Tricking your pop up hub???

[Luckyowen98]

Check these out.

http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=6881

http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=6880

[Uncle Al]

Thanks for the links. I've been struggling with mine, and am ready to toss them in the woodburner.

[sdatver]

Thanks for the links. I've been struggling with mine, and am ready to toss them in the woodburner.

I put led lights in my hub shelter pretty much copying luckyowen's design and even emailed him and got some further advice.  I used the clips you have pictured.  I cut the rubber off of the last 1/8" of the strip and slid that connecter on to the strip.  Then when I attached the lights to the poles I used a generous amount of electrical tape around the light strip and connector and put it on pretty tight.  With the tape on both keeping them in place I haven't had any problems. Maybe this will help.

[Luckyowen98]

sdatver

Awesome man...Hope to see some pics up here soon!  I'm glad this is taking off lol.  There isn't much to do to trick out a hub shelter and this is the one thing I found to do.

[sdatver]

sdatver

Awesome man...Hope to see some pics up here soon!  I'm glad this is taking off lol.  There isn't much to do to trick out a hub shelter and this is the one thing I found to do.

Thanks for your guidance on this one.  I changed things up a bit and used some power cords that I had laying around to connect them in the middle and then in one corner I put a 2 pin connecter and then made a little jumper harness to go from the power box up to the corner when I need the lights.  Didn't have the connector yet when I took the pictures and was using some jumper wires with alligator clips to see if everything worked.

[Luckyowen98]

Nice man!

[Mkroulik]

Sorry to bring up a dead thread but does anyone know how lucky Owen connectected the LED strips to each other?  It looks like he has all the strips connected in the center of the ceiling. I am hoping to do the same. Then I figured I could run wiring down on of the poles to connect a battery.  And help would be appreciated.

Mike

[sdatver]

Sorry to bring up a dead thread but does anyone know how lucky Owen connectected the LED strips to each other?  It looks like he has all the strips connected in the center of the ceiling. I am hoping to do the same. Then I figured I could run wiring down on of the poles to connect a battery.  And help would be appreciated.

Mike

I used some of the stretchy cigarette lighter cords o got on Amazon. Like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B017GBBZVI/ref=mp_s_a_1_25?ie=UTF8&qid=1516226877&sr=8-25&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=cigarette+lighter+power+supply

[Mkroulik]

Thanks, I think I came up with an option. I am going to start them both in the same corner, and make two 7s. The first one will go across the side then across the diagonal roof, the second will go across the other diagonal roof the. Across the other side, which will make like an hour glass pattern, and both ends at the same point.

Mike

[4x4Dad]

This is just a curiosity question . I see the lights are white ? Did you consider Red to preserve your night vision when fishing at night ? Or am I just over thinking the lighting ?

[Mkroulik]

I did think about getting the RGB ones just for the heck of it, but for me it just seemed unnecessary. When I am using them I want it as bright as possible in there. I really would only go outside to pack up and leave so the night vision adjusts quick enough for me.

Mike

[4x4Dad]

I understand . It really does look good being up in the roof instead of a lantern shining in your eyes . With those many LEDs , how long does your battery last ? Seems like a lot of amp draw .

[Mkroulik]

I’m not sure. I’m building a battery box so I’ll let you know.

Mike

[Warren_G]

Just weighing in on the wiring questions, I would avoid using the clips to attach wire to the LED strips, and solder to them instead. I can see the clip being the first cause of failure. As well, if you can solder wires to the LED strips, then attach them to the hub poles with clear tape over the strip and the wire, this should be very durable, and ensure that you dont have wires coming off from opening and closing your hub.

[RyanW]

Just weighing in on the wiring questions, I would avoid using the clips to attach wire to the LED strips, and solder to them instead. I can see the clip being the first cause of failure. As well, if you can solder wires to the LED strips, then attach them to the hub poles with clear tape over the strip and the wire, this should be very durable, and ensure that you dont have wires coming off from opening and closing your hub.

For a hub shack application, soldering is a must. I don’t see how anyone gets these LED strips to function properly with just the clips. I just put some in my hub. I cut the clips off of the barrel jack connectors and soldered directly to the strip then put some heat-shrink over the connection. Then I daisy chained 3 strips together using and old guitar pedal power supply daisy chain. It is important to make sure you don’t have cords extending past the end of your torn-down hub, just for durability and weather resistance sake. I had to shorten my strips to accomadate that. I used electrical tape and zip ties to secure the strips to the ceiling poles but I think I’m going to get some of those Velcro straps used for cable management so my lights can be modular.


For those who are nervous or don’t know, soldering basic things like this is super easy. I got a soldering iron last Christmas and this was the first thing I ever soldered. It was super easy and creates a much much better connection than any clip.

[4x4Dad]

JMHO , but I would think the Velcro is a better application than tape , because if movement is required during fold up or fold down , the Velcro will move easier than tape . Hopefully limiting any damage to the lights .

[RyanW]

That was my exact thought aswell and why I didn’t use a whole bunch of electrical tape. The flexing of the poles will put too much stress on the strips and the strips need a little bit of free movement to counteract the flexing. Zip ties work great but I don’t want to go through a billion of them. I plan on using the same strips for my tent come camping season and using zip ties would just be a waste.

[4x4Dad]

Funny you mentioning summer camping . I was thinking the same thing . Only early spring or early fall . This is one of the reasons I bought a Eskimo shelter . The windows are removable . A guy  already had a seamstress make up a stove jack panel out of welding blanket ( Harbor Freight has them ) that can be velcro'd into the hole of the window . Then he made a tripod type support for the stove pipe about 5 ft. out so you don't get sparks landing on your roof . This way you can operate a small wood stove if you like . I can't stand sleeping in my own sweat in a tent in the summer . Unless of course someone has an idea for portable air conditioning !

Now , on the subject of using our shelters when rain is a possibility , are any shelters ( other than the Polar Bird ) actually waterproof ? If not , I was thinking a 10x10 pop-up canopy over the roof would probably work . Or just bunji a 10x12 tarp over the roof down to the wind strap loops ? A tarp would also be better protection from campfire or stove fire sparks .