smallhousetomanylights Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 i Have about 8000 lights and adding more but have never used a system for synchronizing. I dont want the beginner items because of the number of lights i already have. I had a 4 breaker system installed with 20amp breakers each and still keep tripping breakers. I will be changing to all led bulbs for all my c9 strands. I would like any advice and equipment knowledge anyone may have. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 Do not plan to do this, this year!Start to acquire stuff this year. Need a FM Transmitter, I highly suggest the EDM. I will laugh at you if you get the Whole House, you have been warned. Download the software in demo mode for now. Or buy it and what controllers you can afford during the summer sale. Buy LED strings when they go on sale at the stores or wait till spring and get them when the vendors have their sales. I like CDI for my LEDs.I will say again, most newbies need 10 to 12 hours per minute of songs. And you cant just sit down for 20 minute at a time nor more than a couple of hours. Remember you dont want blood clots, and you mind hits a wall after a bit. This hobby takes a lot of time. Heck this will be my first year with a mega tree and I am in the process of make a 3 color mega strings. And I am seq. a new song still. But I will be done before Oct. And will start putting lights up mid to late Oct. Show starts thanksgiving evening. People on my street will be out for the first showing at 6pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james campbell Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 when you say tripping breakers,is it immediate or take awhile? if your running all c-9 lights then no wonder. and none of this stuff is beginner items. max gave you great advice download the demo and make a plan of how you may want your layout to be. good thing about the demo is once you buy the license all your saved work will now controll lights.watch alot of videos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Maue Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 Also, as far as the number of controllers/channels goes, unless you have all incandescent C9 and C7 (which may be the case if you're popping breakers like that), it's less about how many lights and more about how many individual things you want to control. For example, I have almost 1,000 lights on one channel, as they're all on a big tree. Max is right about the length of time it takes to do the sequencing. I had 64 channels last year (my first year) and I averaged a solid 10-12 hours per minute of music. You'll also want to figure in a good 5-10 hours to draw your layout in the Visualizer. I have 224 channels this year and I probably took 20-30 hours drawing mine and getting it wired up. And do LOTS of reading. Here on the forum. And all the user's manuals for the hardware and the software. They are very well written and will get you most of the way there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 Have to add to what James and Aaron was kind of hinting at. One of the advantages of blinking your lights to music is that overall you draw less current (Power) than an all on static display. But this can be negated if you do a grand finality with an all on. As long as it is only a couple of seconds you might get away with it. But another down fall of blinking your lights. If your lights are not LED, you will see an increase of burnt out bulbs. Hence more mid of the season maintenance of the light strings. Just better overall if you start swapping out to LED lights. Some complain that the lights no longer have that warm glow that they grew up with. I am 54 but prefer the sharper colors and fading is just a matter of learning a new fade curve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utb ghost Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 i started "big" a few years ago - it was a bit of a struggle, but my show was about 64 channels if I recall. But, I had about three songs. It takes me about 8 hours a minute now, and I'm doing about 94-96 channels this year.I have added some music from the "canned" sequences, and just extrapolate them out to my channels, with some of my own tweaks.A note - you will find those standard configurations guides helpful. My conttrollers and wiring I setup without that in mind .......so my standard is my own... Makes it even more challlenging when using any canned sequences, lot of cuts and paste for me. But I like my layout of controllers and wiring relative to my display.I still run incandescent mini lights - and this year going to 96 or so channels, I will have to do the math on the channels to make sure those all on splashes do not fry anything - especially my house!Start slow even if big in display. That three song start for me was almost disappointing - so many lights with so little music.It is a very time consumng hobby - toss in for me archery hunting, college football passion ......a 48 hour 14 day week would help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazy man Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Be carefull when you say want to go big, I started big Last year 2011, I saved for 2 years to get everything I wanted, I bought 12 controllers during the sale and never sequenced a song be for, I went to summer training class summer was September, I did a 20 foot mega tree, arches, 9 mini trees, a Manger, Holdman star, a total of 80,000 lights a mix of new led and incondesents. I did the FM transmitter and Speakers in the yars, I had a 4 man crew working with me for a month and almost missed Christmas, I got help from Mr Holdman on my Sequences or I would still be working on them, I still had to taylor them to my Show which took me three weeks every night for 3-5 hours. One problem with alot of channels is not alot of people do 100 + most work on 64 so not a lot of help out there with what I call mega Shows and when your dealing with 8 to 14 controllers it gets complacated in your sequences, Im a Contractor and I build stuff every day so that part was easy for me, and I had a friend come out and help me put a 250 Amp Electrical Panel up for my show, and yes he is a licensend Electrician, but even after all it was worth it, and this year, Ive added to the show going to 224 channels and RGB, adding LOR Comsic Floods and a bunch of other fun stuff, anyway JUST HAVE FUN WITH WHAT EVER SIZE YOU START WITH, AND HAPPY LIGHTING Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Porter Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Third year 'in', up to 48 channels and I've 'lost' untold hours working on sequences. Hadn't thought about it specifically but the hours/minute ratio seems about right! Couple of things I've learned from this forum.... Video your show so you know what worked(and what didn't!) and buy as much 18 gauge lamp wire with vampire ends as you can find to make your own power cords.I spend my fall Sundays watching football and making up power cords. I never seem to have enough cords when Thanksgiving weekend blind-sides me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 This is my first year out as well. I'll be doing 96 channels this year so jumping in with both feet as such. I did most of the sequencing early on this year so just tweaking things a little here and there at this time. I built two arches using incandescent lights and have a few others in incandescent but most of the display is LED. I'm probably at %90 LED or more. I've got like 33 ext cords but bought a '1000 ft spool of spt1 wire to do the rest. Sure hope its enough otherwise off to the expensive local hardware stores for more for me, at the last minute. Two of the songs I'm doing needed fixtures/props that I've having fabricated. One is done and here, lit up and etc..ready to go. The other three are coming but will only take a few hours to get lights onto them. I'm planning on first lightup the night after Thanksgiving. The only item that I'm not %100 positive on is the megatree. My design is such that I can't test the design till I install it, so that's the major worry for me right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyT Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 dgrant- why can't you test your megatree before you have built the actual fixture? It's enough stress worrying about building the thing, let alone add in now knowing how the sequencing will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Porter Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 dgrant... If you can set up the tree, try laying light strings out on the yard and running sections of your sequence. My neighbors wander over and check out what I'm doing when I set up and run tests for different 'modules'. I set up one of my 12' mega trees last October and the little kids across the way lost their minds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Wish I could but the design is different than most. There is a base support pole which is short. The base ring goes down onto the ground and is staked down. Then the main '15 pole goes on in the middle of course. Guide wires for the main pole to stakes, then guide wires to the base ring. Then 32 strings of lights, 16 one direction, alternating 16 going the other direction. So basically I can't test it out, till I put it up and frankly I don't want to do that as I don't wish to have to take it down till the season is over with and it might look a bit silly up there between now and normal setup time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErnieHorning Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 ... and it might look a bit silly up there between now and normal setup time.I think the neighbors of most of the people on this site are use to seeing Christmas decorations setup at various times of the year. They likely wouldn't think it was out of the norm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Porter Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 I think the neighbors of most of the people on this site are use to seeing Christmas decorations setup at various times of the year. They likely wouldn't think it was out of the norm.I know mine are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyT Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 (edited) Yea, my neighbors pretty much know I'm knee deep into christmas by this time of year for sure.dgrant- then don't sweat what the tree is going to finally end up looking like. It will look like what it ends up being. If it's not perfect, no one is going to know, they will still be blown away by it... I guarantee it. Edited September 14, 2012 by BillyTRichVa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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