LED confusion ?

[jer75]

Hi all ,
Well after getting the bug for LOR I'm in the process of making plans for next year which includes another 3 controllers :? , But having been looking at a lot of your excellent videos and reading a lot I'm rather confused by which LED to get .
I've been looking at Holiday-light-Express and they have 3 different types : 5mm LED , C6 LED and M6 Led .
I'm looking to wire up 8 Panels with 2 colours each that measure 4'x4' for my roof and 6 panels 6'x4' for the front walls and cover a porch roof as well , what would be best type to use ? as I'm totally confused .
Also I realise I'll have to make extensions up for these lights , I'm thinking of using SPT2 wire but what plugs will I need to get ?
All help gratefully recieved .

Thanks

Jerry

P.S what is the minimum amount of channels for a 10' Mega tree and possible light string count .

[Steven]

jer75 wrote:

they have 3 different types : 5mm LED , C6 LED and M6 Led .

5mm give a "point" of light. These (in my opinion) are good for bushes.
M6 are the shape of a "mini" light. I think these are good to outline windows.
C6 are in the shape of a traditional C7 candelabra bulb, but are smaller and faceted. I think these are best for mega trees.

These are mostly my opinion. To judge for yourself, get yourself to a Lowe's before it's too late and take a look at what they have. Then write it down and order quality lights online.

P.S what is the minimum amount of channels for a 10' Mega tree and possible light string count .

To get the best "spinning" effect, most people use 16 channels per color. Others have used 12 channels with acceptable results. If you're short on channels, there has been a technique discussed where you "spin" the tree in a single color, using 16 channels, and then light the tree solid in other colors, using 1 channel each. For instance, you could use 16 channels of white, then a single channel of red and a single channel of green.

[shfr26]

jer75 wrote:

P.S what is the minimum amount of channels for a 10' Mega tree and possible light string count .

I used 16 channels for my tree tihs year, my first with a mega tree. 8 channels of red and 8 channels of blue. 100 count mini's, 2 strands per channel. Did not do the over the top method, just up and down per each string. So that makes 3,200 lights and 16 channels. I think it looks pretty good, and most of my visitors love it.

[jimswinder]

Steven wrote:

To judge for yourself, get yourself to a Lowe's before it's too late and take a look at what they have.

Do they have a Lowes in England?

[Steven]

jimswinder wrote:

Do they have a Lowes in England?

My bad. I neglected to look at Jerry's location when I quoted him!

[jer75]

Thanks for the replies guys , No we dont have lowe's here in the UK Steve .
I think I've got my mega tree figured out with your help just not sure about the roof and wall LED's , I'm drawn towards the M6 as these look like they will be bright enough for what I want .
Would the M6 be good for Mini Trees and Arches as the lights I have on mine at the moment are already starting to drop out , replaced 30 tonight !!
Thats the sort of rubbish lights we got here , this is why I want to go over to 120v LED's and I'm not really impressed with the LED's available here in cost and if they go down on me its still cheaper to get them shipped over.


Jerry