What Housings Have Been Used For Rainbow Floods

[Santas Helper]

I was just curious, as there are great ideas out there, if you own rainbow floods, what housing have you used? I know of the Halogen worklight housing. But are there other items that have been used to house this type of light board?

I've got quite a few already built up and have more to put together with around 32 of them all together so a cheap way would be great.

Thanks everyone,

Tom

[Tim Fischer]

I use the small 300W halogen enclosures, often on sale for around $8 at the big boxes. The board fits perfectly - except for the Cat5 jacks don't leave enough room to have a cord plugged in. So I don't use the on-board ones and solder wires directly to the board, keeping the jacks external to the enclosure (you'll have to shield them from weather - I use a small plastic bag with a drip loop and it works fine for several years now)

Here's a picture of one of my Rainbows, to show you what I mean:

And here's one of my v-Floods, which uses a similar setup:

Edited July 13, 2012 by Tim Fischer

[WilliamS]

Looks cold, what are the other lights on there? Spots or Strobes?

[Tim Fischer]

Looks cold, what are the other lights on there? Spots or Strobes?

Those are MR-16's, my original attempt at "RGB washing" which I still use in a couple of limited places like that one. Here's a page on them:

http://www.plymouthl...m/mr16howto.htm

It's a cheap way to get a *spot* of light (vs. a wash).

I use a lot of different wash-type fixtures, including some commercial ones. Here's a write-up on all of them:

http://www.plymouthlights.com/ledwash.htm

Edited July 13, 2012 by Tim Fischer

[flogger7]

I get the 500w from northern tool for about 7 bucks each on sale and put 2 RF's in each.

[Santas Helper]

Thanks Tim,

I was thinking about the smaller halogen housing like what you're using but knew the cat5 plug would be in the way. I didn't think about soldering wires to wrap it in the back of the board. That's a good idea. And helps keep the price in check.

And Flogger, thanks for your input. I have a Northern Tool close by and will have to check that out. Do you have pics of your set-up with two RF's?

Any other ideas are much appreciated as well.

Thanks guys,

Tom

[flogger7]

I'm traveling this weekend but i will post a few of inside and out when I get back.

And my son Sam is trying to steal my iPad and wants to say HI. So HI from Sam.

[Santas Helper]

Ha ha, Hi Sam.

Sounds good. Have a safe trip. Looking forward to pics.

Tom

[Keith Adams]

Hey Tom. Glad to see you are getting back to decorating mode. Wait until you see the Aether II's I will bring to next years mini. They have a 40 watt led in a 500 watt halogen case. By far the most powerfull flood I have built and you can change lenses to change from flood to spot ect...

[Santas Helper]

Hey Tom. Glad to see you are getting back to decorating mode. Wait until you see the Aether II's I will bring to next years mini. They have a 40 watt led in a 500 watt halogen case. By far the most powerfull flood I have built and you can change lenses to change from flood to spot ect...

Thanks so much Keith,

Losing both parents in 10 months is tough but things are better now. I lost mom in January of last year, dedicated my display to her on Thanksgiving weekend, then lost my dad that monday after thanksgiving. It was a very tough year. I've moved to a new location and so a new design for my display is on the way. I sure look forward to seeing that 40w flood. If you have more info to share, I would be greatful to hear about it.

If anything, Christmas decorating is keeping my mind/time busy, which is what I need.

Thanks,

Tom

Edited July 17, 2012 by Santas Helper

[flogger7]

Tom, here are the exterior photos.

I cut a piece of 5mm plywood to fit the opening about 1/2 inch below the surface. Marked and drilled holes for mount points; marked and cut out squares to expose the backside of the RGB+ connection points. Zip-tied the boards down to the plywood; soldered the boards together (output of board A to input of board ; soldered an $8 dmx controller to input of board A; attached the 2 pin cable for power and the Cat5 for DMX signal. Yes I know my 2-pin power cables are all backwards but my whole setup is that way (ideally the female ends should hot, not the male ends; but I started the first few that way so kept going....).

On this one, I pulled off the original power connection box. On my second one I left it on and used the strain relief in there. Anyway, hope this is helpful. Let me know if there are any questions or if you want more details.

-Aaron

[Santas Helper]

That looks really good Aaron,

Thanks for sharing.

[Jethro]

Do you guys have a link to the light stuff you used,I am trying to get into the RGB stuff and am playing catch up? also any video of them in action and how you use them in your display?

[MtDew4me]

Jethro:

Try https://www.seasonalentertainmentllc.com/ for the Rainbow Floodlight boards seen in flogger's photos. I use these in a similar set up.

Seasonal Entertainment also sells the Rainbow Flood Extreme.

There's also a similar RGB floodlight called HyperFlood-V (see: http://twodoglightstore.com/category.php?id_category=8). I believe this may have once been call "VFlood".

I am sure there are others..........

Hope this helps.

[spomalley]

Do you guys have a link to the light stuff you used,I am trying to get into the RGB stuff and am playing catch up? also any video of them in action and how you use them in your display?

First Watch David Moore's Instructional Series

Part 1:

Then read the AusChristmasLighting 101 Manual

Find it Here

[Ponddude]

Tom,

The floodlights, used along with the adapter plates, fit perfectly inside this enclosure from Lowe's.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_320778-337-PQS45UT_4294857041__?productId=3182629&Ntt=utilitech&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dutilitech&facetInfo=

The basic Rainbow flood is a complete DIY solution which is why we don't have an enclosure for it and as you can see from everyone's posts, the choices are endless. The Rainbow Flood Extreme, which is by far much brighter than any other DIY flood out there, is more of a commercial answer to RGB flood lighting with its constant current technology and its fully waterproof enclosure and waterproof connectors.

[joshua]

Greg,

Are you saying the rainbow flood extreme is brighter than a V Flood?

[Santas Helper]

Thanks Greg,

I've seen those at Lowe's. I'm looking for some cheaper used ones since I need about 16 or more of them.

I'll mark this post though for future progress and such.

Thanks,

[Steven]

I put a Rainbow Floods and a 3-channel DMX controller into each Home Depot fixture. See this thread for pictures.

Edited August 9, 2012 by Steven

[Santas Helper]

I put a Rainbow Floods and a 3-channel DMX controller into each Home Depot fixture. See this thread for pictures.

Thank you Steven,

That is some good info. I have a few smaller housing like that I got used condition. I'm going to experiement and see how it goes.