rainyoregonchristmas Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 (edited) I had some SPT1 give me a little tickle the other day... just remember where all your cut ends are if your cord does not terminate in the female plug... If its not terminated... don't plug it in, if you get a cord from someone else... make sure it is terminated. Nothing like a sweaty hand to complete a circuit on a bare wire. Edited September 3, 2013 by rainyoregonchristmas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjdamico23 Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 indoor extension cords and spt (lamp cord) will work fine outside. I believe the only reason that it is not rated for ooutdoor use is because of uv protection. uv won't be a big issue because you only use them for a couple months and uv strength is much less in winter. make sure you run your controllers from gfci outlets. welcome to the hobby here is a video of how to make spt cords http://www.youtube.com/embed/lJjDL7mVEGAThanks very much for that link on how to make the cords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjdamico23 Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 I had some SPT1 give me a little tickle the other day... just remember where all your cut ends are if your cord does not terminate in the female plug... If its not terminated... don't plug it in, if you get a cord from someone else... make sure it is terminated. Nothing like a sweaty hand to complete a circuit on a bare wire.Is there wire you buy that isn't? Pardon my non knowledge of electrical terminologies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainyoregonchristmas Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 SPT 1 is Lamp Cord. It is bulk cord typically used for making your own cords for lamps and other home lighting projects. It's what all the cheap two wire indoor extension cords are made from. We use it in this hobby to make custom length cords. Don't worry about terms... I too was a newbie last year. Now I have acronyms, and other terms rolling around in my head, it takes time but you'll catch on. If there is one other piece of advise that we give you here, is read, read, read and oh yea, read! There is more to learn there than you could possibly take in even in a year. I hear veterans talk all the time about new things they have learned. Don't worry, it's why we're all on the forums to learn from others, and to share knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 I too had that rush last year on my first display/show. The family here thought it all looked like crap, during the day, till they saw it light up and dance to the music. They were more than impressed to say the least. I started out with 96 channels and this year, it'll be 112 which doesn't include the one CCR that I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caniac Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 I had some SPT1 give me a little tickle the other day... just remember where all your cut ends are if your cord does not terminate in the female plug... If its not terminated... don't plug it in, if you get a cord from someone else... make sure it is terminated. Nothing like a sweaty hand to complete a circuit on a bare wire.roflmao, I am the guy that doesn't check all the plug outlets to make sure they are off before switching them out. First half of the bedroom no problem, second half "houston we have a problem". Lit my @$$ up but good, but me being me I touched it a second time to make sure I wasn't mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75redman Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 roflmao, I am the guy that doesn't check all the plug outlets to make sure they are off before switching them out. First half of the bedroom no problem, second half "houston we have a problem". Lit my @$$ up but good, but me being me I touched it a second time to make sure I wasn't mistaken.Always good to double check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Boyd Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 roflmao, I am the guy that doesn't check all the plug outlets to make sure they are off before switching them out. First half of the bedroom no problem, second half "houston we have a problem". Lit my @$$ up but good, but me being me I touched it a second time to make sure I wasn't mistaken.DOH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orville Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 roflmao, I am the guy that doesn't check all the plug outlets to make sure they are off before switching them out. First half of the bedroom no problem, second half "houston we have a problem". Lit my @$$ up but good, but me being me I touched it a second time to make sure I wasn't mistaken.My father and grandfather were electricians, so I did learn a lot from them, but I've made the mistake of thinking I turned off the correct circuit breaker to the room where I was putting in a new outlet or replacing a bad one, and bzzzzaaaapp! Got a nice jolt, went back looked at the CB box and found out I flipped the CB either above or below the one I really needed to turn off. Nothing like a nice vibrant shock of electricity to keep your heart healthy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubado Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 This last weekend I did a one song show for my neighbors, Light Em Up, three teenage boys were walking by and one said my house was the best in town! My daughter was happy I did a regular song. I'm thinking maybe adding more hidden secrets and maybe doing a monthly show next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyD Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 I too had that rush last year on my first display/show. The family here thought it all looked like crap, during the day, till they saw it light up and dance to the music. They were more than impressed to say the least. I started out with 96 channels and this year, it'll be 112 which doesn't include the one CCR that I have. LOL!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paralegalnc Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 Funny, I was reading about vampire plugs recently. Is the SPT-1 wire just like indoor/outdoor extension cord wire? And, safe for outdoor ???I used spt 1 wire last year with vampire plugs (my husband loves loves loves vampire plugs) I didn't have a single problem. I live in NC so we don't get much snow or anything so....depending on where you live. I think christmaslightshow.com has the best prices...well based on last years searching. I didn't check this year but I like that vendor so.... kinda gunna stick with him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paralegalnc Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 yeah I think we all have a bad case of CLAP going on. I went to the fair last night...saw all their lights on the rides.... thinking to myself... "pfft, I can make them blink better than that". in my second year and my show has a lot of new elements...well hopefully. I am behind this year. Had some family issues that of course had to come first. I only have 2 1/2 songs sequenced...thinking I may have to scrap the show this year because the family issue is consuming my time. (its my mom... if it were my kids... hell show comes first, but its my mom) so I called in some favors and have a crew coming today to work on props. gunna be a prop building weekend. may have to give up sleeping because I was telling my dad (who lives in Ohio and has no clue of the magnitude of my addiction/hobby) and I went on and on and on... I can't let the children down. I know I will have repeats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallleyes Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 Too late for all of that, I have been busy programming all year and everywhere I look I see something that I could turn into a prop, or watching different sequences on the web for ideas. My only restriction is power! Dont think I can run much more than the 32 channels I have now. But am defantely hooked, no Halloween program this year but am sure I will get one going next year!I had the same issue my first year...only 60 amp service . I just bought all led lights and never had to upgrade my power box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james campbell Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 I used spt 1 wire last year with vampire plugs (my husband loves loves loves vampire plugs) I didn't have a single problem. I live in NC so we don't get much snow or anything so....depending on where you live. I think christmaslightshow.com has the best prices...well based on last years searching. I didn't check this year but I like that vendor so.... kinda gunna stick with him.vampire plus are the way to go. also Christmas lightshow has great strobes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paralegalnc Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 vampire plus are the way to go. also Christmas lightshow has great strobesI just ordered a few things from them... maybe can't incorporate this year as my back is against the wall as it is. I will be lucky if I get it all done with my mom's issues and all...but... don't know about strobes... or where I'd use them. but may have to look into them. I like Darryl over there at CLS... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I ordered strobes and vampire plugs/sockets from ChristmasLightShow and paid the high shipping. Found out that I shorted myself a bunch of female sockets so went to their site to order 25 more...shipping was $23! That was outrageous. I ordered 50 from LEDgen instead for $11 shipping and only spent a few dollars more than I would have at CLS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 My previous post there...I made a mistake and since I can't remove the post, I'll add to things here and state that I was wrong about the shipping costs on ChristmasLiightShow.com. I failed to notice that the high shipping cost was for near overnight service and not the standard rate. My mistake and I apologize. Hope I didn't cost them any business from all of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premier Posted November 29, 2013 Author Share Posted November 29, 2013 Well the lights turned on for the first time tonight..and again...WHAT A RUSH! After a year of spending time immersed in this thing my family finally got to see the fruits of my labor, First thing my wife said to me was, " how beautiful" then she turned to me and said " okay, you can get two more controllers for next year!". Already thinking of what I can do with another 32 channels!!! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubado Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Well the lights turned on for the first time tonight..and again...WHAT A RUSH! After a year of spending time immersed in this thing my family finally got to see the fruits of my labor, First thing my wife said to me was, " how beautiful" then she turned to me and said " okay, you can get two more controllers for next year!". Already thinking of what I can do with another 32 channels!!! LOLShe's a keeper! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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