Hi All
I’m in the UK. Looking for some advise on smart led strips that work with SmartThings
Requirements are
Works with ST
Ability to turn on and off
Ability to apply colour
Cheap to purchase (not £100}
About half meter run x 6 (for a few shelves)
What do I need to look for?
What do I install?
Newbie to this … 
I would buy these for myself, if I was doing shelf lighting:
They are Zigbee and are powered buy a USB power adapter, Although they are usually marketed for TV backlighting, they are widely used for accent lighting. Compatible with Smarthings, and do color as well as different whites (warm, natural, daylight etc…)
The strips can be cut down to size, at specific places on the LED strip. Also the segments can be connected together with 6 pin connectors and wire, such as this:
Edit: The original link I posted to the strip connectors were 12mm, while these strips are 10mm. I’m not finding 10mm 6 pin connectors on Amazon.uk but here is wire that world work…
And I found a page on Aliexpress with 6-pin 10mm connectors:
The important part is that the wires are 6 pin and connectors are 6 pin 10mm, in this case. Good for lighting a few different shelves while hiding the wires out of sight, using a single controller.
I believe the LED Strip limit is 5 meters per controller with this device, but I’m only seeing it sold paired with 2 meter strips.
Shouldn’t be too hard, even for a newbie.
There are 12v options as well, which would be better suited if you wanted particularly bright lighting, but personally, I would go with the 6 pin, or RGB-CCT, as they are known, whether they be 5v or 12v.
Edit: Forgot to mention that being Zigbee, I am assuming you have a SmartThings hub, which will be a prerequisite.
How did you sync with stv2?
Do I need to create a DH? I have the new app not classic. Is that an issue?
The pairing process for this device is unplug in the controller from USB adpater and re-plug 5 times, which puts it into pairing mode, which can be discovered by the ST hub by scanning nearby devices.
I have a 12 volt version of this which uses a generic Zigbee RGBW handler which is in the Smartthings DTH library, and doesn’t require custom code.
I’ve concluded from different reviews that this device is essentially the 12 volt controller version but smaller, and running at 5 volts.
I should have thought to mention that is does require a USB power adapter, which it doesn’t include, as it’s marketed mainly for TV backlight, and uses the USB port of the television.
Here’s a short video, which doesn’t show much, as it relates to Smartthings, but it does show the operation which would be similar.
Gledopto PRO only!
So, the black case is Gledopto Pro?
I hadn’t really paid much attention before you mentioned it, but I looked it up and seems that the Pro version can dim to a lower level.
I’m guess it would be the same with the 5v/USB version. But maybe they didn’t make a white version of the USB controller? I’ve never seen one, anyway.
Edit;
Found a kit with 5 meter option on Aliexpress (ships from China). I’m assuming it would also ship to UK.
It’s zigbee 3.0 device and repeater, and it reports a status back to Smartthings instantly, even if it’s controlled by RF controller. Non Pro have slight delay and do not report instantly when controlled by RF remotes.
RF remotes are useful for kids, or as local controller when Smartthings is down.
Good to know!
Thanks guys
Can you join multiple 2 meter runs together? Or do they all need to be part of the same driver?
I have connected 4 strips (16ft/5m each) together. You just need to have power adapter that is going to supply enough power. On PRO if I remember you can connect 12/24/36/48/54 V adapters up to 5A.
I would say, with the 5 volt/USB, connecting two of them would be fine, and multiple cut segments totaling 4-5 meters would be fine.
Although, depending on how long the 6-pin wires are between segments, I might try to keep it around 4 meters per controller, so two 2 meter segments seems about ideal. The reason being, that with longer lengths of wire between segments you will have some voltage drop, which might affect the performance. The USB adapter (wall charger) amperage, I think would ideally be capable of 3 amps or above to achieve optimal brightness/function, which would also allow for pushing the length limits a bit without stressing the USB adapter too much.
With the larger 12 to 54 volt controller, as Milan describes, I think you could achieve longer runs with the appropriate power supply, although voltage drops can still be an issue, which may require a signal repeater and an additional power supply, which is all doable, although a bit more technical.
Thanks both
Do either of you use the zig bee 3 version? Looks like the cable might be 12mm not 10mm?
I have those zigbee 3.0, PRO and PLUS version. What cable are you talking about?
I’m not sure if the USB version is designated Zigbee 3.0, but as far as the larger controller, as seen in the second video, the led strip that is usually paired with the controller as a kit is 12mm. Although, practically any RGB-CCT strip would work as long as the voltages match the power supply and led strip ratings. The wires for joining aren’t much of an issue either way, as long as they are 6-pin wires (6 wires). A thicker wire will perform better, I personally wouldn’t use any thing above 22 AWG (the lower number the thicker the wire).
Not much of the issue if you are going the kit route, and a great choice.
That kit states that has some connectors in the kit, but it isn’t real clear what they are, as they aren’t depicted, as far as I could tell. But in this case, they are 12mm.
The product image of the LED strip roll doesn’t see to match what you would actually receive, but I’m guessing that is an error.
*The USB/5V version is stated to be 10mm connectors, but the wires should be able to match up, you are correct, but that is assuming you will be using the snap connectors that bite into the wire and strip.
The cable to extend them. In the chat it was said to use 10mm not 12mm with the connectors.
What they are talking is width of led strip. That depends on which one you have
Right, I get the dilemma. The 10mm 6-pin (5V version) is the odd bird in this picture.
Most of the connectors available for 6-pin are assuming 12mm width, and assuming the wire width to be the same, when they are made to snap into the wire.
My are 12mm, and all connectors were just snap-on. Easy to connect
The 12-54v device/kit might be the best route to go, considering the scarcity of the 10mm connectors used with the 5V USB strips.
I’ll eventually end up with a USB controller, and solder the leads, but that’s not something I would advise to anyone not comfortable doing that.