My custom LED ribbon light kit is coming along. I used it gaffing on a Steven David Productions show in September, "American Speed", a mini-series about NASCAR.
I love LED ribbon. It is possible to add light in places that would have been difficult before. It is great for the inside of cars.
My kit has been a work in progress. I started over a year ago. My motivation was a couple jobs using LED ribbon that did not go a quickly or trouble-free as I would like. The biggest problems I found are time-consuming, unreliable connectors.
Anything that is not quick or reliable makes me look bad.
My kit is 24 volt bi-color ribbon. It has an excellent CRI of 95 in tungsten and daylight. I use simple electric connectors; the water-proof LED type, which just push together. (These come with fastening nuts, which I don't use and discard.) I put together my own flicker-free dimmers; 2-channel PWM. I also put together a couple 12 to 24 VDC transformers for car use, which plug into a lighter outlet.
This scene is almost completely lit with LED ribbon:
I have hoped to find a reliable quick-connectors for LED ribbon. I have yet to find any. Unfortunately, the best way to get power directly to the LED ribbon is to solder it. It takes skill to do it. There are some excellent videos on line demonstrating how to solder leads to LED ribbon.
 |
| Some components of my LED kit |
I love LED ribbon. It is possible to add light in places that would have been difficult before. It is great for the inside of cars.
My kit has been a work in progress. I started over a year ago. My motivation was a couple jobs using LED ribbon that did not go a quickly or trouble-free as I would like. The biggest problems I found are time-consuming, unreliable connectors.
Anything that is not quick or reliable makes me look bad.
My kit is 24 volt bi-color ribbon. It has an excellent CRI of 95 in tungsten and daylight. I use simple electric connectors; the water-proof LED type, which just push together. (These come with fastening nuts, which I don't use and discard.) I put together my own flicker-free dimmers; 2-channel PWM. I also put together a couple 12 to 24 VDC transformers for car use, which plug into a lighter outlet.
This scene is almost completely lit with LED ribbon:
 |
| iPhone picture of a monitor |
I have hoped to find a reliable quick-connectors for LED ribbon. I have yet to find any. Unfortunately, the best way to get power directly to the LED ribbon is to solder it. It takes skill to do it. There are some excellent videos on line demonstrating how to solder leads to LED ribbon.