Help! Wiring - LED WIZ & Electric ICE Buttons

[Avenger257]

I am in the finally stages of wiring my control panel and, while I have spent 3 hours looking around the GGG website and here, I am still confused.  I am sure the solution is very easy but here are my questions:

1) I have four LED Wiz's... each has about 8 RGB LEDs (24 slots) connected to it (out of the possible 32) for a total of 32 Electric ICE buttons plus the U-Trak LEDs for teh whole control panel.  I have two powered 7 Port USB hubs in the control panel.  I will be connecting 4 U360s, 1 TurboTwist2 Spinner, 1 U-Trak trackball, and 1 IPAC.  Can I also connect the 4 LED WIZ's to the powered USB ports or do I have to bring the dedicated 5V supply from my computer?

2) If I have to bring in the dedicated supply, can I use one wire from the computer and have it run to all four LED Wiz boards? Do I still connect the USB so I can program them? - it appears that some people don't have them connected by USB???

3) Just to make sure I am correct... each RGB drive (the LED board) has four wires.  The red ones all go to the "ground" on the LED Wiz board (I will use a Euro block to connect all of them) and the the remaining three wires from each cable goes into one slot each (1-3 for example) on the LED Wiz.  Aside from bringing in the power cable (5V) to the LED Wiz, is there anything else I would need to do?

I apologize for what may seem to be asking questions about stuff that may have already been asked but I am very confused about the difference between amps, volts, etc etc and I would like to obviously do this well so I don't destroy my equipment or burn down my house!  All of the warnings have me freaked out!

Thanks for you anticipated help!

[Franco B]

1) I'm not sure how much power you can pull from the hubs. Each of your LED Wiz's can potentially draw 480mA using 8 RGBs so to be on the safe side I would run a 5v supply. It won't hurt to power them but it will stop you from having any power problems with the LED Wiz'z or other USB devices.

2) Yes you can run one 5v feed from your PSU to supply your LED Wiz's, either in series or in parallel from a linked terminal strip or bus bar. Yes you still need the USB cable attached. The cable wants to be attached to the +5v terminal. You also take power from this terminal to power the LEDs 

3) I haven't got a board to look at but looking at the image on GGGs website I would say 1-3 go to the numbered terminals on your LED Wiz and the other will go to the +5v. The ground is used for connecting the external ground to your PSU. You will also want to install a fuse on the 5v line before it reaches each LED Wiz. I would power the LED Wiz's in parallel from a bus bar etc and use a =>0.5A fuse for each LED Wiz.

Apologies if I haven't explained it very well. If you are struggling I can draw you some diagrams if they would help.

[Dr Zero]

You can get some USB hubs also that  are powered themselves to keep the load off of the port they are plugged into.


Here are a couple of examples

http://www.amazon.com/Hi-Speed-Port-USB-Power-Adapter/dp/B000Y8EXSS/ref=sr_1_39?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1251733826&sr=1-39

http://www.amazon.com/Port-LED-Light-High-Speed/dp/B001AATTD8/ref=sr_1_77?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1251733865&sr=1-77

http://www.amazon.com/Port-LED-Light-High-Speed/dp/B001AATTD8/ref=sr_1_77?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1251733865&sr=1-77

[Franco B]

Yeah he stated that he already has some powered hubs. I'm just not sure how much current you can pull from them. I had a look at those examples you posted but I can't see anything about power ratings.

I would imagine if the hubs provide at least 1.5-2 amps then you should be ok without the 5v feed. 

[Endaar]

I've got 3 LED-Wiz boards connected to a single, powered USB 2.0 hub, and they seem to have plenty of current. They actually work without the hub plugged-in, but are noticeably dimmer.

[Avenger257]

Thank you very much for your quick replies... man I love this site!  I am really excited to get this part finished!

[Avenger257]

I received a message containing the following text:

"hey I was just wondering how the rgb buttons worked out for you! I just read your post about supplying power to them and was interested if you ended up taping into your power supply or not. I am about to embark on my own project and want to figure out if I can just use powered usb hubs or the power supply."

I wanted to reply to this here just in case anyone else wanted to know...

I decided to just use the powered USBs that I have at this point (there are two USB hubs with several things plugged into them).  All of the lights seem to work fine (4 LED Wiz's with 32 rgb buttons and a U-trak).  I have used LEDBlinky and all of the buttons are mapped and seem to be more than bright enough.  At this point the only problem that I am having is very weak color with the U-Trak.  For example, the trackball does not "do" white and instead it looks like a faint pink.  I am hoping/assuming that this is due to a lack of power because I can not see any other reason for it.  Let me know if you have any other questions...

[arzoo]

At this point the only problem that I am having is very weak color with the U-Trak.  For example, the trackball does not "do" white and instead it looks like a faint pink.  I am hoping/assuming that this is due to a lack of power because I can not see any other reason for it.  Let me know if you have any other questions...

Seems odd that just the utrak leds are dim. Have you tried unplugging all the devices from the hub except the one LEDWiz wired to the utrak? You could also disconnect some of the EE RGBs from that LEDWiz and see if the utrak LEDs are brighter - if so, then you'll need to add the addition 5v power to that controller. I'm not sure how many LEDs the utrak uses - are they all wired correctly? Using the LEDBlinky InputMap app, you can light each individual port - are all three colors dim?

[Avenger257]

You are right... I unplugged them as you suggested (I can't believe I didn't think of that in the first place) and the color remained the same.  As I've said it appears to be a deep pink (if that makes sense).  I have gone into LEDBlinky and increased the levels of the different colors.  The blue and red come in as very rich colors.  The green is a light (almost yellow color), not faint but not a "rich" link the greens of my buttons.  Its almost fluorescent green if that makes sense.  I am not sure what to do about that???  Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[arzoo]

You are right... I unplugged them as you suggested (I can't believe I didn't think of that in the first place) and the color remained the same.  As I've said it appears to be a deep pink (if that makes sense).  I have gone into LEDBlinky and increased the levels of the different colors.  The blue and red come in as very rich colors.  The green is a light (almost yellow color), not faint but not a "rich" link the greens of my buttons.  Its almost fluorescent green if that makes sense.  I am not sure what to do about that???  Any help would be greatly appreciated!

It's possible that you have a bad RGB in the utrak. You may want to contact Andy (Ultimarc) - he provides great customer support for his products.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I would hook them up to the computer's power supply.



D

[Avenger257]

I would hook them up to the computer's power supply.



D

First thank you... I am definitely going to do this!  Second, and I know this sounds strange... I feel honored that Arzoo & Delusional29 responded to my questions... yes, I know, weird... but I have on this site for months... working and planning... I watched all of the videos you made (bought the joystick you recommended) etc and there is something kind of cool getting a response from you guys... makes me feel kind of like I made it... when I get my camera I will post some photos of my completed control panel modeled after yours (arcade body will be next).... not a stalker  just really appreciative

[DeLuSioNal29]

I sure don't feel like any type of celeb... LOL.  But thanks!  I just love helping people with this wonderful hobby.  I'm sure everyone else feels the same.

But I know what you mean.  It's kind of like when I first started and was dialoging with Knieval about his arcade.  http://www.knievelkustoms.com/  I couldn't believe he actually responded to my e-mails at first. 

Although I will say... every single person that I've met in person through arcade transactions (buying or selling cabs, etc) that are complete strangers at first end up becoming friends.  There is something about this hobby that keeps us all together.

DeLuSioNaL

[arzoo]

Although I will say... every single person that I've met in person through arcade transactions (buying or selling cabs, etc) that are complete strangers at first end up becoming friends.  There is something about this hobby that keeps us all together.

Well said 

[Endaar]

I think the color on the U-Track is just not going to be as bright as whatever buttons you are using. It is after all pushing light through a 3" translucent ball. Mine looks exactly as you describe.