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Att'n Newbies- Setup tips and tricks


Jim Hans

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This is great stuff!  Keep the tips and tricks coming.......

 

*** I will stress the tip above about securing your cat 5 cables (stress relief) and add that I secure my cords that plug into the controllers and strings as well.  When, not if, you trip over a cord you don't want to rip out a cat 5 nor unplug a string.... A quick zip tie can save a lot of heartache...

 

NEXT

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This is very helpful stuff guys ! Me being a newbie will be checking in on this topic frequently !!

 

Thanks for all the great info !!

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Get a critter trap NOW - bait it - and relocate ANY caught a long way away.  Those green cables look awfully tasty for some reason on Christmas eve.  Yes, from a real experience!

 

I know some people have another more quick and permanent method - but the neighbors might get concerned.

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  • 2 months later...

Newbie myself this year . I tested my lights before putting them up and just left them plugged in to an extension cord until I finished hanging them . Actually had one strand that would flicker as I moved it . Had extra strands so just put it up and will look at flicker one later . Could save you from getting all done and having strand out that you thought worked . I have really small display so was easy to do for me.

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  • 1 month later...

Another newb here. A few things that I did right:

-test all of the lights before installation

-all fabricated extensions (spt1) were made in 5ft increments (ie. 15, 20, ...)

-found that zip ties are MUCH less expensive at Harbor Freight than the big box stores

-built stands for my controllers that got the connections off of the ground

-used spiral (not split) wrap for cable management

-bought extension cords early

-had an electrician install two 20A circuits to power the show

-bought a refurbished laptop to run the show

-labeled all of the outputs and some of the extensions

Things that could have been better:

-label all of the extensions

-start earlier!

-have a better vision of what I wanted

Hope that this helps someone,

Mike

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  • 1 year later...

Ive always been a huge volt meter fan, but haven't heard many people in the community suggest having one. I had a few vampire plug extension cords go out on me and if I didn't have a volt meter to test the voltage coming out of the controller and then the volts at the end of the extension cord I would have never imagined that a cord laying on the ground working one day without being touched wouldn't work the next day.

Another good item to have is a flashlight that is pose-able. This way you can work on any issues you have during testing or during normal operation without having to take everything apart and go inside or have someone else hold a flashlight.

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4 hours ago, Protege94 said:

Ive always been a huge volt meter fan, but haven't heard many people in the community suggest having one. I had a few vampire plug extension cords go out on me and if I didn't have a volt meter to test the voltage coming out of the controller and then the volts at the end of the extension cord I would have never imagined that a cord laying on the ground working one day without being touched wouldn't work the next day.

Another good item to have is a flashlight that is pose-able. This way you can work on any issues you have during testing or during normal operation without having to take everything apart and go inside or have someone else hold a flashlight.

Oh, its been discussed, but a refresher is also welcome. Just like backing up your sequences.

Edited by dibblejr
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5 hours ago, Protege94 said:

Another good item to have is a flashlight that is pose-able. This way you can work on any issues you have during testing or during normal operation without having to take everything apart and go inside or have someone else hold a flashlight.

Invest 20 bucks or so in a bright, good quality, head or hat-mounted light. 

Or, do it the way I did and buy a couple of cheap ones, and when you finally get frustrated with their shortcomings, THEN go buy one for about 20 bucks.

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7 minutes ago, George Simmons said:

Invest 20 bucks or so in a bright, good quality, head or hat-mounted light. 

Or, do it the way I did and buy a couple of cheap ones, and when you finally get frustrated with their shortcomings, THEN go buy one for about 20 bucks.

My wife got me a what appeared to be very nice spot light for the boat for my birthday last week. Charged it as instructed, even an extra day. I needed it to find a water leak and placed it to help me, 15 mins later I smelled smoke, dang thing had a smoke out! Luckily I was there or no telling what could have happened to the boat, bot shed all my tools.

I almost for got to tell he, doing it now.

 

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  • 1 month later...

Make a big effort to get to know your neighbors and offer to help them out whenever you can, grass, snow, lending of ladders, fixing lights....Manage your show times, set-up/take down and be as considerate as you can to your neighborhood.  As your show grows having everyone on side with your display will keep your annual event very positive.

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  • 1 year later...

vampire plugs and zip wire.  OMFG.  I fought this for a long time... why make cords???  I have hundreds of feet of heavy green extension cords... I have 16 trees in a line on my roof and just made a vamp/zip cord for each, and then zip tied the whole thing together into like a harness... it will take me like 5 minutes to power it next year.  and probbaly weighs 1/10 what 16 ind. 3 wire green cords weigh...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Keep backups of all of your sequences/showfiles on a flash drive or external hard drive to prevent loss of your show in case something happens to your computer.

Edited by {Bryce}
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I am new to LOR but have decorated for years with lots of lights.

Fishing tool box with all lights, zip ties, clips, extra plugs, fuses, tools (side cutters, strippers etc) Just added die electric grease and multimeter. Just so you can grab it and go to the area of trouble or as you set up it’s all there nice and handy. 

spare lights strings. Sometimes it’s just easier to replace and figure out the bad string later. 

Make a repair sequence that you can run during the day that keeps the lights on all the time so you can diagnosis your faulty prop

Or an extra long extension cord to use rather than unplugging from the controler if a light prop goes out

#1 A spouse that supports you in this hobby! LOL She is great.

Edited by ~DOC~
Forgot to add I am Newbie to Lor but not to decorating
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