Covering, or skipping lights.

[cadcoke5]

I have in mind a design for a fairly large wireframe display. I am new to this, and read over a few pages, hoping to find a good overall guide. I didn't find one, but perhaps someone can suggest a good thread, if there is one. Or perhaps a sticky needs to be started.

Anyway, I see that typically 3/16" or 1/4" steel rod is the most commonly used for the welded frame.

I found a source for both the light strings, and more importantly, the clips to hold the lights onto the frame.
Wire Frame Clips
http://shop.christmas-leds.com/category_v3.aspx?categoryID=386

And they also have clips that have a hollow place to insert a white lamp, to make it a color. So, you can purchase just white lights, and then these clips permit you to change color at will.
Combo Clips for LED 5MM Concave & M6 Mini Lights
http://shop.christmas-leds.com/productinfo_v3.aspx?productid=CC-5MM-CONCAVE

Though, there light strings are up to 10x as expensive as the least expensive on the market. Though I don't know if there are any trade-offs to get that much cheaper price.

What I don't know if it is viable to unplug some lights to skip over lighting some portions of the frame. I suppose it would be possible to cut and solder in a length of wire. But, that is both a lot of work, and would reduce the integrity of your nice waterproof light set.

I have never examined a LED light set. Since the LEDs would be expected to last a lifetime, they may not have any way to unplug a light. I guess taping over them with electrical tape is one option.
Any other suggestions?

-Joe

[Skunberg]

They make black caps that cover the lights. Don't remember who has them off hand.

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[toozie21]

They make black caps that cover the lights. Don't remember who has them off hand.

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Was going to say the same thing, well worth the effort rather than trying to paint them or leaving them dangling.

[MartinMueller2003]

Unplugging incans is not a good thing to do. Some strngs are of the stay-lit variety, others are not. Strings are a balanced environment and unpluging upsets the balance. Not sure why you are not going for pixels. Any color you want in any location etc...

[THurrle]

black out caps
https://aachristmas.com/collections/black-out-caps

[cadcoke5]

Unplugging incans is not a good thing to do. Some strngs are of the stay-lit variety, others are not. Strings are a balanced environment and unpluging upsets the balance. Not sure why you are not going for pixels. Any color you want in any location etc...

I understand the electrical issue with unplugging incandescent lights, since any unplugged/burned out, lights will increase the voltage to the other lights. But, what about LEDs? Is each LED wired in parallel the the voltage source, and have its own resistor? Are individual LEDs unpluggable, or swappable for another color?

And why not Pixels? Cost is a major factor, since the Pixel strings are around 10x the cost of a single color dumb strand. And then you have the cost of the controller. Also, in the case of my design, we very deliberately don't want any of the flashy-light stuff. Though, I can see a potential future use for changing the color scheme.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

-Joe

[MartinMueller2003]

Led strings are wired in series. However, search this forum for the string shortener to see how to cut them. pixels do not mean you have too do flashy effects but the ability to control color is useful. For halloween I do not do flashy but my arches cycle from orange too purple in waves. Yes more expensive, but more versatile as well.