Lets talk strobes

[Surfing4Dough]

NickByrd wrote:

I have a question as that fits this topic.

When you turn a channel on that has 30 strobes on it, do they all fire at the same time with every burst or does it become random very quickly?

Also, can you fade them?

Nick

No you don't want to fade strobe (at least not xenon ones) since it will damage them. Therefore always have them on at 100% in your sequences.

And yes, xenon strobe randomize.
You can see the strobes' action at 1:47 in this video:
http://vimeo.com/17630160

[Ron Amedee]

Hi Nick

Iwork with strobes everyday in my job doing fire alarm installations. As mentioned before in this thread strobes will start out sync'ed and gradually get out of sync.

The capacitor in the circuits will charge until the capacitor is fully charged then release its rated energy to the bulb. The hardest part is to KEEP them sync'd ! We use sync modules which stop the input voltage momentarily to re synch everything back to start. It seems that strobes flashing more than once per second have been known to produce seizers in people prone to seizes such as epaliptic's

So as mentioned earlier i wouldn't use them too often..Just for the WOW effect

Just saying

[NickByrd]

Thanks Ron,

I was thinking about adding 50 strobes or so and was only going to use it about 3-4 seconds in a song. On top of that, I am only using that in about 4 of my 16-17 song for next year.

It does seem like LESS IS MORE when talking about the actual firing of the strobes.

As for the fading that I asked about, thanks to everyone for the input. I have seen some videos and it seems that they would fire alot of strobes and that the effect would dwindle down to just a few firing at the end... They must be using multiple channels.

Nick

[Surfing4Dough]

Ron Amedee wrote:

Hi Nick

Iwork with strobes everyday in my job doing fire alarm installations. As mentioned before in this thread strobes will start out sync'ed and gradually get out of sync.

The capacitor in the circuits will charge until the capacitor is fully charged then release its rated energy to the bulb. The hardest part is to KEEP them sync'd ! We use sync modules which stop the input voltage momentarily to re synch everything back to start. It seems that strobes flashing more than once per second have been known to produce seizers in people prone to seizes such as epaliptic's

So as mentioned earlier i wouldn't use them too often..Just for the WOW effect

Just saying

I suspect that there is a significant difference from the higher end parts used in strobes in fire alarms compared to the "cheap" curtain type strobes most here are using for our displays. There is probably very little consistency involved with the capacitors of the curtain strobes, which is why they fire at differing rates, thus creating the randomness.

To clarify regarding the fear of inducing seizures...only 3-5% of epileptics have photosensitivity seizures (seizures caused by flashing). This is usually caused by 10-30Hz (flashes per second) flashing, and much more rarely down to 5HZ. And usually at close ranges of viewing (1-3 meters). Hence why TVs are the usual culprit. Since most of the strobes used for our displays are viewed from a distance and we are lucky if we get a strobe to flash 3-4 times per second, it is very unlikely that "our" strobes would ever create a problem, even if the rare photosensitive epileptic were to stop by. (Not to mention that I doubt that such a person is seeking out blinking lights to go watch.)

[Surfing4Dough]

NickByrd wrote:

...I have seen some videos and it seems that they would fire alot of strobes and that the effect would dwindle down to just a few firing at the end... They must be using multiple channels.

Just as the strobes start up randomly (a few faster than others) likewise they stop randomly too, thus creating the effect that they are "dwindling down" as you mention--even when all on 1 channel. Occasionally you will even get the rare straggler that will fire one last time a few seconds after everything else had stopped.

[Guest Don Gillespie]

George Simmons wrote:

Don,

For your gigantic Rudolph you might want to consider using a group of red strobes put together like a bouquet - maybe as many as a dozen - instead of just one. Given the scale of the deer, you're never gonna sell it being able to light the way for the sleigh with one puny little red point of light at the tip of the schnozz. If you're gonna make a statement, then make it!

I attach strobes to the fence and scatter them about the yard on lightweight stakes which are about three feet tall. This year I put some in a small tree in the front yard also. As my strobe inventory continues to grow, I'll be putting more of them higher up in things because from street level they are getting too grouped in a horizontal plane for my liking. The LED strobes I point toward the street wherever I can because their maximum brightness is when they're viewed straight on. The Zenon tube strobes mostly all point down so that any moisture drains through the weep holes and away from the electronics.

Thanks George just got back from holidays disney world they should call it crazy world had a lotof fun now back to buisiness if I use a group of strobes on the gigantic deer can you cluster them together to make one big red light? I think the strobes might make it pop better than using just red Leds

[NickByrd]

Thanks Surfin4Dough,

That was the EXACTLY the info I was looking for!

Nick

[NickByrd]

Got my strobes now!!!

So I am making my C9 strands now. I have to order the sockets and wire...

What are most of you using. SPT1 or SPT2, or maybe twist wire. The longest runs will probably have 20 strobes on them ( 10 feet apart).