Multiple LED-Wiz Wiring Question

[wxforecaster]

I figured I would do some side tinkering with RGB LEDs prior to constructing a control panel. Granted it's been 10 years since I had electricity/magnetism in college physics, but I do enough tinkering on pinball machines to stay sorta competent.

I had been looking at a great thread here on wiring these up and it makes perfect sense (namely iveshane's graphic near the bottom):
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=87419.0

The questions I have surround the need for 2 LED-Wiz's given my control panel plans.
1.) I assume that I can daisy chain a couple terminal blocks together from a single power supply +5v run?
2.) I assume that I can fork the run a ground from each LED-wiz and tie them into a single ground coming from that same power supply run?
3.) How are most people connecting to a MOLEX power supply run? I see several places that mention getting a cable that runs from the MOLEX that includes a fuse. Where do you purchase these and how do you determine what size fuse should be present?


Now a couple more generic questions:
1.) I found 20 gauge stranded wire for ~10 cents/ft ($10.70 for a 100 ft roll) in assorted colors at Minute Man Electronics. Has anyone found cheaper?
Do
2) I would rather work with the loose LEDs rather than the RGB Drive block sold by GGG. Do most of you use heat shrink tubing over the 4 LED legs to hold the solder joints with the 20 gauge wire or is there another/faster approach to ensure these connections hold up to abuse?

Thanks in advance!
Evan

[HaRuMaN]

I buy wire (granted its #22 awg) for all my control and LED wiring for 4.8 cents / ft.

Long eBay link

You do know that the LEDwiz ouputs power, right?  I ran 11 RGB LED's off each LEDwiz with no external power.

Also, I think tying the grounds together between LEDwiz's is a bad idea.

[wxforecaster]

You do know that the LEDwiz ouputs power, right?  I ran 11 RGB LED's off each LEDwiz with no external power.

Yes, but USB power is maximized at 500mA. If you were to setup an attract mode animation, or use all LEDs simultaneously, you would exceed the maximum power output.

I'm going to assume you don't have all 11 RGBs wired for full RGB as 11x3 = 33 and that's more unputs than the LEDwiz has.

Each LED can draw 60mA (20mA per color), and 60 times 11 LEDs = 660mA (more than supplied by your USB port).

Evan

[HaRuMaN]

Ah, I forgot.  It was 10.  Each wired for full RBG.  (6 buttons, 1 RGB joystick, and 3 admin type buttons).

I have had no issue with attract modes, nor with jukebox mode (all buttons / joysticks dancing to the sound).

Has been up and running for a year or so now.

[DaveMMR]

I'm using 2 LEDwiz units and I can't remember why but I had to run it off the power supply.   I can't say it's a necessity (as HarumaN pointed out), I think it may have had to do with some problem I was having and doing that fixed it.  I wish I documented that problem.

At any rate, I bought a female Molex connector and some wire and made a connector that I just plug in the LEDwiz units to the PS.  I daisy chained the 5V and then the Gnds are wired into the middle two pins (one each).