ColorMaker has been designing wireless LED fixtures since 1999. After years of research and development we produced our first model called DCR-54 which was a simple 8 channel RGB controlled fixture. This was the first wireless LED system one the market and ColorMaker was formed. Our main goal was to develop new technology that would always we forward compatible. In other words the remote you purchase today will be compatible with the next generation fixtures. Our PX series reflects the advances and dedication we have for the wireless, battery powered LED lighting industry.

ColorMaker sells directly to the end customer. We dont use a dealer network to sell to the masses. You will get one-on-one attention from the start with the best price we can offer for the quality. We also don't accept credit cards as we would have to raise the cost of each item by 4% to cover processing fees. We maintain moderate stock on all items and can ship most products within 24 hours.

We have seen many wireless LED lighting products come on the market and then disappear over night leaving many customers without a serviceable product. It seems like every new wireless LED fixture that appears on the market was designed and manufactured by an Event Production Company. These companies collect parts from China and call it there own. They use low quality LED's, batteries and radio modules and tell everyone they have re-invented event lighting. Before you buy research the company and there technical ability to produce a quality product.

If you plan to make the investment and purchase a wireless LED system please read some of the comments we have posted below.

Service

Before you buy research the company and ask were there products are manufactured. Call there technical line after hours to see if they answer or you get an answering machine, do they call back when you need them most ? Most events are after 5PM so 9-5 just will not work. Where is the product serviced ? Dealer and distributors of foreign made products could be difficult to get serviced.

Wireless

Wireless is a term many manufacturers use to express "no wires" be sure its an RF(radio frequency) and not IR (infra red) which uses a light beam and usually mean less then 10 foot range and requires line of sight to control.

If you have already looked into wireless RF LED technology then you are familiar with the terms Wifi , W-DMX and/or a combination of these terms. These technologies are fair and most operate on 2.4 GHz. radio band. A few years ago they were fine but now everything from wireless Mics, speakers and hotel internet routers use these bands and if a cheep radio was used in the LED fixture then you can forget using them around these devices. ColorMaker uses 916 MHz and its not a very popular frequency so there is no interference. The 916 MHz will go through wall more effectively than 2.4Ghz.

Do you need a portable hand held remote ? Most controllers on the market require a device to generate a DMX signal so you will have to purchase an expensive console to control the fixtures.

FCC (Federal Communications commission) has been enforcing the compliance rules so be sure to ask if the products are FCC certified.

LED's

Colors

LED (light emitting Diode) and RGB (red, green and blue) are popular abbreviations. Well from a designer / manufacturer point of view blue is not always blue. There is a large variation from 465nm-475nm where 465 is teal and 475 is dark blue. Most manufacturers don't care and will not bin these variations in there production so its a pot luck if you buy more than 1 fixture that they will match. This is also true for red and green. ColorMaker bins the LED's we use in our fixtures and keeps track of customer purchases so we can match the bin colors used in previous purchases. We maintain color bins for each series fixture.

Intensity

LED's have a focal point or viewing angle. These viewing angles can vary from 15 degrees to 120 degrees. The narrow 15 degree will put a round dot on the wall at 10 feet and is not good for wall washing. The 120 degree has a wide spread which is great for color mixing. Power and viewing angle should be a big consideration in your decision to buy an LED fixture to best suite your needs. If you want a wall washer you will need 60 degrees beam or higher for good coverage and color mixing. Beware of the companies that want to sell you a glue on lens to convert the 15 degree to a wash fixture, they don't work.

ColorMaker offers 30 degree (spot) or 60 degree (flood) for each model fixture.

Battery Power

This is the heart of the fixture and without power it will not work. There are numerous battery chemistries from SLA (sealed lead acid ) , Nimh (nickel metal hydride) Li-ion (lithium ion) usually the more they cost the lighter they get. SLA is the most cost effective and replacement batteries are relatively cheep. If you follow the manufacturers maintenance procedures on the battery they will last 150 charge cycles. Nimh has been around for a decade or more and are very robust and reliable. SLA and Nimh are good choices just be sure you use a quality charger.

Lithium-ion is a very expensive but very light battery. There are many issues with this chemistry including transportation. If you plan to use your LED fixture as a rental item you will need to discuss this with your transportation service as there are limitations.

There are many levels of quality when it comes to Li-ion batteries. The best quality are more often out of the price range for most high power LED fixtures so do your research and ask about warranty.

If the LED fixture has an internal battery check to see how easy they are to change and if its a custom battery which will require you to purchase replacements directly from the manufacturer.

Fixture run time

There are many interpretations of run time. Most manufacturers design around an 8 hour run time at full RGB. Be sure to research this run time as some manufactures have extended run time features that will limit the fixtures output to get the 8 hours. Fixtures that use an external battery are usually 12 or 24 volts and have a AH (amp hour) rating. This rating can be used to calculate the run time. We will use our D1210 on our PX250 fixture for example. The D1210 has 10 AH rating and the fixture draws 1 amp at full RGB which will give you 10 hours before the battery is empty.

I hope this has been informative and will assist you in your decision to purchase wireless LED technology. We have tested most of the fixtures on the market and would be happy to share our thoughts with anyone that would like to compare our technology to other products on the market.