LED light strip wiring question

I am wanting to start designing and making my own LED signs but want to do much larger than the small bases you can find on Ebay. I think i have a design that will work, but I need some help from someone with experience wiring in the power connector. I just ordered a couple rolls of lights that can be trimmed to size, Ebay Link Here but I am having a hard time finding a good (affordable) option for powering them once I get them integrated into the bases. I have a little soldering experience so I am not afraid if thats the route I need to go.

Thanks in advance for any assistance anyone can offer!

So all you need is an adequate amperage 12v dc supply.

You should be able to get a Watt/meter number from the seller and back into the needed wattage for the supply. It’ll depend on how many leds you are pushing.

As for affordable, it’s usually pretty easy to find inexpensive 12v power supplies. Heck you probably have one or two laying around the house.

This one is a 2 amp 12v for $5.55. Should power a fair number of leds.

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How many Amps you need depends on the LED type and how many LEDs you want to illuminate at the same time. The link you point to says 3528 and 5050, which are two different things so it’s not clear which ones you’ll be getting. I’m pretty sure you need a driver to make them work, they don’t just turn on when you apply power. Luckily drivers aren’t very expensive. But you might need something like this for those LEDs.

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You don’t need a driver with strips. Strips want a set voltage, drivers are for providing a constant amperage. While drivers are great for when you have a very large installation or a highly variable number of leds that you’re bare-writing your own… with strips like this you can go the far less expensive route of using a constant voltage power supply.

The eBay link says 5050 or 3528.

3528 only require a DC supply like you say, but 5050 are tri-color and require a driver (unless the OP is planning to individually solder each channel). So depending on which the OP bought, he may or may not need one.

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Thanks everyone for your responses…
Sorry that I left out which model I purchased, yes I bought 2 spools of non waterproof model 3528, one red and one blue. I am going to pick up a couple of those $5 power supplies and give it a shot…thanks again!

Pretty sure the 5050 refers to the size, 5.0mm by 5.0mm.

Adafruit.com has a ton of cool LED strips and power supplies along with raspberry pi and arduino if you want to get into programming LED patterns. Their products are also sold at Digi-Key if getting product direct from adafruit is problematic because of COVID-19.

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