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RGB How To's


rbmurray210

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There are some issues that will be a problem for DIY crowd building your own floods.  Nearly all of the high powered leds 20w and above use 36v,  the LOR 24 channel controller can handle up to 30v.  Even the 10w leds are moving from 12v to 30v.  I haven't heard what the DMX 27 channel controller can handle yet.  The only controller that can handle the bigger leds is the 16 channel controller up to 60v.  20w whites are great for flashing the audience, 50-100w are great for lighting up a canopy of large trees.

 

A side note for 100w leds,  They are extremely bright and can't be used to shine towards audience!  If you have numerous high powered floods, the 100w led won't have the impact you hope for when there's no leaves on the tree.

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I am using 4 conductor speaker cable that I got from monoprice.com. The four wires are red, green, black, and white. I use the red and green wires for red and green (duh), and the black wire for blue and the white wire for +12V - works out pretty well. You can get in several different wire sizes. The stuff I have is 16 gauge. I have some fairly long cable runs which is why I'm using the larger wire.

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I use 4 cond spearker cable for my DMX north pole lights that have the 3 channel dmx modules in them.

My RGB floods use cat 5 cable. No issues at all

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I use cat5 cable for the wiring of my LED RGB floods.

I make my own cable and to the length I need. I make a pig tail for each flood for easy setup and storage.

This year is my first year doing LED floods and so far so good.

I'm using the LOR 12VDC 16 channel controller.

 

 

DSC04218_zpsa3acf892.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

Just purchased LOR (6 controllers) and (8) dumb ribbons with controller and G3-MP3 Director.

Converting from my old Allen-Bradley PLC to LOR.

Wish me luck. Will most likely be posting lots of questions.

Only got 9 months!

 

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Just purchased LOR (6 controllers) and (8) dumb ribbons with controller and G3-MP3 Director.

Converting from my old Allen-Bradley PLC to LOR.

Wish me luck. Will most likely be posting lots of questions.

Only got 9 months!

 

Welcome aboard Vince!!!

And good luck.

The biggest thing you can do right now is build your show channel configuration and sequence, sequence, sequence. Like NOW!!!

Welcome!!!

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Ik.  Need to ask this...

 

Been using LOR for several years now with R-G-W incan floods.  Want to do 3 RGB floods, but I have no idea when to start.  Is there any RGB flood for dummies How Tos out there?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ik.  Need to ask this...

 

Been using LOR for several years now with R-G-W incan floods.  Want to do 3 RGB floods, but I have no idea when to start.  Is there any RGB flood for dummies How Tos out there?

As far as when to start?  NOW is a good time :P   If you want easy, use the LOR floods.  DIY depends on your skills.  There are plenty of RGB flood threads to read to help you get started.

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  • 1 month later...

Hello,

I have 2 LOR controllers which i used to control LED's last year for my first time. It went pretty well, the hardware was the easy part the sequencing was the long part. I would like to add a LOR RGB board and 8 RGB light sets but am stuck there, not knowing what LOR's RGB light sets can do ie: can you control/change each RGB on each string? or just control/change all RGB's on each string. I've also read on the forum about the lights on Ebay as they are less expensive but can they be integrated into LOR equipment.

Thanks,

Paul

Virginia

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Use LOR Cosmic Color Ribbons to control color for each and every light on ribbon.

Use LOR Dumb RGB Ribbons to control color for all lights on the ribbon.

I chose the LOR RGB board with 8 dumb ribbons (reduced price for package) = $479.95

LOR Cosmic Color Ribbons have individual controllers for each ribbon and are rather expensive (but look cool). = $1,999.60 for 8 ribbons.

 

Good luck!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I wish I could do the rgb ribbons, bulbs and floods. But they are too expensive. Just for the ribbons I would need 4 to cover the top outline of my roof. An that $1000 I don't have.

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I wish I could do the rgb ribbons, bulbs and floods. But they are too expensive. Just for the ribbons I would need 4 to cover the top outline of my roof. An that $1000 I don't have.

 

You can get the floods pretty cheap on ebay now. I hack my own to keep the costs waaaaaaay down.

I just purchased a "20 lot" for $171 + $12.99 shipping.

That's $9.20 each.

$9.20 for a 10w RGB Flood. Shipping included.

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Dumb RGB ribbons from LOR are only $49.95 each, add a controller for $109.95, a power supply/cables/enclosure for $100 and total cost for 4 would be about $410.

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Dragonfire....

 

As previous member stated....$1000 is far off on the cost for the items you want. Obviously if you are DIY kind of person, you will save yourself some $$.

 

I carry a RGB Dumb Controller in a kit. I also carry completely built, but if you’re looking for the less expensive route….building everything yourself is the ticket. The kit has all the main parts and you need and just provide your own hardware (bolt, nut, washer, screws, ect) from like HD or Lowes. Again, the kit just has the main parts only!

 

(1) RGB CMB24D Kit  $199.95

(4) RGB Dumb Strips (no connector)  $123.80

 

The kit comes with 8 pigtail sets, so use the female end for the controller and male end to the strip. Now you will need extension cables between the controller and strip. LOR strips comes with 16ft….mine does not. I intentionally did not include. Every house and every setup is different. I carry several different cable lengths (pre-made) so you could choose the right one for your setup. Or if going to cheaper route, make then yourself. The controller kit comes with 8 sets, but you only need 4 for your requirements. You can use the other 4 for the extension cables. I personally would build using all 8 to the controller and purchase 4 short pigtails sets so you’re not taking away from the kit….and its only $7.80 for 4 sets. All you need is the cable between the pigtails. You can find it online. Google, eBay, Monoprice, ect. I suggest you use 18AWG 4-wire. I think a couple years ago I purchased a 500ft roll for $60. HD and Lowes as it too.

 

So for the controller kit, strips and pigtials your at $331.55 (plus shipping). Add about another $60 - $80 for the cable and hardware and you should be around the $400 - $420 as complete. Remember, your building everything yourself so brush up on those soldering skills. Your time to build is priceless  :) 

 

Want to add a few floods...Santas Helper suggestion is ideal. Hack them yourself which doesn't look very hard at all. Good Luck

 

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CLD Kevin,  That is great for the dumb spot lights and bulbs...   But I would like to do the top outline of my roof with the smart ones.  Like you did with your house that I saw for Party Rock until your HOA told you not to do it anymore in that extreme.  

 

Do you have any suggestions for the smart (pixelated) ones like the CCR.   because since the CCR's are only 16ft. and my roof line is 50 ft, but I have a gable in the middle.  I am calculating that I am going to need 4. and CCR's are $250 a piece.

------/\------                                If you have any ideas.

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Santa's Helper.  What is the exact model of the RGB dumb floods that you got?

 

There isn't really an exact model number (that I know of). They are all practically the same (built with similar parts and all from China).

 

On ebay you can type 10W LED RGB Flood. You will find a bunch. Go for the cheapest price (but keep an eye on feedback ratings and shipping costs).

 

The cost is going down it seems each year. Last year I paid $18.00 each so a big drop in price on these now which makes hacking and saving $$$ much more worth the time. And as Kevin mentioned, it isn't that hard.

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Here is something I found.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/8x-10W-LED-RGB-Flood-Light-IP65-Outdoor-Spotlight-Lampions-IR-Remote-Control-/191148738903?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c815a4957

 

The seller has good ratings too.

 

The price will very so look around for the best deal.

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