Surround the whole bay,
in light.

See it

Surround, in a real bay.

Two quick clips from our own bay: a full bay surround, and a surround running right alongside a second lighting area. A longer walkthrough video is coming soon.

Good news

You already own most of it.

If you already run SimLight Golf, going surround is mostly just more strip. The current 4-output controller, the 12.5A power supply, and the same SK6812 strip family drive a full surround, so you are mainly adding two more runs (the sides) and a few connectors. Going surround is a free software update: no new license to buy, just the extra hardware to light the rest of your bay.

Check your controller and supply. The current kit (4-output controller, 12.5A supply) drives a full three-run surround. Not sure what you have? Send us a photo.

Step 1

Buy strip to the length you plan to light.

There is really one rule: measure what you want lit, and buy that much strip. Measure across the top of your screen and down each side you want to light, add it up, and buy that many ft of strip. Strip comes in 16.4 ft (5m) rolls at about 18 LEDs per foot, and you cut it to length on the marked lines during install.

• About 18 LEDs per foot. A roll is 300 LEDs and covers about 16.4 ft (5m).
• Cut to fit. Each side is cut from a roll on the copper pads between LEDs. Leftover strip is handy for an extra lighting area later.
• Keep each run under ~500 LEDs (about 27 ft) for the smoothest motion. More on why in the next section.
• The ceiling is 2,000 LEDs total across the whole setup, which is far more than any single lighting area in a bay needs.

Example. A 12 foot wide, 8 foot tall screen, lit on all three sides, is about 12 + 8 + 8 = 28 feet, so two rolls cut into a top and two sides, with a bit of slack. Most surrounds take two rolls; a very small screen may fit one, an oversized wall three. Not sure how many rolls? The quiz works it out from your screen size.

Step 2

Three ways to wire it (and the one thing that changes).

Your screen always has three lit zones: left, top, and right. What changes is how many of the controller's outputs you use to cover them, and that is the one choice that affects how smooth the motion looks. All three ways work, and SimLight shows you the frame rate you will get.

Why it works this way: the controller lights every LED on a run one after another, so the longest single run sets the frame rate of SimLight's effects. Splitting the sides onto separate outputs keeps each run short and fast. Under about 500 LEDs per run stays smooth; a single wrap-around run on a big screen gets long, and slower. You do not have to overthink it: pick the wiring that suits your bay, and let SimLight tell you the frame rate.

Step 3

Connecting strips, and running longer.

Joining strips is solderless. In-line connectors join two strips end to end (to make a run longer) and give you a short jumper lead where you need one. Gapless corner connectors turn the screen corners without a wire jog or any soldering.

The rest of this section is practical guidance, not a lab-tested spec sheet. Every bay is different. Test your own runs, size for your own load, and follow the safety notice at the bottom of this page, as well as the manuals and safety procedures of the physical products you buy.

Most bays never hit any of this: the runs are short and everything just reaches. It only comes up when the controller has to sit across the room, or a strip runs a long way from the power supply.

• Keep the controller near where the strip starts. The data signal is fast and degrades over distance, so the short lead should be the data one. Mount the controller close to the first LED.
• Power wire (the +12V and ground legs): heavier wire for longer or brighter runs. A common rule of thumb is 18 AWG for short runs and 16 AWG (or heavier) once a run passes roughly 20 feet. 12V handles voltage drop far better than 5V, but a long run still drops some. If the far end looks dim or off-color, that is voltage drop talking.
• Data line, when the controller must sit farther away: extend the data wire with a single pair from a length of ethernet cable. Cut the ends off and use one conductor for data and one for ground, connected at both ends. A twisted pair helps keep the signal clean; a very long data run may still need a level shifter or data buffer.

Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only link hardware we've tested or recommend, and the commission doesn't change our recommendations.

Step 4

Power, and where your outlets are.

One supply is usually enough. The 12.5 amp power supply comfortably runs a typical surround (roughly up to 700 to 750 LEDs). SimLight sets a conservative current limit for you based on the parts you confirm, so you are not guessing.

Bigger installs can feed power from both ends of a long, bright run, or add a second supply. If you feed power from two places, there is one thing you must do so the two feeds do not fight each other:

Feeding power from both ends? Split the +12V rail so the two supplies do not push against each other. Cut only the +12V (power) pad near the middle of the strip, and leave the data and ground pads continuous. Keep a common ground everywhere. If that sentence is new to you, that is exactly the kind of thing to run past us first.

Plan around your outlets before you buy. Each supply needs an outlet near where it sits. The tidiest way to reach a far outlet is to keep the power supply near the strip and run a proper mains-rated extension cord from the wall to the supply, so the low-voltage side stays short. Where a 12V run to the strip does get long, that is where heavier 16 AWG wire earns its keep, and where voltage drop shows up. The quiz asks where your outlets are and factors it into the list.

Give the power supply and controller room to breathe, mount them where they will not cook, and follow every manufacturer's manual and rating. See the electrical safety notice below.

Beyond the screen

Light more than the screen.

SimLight can light more than your screen. Add a strip around the hitting mat, along a bar shelf, or behind a TV, and choose what each one shows: mirror the screen, react to shots only, or hold a steady glow. On its own second controller, an area can go further and act like its own mini-screen with the shot effects you pick.

There are two ways to add one:

• On a spare output of your main controller. After a three-side surround, the 4-output controller still has one output free, ready for one more strip.
• On a second WLED controller w/ a second power supply. Add as many as you like; each extra controller drives one whole strip. You set that controller up in the WLED app yourself and SimLight just paints it. Each controller runs independently, so one that is powered off or unplugged never affects the others.

Every extra area gets its own brightness and its own content, so the mat can glow a steady amber while the screen goes wild on a hole-in-one.

Two easy buttons

Not sure what to buy? Don't overthink it.

Answer a few quick questions about your bay and we will help you put together a parts list to start from, with quantities and buy links, plus the frame rate each way of wiring gets.

Rather have a human check it? Send a couple of photos of your screen and where your outlets are, plus a rough sketch or your screen size, to support@simlightgolf.com or drop it in the Discord, and we will help you spec the components. We would rather answer a question up front than have you buy the wrong thing.