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1. For amplifiers, is it better to have a lot of small LED power adapters or one big one?
As I often find myself saying in these TSS's, it really comes down to the project. I can't give you a hard and fast rule that you should always follow, but I can give guidelines that should steer you down the right path! Getting to your question though, the deciding factor for a lot of customers is how many outlets you'll have available for your project. If you have a lot of wall outlets to plug into, then using a small LED power adapter for each amplifier is probably your best option! On the other hand, if outlets are limited, a big and beefy adapter is gonna be your best bet.
2. So you could wire amplifiers to the original power source?
Sure you can! Just make sure of a few things before you run off and put your whole project together. First thing to check, your LED power adapter will need to be able to handle ALL your lights. I know that should be a "duh" statement, but things slip people's minds all the time, so better safe than sorry. Also, since you'll be needing amplifiers, you'll have to make sure that you have the wiring necessary to connect your amplifiers all the way back to your original power source. We don't want you to get everything set up then realize your wiring is a foot short and won't reach back to the LED power adapter!
3. What if I have both High Density and Regular strips together?
You can follow the same rules addressed in part one, 1:1 amplifiers to High Density LED light strips, 1:2 amplifiers to regular density LED light strips. However, if you're using the lights in lengths that are less than sixteen feet at a time or are alternating HD, RD, HD, etc. things can get a bit more complicated. In situations like that trial and error is more effective than a hard rule. So if you're going to be mixing and matching the HD and RD strips then it's better to use amplifiers where you see your strips begin to dim so that you can fine tune your project to you!
4. Do LED light bars need amps?
It may come as a surprise, but yes they do! Well, actually, you're asking about it, so maybe it wasn't a surprise to you...Anywho! It is a much less common concern seeing as the extendable LED light bars are so much shorter than their LED strip light companions. However, just like the strips, they do need amplifiers, one per sixteen light bars! So remember, if you've got that many extendable LED light bars all in the same chain, you'll need an amplifier if you want to keep extending the light chain!
5. If I use more amps than needed will that improve quality?
I like your thinking, and in this case, you're totally correct, more amps than needed will improve quality...a bit. It's actually so little of an improvement you probably wouldn't be able to tell with your human eyes. So we don't recommend using more amps than needed. Just stick to the 1:1 HD ratio and 1:2 RD ratio and you'll be golden.
Thanks for reading this installment of our troubleshooting series, we truly hope it has been helpful. Have a question we haven’t answered yet? contact us at cole@hitlights.com and we’ll do our best to answer it in the next installment. Please remember that our customer service staff (customerservice@hitlights.com) is happy to assist you with any and all of your concerns, questions, and suggestions. If you want to call and talk with us, well that’s just fine too – (225)-304-0408!
The Troubleshooting Series is published on Fridays, please have questions submitted by the Wednesday beforehand if you want it answered in the next installment.
