Philips Hue Lightstrips Hue Extension

[Damian83]

Hi, i have a question about the lightstrip plus extension.
if i need 2 lightstrips, lets say 240cm and 260cm, can i buy 2x 2m lighstrips + 1x 1m extension kit, and split it to 60cm and 40cm? Exactly like with old lightstrips that can be cut and re-used

 

[Arran]

Hi, i have a question about the lightstrip plus extension.
if i need 2 lightstrips, lets say 240cm and 260cm, can i buy 2x 2m lighstrips + 1x 1m extension kit, and split it to 60cm and 40cm? Exactly like with old lightstrips that can be cut and re-used

Not easily. The 2m lightstrip has a 6-conductor socket on the end. The 1m extension has a matching 6 pin plug that fits into it.

So if you cut an extension in two, only one half would have the 6-pin plug. The other half would be useless.

Unless, of course, you want to hack the thing with a soldering iron? Word of warning: I tried that myself and ruined a strip. Had to buy another. Not recommend. Not worth the hassle to save $30

 

[Damian83]

Not easily. The 2m lightstrip has a 6-conductor socket on the end. The 1m extension has a matching 6 pin plug that fits into it.

So if you cut an extension in two, only one half would have the 6-pin plug. The other half would be useless.

Unless, of course, you want to hack the thing with a soldering iron? Word of warning: I tried that myself and ruined a strip. Had to buy another. Not recommend. Not worth the hassle to save $30

problem is im doing all home with philips hue lights, including around 60m of leds. iva calculated that if i cut the dont needed extension and dont re-use it, ill waste 5m... in fact its only 125€ compared to the 4000€ ive spent, but i thought it can be cutted and reconnected like "old" lightstrips

 

[Arran]

problem is im doing all home with philips hue lights, including around 60m of leds. iva calculated that if i cut the dont needed extension and dont re-use it, ill waste 5m... in fact its only 125€ compared to the 4000€ ive spent, but i thought it can be cutted and reconnected like "old" lightstrips

You can solder the cut ends together (like the old lightstrips) but you need to be more careful than I was, I guess.

One other thing to watch: if your'e joining lots of strips together, I read somewhere that the individual LEDs will be dimmer. The total light output will still be the same (800 lumens?) but it will be spread out over the entire length of the strip.

 

[Damian83]

You can solder the cut ends together (like the old lightstrips) but you need to be more careful than I was, I guess.

One other thing to watch: if your'e joining lots of strips together, I read somewhere that the individual LEDs will be dimmer. The total light output will still be the same (800 lumens?) but it will be spread out over the entire length of the strip.

yes ive read about this. my longest strip will be 640cm. hope that even if dimmed, the white light will be enough luminous. of course ill have to manually dim also other strips in order to get same luminance level from all strips. anyway, do u know where is the wi-fi module? on the strip or inside the AC adapter? because ive read the ac adapter can be changed to a more powerful one. but of course only if the wi-fi is on the strip

 

[Arran]

....anyway, do u know where is the wi-fi module? on the strip or inside the AC adapter? because ive read the ac adapter can be changed to a more powerful one. but of course only if the wi-fi is on the strip

Each strip consists of three separate components:

1. An AC adapter with a standard, 2-conductor, barrel socket. Imagine an iPhone ac adapter with a barrel socket in place of the USB socket.
2. A 2-3 meter length of 2-conductor low-voltage cable with a barrel plug at one end and the wifi module hardwired at the other. The wifi module has a miniature 6-conductor ribbon connector on the far end.
3. The strip, itself, which has a miniature 6-conductor ribbon connector on one end, and a larger 6-pin connector at the other.

So, theoretically, the ac adapter can be swapped out, or the low voltage cable could be extended easily. That said, I'm not sure if the wifi circuitry would be powerful enough to drive an extended strip to maximum possible brightness?

So as an experiment last night I attached a spare 1m extender strip to the end of a 2m strip. If what I'd read on the Internet was true, I'd have expected the 2m strip to dim appreciably. It didn't.

Unfortunately all my other strips are firmly stuck down so I couldn't extend the experiment to include longer extensions. It does make me wonder, however, if the system is deliberately over-engineered but brightness expectations are being understated. No chance of customer disappointment that way. Just a pleasant surprise.

 

[Damian83]

old strips have a 12W ac adapter and ive read its enough for just 2m. the new strips have a 24W adapter so i think it can handle 4m at max power. the dimming will begin on strips longer than 4m