Beamswork and TC420 .... Need Help??

[WmTasker]

So I have the Beamswork LED light and I also purchased the TC420 to control it.  I have included a pic of both sides of Strip light. 1st pic is timer side and 2nd pic is plug/switch side. The strip light looks like it has ground as common and the positive is the side that turns on each color.  The TC420 seems to use the positive as the common and controls the LEDs brightness with the Negative.  

 

What I am trying to do:  I would like to just plug the Beamswork power supply into the jack of the TC420, then run outputs to in timer input to control the LEDs. I would like to be able to control both the day mode and the night mode on the Beamswork.  I just want to keep it simple.  

 

1. The power supply for the beamswork is DC15V 6A.  Does it matter whether I plug the power into the jack or hook it up to the terminals?
2. Is there a way to use the timer plug to control the lights?
3. I can turn the switch to have both color lights on or just blue on.  Can I set up the TC420 to control both channels?

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KYELCLC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0197U7R8Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

TC420

[evilc66]

Well, I had written up the comments below, feeling pretty confident that you can do the mod without too much difficulty, but then I took a look at the controller that you bought, and all of that went out the window. The problem is that the controller is set up as a common anode controller. This is where the different strings that you would connect are powered from a common positive voltage source, and then the ground side is switched at the controller. The fixture though, is common cathode, where the ground is common, but the anode (positive) for each is separate. The two aren't compatible.

 

If you find a controller that is common cathode, then what I say below should hold true (which is why I left it)

 

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First up, a warning. Any comments I make on this are assumptions, as I don't have one of these fixtures in my hands to tinker and verify my thoughts. Proceed with caution, and don't blame me if you kill it. It's up to you to check and test my suggestions. If you don't feel comfortable with messing around inside the fixture and potentially killing it, then stop now.

 

I think the trick to making this work is in the 4 diodes on the board next to where the wires are soldered on. Initially I thought they were set up as a full bridge rectifier (to convert AC to DC), but with the way the board is wired, it doesn't make sense. So what I'm thinking is that it acts as a way to power one color or both colors depending on which side power is applied to the diodes. When the switch is flipped to the blue position, the diodes block the voltage to the white string. With the switch the other way, the diodes allow current to flow to both colors.

 

What you would need to do is remove the diodes on both ends of the board. Then, the two white wires that connect to the switch would be the + for the whites and blues separately, with the ground being common. Leave the white and blue wires that run under the board in place. You would end up with three wires coming out of the fixture to the controller (Blue+, White+, Ground). On the controller, just run a small jumper wire between CH1 ground and CH2 ground in addition to connecting the three wires from the fixture.