Guest guest Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 timj wrote: It seems this one is much cheaper than the Showtime one (I bought a Showtime one last year and am looking to pick up another 16 channel one). How hard is it to install the board and power cords?http://www.lightorama.com/Documents/CTB16PC_Man_Web.pdfCheck out the instructions. Should give you a real good idea if you can do this project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 Not very hard.You can buy an encloseur form LOR or goto Lowes and get a orbitz sprinkler box enclosure and HACK IT!!depending on what type of cord you will use its depends on the cost. you can buy the Lor cords or go find your own Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 A cave man can do it..........:laughing: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 timj wrote: You have to put the board in the box and install all the power cords.It seems this one is much cheaper than the Showtime one (I bought a Showtime one last year and am looking to pick up another 16 channel one). How hard is it to install the board and power cords?Tim,One option: wait until the offical sale starts and see how much the showtime controller is compared to the kit. This Early Bird Sale is good through the end of the regular sale.In the mean time read what PCers are saying about putting the kits together. One thing I try to do is judge the persons ability to my own. I want a controller that works well and is dependable. So, I have to judge if I can put together one of the kits the right way or not.Good luck!Michael B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 So far I've found the PC kit easier to put together(stuff parts/solder)than the D version. It may be because I did 4 D kits last year. It just seems to be going much faster... I've got 1 98% done in about 65 min. It's kind of hard to keep track of time when I have only had 15-20 min blocks of time to work on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 roadnut wrote: Currently, it's taken me about 1 hr 20 min to get approximately 2/3 of the way done. Now, I have virtually no experience doing anything like this, and in fact I only ordered 1 complete package just to make sure I can actually do this. While the directions aren't that bad, there are some terms I'm not completely familiar with. However, everything is pretty straight forward. My biggest suggestion - when looking at the instruction booklet, always look at the next page before working on the current step. There were a few times when a question I had was answered as I turned the page!OK, after dropping a hammer on my head on another project I was doing (it's a long story)...(ah, no it's not. I was putting a 2nd roof on my shed - had put the hammer on top of the ladder and forgot it was there. Went to move the ladder, and the hammer bounced right off the top of my head. Got 2 egg-sized bumps and a nice little gash. No ER...no stitches...but ohhh did it hurt!)After recovering from that, I went back to finish my kit...only took barely another 20 minutes, so for a complete amateur, it took me about 1h40m to complete. I took my time - didn't rush, was confused a few times, but in the end I think it looks good. I haven't tested it yet and assigned the code via the LOR software, but I did plug it in and got the 2 flashes per second I was expecting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 roadnut wrote: OK, after dropping a hammer on my head on another project I was doing (it's a long story)...(ah, no it's not. I was putting a 2nd roof on my shed - had put the hammer on top of the ladder and forgot it was there. Went to move the ladder, and the hammer bounced right off the top of my head. Got 2 egg-sized bumps and a nice little gash. No ER...no stitches...but ohhh did it hurt!)After recovering from that, I went back to finish my kit...only took barely another 20 minutes, so for a complete amateur, it took me about 1h40m to complete. I took my time - didn't rush, was confused a few times, but in the end I think it looks good. I haven't tested it yet and assigned the code via the LOR software, but I did plug it in and got the 2 flashes per second I was expecting.Jeff,Your hammer story made me laugh. I did something stupid, too. :shock: Here is a thread about me hanging lights on a metal roof barefoot with lots of dew!http://planetchristmas.mywowbb.com/forum13/11493.htmlMy story is dumber.Thanks for the information on assembling your controller. Are you going to order more?I will stop laughing about the hammer by the time I go to bed. :laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:Michael B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 I remember reading your thread back when you originally wrote it, and just kept thinking - yeah, sounds like something I would do. And I am very hesitant going to the ER also...mostly because I don't want to wait in the waiting room forever!!! (the plus side...the hospital's only on the other side of my development, about a mile away).Yeah, I can laugh at myself too now...I wasn't laughing at the time!!! Oh, and to add insult to injury...I was grilling chicken at the time, and that all became burnt too.Wasn't a good night...until I got my LOR kit finished!!! And yeah, I think I will get myself another kit or two. 64 channels total of LOR will be a great asset this year to the display. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 I ordered 7 of the PC-CTB16PC complete packages. All you have to do is mount the board and strain reliefs into the box, and attach all of the power cords. Everything is included except for the phillips head screwdriver, the utility knife and the 2 markers needed to mark the power cords. I plan to add wire labels tomorrow, but they aren't essential. My first controller took me about an hour to assemble. The instructions are a bit out of order, so you should read through them once before beginning, and where it says "do not connect the wires or mount the bracket yet", don't. :cool: By the time I finished the 7th one this afternoon, it was taking me 30 minutes. It's no big deal, really. My fingers are a bit sore from pressing those spade lugs together, but I'll be OK. :} I just finished testing all of the channels (112) on my new cards, and all work just fine - nothing miswired. So this year, I'll have 176 channels available. I've already sequenced 2 songs for 160 channels (had been planning for 160 for months), but these prices were so good, I couldn't resist adding an extra controller to the shopping cart.Have fun assembling.D.T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 DownTown wrote: I ordered 7 of the PC-CTB16PC complete packages. All you have to do is mount the board and strain reliefs into the box, and attach all of the power cords. Everything is included except for the phillips head screwdriver, the utility knife and the 2 markers needed to mark the power cords. I plan to add wire labels tomorrow, but they aren't essential.For my wire labels, I used sheets of Avery Return Address labels, and on half the label I marked it "1 1 1 1". When I wrapped the label around the wire, it allows the number to be shown at any angle you happen to look at the wire. Orignally I had the numbers too close together, and decided to use those labels at the top of the wire, which would be inside the box. Unfortuantely, nearly every number on the label happen to be facing downward, making for some additional work to figure out which cord went where. :? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 DownTown wrote: [sNIP] The instructions are a bit out of order, so you should read through them once before beginning, and where it says "do not connect the wires or mount the bracket yet", don't. [sNIP]If you could let us know where the instructions are out of order it would be appreciated. We do know that people have looked at the pictures and not read the instructions and the pictures sometimes show parts installed (for reference) that would not be installed as of yet but the written instructions should be in the correct order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 And finally, the testing. All seemed to go well. Tested a few of the channels...for some reason, Channel 2 wasn't twinking correctly. It was more like a blink, and it was on way more than off. Checked another light strand, and same thing. Closed the hardware utility, reopened it, and suddenly it worked fine. Who knows...So anyway, that's my beginner experience to y'all for putting together a controller. I love listening to the experts, which I admire many of you for, and you have all been a huge help when needed. Maybe someday, I'll get around to playing with a solder gun and actually building one of these, piece by piece!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 "There are no plans for a SAVE 10 this year so the prices will not get better than this!"Would someone please explain the SAVE 10 thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 JohnnyL wrote: "There are no plans for a SAVE 10 this year so the prices will not get better than this!"Would someone please explain the SAVE 10 thing?Last year during the sale you had an option to delay your shipment by 3 months (to help Dans shipping departmant out), and by doing so you saved 10% off of the cost of your final order. And by opting to save10 you had a chance to win a dell computer.This is the letter Dan had last year but is not doing it this year http://www.lightorama.com/SimpleExtraSavings.htmlDan please correct me if I am wrong.Ricky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 thanks, Richard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Dan - I think I'm thinking of the first part of the booklet that shows the strain relief assembly installed, and the bright yellow graphic saying it shouldn't be installed yet. I had to go back and take mine out (twice!). For instance, on page 8, the picture shows the enclosure with both the board and the bracket installed, with the note saying not to install this yet. I think it would be better if it would show just the enclosure with the board installed. (Sort of the way you did on page 15 where is shows all of the cables in the bracket, but not showing the enclosure at all.) People like me, with a little knowledge and a gung-ho attitude, see that picture, and a minute later read the little graphic, and have to pull out the bracket... :shock:. Once you've done it once, it's a piece of cake. but it's the first time that takes a little patience and reading through the whole manual before starting.By the way, Dan, thanks so much for such a great deal. I'm SO pumped to have an additional 112 channels this year.D.T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Richard III wrote:Dan please correct me if I am wrong.I'm not Dan ... but you got it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Last year during the sale you had an option to delay your shipment by 3 months (to help Dans shipping departmant out), and by doing so you saved 10% off of the cost of your final order. And by opting to save10 you had a chance to win a dell computer.This may have been replaced by the PC "Early Bird Sale". AI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 AI wrote: Last year during the sale you had an option to delay your shipment by 3 months (to help Dans shipping departmant out), and by doing so you saved 10% off of the cost of your final order. And by opting to save10 you had a chance to win a dell computer.This may have been replaced by the PC "Early Bird Sale". AII think the Early Bird Sale was smart for Dan and company and for PC users. Thanks to LOR for taking care of us.Michael B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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