Ken Benedict Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Wonderful display; an inspiration to us all. Keep up the good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Stutzman Posted March 26, 2013 Author Share Posted March 26, 2013 Kent do you have any photos of the pixels on the boards you can post ? Thanks Here are some pictures of the RGB boards. First time posting pictures so I hope they are of viewable size. And here's how they are stored in the garage Kent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravisP Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Here are some pictures of the RGB boards. First time posting pictures so I hope they are of viewable size. P1030477 smaller.jpg P1030479 smaller.jpg P1030490 smaller.jpg P1030491 smaller.jpg And here's how they are stored in the garage P1030502 smaller.jpg KentKen thank you for the photos.they give me a great idea for my display.which pixels are you using ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Stutzman Posted March 27, 2013 Author Share Posted March 27, 2013 Ken thank you for the photos.they give me a great idea for my display.which pixels are you using ? I used 5v 3001 pixels, but I don't recommend them. I recommend 2811 instead, and describe in detail why in the first 10 or so posts of this thread. Kent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beefer Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 love the garage storage thanks again Kent for the pics - very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiplorenzo Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Really wonderful display there Kent!Nice job on the whole thing as it is a pleasure to watch. What a hobby! Mom says I must be bonkers. I told her about the LOR forum and DIYlighting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kzaas Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 (edited) Thanks. The house has 2 E682 cards and another E681 mostly off camera to the right in the yard. There are 18 strands with 50 pixels with 6 inch spacing with the 3001 chip from Ray Wu. Unfortunately, the 3001s needed power injection at both ends. The sample 2811 pixels didn't have that problem so, the next batch of pixels I get for next year will be 2811s. I have 450 linear feet of 1X3" boards with 1/2" holes every 6 inches to keep the pixels straight and keep the exact count of bulbs in each segment. The boards were a lot of work this year, but should be easy next year. KentHi Kent,This year I am pretty much doing the same setup on my house with the 2811 pixel, I will be using 2000 pixels in various locations.My question is, did you have any problems with the 1X3" boards warping? And how did you keep the wind from blowing them off of your roof? Edited July 13, 2013 by kzaas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Stutzman Posted July 14, 2013 Author Share Posted July 14, 2013 Hi Kent,This year I am pretty much doing the same setup on my house with the 2811 pixel, I will be using 2000 pixels in various locations.My question is, did you have any problems with the 1X3" boards warping? And how did you keep the wind from blowing them off of your roof? Hi kzaas, No I did not have any problems with warping, but I did give them a couple coats of exterior paint to protect against it. Also, I live in southern California where we get some rain, but not a lot. I connected the boards together lengthwise using one of two methods: zip ties and metal angle braces. The wind did cause some of the joints that used zip ties to misalign. Didn't have any problems with the joints using metal angle braces. When disassembling, it is pretty easy to leave the metal braces in place on one board and just unscrew the other side. Use 1 inch exterior deck screws. Should be pretty quick assembly next year, assuming I remember to charge the drill motor the night before that is. Hope this helps. Kent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Hi Kent,This year I am pretty much doing the same setup on my house with the 2811 pixel, I will be using 2000 pixels in various locations.My question is, did you have any problems with the 1X3" boards warping? And how did you keep the wind from blowing them off of your roof? Hi kzaas, No I did not have any problems with warping, but I did give them a couple coats of exterior paint to protect against it. Also, I live in southern California where we get some rain, but not a lot. I connected the boards together lengthwise using one of two methods: zip ties and metal angle braces. The wind did cause some of the joints that used zip ties to misalign. Didn't have any problems with the joints using metal angle braces. When disassembling, it is pretty easy to leave the metal braces in place on one board and just unscrew the other side. Use 1 inch exterior deck screws. Should be pretty quick assembly next year, assuming I remember to charge the drill motor the night before that is. Hope this helps. KentI think demographics has a lot to do with what work sand what dosen't, I tried using 1x3 and I put on on 2 coats of urethane and they still warped (badly enouth to throw them away) but I live in Ohio and lately it seems we get more rain than snow around Christmas....I used aluminum bent into the shape of a U and drilled holes...Probably the same amount of work as using wood but I'm going on my 3rd year with aluminum channels now.. Just my 2 cents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalJimH Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 I enjoy when an older post gets "refreshed" - reminds me what I've missed! Kent- Great job on the lights! (and sequencing!)I think mounting the pixels on a sub-straight is the way for most of us to go. I use 3/4" gray PVC pipe cut into 7' 6" sections (my storage shed is 8' inside) Last year I used dumb RGB strips but this year I'll be converting over to the 2811's with C9 covers, all spaced at around 6". Since most of my icicle strands are also 7' 6" I've flex-tied them to the PVC sections as well. Makes it real easy to get the gutter sections hung and connected. For the gutters I just place small hand clamps on the front lip of the gutter and then place the PVC sections in the upright "V" of the clamp handle. Worked very well last year and take down went smoothly. Hand clamps were from $1 Store or Harbor Freight, about 0.25 to 0.35 each- spray painted white to match gutters. Keep up the great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefrus Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Tagging along Great video Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sysco Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I enjoy when an older post gets "refreshed" - reminds me what I've missed! Kent- Great job on the lights! (and sequencing!)I think mounting the pixels on a sub-straight is the way for most of us to go. I use 3/4" gray PVC pipe cut into 7' 6" sections (my storage shed is 8' inside) Last year I used dumb RGB strips but this year I'll be converting over to the 2811's with C9 covers, all spaced at around 6". Since most of my icicle strands are also 7' 6" I've flex-tied them to the PVC sections as well. Makes it real easy to get the gutter sections hung and connected. For the gutters I just place small hand clamps on the front lip of the gutter and then place the PVC sections in the upright "V" of the clamp handle. Worked very well last year and take down went smoothly. Hand clamps were from $1 Store or Harbor Freight, about 0.25 to 0.35 each- spray painted white to match gutters. Keep up the great work! SoCalJimH would you have any pictures to show of the clamp and the pvc thank you Blair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HallowXmas Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 verry nice set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimswinder Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 (edited) it was just so so..then the Beatles Medley came on!! FANTASTIC!!!! LOL Reminded me of seeing "LOVE" Cirque de Soleil in Vegas... Edited July 16, 2013 by jimswinder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyD Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 (edited) No, I didn't do full versions of all the songs. I spliced together about 15 seconds of 60 or so songs into a couple collages. Worked really well to try lots of different effects. How else can you sneak in "I Am the Walrus" and "Helter Skelter" into a Christmas display. Kent What's your trick for splicing together so many songs smoothly? Fade in/out at each new song? Pick a "quiet" spot to switch? or did you just not worry about it? My editing attempts just don't cut it for me so i'm looking to improve.Thanks,Tony PS - I just love the show! Really awesome. Edited July 16, 2013 by TonyD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Stutzman Posted July 27, 2013 Author Share Posted July 27, 2013 What's your trick for splicing together so many songs smoothly? Fade in/out at each new song? Pick a "quiet" spot to switch? or did you just not worry about it? My editing attempts just don't cut it for me so i'm looking to improve.Thanks,Tony PS - I just love the show! Really awesome. Hi TonyD, I use the free Audacity software. Yes generally I try to splice at quiet spots which often works, and is the easiest. Ctrl-Z (undo) makes it easy to try splicing in something in and, if it doesn't sound good, ctrl-Z to undo it, and try again. Sometimes I undo half a dozen times until I get something I like. Another thing to keep in mind for such well known songs like the Beatles is to try to keep the beat count the same and, when you are expecting the vocal of the old song to start up again, that is when you switch to the vocal of the new song. Also helps to splice similar tempo songs together. Switching from slow sitar to fast electric guitar would be a challenge. Sometimes you may want go for shock effect like going from Hey Jude to Revolution, so then it is best to abruptly splice at an unexpected time. I believe Audacity also allows for simultaneous fade out of old and fade in of new which would probably further help, but I wasn't aware of the feature at the time. Hope this helps. Kent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryk5 Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 Kent:The video is fantastic, seeing things like this keeps me motivated. You talked about the different tracks you set up in SE, do you have an example of the track / channel layout? This is the part that is confusing to me. Thanks,Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyD Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 Hi TonyD, I use the free Audacity software. Yes generally I try to splice at quiet spots which often works, and is the easiest. Ctrl-Z (undo) makes it easy to try splicing in something in and, if it doesn't sound good, ctrl-Z to undo it, and try again. Sometimes I undo half a dozen times until I get something I like. Another thing to keep in mind for such well known songs like the Beatles is to try to keep the beat count the same and, when you are expecting the vocal of the old song to start up again, that is when you switch to the vocal of the new song. Also helps to splice similar tempo songs together. Switching from slow sitar to fast electric guitar would be a challenge. Sometimes you may want go for shock effect like going from Hey Jude to Revolution, so then it is best to abruptly splice at an unexpected time. I believe Audacity also allows for simultaneous fade out of old and fade in of new which would probably further help, but I wasn't aware of the feature at the time. Hope this helps. Kent Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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