FabianWith Hue Flux, Philips Hue has added a new light strip to its portfolio that can be customised. Accessories such as corner connectors and flexible connectors have been available for purchase since last week. But what about the Hue OmniGlow Lightstrip, the new premium product from Philips Hue?
Officially, this special light strip can only be separated at the designated markings every 12.5 centimetres. Extending it or even installing it individually is not intended. However, with a little craftsmanship and a steady hand, it is still possible, as a user project now proves.
On Reddit, I came across a more than impressive installation of two Hue OmniGlow Lightstrips on a shelf. Two shelves have been fitted with a split Hue OmniGlow Lightstrip at the top and bottom. But how exactly do you do that?
How to separate and reconnect the Hue OmniGlow
There are small solder joints in the immediate vicinity of the markings. To hit these precisely, it is best to open the diffuser with a small knife. Then the light strip must be separated exactly at the solder joint.
There are a total of three wires that need to be reconnected using a soldering iron: data, ground and voltage. Here, the DIY enthusiast encounters a small obstacle, which he solved as follows:
You need to use a twisted pair high speed cable for the data signal. On my first attempt, I had a 3 conductor 18AWG cable in the wall. When I put the cable between the controller and the strip it didn’t work, it would just flicker weird. The data signal must be fairly high speed and the data input on the CSP is sensitive. I pulled cat 6 cable and used one pair as data and ground, one pair for +24V, and one pair for just ground. You can see this in the picture of the soldering on the strip. It worked great once I got a better cable between them. These strips were surprisingly easy to solder compared to the solo light strips because they have 3 pads instead of 6. The solid cat 6 also helped with that.
To get rid of the bulky power supplies with their rather short cables, the hobbyist used his own solution here as well. A simple 24-volt power supply with sufficient power is sufficient here, with the appropriate cabling, of course.
Unfortunately, I personally have absolutely no experience with soldering irons, so I’m staying away from this. If you are more skilled and experienced, you can modify the Hue OmniGlow Lightstrip relatively easily. Just be aware that the manufacturer’s warranty will of course be void if you do this.
Hue OmniGlow Gradient Lightstrip
from $139.99 / €139.99
