I will first say that I apparently missed the original Jon (jchuchla) group buy on diychristmas.org, probably because I didn’t know I would be going rgb in 2016.  The original thread discussing the item can be found here and it will explain that it is a tiny PCB used to splice or power tap/inject.  They come in a panel of 50 for $5!

So what would I use it for and do I need it?  That is a tough question honestly and for the price I do not really care, if I can come up with at least one possible use.  Luckily, I do not think it is that difficult to realize that if I have a pixel go out, I have to perform some minor surgery where I cut it out and splice in a good one by using a bunch of solder and heat shrink.  Why a bunch of heat shrink?  Well, to make sure the wires do not touch and cause fuses to pop or fires to start… although I do like a good fire when it is cold.

With this handy (almost incredibly so) item… I can solder all wires through the holes, as mentioned in Jon’s post, and just slide the heat shrink (the adhesive stuff) over it all to seal it all up.  I get that it can be used for power injection as well, but I am going to have to get into a real world use situation before it makes complete sense.  No big deal.  I have already identified a use.

Since I missed the original group buy, I did notice that Chris over at holiday.lighting ordered enough to have some stock in his store.  I left a tab up on my browser and hit F5 every evening until tonight and they showed up as available.  I ordered 4 panels for ~$24 after shipping.  I will put these to use!