Neon sign dimmers and RGB remotes explained

A dimmer turns a neon sign from one fixed brightness into a light you can set for the moment: bright in a shop window at noon, soft in a bedroom at night, just right for a camera. This guide explains the two dimmers that come with our single-color signs, the controller for color-changing signs, and which part to order if one goes missing.

Every LED sign comes with a dimmer

You do not have to buy a dimmer separately. Every LED neon sign comes with one at no charge, along with the adapter and the mounting kit. When you order, you choose:

• an in-line dimmer, a knob on the power cable, or
• a remote dimmer, a small wireless remote with a receiver on the cable.

Color-changing (RGB) signs come with an RGB controller and touch remote instead.

In-line dimmer or remote dimmer

	In-line dimmer	Remote dimmer
How it works	A rotary knob on the power cable, between the adapter and the sign	A wireless remote and a small receiver between the adapter and the sign
Controls	Brightness, down to a soft night-light glow	On/off and brightness
Best for	Signs you set once and leave, within reach of the cable	Signs hung high, behind a bar, or in a window
Good to know	Nothing to lose, no remote battery to change	Keep the remote somewhere you will find it

Both connect with DC barrel plugs, so they simply plug in between the adapter and the sign. Both are for single-color 12 V LED neon signs; they do not work on RGB signs or glass neon.

If you chose the in-line knob and later wish you had a remote, you can upgrade: the remote dimmer plugs in where the knob was.

How bright should your sign be

There is no single right setting. Start at full brightness, then turn it down until it looks right in the room.

Where	Suggested setting
Shop window by day	Full, so the sign competes with daylight
Bar, restaurant or living room in the evening	Medium to high
Bedroom at night	Low
Nursery night light	Lowest, a soft glow
Photos	A little below full, so the tube keeps its color
Video and streaming	Full or close to full, to avoid flicker on camera

Brightness for cameras

Cameras and eyes see neon differently, and the two goals pull in opposite directions:

• For photos, a sign at full brightness can look washed out or almost white in the middle. Turning it down a little brings back the color.
• For video, many LED dimmers work by switching the light on and off very fast. Your eye does not see it, but a camera can, as moving bands or flicker, and it is usually worse at low dimmer settings. Keeping the sign at or near full brightness and using a slower shutter speed helps.

The best way to find your setting is to take a short test clip with the camera you will use. Our guide to neon signs in photos and video goes into detail.

The RGB controller for color-changing signs

A color-changing sign uses an RGB tube and comes with an RGB controller: a receiver box and a 2.4G wireless touch remote with a color wheel. With it you can:

1. Pick one fixed color from the wheel.
2. Let the sign cycle through colors.
3. Adjust the brightness.

The remote works up to about 100 ft (30 m) from the receiver. If you lose it or it stops working, order the RGB controller with remote as a replacement.

If you mostly want one color, a single-color sign is often the better buy, with a cleaner white and a simpler dimmer. Our guide to neon sign colors explains when RGB is worth it.

Glass neon is different

Real glass neon runs on a high-voltage transformer, not 12 V, so LED dimmers and RGB controllers do not work with it. Glass neon is ordered as dimmable or non-dimmable from the start. See custom glass neon signs.

Timers and smart plugs

You can put any LED sign on a schedule by plugging its adapter into a timer or a smart plug. This switches the whole sign on and off at the outlet.

• In-line dimmer: the knob stays where you set it, so the sign normally comes back at the same brightness.
• Remote dimmer or RGB controller: test once that the sign comes back on by itself after the power is cut. If it waits for the remote, a timer will not turn it on.

A schedule is also an easy way to use less power. Our guide to neon sign energy use shows what a sign costs to run.

Replacement parts

What you need	What to order
A lost or broken remote for a single-color sign	Remote dimmer (remote and receiver)
A simple knob instead of a remote	In-line dimmer
A lost or broken remote for a color-changing sign	RGB controller with remote
A lost or broken adapter	Replacement power adapter, sized to your sign
More distance from the outlet	DC extension cable

For the adapter, tell us your order number, the size of the sign, or send a photo of the old adapter’s label, and we will send the matching wattage. All of these are in our power and control collection.

If the dimmer does not respond

1. Check that every plug is pushed fully home: adapter, dimmer and sign.
2. For a remote, replace the remote’s battery and point it toward the receiver.
3. Try the sign without the dimmer, plugging the adapter straight into the sign. If it lights at full brightness, the dimmer is the part to replace.

For other problems, see troubleshooting LED neon signs. Every LED sign has a 2-year warranty with free repair.