RHL Pixel Extender & POE - Transmitter Board

Power over Ethernet is the ideal way to drive pixel string. One wire to the string for both power and control. Pixel strips/strings are spread across your yard and on the house, and running a single Ethernet cable for both power and control is very attractive. I would generally limit this to 5Vdc smart strings of 50 pixels or less for the following reasons. The 5Vdc pixels pull much less power/current than 12Vdc strings. The lower current allows the cable to go further. And finally, you can drive more pixels off a single power supply at 5Vdc. The table below provides an example of how much current is required for different injected voltages for 5V/12V strings (assuming 90% efficiency on DC/DC converter).