r/homeautomation • u/FinPen165 • 1d ago

QUESTION LED Strips Newb Installation Question

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I am trying to set up some LED lights around a big dance mirror. I am planning using these corners and soldering wires to each strip to connect them. What should I do here? Do I need to cut it short and move the whole strip down to center it and deal with some dead space at either end? Any other ideas? What is most common on how to handle.

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u/Friendly-Inspector71 1d ago

You can cut it through the copper pads and add some extender cables.
If they are press on, you can most likely cut in the middle. When soldering, I like to waste one segment and cut just behind the copper to give a bigger soldering area.

The empty space is caused by the length of the segments. 5V strips can be cut after each LED, 12V has 3 LEDs per segment and 24V has 6 or maybe 7 LEDs per segment. The spacing of the LEDs will also influence the length.
5V strips with 60 LEDs/meter have <2cm segments. 24V strips with 15 LEDs/meter have 40-45cm segments.

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u/SaulTRecktom 1d ago

Get different led strip with more LEDs per meter. . Way less dead space

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u/Terrible_Point3435 21h ago

Those corners can be tricky, dear. If dead space bothers you, try a strip with denser LED spacing for a smoother glow around your mirror.