Leaping Arches - 8 channels vs 7 channels

[billc]

I am in the process of putting together several leaping arches. I will be making the large arches with a 20' piece of 1" sched 40 pvc. I have not started any sequencing yet. What are the pros and cons of using 8 vs 7 channels?

Any difference in sequencing other than an extra channel? Any difference in the look?

Bill

[iresq]

Using 7 channels (or an odd number) gives you the ability to start or finish at the top of the arch.

[billc]

Thanks. Yes I have seen arches that start at the top and sweep down. I do like that look. I am concerned on a 20' long arch and 7 channels that would mean each channel would be aprx 2.7' long. Would that be too long to give a smooth look during the "leaping"?

[Dennis Cherry]

billc wrote:

Thanks. Yes I have seen arches that start at the top and sweep down. I do like that look. I am concerned on a 20' long arch and 7 channels that would mean each channel would be aprx 2.7' long. Would that be too long to give a smooth look during the "leaping"?

I did 20' arches with 9 channels. Might consider 9 channels, used 1" gray electrical PVC, it flexes better.

[bossgroove]

I prefer 8 channels because I make my arches "clap", and the ends meet in the middle. That effect cannot be reproduced the same with an odd number. Some people say that an odd number really helps with the bouncing water looking more realistic.

[rrader]

I used 1" x 20' pvc on my arches as well. I generally like to use an odd number of channels so I do have a "center" to use while sequencing. I used 9 channels on mine and was happy with the spacing it gave me.

[John Hertig]

bossgroove wrote:

I prefer 8 channels because I make my arches "clap", and the ends meet in the middle. That effect cannot be reproduced the same with an odd number. Some people say that an odd number really helps with the bouncing water looking more realistic.

What if you had 8 channels, but the 2 'center' channels were each '1/2 as big' as the rest of the channels? Then you could program them together for a center look or separately for a 'clap'?

[mcnamara9]

I do 8 channels white and 1 channel red. My arches are 26' long. Each section is 3' 2". I have a youtube video if you want to see if the sections are too "wide" for your taste or not...

Hope that helps.

[billc]

I'm suprised the 3'2" channel looks smooth. Looks good. Thanks for the video. Do you have to do anything special in the sequencing to "smooth out" the transitions btw channels?

Now I have to decide if I want to control each arch separately or all together. I am putting up 8 or 9 arches so I could need as many as 5 more controllers if just one color.

..... so many decisions, so little $$ ......

[mcnamara9]

billc wrote:

Now I have to decide if I want to control each arch separately or all together. I am putting up 8 or 9 arches so I could need as many as 5 more controllers if just one color.

..... so many decisions, so little $$ ......

What a great dilema to have

No, I don't do anything too special at all in my sequencing. In that video, I was trying to see various speeds of "leaping" would look like. The visualizer is great, but it's hard to see how it translates to such a large arch. If you need the sequence file for that video, pm or email me and I will send it over so you can see the length of the ramps.

I would recommend building one and then hooking it up to make sure you're happy with the fades, speed, spacing, etc. before you go off and sync the rest of your songs. It helped me.

[tboerjan]

I programmed mine for 8, but I do like the odd number idea for a "top". I used schedule 40 pvc and decided to make my eight channels and do four per piece for ease of handling and storage. I make one keeping the female end centered and the "mate" with the "male end". I allowed about three inches to go into the female. I would also recommend leaving the lenght to ten feet first, then trim the lenght so you have the same amount sticking out on each side. You will get some variation in your wrapping no matter how careful you are. This will give you the same amount with no lights at each end. I tried to shoot for about 15 feet of total lenght and wrapped about 16-20 inches per strand of lights again each piece ended up being 7-8 feet in lenght. I plan on driving rebar into the ground at an angle to hold the ends and use rope or wire to help keep the centers vertical. If you haven't done any programming yet, you better get moving. I suggest finding R.Holdman seguences posted on Planet Christmas to use and/or get inspiration; he used an odd number, I belive.

[FireMedic4Christ]

billc wrote:

Now I have to decide if I want to control each arch separately or all together. I am putting up 8 or 9 arches so I could need as many as 5 more controllers if just one color.

..... so many decisions, so little $$ ......

You could use the doubling your channels method as described over at PC. http://forums.planetchristmas.com/showthread.php?t=16398 Relatively cheap when compared to several controllers. If set up right, your arches could run from end to end to end. The only limitation I can think of is you could not have all of them on at once.

Good luck,

Brian