Yes. On the Rhino RGB system, whip lights, rock lights and halos can all run from one controller. The real question is how much you want that controller to know about the vehicle.
The short answer
A Bluetooth controller is enough for colors, patterns and music. RhinoLink, the controller we built to go further, also takes in the vehicle's turn, brake and reverse signals and switches accessories, all on one controller. If all you want is color, you do not need it.
Can one controller run whip lights and rock lights?
Yes, within one Rhino lighting system. The RGB system includes Diamond RGB rock lights, the Rhino 2.0 and 2.5 Fattie whips and Rhino RGB halos. One controller can control whip lights and rock lights together, along with the halos. For the install itself, see how to wire whips and rock lights to one controller. Rock lights vs. whip lights explains what each kind of light is for.
The Rhino 3.0 whips and the Axion rock lights are RGB+W lights, a separate system that the RGB and RGBW Bluetooth Controller configures on its own. The 3.0 is covered in how the three whips differ. RhinoLink's compatibility list shows which lights RhinoLink itself runs.
When do separate controllers get in the way?
When the vehicle adds signals, accessories and lights you want to treat differently. Until then, a Bluetooth controller plus an add-on board is a sound build, and for many vehicles the right one.
Our own lineup has long worked that way. A Bluetooth controller sets colors and patterns. Turn, brake and reverse come from an add-on board: Connex Lite for whips only, or Connex Pro, which has five output channels with set functions that you assign lights to. Each board has its own inputs and its own install, so a build with vehicle signals is two products to plan, mount and keep track of. RhinoLink is built for that kind of vehicle.
What does one coordinated controller add?
RhinoLink is one controller for the lights, the vehicle's signals and your accessory outputs, set up from one app. It divides the vehicle into five channels, and you name each one after what is bolted to it: Left Whip, Right Whip, Rock Lights, Pod Rings, Halos. Twelve vehicle inputs read signals such as turn, brake and reverse, and each input chooses which channels answer it. Eight relay outputs let the same signal switch an accessory as well. They switch relay coils and do not power a high-current accessory directly.
A Bluetooth controller does what your phone tells it. RhinoLink can also respond to the vehicle, and once it is set up it does that without a phone. The phone is for setup and for controlling the lights by hand. The app is RhinoLED, for iPhone, built around a HUD: a screen of buttons you lay out yourself and name for what they do, such as "Inside Light" or "40 Inch Bar".
We designed the board and wrote the firmware and the app. The reasons for the board and the firmware are in why we design our own circuit boards and what the firmware in a light actually does.
Which lights can share one RhinoLink?
These Rhino RGB lights can share one RhinoLink: Diamond RGB rock lights, Rhino 2.0 whips (1 inch) and 2.5 Fattie whips (1.3 inch), Rhino RGB halos, RGB strip and Rhino pod RGB rings. For Axion rock lights, Rhino 3.0 whips and RGB+W strip, check RhinoLink's compatibility list first. On pods, the ring joins a channel like any other light, but the high-output main beam is not an addressable channel. It can be switched through a correctly installed external relay off a RhinoLink output.
Which controller do you need?
- The RGB and RGBW Bluetooth Controller with Music when color and pattern control is all you need: colors, patterns and music patterns from your phone, using an onboard microphone. It uses the LED Chord app, not RhinoLED. A color-only build does not need RhinoLink.
- Connex Lite when you only need turn signal, brake and reverse on Rhino 2.0 and 2.5 Fattie whips. Connex Pro when you want five output channels with set functions (full-feature, turn-only and pass-through) that you assign lights to. Both are add-ons for a build on a Bluetooth controller, and neither controls Axion rock lights or Rhino 3.0 whips.
- RhinoLink when the vehicle needs named channels, vehicle-signal inputs and relay outputs from one controller and one app.
Still choosing lights as well as a controller? Compare every Rhino controller before you buy.
Do you still need a Connex board with RhinoLink?
Not for turn, brake and reverse. On a RhinoLink build those signals come in on RhinoLink's own inputs.
Where to go next
This is the first post in Building RhinoLink, a behind-the-scenes series on how the controller was built. Next: what is inside the board.
RhinoLink controls auxiliary and accent lighting. It is not a replacement for required factory vehicle lighting. Lighting regulations vary — check local requirements before public-road use.
Price and current availability are shown on the RhinoLink product page.