What to do on a busy road

[Brian W]

After seeing a Miller commercial a few years back, I bought my first LOR controller. My displays have been very simple because I live on a VERY busy road (not conducive to stopping) and no foot traffic. To further complicate matters, there is a radio tower located several hundred yards across the road. I enjoying watching the videos of the displays that have been posted or walking thru the Osborne display at Disney (sad to hear that Mr. Osborne passed away last week) but I think that I need to stick with the lights and forego the music.

Any thoughts on how to have a nice display without syncing to music? Thus far, I have double strung everything with with white and multi strings. I have been fading back and forth and using some of the other effects but am open to suggestions.

[jimswinder]

I got nothin'...

can't imagine doing this not synced to music....

My house is not conducive for a show either...

that's why I set up at friends house!!!

Any chance you could do that?

Or an empty lot...city park, etc

[shfr26]

Check with DonFl, P.M. him, he is going from a nonmusical display to a music display this year I think. He could probably help you out.

[Guest guest]

Yup..very true...Pete gets a lot of credit for a discussion he and I had when we got together one Sunday to convince me to go with the music...as I thought about it, the incremental risk between something happening with or without music might be small...someone sees lights, they'll stop..music or not.

I'm on a 50 mph, 2 lane country road...I am fortunate enough to have a huge area to decorate in (6 acres of property, house and 2+ acres clear of woods, no neighbors within sight distance, for the most part), but two concerns/thoughts:

1. will a display as big as I want to have create a hazard (a dozen mini-trees doing animated stuff, plus my normal lights, had people stopping last year)..that can be hazardous to one's health.

2. on the opposite end..will anyone really stop to see it and appreciate the musical side of it? My thoughts on that have changed as I've talked to others, and agree with the thought of..if you see it, are happy with it, thats all you need. So, it may very well be a "family only" display. Seeing my 3 y/o grandaughter go ga-ga over the just the animated lights last year has me smiling thinking about her seeing the lights dance to music this year.

While I disagree with my dear friend Mr. Winder, about whether an animated-only display makes sense (my 3 granddaughter would tell you "gampa don's lights were fun"), its a moot point..I'm going musical this year..and the display has grown from 48 channels, to several times that. No holds barred, I'll deal with the challenges. Life is too short...

As I work thru all of this, I think about one possibility..my small (less than 2000 people) town has a nice semi-empty lot in the middle of town..more conducive to a show. If this year presents a challenge, that is possibly the pitch I make next year; let me light up the town lot, and we'll avoid any possible bad traffic situations.

All that said, the thought of potential traffic risks is on my mind..and if once things were lit, it looked like that would happen, and there is even the chance something bad could happen, I go dark...so I'm going into it with eyes wide open.

Brian, feel free to PM me and we can talk further.

[jimswinder]

DonFL wrote:

While I disagree with my dear friend Mr. Winder, about whether an animated-only display makes sense (my 3 granddaughter would tell you "gampa don's lights were fun")

lol...I meant for ME!!!

I went to having a large static display in the 80's

to no display in the 90's

to a Musical LOR the last two years...

and yes, both Static and Musical warmed my heart...

[scubado]

jimswinder wrote:

and yes, both Static and Musical warmed my heart... 

Yes, both will warm your heart, but the musical will keep the beat!

[Surfing4Dough]

Sounds like a good reason to sell your house and move.

[LORi P]

Surfing4Dough wrote:

Sounds like a good reason to sell your house and move.

I'm glad to see someone else has even thought of this... even if only in a joking way. I actually had a dream last week about buying a house with a large level yard!
I live on a very small lot that slopes a lot right to left and even more so front to back.
Sorry to hijack your thread...

[jstorms]

I agree with the previous poster, I afraid Brian that you need to move.

Here is a list you can give your Realtor:
* No neighbors across the street, preferably no neighbors.
* Street wide enough for parking on both sides while allowing traffic to flow in both directions.
* Street forms a loops so people don't have to turnaround
* Far enough from nearest cross street to allow traffic to line up
* Open radio frequencies
* No HOA
* Low crime (don't want vandalls)
* House is on raised lot, higher than the road.
* Sidewalks on both sides
* House has lots of outdoor outlets and/or extra circuits
* Roofline without too much slope
* Neighbors who LOVE Christmas
* Not on a high speed road

[Guest guest]

You forgot one thing:

separate 400 amp outdoor service with GFI outlets circling the house.

[BrownOut]

jstorms: Wishfull thinking!

[scubado]

If I won the lottery... I'd find a large lot suitable for a mega display, build a large house with even bigger garage for workshop/lab/storage/fabrication etc... Then hire George full time for sequencing and contract with Demented Elf for voice overs then go Mega shopping for controllers, lights, extension cords etc...

[Guest guest]

scubado wrote:

If I won the lottery... I'd find a large lot suitable for a mega display, build a large house with even bigger garage for workshop/lab/storage/fabrication etc... Then hire George full time for sequencing and contract with Demented Elf for voice overs then go Mega shopping for controllers, lights, extension cords etc...

I think you forgot one small detail......

Where's the parking lot for folks to park and watch the display?

That is if you won the lottery, you could at least put in a nice parking area for your guests to watch the show.

[rescue_653]

Jeff Millard wrote:

jstorms wrote:

I agree with the previous poster, I afraid Brian that you need to move.

Here is a list you can give your Realtor:
* No neighbors across the street, preferably no neighbors.
* Street wide enough for parking on both sides while allowing traffic to flow in both directions.
* Street forms a loops so people don't have to turnaround
* Far enough from nearest cross street to allow traffic to line up
* Open radio frequencies
* No HOA (+2)
* Low crime (don't want vandalls)
* House is on raised lot, higher than the road.
* Sidewalks on both sides
* House has lots of outdoor outlets and/or extra circuits
* Roofline without too much slope
* Neighbors who LOVE Christmas
* Not on a high speed road

DonFL wrote:

You forgot one thing:

separate 400 amp outdoor service with GFI outlets circling the house.

+1 for both of these posts!

Jeff

PS I would like to add *Enough room to provide homes for everyone in the LOR forum so they can all live near me.

But Jeff are you sure you want to do that, pictures being stolen would be the least of your concerns :shock:

[scubado]

Orville wrote:

scubado wrote:

If I won the lottery... I'd find a large lot suitable for a mega display, build a large house with even bigger garage for workshop/lab/storage/fabrication etc... Then hire George full time for sequencing and contract with Demented Elf for voice overs then go Mega shopping for controllers, lights, extension cords etc...

I think you forgot one small detail......

Where's the parking lot for folks to park and watch the display?

That is if you won the lottery, you could at least put in a nice parking area for your guests to watch the show.

 

The parking area was already in my head, just forgot to mention it.

[scubado]

Jeff Millard wrote:

jstorms wrote:

I agree with the previous poster, I afraid Brian that you need to move.

Here is a list you can give your Realtor:
* No neighbors across the street, preferably no neighbors.
* Street wide enough for parking on both sides while allowing traffic to flow in both directions.
* Street forms a loops so people don't have to turnaround
* Far enough from nearest cross street to allow traffic to line up
* Open radio frequencies
* No HOA (+2)
* Low crime (don't want vandalls)
* House is on raised lot, higher than the road.
* Sidewalks on both sides
* House has lots of outdoor outlets and/or extra circuits
* Roofline without too much slope
* Neighbors who LOVE Christmas
* Not on a high speed road

DonFL wrote:

You forgot one thing:

separate 400 amp outdoor service with GFI outlets circling the house.

+1 for both of these posts!

Jeff

PS I would like to add *Enough room to provide homes for everyone in the LOR forum so they can all live near me.

The new neighborhood would have to be near an airport. Viewing from the air could be the new craze :cool::dude:

[Surfing4Dough]

scubado wrote:

Jeff Millard wrote:

jstorms wrote:

I agree with the previous poster, I afraid Brian that you need to move.

Here is a list you can give your Realtor:
* No neighbors across the street, preferably no neighbors.
* Street wide enough for parking on both sides while allowing traffic to flow in both directions.
* Street forms a loops so people don't have to turnaround
* Far enough from nearest cross street to allow traffic to line up
* Open radio frequencies
* No HOA (+2)
* Low crime (don't want vandalls)
* House is on raised lot, higher than the road.
* Sidewalks on both sides
* House has lots of outdoor outlets and/or extra circuits
* Roofline without too much slope
* Neighbors who LOVE Christmas
* Not on a high speed road

DonFL wrote:

You forgot one thing:

separate 400 amp outdoor service with GFI outlets circling the house.

+1 for both of these posts!

Jeff

PS I would like to add *Enough room to provide homes for everyone in the LOR forum so they can all live near me.

The new neighborhood would have to be near an airport. Viewing from the air could be the new craze :cool::dude:

But they wouldn't care for your beyond legal range FM transmission, and you probably would have men in black vans pulling up to your house.

[scubado]

Surfing4Dough wrote:

scubado wrote:

Jeff Millard wrote:

jstorms wrote:

I agree with the previous poster, I afraid Brian that you need to move.

Here is a list you can give your Realtor:
* No neighbors across the street, preferably no neighbors.
* Street wide enough for parking on both sides while allowing traffic to flow in both directions.
* Street forms a loops so people don't have to turnaround
* Far enough from nearest cross street to allow traffic to line up
* Open radio frequencies
* No HOA (+2)
* Low crime (don't want vandalls)
* House is on raised lot, higher than the road.
* Sidewalks on both sides
* House has lots of outdoor outlets and/or extra circuits
* Roofline without too much slope
* Neighbors who LOVE Christmas
* Not on a high speed road

DonFL wrote:

You forgot one thing:

separate 400 amp outdoor service with GFI outlets circling the house.

+1 for both of these posts!

Jeff

PS I would like to add *Enough room to provide homes for everyone in the LOR forum so they can all live near me.

The new neighborhood would have to be near an airport. Viewing from the air could be the new craze :cool::dude:

But they wouldn't care for your beyond legal range FM transmission, and you probably would have men in black vans pulling up to your house. 

Well since I won the lottery, I think I could afford my own radio station

I know some of us would love to have a show big enough to see from space, Shadrack might be almost there, here's a wild idea to do it; Take over a power plant and flash whole areas of a city to music. I wonder how many appliances we could fry.

[LORi P]

Jeff Millard wrote:

PS I would like to add *Enough room to provide homes for everyone in the LOR forum so they can all live near me.

I don't want to be greedy, but...... how about CCRs for all you new neighbors? :dude:

[Lester Stone]

Ok so here is a thread I can make people jealous. I have a ranch style house that does not have a steep pitch. I have wonderful neighbors across the road that love and cant wait for display (they have grandkids) my property line is with a Church that has a large parking lot that people can park in, low crime town. Street wide enough to park on with a low speed limit. My only drawback is I dont have a substation close to where I can tap into the power supply.
Struts his Tail feathers.

P.S. will accept offers for residence