RyanJL Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Two years ago if someone had suggested to me that I should buy a lightorama and start doing computer sychronized light shows I would have done a bigger belly laugh than even Santa Claus himself. Five years ago I'd have probably looked at them as if they were from Jupiter and needed to go back into orbit. I must admit that the concept wasn't quite with me then, but boy has that ever changed.After Christmas last year I had visited the local Sam's Club and found their LED lights deeply discounted. My strands of Christmas lights were getting quite old and the idea of moving towards LED for the energy savings alone was attractive. Adding that they last near forever and were so steeply discounted, I caved. By April the thought occured to me that I'd need extension cords for these new lights and Menards was purging their stock too, so I bought a few more than what I thought I might need.You can guess by the time of the LOR sale that I was more or less already pre-dispositioned towards a trial of light synchronization and took the plunge with my first 16 channel controller. After all, I had the lights, cords, and lawn space I might as well see if I enjoyed it, and felt I could always sell off the LOR on craigslist if it wasn't to my liking. And, of course as you LOR experts know, there was about as much chance of my leaving the sport as there was of the Detroit Lions winning a Superbowl without all other NFL team succumbing to the black plague.Upon receiving the new LOR unit I immediately got out 16 light strings and gave the thing a trial run. Hooked up on the dining room table the kids and I watched as it cycled through the channels, twinkled, shimmered, and dimmed any thoughts of stuffing the LOR back in the box for some other sucker to try. I was hooked, the kids were hooked, and my wife lamented the idea of another new hobby to occupy my time.But Christmas was still a long ways off and I still felt the need to "test" out this new functionality. I convinced myself that to really do Christmas right I would need to do a trial run to truly get to know the functionality and work out any hiccups prior to Thanksgiving. Smack dab inbetween sat Halloween, and before you know it I was setting up gravestones, ghosts, strobes and eerie lights with the excuse that it was all for testing and preparing for Christmas.By the time the first light show for Halloween hit I was more than committed. My cache of extension cords grew geometrically, the number of flood light holders doubled, and I was doing online searches for FM transmitter antennas to increase my range. The new hobby was almost an obsession!At this point we are now well into our first Christmas light show. I don't have many sequences coded and am appreciating those who are willing to share. And to say that I'm very much a fan of LOR is really an understatement at this point. I can truly see this as being a year round hobby - coding songs in the off season and expanding the in season to other holidays and special events. I guess if I could warn any other newbies it would be to watch out as this can get addictive quickly. And for those who are old hats at this, boy do I ever understand now why you do so enjoy it.Count me in for more shows in the future!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallleyes Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Congradulations Ryan.I bet you will have a few folks telling you to buy extension cords Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Wingert Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Well....That pretty much sums it up. 2011 planning is underway while my 2010 does it magic every night. Ahhhhh the joys!Dont forget MORE extention cords! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanJL Posted December 8, 2010 Author Share Posted December 8, 2010 Extension cords are indeed on the shopping list. I believe my current usage is 30, mostly 40 footers. I've done a fair amount of reading on SPT-1 and SPT-2 line and am considering that as a possibility. With most of the lights being LED, the amount of power isn't a big concern, but carrying distances gets pricey with full size extension cords.This was the Halloween show for anyone curious... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Hey Ryan, welcome aboard! Doesn't take much to get hooked does it? I hope I never forget the feeling I experienced standing across the street the first time the whole display went live.And yes, if you're not already planning at least some of your 2011 display, you're behind schedule! Don't forget the extension cords... no matter what anyone (like a wife, for instance) might say, you DO NOT have enough. You'll save a bundle and a half going to spt and making your own.Merry Christmas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ Hvasta Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Whats funny (or not) is that nearly everyone here can claim this as their own story too Last year was my first with one controller , bought a second a week later, and the third a week after that! I suffered a bout of temporary insanity during the Summer sale and now I'm sitting on 9 controllers.. As your story was ours.. our story will be yours. :shock: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimswinder Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 First year...32 channels and had the Controllers in my garage (paranoid about them getting stolen) The gargae was about 50' (closet point) from where I had most of the lights...and used 5000' of SPT2 cord.This year...528 Channels and I have about 3000' of SPT2 leftover from last year because of putting the controllers throughout the yard.So my advice...place your controllers in optimum spots to reduce your extension cord lengths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Don Gillespie Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 jimswinder wrote: First year...32 channels and had the Controllers in my garage (paranoid about them getting stolen) The gargae was about 50' (closet point) from where I had most of the lights...and used 5000' of SPT2 cord.This year...528 Channels and I have about 3000' of SPT2 leftover from last year because of putting the controllers throughout the yard.So my advice...place your controllers in optimum spots to reduce your extension cord lengths. good pointsure saves a lot of extra 100 foot cords by thinking ahead and Ryan I think you spoke for an awful lot of people nice post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crackchecker Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Don Gillespie wrote: jimswinder wrote: First year...32 channels and had the Controllers in my garage (paranoid about them getting stolen) The gargae was about 50' (closet point) from where I had most of the lights...and used 5000' of SPT2 cord.This year...528 Channels and I have about 3000' of SPT2 leftover from last year because of putting the controllers throughout the yard.So my advice...place your controllers in optimum spots to reduce your extension cord lengths. good pointsure saves a lot of extra 100 foot cords by thinking ahead and Ryan I think you spoke for an awful lot of people nice postStill amazed of the amount of spt cords needed still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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