redsea300 Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Is anybody using LED strobes this year? I used regular strobes form Christmas light show last year. I was thinking about using led's this year. Any Pros or Cons? Thanks in advance Don C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LENNY RUEL Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 I'm using both actually. The LED are only bright if viewed directly from the end so I'm mounting mine pointing toward the street on the roof and front of the house. I'm using regular Xenon strobes in my mega tree since they will be tied to the strings of minis and I can't get a ridgid mounting. The LED also seem to be a little slower rate and not quite as random.Lenny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Unhappy with the failure and DOA rate of Xenon strobes from Christmas Light Show last year I bought a bunch of LED strobes from CDI this year and I'm kind of wishing I hadn't. I've been testing them and yes, they're bright - viewed from the end I think they're brighter than the Xenon type. But they don't have anywhere the randomness that Zenon models do. In fact, they all flash in unison for almost ten seconds before the flash rates begin to diverge. At least the clear ones work this way. The colored ones, especially the reds diverge much sooner. I don't know why they should be different, but they are. In most cases, I don't have them on long enough to get past the firing in unison, so for me I'm gong to have to waste three or four more channels just for the LED strobes and fire them a couple hundredths of a second from each other to try to eliminate the look of them all firing in unison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friskybri Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 I been running tests also on that and don't like that all shot off at one time. I think mine take about 2 to 3 seconds go become random. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zman Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 George,The failure on the Xenon is due to moisture mostly. I co-authored a Strobe how-to with Oldcgr in FL. Check it out on my site.I prefer the Xenon over LED. I did a lot of early testing for a vendor and in my side by side comparison, the Xenon was my choice, just MHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsea300 Posted September 15, 2009 Author Share Posted September 15, 2009 Thanks everyone for you comments. I had heard that the Led one flash differently. I guess I am going to say with the ones from CHRISTMASLIGHTSHOW.COM. I also had 10 out of 40 fail last year. I did drill a hole and point them accordianly and still had failures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Mark,Having been educated by the forums (and your site) last year, I did drill holes in my Xenon strobes before deploying them for the season. I had no moisture problems in any of them and still lost a quarter of them during the season. Maybe it's the cold up here. Add to that having 20% of them arriving DOA and I was overjoyed to have an LED option this year. The only thing I don't like about the LEDs is the synchronized firing rate - although I view that as a huge issue. Maybe we need a more reliable brand of Xenon strobes than what Darryl carries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zman Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Darryl did have a difficult batch go out at one time, maybe yours is included in that. I might approach him on that issue. We too had a cold and difficult winter last year. I lost a few, not many, but I found that spraying the strobe PCBs with a conformal coating helps a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westport Lights Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 I have ran 1 of my strobes for a few hours longer than the rest. Oddly enough, the firing rate is more random compared to the rest of them now. But they still flash the same for about the first 5 seconds, which is killing my plans for this year's use. I'll be using a 50/50 mix of xenon and LEDs to help with that problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friskybri Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 I been playing with the LED strobes today and maybe found a work around with the all flashing at once. I hooked up a LOR box and sequence editor. For 1 second before I set the percentage to 20% the strobe came steady like a very dim steady light. I didn't notice it unless you cover your hands around it and look closely. Then to 100% and it is all random. I am wondering if its just enough power to capacitor or what ever is in there that makes it random. LOL. IT works so I think I am going with that. Unless anyone thinks its going to damage the strobes. I wouldn't think so but who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LENNY RUEL Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 IF that works you ARE a genius !!Lenny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 I'll be looking for one of our resident experts in electronics to chime in on that question. If it works without damage I will be delighted to free up the channels extra I was going to need to make the strobes look more random. Question? What would happen to any Xenon strobes on that same channel applying 20% intensity? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friskybri Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 I still been playing with the LED strobes this morning. I noticed even when you put them on, for a split second they come on really dim then all flash together. So I went back to the 20% power and ran them for a minute. Im not a electrical expert on the strobes. They all came on really dim until in my opinion they were charged enough to start flashing which took about .65 of a sec. In that time when they started to flash they were random. Then I tried 20% power for 13 cells of .05 .65 seconds and they look better that way. Please if there is some expert on if these will damage strobes please let us know. If not I might just take a few and try a sequence a loop for a few days and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friskybri Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Has anyone used the LED strobes for their Halloween display and liked them or disliked them. I don't like that they all flash at once. Or has some electrical genius come up with a fix to these. If not I guess I will be buying about 20 regular strobes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffF Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Just wanted to confirm your results frisky and say THANK YOU!!! My "magic potion" is to turn on a LED strobe only channel 9/10ths of a second earlier than a Xenon strobe channel with a power of 19%. Then I turn off my Xenon strobe channel 4/10ths of a second earlier than my LED only channel.Got the wifey out there tonight and she thought it looked great... and that I was crazy talking about tenths of a second(but you know how it is!). Thanks again frisky!One other note, I took extra time to make sure the LED strobes were directed at the viewing area and you'd be very hard pressed to tell the difference in brightness with the Xenon strobes. And personally... I think the LED strobes are a tad brighter even... though my wife couldn't tell the difference(and again thought I was nuts!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffF Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Forgot to add that I "tested" them for an hour with a sequence that went 1 second 19%, 5 seconds 100%, 5 seconds 0%, 1 second 19%, 5 seconds 100%, 5 seconds 0%, etc... and didn't lose any.That doesn't mean this is a safe method by any means but I'm satisfied enough to try keep in our sequences. We go live Thanksgiving and I'll report back if I kill 'em all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friskybri Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 I ran them for over a day and didn't have any failure. So I think we have a good fix for the LED's I am glad I could contribute something to LOR website. I love trying to figure things out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffF Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 So far, so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friskybri Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 All season long I have not lost a single LED strobe. With the several days of rain, snow freezing rain back to snow. I am pleased with them. I purchased 50 and used 25. Guess I got lots of overstock in strobes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad02 Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Got the LED strobes from Action Lighting when they went on sale over the summer, in testing they seemed to all fire at once. When all the strobes were in place we found the firing appeared much more random than when tested. Very happy with the LED strobes.The Xenon stobes still fail whenever it rains. Have to bring the wet ones inside, take them apart and let them air dry overnight. The next day they are fine. We found sealing the lens is key to keeping them dry, we try to use them is dry locations such as the porch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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