2 Led strips of 8m with amplifier have colour variation.

pr1970

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Hi All

I bought 5m 5050 waterproof RGB SMD LED Strip 300 Leds about a year ago and never got round to installing. Then a redesign of our kitchen ceiling meant i actually required 8m of strip so I bought another 5m that looked identical on paper.
I`ve now installed them with a mini amplifier but I`m seeing variation in colour between the two strips. Full Red, Green or Blue is fine but when adjusting to lighter colours there is a difference in colour. For example a lightblue on the first strip because slightly green on the second strip.
Any ideas what could be? Is there likely a variation in led type, or Is it the amplifier .I`m using a mini amplifier like this one.
ultra-slim-mini-portable-rgb-led-strip-amplifier-12v.jpg


Thanks in advance
 
Have attached a couple of (bad) photos of where the two led strips meet.
The first strip is on the left. Actually looks like the second strip is overly bright.
 

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There could be several reasons why they differ.

1), Are you using a 10A power supply minimum as when both strips are on they'll draw around 6-8A total?

2). Are you connecting the Amplifier input to the controller output (ideal) or is it connected to the end of the first strip (far from ideal)?

3). As the LED strips are from different suppliers it could be that they have different characteristics - there are literally thousands of suppliers in the Far East.
The LED strip manufacturers will buy the white 5050 ceramic RGB package from a variety of sources. The 5050 ceramic RGB package suppliers will buy the actual LED die from a variety of suppliers - there's a Red, Green & Blue chip (die) inside each 5050 package - see photo.
Then the LED strip manufacturers can tweak the strip performance by adjusting the 3 black resistors thereby tinting the white when all LED's are on. Sooo many variables!
 

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Thanks for the reply.

I`m using 2 power supplies, one is 12v 5amp and i think the other is 3amp.
I`ve got the one plugged in at the start with the controller and then the other power supply going into the amplifier which is about 5m down the line. Theres around 8m in total of led tape.

Thanks

Paul
 
OK - sounds like you have the Amp input connected to the output of the first strip - not good. Is there any way you can connect the Amp input to the controller output so that the controller output is driving 5m of strip AND the Amp input?
 
OK - sounds like you have the Amp input connected to the output of the first strip - not good. Is there any way you can connect the Amp input to the controller output so that the controller output is driving 5m of strip AND the Amp input?

Sorry hadnt had a chance to check as i didnt have a step ladder to get up to have a look at the leds. Is there any way of checking what is the input/output of the strips. Dont seem to be any visible markings on it.
Also, dont quite understand the second part of your reply, can you explain more.

Thanks
 
Still havent resolved this, I was wondering if the amplifier isnt up to it.

One i have is a mini amplifier and concerned the voltages arnt high enough

it has this spec
Up to 144W power
Own embed control IC chip
Wrong wiring protection
Infinite cascading ability
Competitive price
Output power 144W
Working voltage DC 8-16V
Max output current 3x4A
Working temperature range -30℃~+75℃
Connector type specified strip connector
Dimension 42x13x3 (mm)
Net weight 5.2g

But the larger type of amplifier has these specs

working temperature: -20-60
supply voltage: , 12V-24V
Specify the required voltage on order form
output: 3 channels
connection mode: common anode
external dimension: L114xW65xH25mm
packing size: L122xW85xH42mm
net weight: 110g
gross weight: 135g
static power consumption: <1W
output current: <4A(each channel)
output power: 12V:<144W, 24V:<288W

Worth getting a higher powered amp, although the leds after the amplifier are actually brighter.

Thanks

Paul
 
Both those Amps are rated at the same output power, 4A/channel = 12A total (RG&B channels). 12A total = 144W for a 12V supply. (Watts=Amps x Volts).
I'm not convinced that a different Amp will help. It does sound like you are simply seeing the different characteristics from 2 different LED strip manufacturers.

If you don't want to buy 2 more sections of strip then you made need to resort to 'balancing' one or more of the R G & B channels. This is covered in post#65 of this thread.
 
Is it possible to go the other way and boost red on the other strips? The one strip with the higher red seems to have better color representation... When i chose orange on the controller I actually get orange
 

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