Reddit reviews Zitrades 10PCS LED 5050 RGB Strip Light Connector 4 Conductor 10 mm Wide Strip to Strip Jumper

For anybody that want's to do this but are scared to solder,or just want things easier. They sell connectors for these light strips that get rid of having to solder completely.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00977FHG4/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3A3W1Z0CUSK9T&coliid=I26ROOAIL77ZA4

It is pretty easy to use, it has adhesive backing so it sticks. You can cut it to the length you need. I used These to connect the different strips that I cut. I also got some of This to extend the connectors.

LEDs: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KCHRKD6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

the power supply is really bad for most reviews. I'd suggest getting a laptop charger with multiple connectors, unless someone else knows a better way.

links: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00977FHG4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This, and this

I used this LED strip

The strip is 16 feet long, so i measured out a rectangle for the top of my case, and the front length of the case. I then cut the strip into sections so i could run the cable how i wanted.

I used these adapters to connect each of the sections i made

For the connection from the front left cable to the front right cable, i spliced one of the connectors with some white spare cable i bought, and ran it across the bottom of the case (seen in one of the pictures. Then i mounted everything with 3M mounting tape, which is highly recommended. Let me know if you have other questions, as I made some mistakes which cost me some length of LEDs but was overall not too hard.

Another idea. Need to have the lights far from the power source? Use this cable with these connectors. A slight bit of soldering (use heat shrink tubing around the solder joints) and you're in the game!

The strips usually ends with a cable and a 4pins male connector. But you also need to buy an adapter (look at my first comment ;) ) because also the motherboard got a 4pins male connector. So you need a female to female 4 pins cable. And if you plan to use the strip that you just cutted, than you need this kind of adapters:
https://www.amazon.com/WOWLED-10PCS-Female-Connector-Strip/dp/B01A0B8O24/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1505487537&sr=8-3&keywords=4+pin+cable+led+male


Also I suggest you to buy these connectors since it's pretty difficult sometimes to attach the strip on angles, with these you can just cut the strip in two pieces and connect it with the adapter:
https://www.amazon.com/Zitrades-10PCS-Connector-Conductor-Jumper/dp/B00977FHG4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1505487310&sr=8-4&keywords=led+strip+connector


EDIT: Regarding rainbow effect, that is what I was talking about. The whole led strip will change color continuously but always one color at once.

Plain RGB strip? Just grab these jumpers or these corner connectors and cut the strip on the marks. Clip in the strip and bam, done.

Soldering: The led strip lights can be cut and and you can solder on some wire to make easy corners. I have a strip with whites in it so this is the wiring I ordered with mine. You would want wire for RGB strips (4 line) if you don't have and RGBW strip.

Here's what I would get as a budget option. The products posted are just examples, not necessarily something I would recommend. Just what I came across with a quick search on Amazon. I did something similar in my bedroom by dropping strips into crown molding that I put up about 6" below the ceiling.

LED strip lights, this will let you make 2 lines of them on top of the beam. Lay them out and test them before you tape them down, you may find that you need to mount them on something to give them a little angle to get full coverage. Your just going to have to experiment.

Jumper cables. These will let you cross the bumps in the beam without the lights sticking up and looking ugly, and then turn around to power the 2nd line. Get enough to make all the jumps you need, the turn and a couple extra.

Finally ditch the cotroller they come with. Those IR remotes are all crap and don't work very well. You have to end up standing in just the right spot with the controller pointed just right to make changes. Next I tried a wifi option with an app to control the lights. It worked ok, and being able to set them to turn on and off at certain times was nice. The problem was that it was slow, I found myself not turning them on very often because it would take a minute or two to open the app, wait for it to find the lights and then turn them on and change colors. I ended up with a remote similar to this one that was RF with a color wheel. It's not as precise as the wifi app and doesn't have lots of nifty features, but it's simple and easy.

OP Delivers and sorry for the delay. Thanks to /u/maxwellsearcy for reminding me!

• Dresden electronic ballast (Zigbee)
  
• 50/50 4 Conductor Light Strip Connectors
  
• Phillips Hue Dimmer Switch
  
• Supernight 50/50 24V lights
  
  Now, cut the plugs off one side of the lights and off the power supply. Match the wires up on the Dresden ballast with RGB+ on the LEDs. Carefully strip away the outer shielding on the power supply cord and then strip the tiny wires on the inside of the power supply wire. Put those into the power screw points on the Dresden. Plug it in and test. It should come on a solid color.
  
  Now that you have it working, go into your Hue app and scan for new lights. You will see 2 lights pop up for every Dresden ballast you configure. Once it's done scanning, click them in the app and make sure they flash. One of them will NOT flash and you can safely delete that one.
  
  That's it!

I ordered this LED strip light kit from Amazon:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B016CDCM54/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also ordered these connectors:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00977FHG4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The kit comes with 16' of lights, and you can cut them to the length you need and use the connectors to bind them for working around corners or covering large spaces. Taking into account the space in my marquee that's lost to the speakers, 16' was just enough, but the inverter that comes with the kit can drive more, so you could order an additional strip by itself on the cheap to expand if needed.

Lights: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BY7GMEK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Extension connectors: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00977FHG4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Awesome product, thanks for letting me know it exists.
If you scroll along the "Customers who bought this product also bought" bar on that page you'll find These connectors and they lead on to loads of different options.

Basically you just connect them to a 12V power supply and a controller. You can cut the strips to whatever lengths you need and wire them in series. This guide has a lot more information. The ones that I used are the brighter 5050 RGB LEDs.


If you don't want to mess with ordering the parts separately you can find kits like this one. Also, if you want to cut strips and not have to mess with soldering them together you can get straight connectors like these or connectors like these for any right angles that you need to make.

These look like "dumb" led strips (no onboard electronics). You either need to solder the ends or use one of the solderless connectors. These are for making nice corners: https://www.amazon.com/Connector-JACKYLED-Non-waterproof-Splitter-conductor/dp/B011BD2B5Q/ref=pd_sim_86_24?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B011BD2B5Q&pd_rd_r=YBEV9BRYYGQ25YR29T5C&pd_rd_w=NsgMN&pd_rd_wg=gO6Fc&psc=1&refRID=YBEV9BRYYGQ25YR29T5C and these can be used to join strips https://www.amazon.com/Zitrades-10PCS-Connector-Conductor-Jumper/dp/B00977FHG4/ref=pd_sim_86_28?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00977FHG4&pd_rd_r=YBEV9BRYYGQ25YR29T5C&pd_rd_w=NsgMN&pd_rd_wg=gO6Fc&psc=1&refRID=YBEV9BRYYGQ25YR29T5C

The one's you linked should work. I'd highly suggest connecting each monitor's strip in parallel as well to reduce issues with how much current the strips draw and avoid having some of the LEDs dimmer (the ones at the far end of the strip)

http://www.amazon.com/Zitrades-10PCS-Connector-Conductor-Jumper/dp/B00977FHG4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1436291634&sr=8-4&keywords=light+strip+connector

I think I may heed your advice and get some RGB ones.

As for your comment on soldering, I am a little nervous about that. At least at my newbie status with all of this. Do any of these do the same thing?

EvZ 4 Color 10m RGB Extension Cable Line for LED Strip RGB 5050 3528 Cord 4pin

Zitrades 10PCS LED 5050 RGB Strip Light Connector 4 Conductor 10 mm Wide Strip to Strip Jumper


4PCS 2M 6.56ft 4 Color RGB Extension Cable LED Strip Connector Extension Cable Cord Wire 4 Pin LED Connector for SMD 5050 3528 2835 RGB LED Light Strip ( 4 PCS )