 1, reds to pin2, greens to pin 4 and blues to pin 6, following the Ren48LSD output pinout. If you're using a different RGB controller, simply wire the strips to match your controller's output connections. The extra wire was simply coiled around the pipe, allowing for plenty of adjustments afterward.
Then the PVC was simply hot-glued to the bottom of the nearly-completed ornament and allowed to set up. A square hole would be cut into the ornament's last panel and the RJ45 jack hot glued to it from the inside, making for a highly water-resistant design.
Five basic shapes were made; some shapes were duplicated.
Some reflective stickers were added to the sides to provide more interest and also reflect other lights when the ornaments were not lit. The ornaments were very light weight and were suspended in the tree by the cat5 power wires!
- Today, individually addressable pixel strings can also be used to illuminate similar ornaments, but the construction techniques described here work equally well with many different lighting technologies.