NEWBIE has no clue with S3

[dito]

Ok, so i put in my order for 48 channels. in the meantime i have some free time (since i dont think these will arrive until late Nov). I want to learn/create some sequences/shows. WHERE DO I START?! I downloaded/installed S3 and I get so many programs to choose from I don't know which one I pick. Sequencer, editor, show builder, superstar?! Not sure if S3 does this or not, but can I point to a track, import it and have S3 create a show for me (telling it how many channels)?

Ever since I was young, I've always wanted to have the nicest lights on the block (Halloween and Xmas) and I definitely have with basic lights, but now that I'm older (and have more $) I can step it up this year WITH the wifes approval!

[jstorms]

Start with a plan of where you are going to put your lights and how they will map to channels. Then in the sequence editor add the channels. Export the channel configuration.

Then use the Visualizer with a picture of your house and layout what your display will look like by adding fixtures and putting them into groups.

Next go back to the sequence editor and sequence your first song. Pick something with a good, steady beat for your first try.

Have fun.

[Guest guest]

There are several tutorials here to get you started.

http://www.lightorama.com/Documentation.html

[sasmuse]

Definitely recommend working through the tutorials. It will save you lots of time in the long run.

As for your question about LOR creating the sequences automatically, I don't think that is available, but for me, that is the beauty of LOR. I get to create my own show.

Your first stop should be the Sequence Editor that is where the show gets programmed. Enjoy! And welcome to the club!

[taybrynn]

Do as stated above, but draw you visualizer picture in your channel configuration sequence (a dummy sequence usually) and then export the configuration file as a 2011 configuration or something. Then every time you start a new sequence (song) ... you import that configuration ... and it brings in your channels (controllers) and the visualizer picture.

But there is so much more, as others said ... read and watch tutorials first if possible.

[dito]

thanks. i needed the tutorials. still watching them. but that's exactly what i needed! so if i understand correctly, i should:
- take a picture of my house and import into visualizer
- figure out what lighting goes where
- "map" out which lighting is going to be what channel
- draw out my lighting in editor and assign them to a channel
- export/save configuration
- start creating!
correct?

[taybrynn]

yes, thats correct.

I usually draw the lights right onto the picture (in the LOR visualizer, not in a graphic program) ... and later you can dim or eliminate the picture of you want. Getting the visualize drawing down can take a day or two of serious detailed work, if you want it to looks fairly realistic.

If you start creating your own from scratch, then you just start with your own 2011 configuration, specify a song and then get to work! I think when you create a new musical sequence, you can put in your config file you want to start with. The config file also gives you any groups you may have created and those groups can be quite useful for sequencing, since you can sequence them collapsed or un-collapsed.

Even if you decide to use a pre-made sequence, you would typically take that sequence, open up 48 new channels at the top, then import your 48ch configuration ... and then copy/paste from pre-made sequence channels into your own, then disable and/or delete those original channels.

The other thing to keep in mind is power distribution if your not using LEDs or your power available is limited. There are spreadsheets out there to help you do that. Quartzhill Christmas had an excellent one.

So as you get bigger, that spreadsheet becomes more important to determine power use/balancing ... and also keeps you honest on not overloading any channels, banks or controllers (each controller had two banks). I recc. buying a killowatt to measure your display items if you want to be able to monitor your power use and load balance, etc. Its a $20 well spent.

[dito]

I will be using a high majority of LED (ropes/mini). That is one questions I had. Well, One reason I wanted LED is for the power consupmtion. Where do I plug the controllers into? Just the regular outlet in the garage and run extension cords out to the controllers? I'm assuming using mostly LED's, there wont be a power consumption issue...?

[taybrynn]

Yes, each controller had two input cords. If yours using a LOT of power, you would plug those into different circuits.

But in your case, you could likely run several controllers on a single circuit (single extension cord potentially). You can combine to two input with a 3 way outdoor tap and feed with a single extension cord.

ALso be aware of the extension cord amp limitations based on the wire sizes in those extension cords.

But to be sure & safe, thats where you could plug everything in, then measure the total amps being used with the killowatt meter and know how much you can plug in and still be safe.

On a 15 amp circuit, assuming no other things are using (be careful with a garage circuit, often shared with other things) ... you could probably push 13 amps total, but not more. The 80% of capacity rule is what I use.

[Richard Hamilton]

taybrynn wrote:

Yes, each controller had two input cords. If yours using a LOT of power, you would plug those into different circuits.

dito, just to make sure you don't get confused, not all controllers will have two cords. It depends on the model you purchased and how much wattage it can handle. The ones you bought might have only 1 power cord. Hopefully that is the model you bought if you plan to use mostly LED.

[dito]

this is what i bought (x3) PC-CTB16PC-COMPLETE. i didnt see the option where i could buy the 15 amp version. the only 15 amp versions i could find were the LOR1600W (too expensive). can i ask them to make these 15 amp instead of the 30 amp or they already prebuilt?

[Richard Hamilton]

dito wrote:

this is what i bought (x3) PC-CTB16PC-COMPLETE. i didnt see the option where i could buy the 15 amp version. the only 15 amp versions i could find were the LOR1600W (too expensive). can i ask them to make these 15 amp instead of the 30 amp or they already prebuilt?

You should probably call or email them to be sure what you got. I am not up to date on what is presently being shipped. All I know is that I have a variety of controllers with 1 plug and 2, yet I bought them long ago. I bought the 15 amp versions when I started using LEDs because usless you plan to put so many lights on one controller as to be seen from the space station, you won't be maxing out a controller with LEDs.

There is some variation in the amount of current drawn by a string of LED lights depending on design and number of LEDs per string, but a good rule of thumb is that a typical string of lights with 70 "MINI" sized Leds will consume about 5-6 Watts. Obviously C7 and C9 size will consume a little more.

Thus, you could hook up 200 - 300 mini LED strings of lights (spread across all channels) on just one of the smallest 15 Amp controllers.

[Guest guest]

If you check the LOR store, you'll see the "professional series" (160X models), has a 15A versus 30A choice, so one cord versus 2, but looks like all PC series full kits come with 2 cords, so only a 30A version. That said, it is your choice as to whether you wire it for 15A total, or 30. Definitely recommend downloading and reading the user manual for the unit you bought.

I also say that with the caveat that I always buy the card kit, and add cords, etc as needed.

If you list what you ordered off the invoice, its easy for a forum member to confirm for you.

[dito]

what card kit, the DIY?

my order,
SPK-ST Generic Starter SPK-ST 1 112.85 Cable = 10ft Cat5 Cable
Package Connector = USB - USB485
(Will ship in 2-3 weeks) Feature Level = Advanced (+69.00)
Software = Download Only
Card Assembled (Complete PC-CTB16PC-COMPLETE 3 205.95 Country = USA & Canada
Package)
(Will ship in 2-3 weeks)

[Guest guest]

You'll notice from the picture on the LOR website what you ordered has 2 line cords. It is your choice if you stay with that; each line cord power half the channels (1-8, 9-16), the 9-16 cord also power the controller electronics (processor, etc). if you go with one line cord, you'll need to install jumpers.

The user manual walks you thru determining whether you need both cords, and how to configure for just one..if you are 100% LED, very likely you can install jumpers and use one line cord. Or, if you plug them into the same outlet, it won't matter, as your current draw will be minimal.

If using incandescents, then you DO need to do a little more planning. This tool is a big help in that case: http://www.quartzhillchristmas.com/12.html. Even then, i run virtually all incandescents, and none of my controllers need to use two line cords. Its all about the planning...

The support section of the LOR website has several good tutuorials on how to set things up, plus the forum here is a wealth of information.

[aurickle]

When you're dealing with power you actually have to look at three places:

1) The fixture itself. How many amps does its lights use? If you only see wattage, you'll need to convert that to amps. (http://www.jobsite-generators.com/power_calculators.html)

2) The controller. How many amps can it power? For example, a 30 amp controller is actually split into two 15 amp halves. You cannot connect more to that controller than it can power.

3) The circuit. Household circuits are usually either 15 amp or 20 amp. (There are exceptions, such as the circuit that powers your clothes washer and is (I believe) usually 40 amps.)

At this point it just becomes a matter of figuring out how much draw you're putting on each LOR controller (or half of a controller) and then figuring out which circuits you need to plug into to get that power.

If you are running 100 LED strings at .03 amps each then that's a total of 3 amps of power. You could use 7 controllers with one strand on each channel and you'll still only be drawing that 3 amps for the lights. (The controllers use a bit of power themselves, but not much.) As a result, you could actually put every single controller on just one 15 amp household circuit and you'll be fine.

But if you're running 100 incandescent strands of 25 C9 bulbs (just over 1 amp per strand) then you're looking at 100 amps total power use. Now things get a lot more dicey because you need to find a way to get power from a minimum of 5 discreet 20 amp circuits (good luck with that!) AND each controller can only have 15 strands, tops. So you would absolutely need 7 controllers to pull that off. Honestly, you would want to go with more than 5 circuits in that case due to the fact the 80% rule mentioned above. You don't want to have your circuits tripping mid show. It kind of ruins the effect.

The easiest way is really to think this through in reverse. Look at the number of controllers you're going to be using and their maximum load. This will then determine the maximum number of lights that you can use in your show. Once you've figured out exactly what your show will entail, you can now figure out how many circuits you need to plug into in order to make it work.

By the way, I heartily recommend buying one of these: http://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4400-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1320502857&sr=1-1 With this you can easily check the draw of any item. Want to know how much electricity that inflatable pulls? Want to make sure you're not trying to pull too much from a circuit? This will answer those questions!

[dito]

mostly all LEDS, and P3 already ordered. Did not know about installing jumpers, I think that will work best for me since almost all LED's. I really dont see using that much power, but with the P3 I'll know for sure, thanks for the heads up on the jumpers! I was just thinking of using a "splitter" to get the power to the two cords on each of the controllers from the same extension cord run.

[Guest guest]

dito wrote:

mostly all LEDS, and P3 already ordered. Did not know about installing jumpers, I think that will work best for me since almost all LED's. I really dont see using that much power, but with the P3 I'll know for sure, thanks for the heads up on the jumpers! I was just thinking of using a "splitter" to get the power to the two cords on each of the controllers from the same extension cord run.

Either way will work. If these are completely assembled, and you don't want to mess with the jumpers, you'll be fine, assuming your consumption is minimal, which is the case if you go all-LED. If you have some incandescents, you'll want to sanity check, but you should be fine.