Guest guest Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 I plan on purchasing several lor controllers this spring. I want my natural trees to change color and operate to music. I also would like to have a grid and several mini trees. I currently have a fairly large static display of mostly clear minis (aprox. 30,000) and 15 to 20 different wire frames. I would like the static display to come on between shows but think it may be too many amps for the controllers. Each of my natural trees pull aprox 15-20 amps. Is there a way to turn these on and off without going through the lor some how. From what I have read it would take one controller to do 2 of my trees and I have 5 trees. What would be the best approach here as well as the most economical. Thanks, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 Dave , we do that exact same thing here by the use of an array of 30 amp double pole double throw mechanical relays. One channel of LOR or Al or whatever can be used to convert the whole display into a static mode for as long as you want and then back to synced action upon demand. The DPDT mechanical relays are very inexpensive at about $20 each . It does require a bit of space to set up. Our mechanical relay board is about 4 ft long by 1 ft . The whole thing can even be controlled remotely at your will by using a transmitter/receiver push button such as the kind that locks your car doors or model airplane R/C controllers. Its a nice option to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 [align=left] Walter, thanks for the reply and I have been thinking about how your set up works. Do the relays go on after they receive a signal from the LOR? Would this be similar to a pump start relay on a well. If so I know they take a 24volt signal from the sprinkler controller. Does the LOR send a 120v signal, and what type and where can I purchase these relay's?[/align][align=left] What type of set up would I need, to have 3 to 4 different colors on my trees and want to control them for fade, on off etc. when each tree takes about 5000 lights of one color. This is close to 20 amps per color for just one tree. If this is what I want to do it looks like I would need 2 LOR controllers per tree since the controllers are 40 amps max per unit from what I have read. I could use 1 unit for every 2 trees if I only have one color at a time at 100% on each tree. What would work best here any suggestions. Can I build a controller that would have four 20 amp channels with out costing a fortune. [/align][align=left] Thanks, Dave[/align] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Dave in Wichita wrote: [align=left] What type of set up would I need, to have 3 to 4 different colors on my trees and want to control them for fade, on off etc. [/align][align=left]If you use contactors of mechanical relay or even zero cross SSRs you will loose the fading capability.[/align][align=left]When each tree takes about 5000 lights of one color. This is close to 20 amps per color for just one tree. [/align][align=left]First while LOR 1602 controller can be refused to 20 amps per side (for a total of 40 amps) there is a practical limit of 8 amps per channel. [/align][align=left] [/align][align=left]If this is what I want to do it looks like I would need 2 LOR controllers per tree since the controllers are 40 amps max per unit from what I have read. I could use 1 unit for every 2 trees if I only have one color at a time at 100% on each tree. [/align][align=left]If you used two controllers, each with the same address so that channel 1 would come on simultaneously then your load would be spread across multiple units to meet the amperage limits. This assumes your trees are close enough to be piratical. Also if you provide additional cooling, ie a fan, you might be able to push the amp limit a little so that only 2 channels would be required per color. If you have further questions my email is Bill@ChristmasNorthwest.com[/align] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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