Cwegele Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Little about myself - I've done static light displays for a while. Wanted to do an animated one since I saw my first one. Moved into a new house 2 years ago, had 8 individual 15 amp outlets installed in the garage for power tools and to one day do my own display. Finally got a ladder to get lights on the 2nd story gutters. So now its time to get a controller or two and start sequencing. But I already have a few questions.1. I know LOR has 2 sales a year. During either of these sales to the controllers ever go on sale?2.Some of my planned figures won't require an entire string of lights - Can I cut an LED string....as long as its after any resistor?3. is there suggestions out there for a fast way to frame windows with lights?......I was thinking about making some frames out of PVC pipe.4. How do "groups sales" work5. If I'm going to run an extention cord from my garage to the centrally located controller in the yard. What gauge or cord should I use?I think thats all I got for now.Looking forward to buying a controller or maybe two and start making plans for christmas 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbirdruss Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Welcome to the addiction!I will take a stab at a few of your questions.1. Controllers do go on sale during the sales but I am concerened that due to high demand and short supply that the sales may be a thing of the past. Time will tell. Be sure you check out the DIY products in the online store. The CTB16PC kits are a great value.2. There are several threads discussing creating custom length LED strings in the forum. The process is not as easy as cutting the strings afetr the resistor though. I use blackout caps instead because of my limited electrical knowledge.3. Check out www.lightclipstrip.com. I purchased their product this year but did not have time to implement. I hope to use it in 20124. There is a thread in the Coffee Shop "Pre Sale Summary" featuring some trustworthy sources of LED lights. I would feel comfortable buying from any of those companies.5. If you are running all LED's power will not be as big of a concern in your display. May of us use SPT-2 cord with vampire clips and make custom length cords to run our displays.Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
columbus27 Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I put electrical tape over my extra lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmilkie Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Cwegele wrote: Little about myself - I've done static light displays for a while. Wanted to do an animated one since I saw my first one. Moved into a new house 2 years ago, had 8 individual 15 amp outlets installed in the garage for power tools and to one day do my own display. Finally got a ladder to get lights on the 2nd story gutters. So now its time to get a controller or two and start sequencing. But I already have a few questions.1. I know LOR has 2 sales a year. During either of these sales to the controllers ever go on sale? Usually the summer sale has some good deals2.Some of my planned figures won't require an entire string of lights - Can I cut an LED string....as long as its after any resistor? Not a good idea: led's have small voltage drops across them, removing them makes the the voltage across the remaining led's go up, unless you put an additional load in to make up the difference. As others mentioned, just cover them up with tape or?3. is there suggestions out there for a fast way to frame windows with lights?......I was thinking about making some frames out of PVC pipe. I use stucco corner bead, cut to length, ty wrap the lights to it, mount it to windows, roof, etc with screws and ty wraps; makes for easy and quick install/take down; others use similiar methods; search thru the forum4. How do "groups sales" work not done by LOR; members of Forum do this to help others and/or reduce prices on lights5. If I'm going to run an extention cord from my garage to the centrally located controller in the yard. What gauge or cord should I use? What length? How many controllers? Led's or incadescents? Since it's the main feed to say 1 controller, I would say 14 gauge if using led's for say a 25-50ft run would be safe(prob overkill, but better to use larger wire for main). 16 gauge might be ok, here's a HomeDepot link:http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentView?pn=Extension_Cords_Reels&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 All depends on the length and load/#controllers; You can look up wire table sizes, vs length, distance, current, etc. on the web. I think thats all I got for now.Looking forward to buying a controller or maybe two and start making plans for christmas 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eurbani Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Redbirdruss wrote:3. Check out www.lightclipstrip.com.Hope this helps.http://www.liteclipstrip.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddmoon Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Cwegele wrote: Little about myself - I've done static light displays for a while. Wanted to do an animated one since I saw my first one. Moved into a new house 2 years ago, had 8 individual 15 amp outlets installed in the garage for power tools and to one day do my own display. Finally got a ladder to get lights on the 2nd story gutters. So now its time to get a controller or two and start sequencing. But I already have a few questions.1. I know LOR has 2 sales a year. During either of these sales to the controllers ever go on sale?2.Some of my planned figures won't require an entire string of lights - Can I cut an LED string....as long as its after any resistor?3. is there suggestions out there for a fast way to frame windows with lights?......I was thinking about making some frames out of PVC pipe.4. How do "groups sales" work5. If I'm going to run an extention cord from my garage to the centrally located controller in the yard. What gauge or cord should I use?I think thats all I got for now.Looking forward to buying a controller or maybe two and start making plans for christmas 2012.Another welcome to the addition center.Sales you can sign up for notifications from LOR.LED lights are what I use. I have 15K plus and run them all on one circuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubado Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 As far as cutting strings, anyehere along the string where there are only two wires between sockets, cut there. You can shorten a string at that point or add another section or even 'T' into that spot.Welcome aboard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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