B-Rock Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 So, I am finalizing my channel map and layout and I find myself with 11 spare channels. I am only using 3 colors (red, green, and white). I was thinking of making arches, but I can decide if I want to do 2 5-channel arches or maybe just one big one. I also thought about mini trees, but with using 3 colors, that would only give me 3 trees. Finally, I thought about 'fire sticks', but don't know, again, if the 5 channels would look good. I have been having difficulty finding videos on 5-channel arches and 'fire sticks'.Any advice or guidance that will give me the most bang for my remaining channels?Thanks in advance, Brock(P.S. yes, I am WAY behind and its going to be a long 4 weeks...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Spares... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Rock Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 Corrected, spare channels...Thanks for correcting me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 My point was, save a few for spares. You may not need all 11, but there is that one time you lose a channel, and if you have no way to reassign it, because you have nothing to reassign it to, you'll be wishing you had set a couple aside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimswinder Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 my mini arches are all 5 channel arches (mega arches are 9 channels)...you can see them in action by clicking on the link in my signature below...or click on the video in this link:http://westseattleblog.com/2011/11/west-seattle-lights-the-famous-music-synched-show-starts-going-up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Rock Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 Never thought about it that way and I should have. I had a controller go down the day before Halloween, luckily I had one I wasn't using. Fortunately, it seemed to be a hiccup and the controller is good to go now. But having that available gave me piece of mind.Thanks for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Rock Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 @jimswinder, it seems that with the mini arches, 5 sections seem to be really smooth moves between channels. How many lights did you use? I have 70-ct LED strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwertz Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Strobes are fun and only take a couple channels. But they are not real cheap.If you're not going for that pitch black effect between songs, you could add a couple channels to the a background sequence as a way to turn other lights on for the duration of the show. I use one for our sign out by the road (and several others at Halloween for assorted pumpkins we have that are not part of the main show). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimswinder Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 B-Rock wrote: @jimswinder, it seems that with the mini arches, 5 sections seem to be really smooth moves between channels. How many lights did you use? I have 70-ct LED strings.I used 100ct...about 18" segments...on a 8' x 3/4" pvcI folded my lights in half..then folded them in half again..so basically wrapped "4 strings" of lights at once Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Rock Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 @rwertz, I do have my BIG strobes from Halloween I could use. They are the ones from the Lightning kit from WowLights. Not sure if they would be ok in the snow though. Hmmm, if I could figure out how to better protect them it would be a good idea, thanks.@jimswinder, thanks for the details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dharker Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I'm thinking you could eliminate 5 channels and let me borrow the controller You could think about not having everything 3 colors this year and add it next or even mix some colors this year and then separate them out next year.Like just use 9 or 10 channels for mini trees white only.Or 8 channels white 1 channel red across all minis and 1 green across all- you couldn't chase the red and green but still lots of effects when used with chasing whites.Or 6 minis each with a white and then 2 ch red (3 each) and 2 ch green.You could always break out the reds and greens next year when you have another controller.I added 5 arches this year each with 5 channels white (25 ch), then I have 3 channels for green on 3 arches and 2 channels red on 2 archs. Total 30 channels. If I did every color on every arch I would have needed 75 channels.Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Rock Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 @dharker, I considered that as well, eliminating one color from the mega tree (white) and just go with red and green (trying to convience the wife). That would free up enough channels for, like you said, mini trees or arches. Thanks for your input and the additional ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 My vote is to go with the single-color mini trees for this year and still save a few unused channels as spares. I believe the mini trees will give you the biggest bang for the buck, and then you can add the second and third colors to them in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ Hvasta Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 +1 ^^^^Yep, Single-color mini's still add the easiest WOW factor.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Rock Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 Thank you all for your ideas, they have really helped. I have a couple of conceptual designs that I have. Need to get the family to choose one, but will let you know what they decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulXmas Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 6 of my mini trees are on 4 channels.Three 2 colours on each side of the yard.And I would save a few for spares...just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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