Attention! This product has been discontinued! If you need a chasing light LED strip, look for DRGB, the digitally controlled RGB LED strips HERE!
For light to chase along an LED strip, each LED, or small group of LEDs, must receive individual instructions from a central controller, specifying when, which color, and how brightly to shine.
In addition to the special controller, each LED or LED group (typically consisting of 3 LEDs) must have its own controller chip on the strip. In other words, the central controller and the individual LED controller chips communicate with each other.
This means the central controller knows how many controller chips it communicates with on the strip, enabling it to send precise instructions to each controller by address. This is the essence of Digital RGB control — the way we digitally create running light effects.
Here is a simpler, more affordable method – naturally, with some compromises.
Let’s explore the solution below!
9-channel, 270-LED, 5-meter running light LED strip and its controller. Technical specifications:
| 72 Watts | nominal consumption LED strip. |
| DC 12V | – power supply voltage. |
| Dimensions: |
12x2mm – maximum diameter 5000mm – total length |
| Color temp.: | red-green-blue |
| This LED lamp contains 270 pieces of 5050 SMD type light-emitting diodes. |
| Warranty: | 2 years, DC 12V stabilized power supply required. Use an LED driver or adapter! |
The essence of this running light LED strip lighting is the integration of 3 conventional RGB LED strips and 3 RGB controllers into one. It’s as if a LED strip were composed by linking the first, second, and third LEDs repeatedly every 3 LEDs. In other words, the LED strip is not 4-wire (RGB + common Anode), but 10-wire (RGBRGBRGB + common Anode).
Therefore, the controller also has a 10-wire output. The three controllers continuously pass the task among themselves in rotation. When the first controller supplies voltage to the lights, the first, fourth, seventh, and every third subsequent triple LED group will light up. Then control passes to the next controller, which causes the 2nd, 5th, 8th, and so on triple LED groups to light up. After that, it transfers to the third. The controller is in charge, so the triple LED groups at positions 3, 6, 9, and so on will light up.
Then the first section of the controller receives the task again. Together, these create a captivating running light effect. Of course, this control sequence can be varied, allowing the light to run backward or even remain fixed if all three controller sections operate simultaneously.
From this, a running light system can be designed that requires no controlling chip for each LED group installed on the strip. And essentially, there is no digital limit to the length of the running light.
With DRGB control, the maximum length is generally limited to 2048 pixels, and while more advanced DRGB controllers can be extended using a Master-Slave system, this 9-color channel solution definitely offers a simpler and more cost-effective implementation.
The length you choose is naturally limited by the controller’s load capacity here as well, just like with traditional RGB LED strips, but as with those, the length can be extended using signal boosters — in this case, three RGB signal boosters simultaneously to cover all 9 color channels.
If the total power consumption exceeds 216 Watts—that is, if we want to operate an LED strip longer than 15 meters (840 LEDs)—the controller can no longer handle the load.
At this point, to support the controller, 3 RGB signal amplifiers with additional power supply need to be added.
The downside of this running light system is that the density of the light effect cannot be adjusted; for example, if the first 3 LEDs are lit, then after skipping 6 LEDs, another 3 light up, and so on. Thus, it’s not possible to set only 3 lights to run along the entire LED strip while keeping all others off, or to have them illuminate in a different color.
Plug the 10-pin connector into the controller so that the + and – markings on both the plug and socket line up (plus to plus, minus to minus). If reversed, it won’t be damaged,
it just won’t make the LED strip light up.
The functions of the remote control buttons are explained in the table below, and are described in text as follows:
- Of the 25 buttons, the top two are ON/OFF buttons for turning the device on and off. If the system is powered off or there is a power outage, it remembers the last used lighting effect and resumes it when switched back on or powered up.
- The third, perhaps most important button is RESET. Pressing this clears all settings and lights up red without any running light.
- The row of buttons on the left provides lighting that matches their colors, allowing us to choose from seven different steady colors.
- If we have chosen a color to illuminate with, but want more than just continuous light, we can press any of the seven buttons mentioned above followed by:
- Pressing button 2 activates the running light effect called ‘waterfall.’
That is, the light moves in one direction with the chosen single color.
- Button 3 does the same, but the light moves in the opposite direction.
- Button 7 produces a stroboscopic flashing effect.
- Button 8 creates a ‘twinkling’ effect, where the light’s brightness gradually dims and brightens.
- Button 1 stops all effects, making the selected color shine continuously.
(green, blue, red, cyan, white, purple, yellow).
- Button 4 creates a running light effect that alternates every three LEDs between all 7 colors.
- Buttons 5 and 6 produce the same waterfall effect as buttons 2 and 3, but instead of a single color, the 7 colors cycle continuously.
- Pressing button 9 lights up all the LEDs simultaneously.
However, every group of 3 LEDs is in a different color, with the colors shifting in a rainbow gradient every 3 LEDs.
- Two allow you to increase or decrease the brightness.
- Two allow you to increase or decrease the speed of the currently running effect.
- The left and right marked buttons switch the direction in which the effect runs.
Connection diagram:
TL;DR – Brief summary
(Open the arrow if you can´t see it!)
The essence of this running light LED strip lighting is that it integrates 3 conventional RGB LED strips and 3 RGB controllers into one, eliminating the need for a controller chip for each group of LEDs installed on the strip.
