Advise and type of light ideas.

[Sheldon_15]

Ill post the picture of my plans..

The roofline is c9 multi color (the red and blue)

Than I have led blue icicle lights (blue under red)

And the center of the roof (left yellow right blue) is multi color regular incandescent lights.

And regular incans for the yard lines(red blue and green)

Now I need to know what type of lights to use around the windows, and around the house at the bottom(light green line)and the driveway arches.

I want it to stick out. I used regular incans befor but they didn't stick out...

I was thinking rope lights for around the windows, and around the house/sidewalk, and for the arches...

What do you think?

I need advise from people that are experienced before I go out and buy.

[WilliamS]

Remember this isnt static. You dont need the lights themselves to really pop, your sequencing will draw them to the lights. First year we all fall into the keep as much on as possible trap. Dont do that although you will. Led's of course have a more brilliant light to them, but they lose the glow of an incan mini. If you are getting colored lights, get LEDs now. I know they are more expensive and your on a budget but an LED will keep a true color much much longer, as well draw a lot less power. This means more lights on a string, more lights on a controller, lower power bill for the church. If your arches are just 1 color, Im a huge fan of those being Incan minis. It could just be me but that mess of lights is just inviting.

[Sheldon_15]

This isn't my church lol I'm rasing money for my church.

And I used minis last year and its not that they didn't stick out it just They kind of got hidden behind the grass.

[kelly jett]

hey sheldon,

how far away is the house from where people will be viewing it?   the reason i ask is if your not that far away then c9's on the roof my be overkill.   i have c9's as rows on my roof but my house is 300' away from where visitors park in my parking pad to watch the show.  some of my other areas are covered with c6's, m5 and 5mm leds and they show fine. 

 

i would try to stay away from rope lights if you can (i know its personal preference) but speaking from experience, they look great for the 1st year or so then you realize how heavy they are. they use alot of power. you would be amazed how between take down and set-up how (for no reason) you will have sections that just won't work.   i use some rope lights in a tree line on the side of my yard as a mountain look. then i put some wireframes and yard things below it and it looks good (i think).  if i had the extra lights to do it another way i would just because of the electric thats needed.   many of the guys on the forums can tell you how to fix bad sections but i don't know enough and don't trust myself enough to try and cut one apart and fix it.

 

if your set-up isn't that far away you can get by with smaller bulbs (which are cheaper) and do alot more.

its just like william said....leds are better as far as color and value in the long run.  many of us that have been doing this for a while have learned just cause i can save a couple of bucks today doesn't mean i'm gonna be happy with it in a year or two.

 

don't forget once you start your sequencing and getting the lights on the house you will be surprised how much you can do with just a controller or two and just a few light strings. 

 

here's some photos of my display  http://s1298.beta.photobucket.com/user/kellyjett/media/2012christmas002_zps3f6479ae.mp4.html#/user/kellyjett/media/2012christmas006_zpsfb52e451.jpg.html?&_suid=135917993179409564334006080577

 

you can also check out this walk thru video of this years display    

 

i use all different size lights almost all led but some incandescents.  it's all about personal preference. 

 

another thing you can think about is you could make some fake rgb strings.  look at the mickey on my roof and you'll see what i mean.  it is just a string of red green and blue leds with the bulbs twist tied together and setting up an rgb channel in the editor and the system thinks you have an rgb string.  it would be like a "dumb" string.  you can't change the lights individually but say you want to trim your roof and your windows, you can tell the editor to make them red then purple then orange then white and then blink blue.  the system will treat them light it is a rgb string and you can get some neat effects.  the only thing you have to do is use 3 channels in your controller (1 for red 1 for green and 1 for blue).  you can't get millions of colors but you can get alot more than you think you'll ever use.  i've not tried it with incandescents but it should work.  you may try it with a string and see if you like it or not.  just make sure that the 3 strings you use have the bulbs spaced the same.  it saves alot of time.

 

 

as far as buying lights i wouldn't worry about that right now, unless your gonna do any of the presales.  wait till later in the summer when alot of the companies have their summer sales.  also check with the vendors that set-up at the christmas expo this year.  they usually have pretty good sales just following the show.

 

if you have any more questions let me know.  i'll be glad to help in anyway i can.

 

good luck