Guest guest Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 I will running a 32 channel LOR and I had a question on how many (100 same color) can you run on a channel.I am trying to prepare how my layout will look. and help would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 LOR will handle up to 8 amps on a channel, up to 15 (20 if you change the fuses) amps per side of the controller. Assuming .33 amps per 100 lamp mini string, you could potentially run up to 45 (60) strings of lights per side, or up to 24 on a single channel. I don't know of anyone that would recommend running right up to the limit, but on paper, those seem to be the limits.D.T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 DownTown wrote: LOR will handle up to 8 amps on a channel, up to 15 (20 if you change the fuses) amps per side of the controller. Assuming .33 amps per 100 lamp mini string, you could potentially run up to 45 (60) strings of lights per side, or up to 24 on a single channel. I don't know of anyone that would recommend running right up to the limit, but on paper, those seem to be the limits.D.T.I have been thinking about this, and it seem that this is the point where show design can get complicated......Ok well it is already complicated, this can make it REALLY complicated.The controller can handle up to 8 amps per channel. But if you ran upto that you could only turn on 2 channels. If you wanted to be able to turn on all 8 channels at once you could only have 2.5 amps per channel or about 7.5 strings of 100. I have a lot of 400 bulb strings I picked up after xmas to make mini trees out of I assume that would have the draw of 4 strings of 100.I guess my question is how do you calculate loads while designing your sequences so nothing gets overloaded?John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Download one of the spreadsheets by Rick Williams. There's a 10 and 25 controller version available.http://www.quartzhillchristmas.com/12.htmlI found these very helpful in getting my circuit loads balance out.Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 msteele wrote: Download one of the spreadsheets by Rick Williams. There's a 10 and 25 controller version available.http://www.quartzhillchristmas.com/12.htmlI found these very helpful in getting my circuit loads balance out.MarkHumm, ask and ye shall recieve,What part of orlando are you in? I am North East. Do you animate for any other holidays?Thanks.John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 I downloaded that spread sheet, if I am not wrong I think there is a mistake in the LED section.Wattage on a mini is listed as .25 but wattage on a LED is 2.4.Not that I have any LED lights yet, but that is what I am considering for the bulk of the new lights that I purchase to keep load and the electric bill down.Does anyone know what the correct wattage of an LED is?Mini 100 Watts Bulbs per string Watts per string 0.25 100 25LED 2.4 25 60Sorry for the hijack.John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 johnm160 wrote: msteele wrote: Download one of the spreadsheets by Rick Williams. There's a 10 and 25 controller version available.http://www.quartzhillchristmas.com/12.htmlI found these very helpful in getting my circuit loads balance out.MarkHumm, ask and ye shall recieve,What part of orlando are you in? I am North East. Do you animate for any other holidays?Thanks.JohnJohn,I live over in the Longwood area. I just started with LOR this year. Unfortunately I got a late start and was only able to sequence a few songs. But it was a great learning experience and I'm excited about planning for next year's show. I may incorporate LOR into my Halloween display next year, but I'll have to wait and see.Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 johnm160 wrote: ... I have a lot of 400 bulb strings I picked up after xmas to make mini trees out of I assume that would have the draw of 4 strings of 100.Check the tags at the end of each string of lights.They will tell you the current demand of each string.It will state something like 120V 0.6A.You want to add all the amps per string together for each channel and the totals per "side" of the controller depending if you are using an 8 or 16 channel controller.On the 16 channel controller, channels 1-8 = one side and channels 9-16 = the other side.Hope this helps!Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 msteele wrote: johnm160 wrote: msteele wrote: Download one of the spreadsheets by Rick Williams. There's a 10 and 25 controller version available.http://www.quartzhillchristmas.com/12.htmlI found these very helpful in getting my circuit loads balance out.MarkHumm, ask and ye shall recieve,What part of orlando are you in? I am North East. Do you animate for any other holidays?Thanks.JohnJohn,I live over in the Longwood area. I just started with LOR this year. Unfortunately I got a late start and was only able to sequence a few songs. But it was a great learning experience and I'm excited about planning for next year's show. I may incorporate LOR into my Halloween display next year, but I'll have to wait and see.MarkI might have to come see you and brainstorm / steel some halloween ideas from you. :laughing:I have a very small place right now so I don't have the room for anything to extensive so I will have to make the most of anything I do.I hope to be in a much larger place for the 2008 holiday season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Griswold wrote: johnm160 wrote: ... I have a lot of 400 bulb strings I picked up after xmas to make mini trees out of I assume that would have the draw of 4 strings of 100.Check the tags at the end of each string of lights.They will tell you the current demand of each string.It will state something like 120V 0.6A.You want to add all the amps per string together for each channel and the totals per "side" of the controller depending if you are using an 8 or 16 channel controller.On the 16 channel controller, channels 1-8 = one side and channels 9-16 = the other side.Hope this helps!Good Luck!You mean I have to open the box???? LOLI never thought of a tag, I was planning on ampmeters ect.....sometimes a technical background makes you overlook the simple answer.Thanks for the helpJohn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 DownTown wrote: LOR will handle up to 8 amps on a channel, up to 15 (20 if you change the fuses) amps per side of the controller.Is this based on the dual power inlet controller or single power inlet controller?I keep reading 15AMPS per side (many different threads) and that the controller is limited to 15AMPS.If it is 15-20 per controller (one breaker per controller, distributed to approx 1 AMP per channel) or the 30-40 per controller (two breakers per controller, approx 2 AMPS per channel), I think I would rather have more channels since you can always run multiple channels with the same sequence instead of limiting yourself with the number of channels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Yeah, however you have to have money to buy those extra channels as well, this is what has kept me stuck with only 8 for two years now, no money to splurge and buy more channels for more control and more effects. I am hoping on 2007 I can manage my money a little bit better and have more channels and a better display, but i'll just have to wait and see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 BetterDays wrote: DownTown wrote: LOR will handle up to 8 amps on a channel, up to 15 (20 if you change the fuses) amps per side of the controller.Is this based on the dual power inlet controller or single power inlet controller?I keep reading 15AMPS per side (many different threads) and that the controller is limited to 15AMPS.If it is 15-20 per controller (one breaker per controller, distributed to approx 1 AMP per channel) or the 30-40 per controller (two breakers per controller, approx 2 AMPS per channel), I think I would rather have more channels since you can always run multiple channels with the same sequence instead of limiting yourself with the number of channels.Let's try to clear this up a little.First, is the capacity of each channel due to the limitations of the Triac and the traces on the controller card. An LOR channel is limited to 8amps maximum.Second, a jumpered board with 1 ac source will be able to handle 15amps maximum across the entire board. You can change the fuse to 20 and make that 20amps. In this case only the right side fuse will be functional.Third, using 2 ac sources with the original fuses you will be able to get 15amps on one-half of the board for 30amps total. Change the fuses to 20s and it will be 40amps total.As johnm160 said in his post, that gives you an avarage maximum 2.5amps per channel. But when you determine the load you are going to place on the boards, you should consider running at about 80% of the capacity for safety.One thing to remember here is that these current values are averages. They are based on 125vac and the average resistive load of a set of minis. There are no absolutes here. I have had a set of minis light at .28amp and another set at .38amp. These were values from a "Kill-A-Watt" ammeter. I compared it to a calibrated ammeter at work and it was very close at values less than 2amps. Plus the transformer that feeds my house is at the very end of a fused radial primary. The line drop down that radial is enough that I never see more than 119vac at an outlet. This is in part why you should leave yourself a safety net and run at 80%. You might not be in a voltage drop area, you might be lucky enough to actually get 125vac and these calculations are much closer than anticipated... I'm just being conservative here.There's no doubt in my mind that I could set up an LOR board at 40amps, put a 40amp load on it and it will chug right along.jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 edit:Nevermind you got a better response while I was typing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 I completely understand the needed funds portion. I am in the same boat.I have around 30-40 amps to play with until I get a power upgrade.I can either buy one controller for 30 amps (maxed out for sake of the conversation) or two controllers at 15A each (same same of the conversation). However, once the power upgrade is completed at the house, I can wire the 2 controllers to 30A each.After reading so many threads here, I just want to make sure people, specifically those who do not have LOR (or similar) yet understand that there are two different models and that the 15A board is 15A total, not per side. It may be just my comprehension on several threads, but several people comment about 15A per side and don't mention the limitations of the controllers themselves.I do not have LOR (yet), but I have been pricing my options. I, along with most likely many others, envision grandiose displays since that is what we have seen and enjoyed on here. I planned 16 channels (30A controller) and then did some research into the Hobbyist product. For a little more, I can purchase 2 controllers and add the wires and enclosure myself instead of 1 "showtime" product.My words of advice:Keep it Simple, Stupid (KISS Theory)Plan, plan, planCrawl, walk, run.Location, location, location.Plan small and build. I started designing what I want for 2007. I ended up with more channels, more lights, and more power than I can afford. Frustrated, I stepped back into reality to see what I could begin with on a smaller scale and have room to expand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 The LOR Wiki is your friend: www.lorwiki.comThe search function is also your friend.Have fun!-Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 johnm160,You have a PM.Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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