Theyork5 Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 I am working to finalize my light selection for a 20' mega tree. I am planning on 32 strings of R, W, and G on sixteen channels each going straight to the ground. I am thinkig of using 100 light mini lights for each strand which would give me 9600 lights on the tree. I have read that some people are using C6 LED lights which are bigger and just want to hear what people think about this choice? Will it look full or will it be less than impressive? I understand the power and energy efficiency arguments and this is about a 30 Amp tree which I can support with dedicated circuits. I am concerned with the look of the tree and want to hear your thoughts. As always thanks to everyone for sharing and providing your input....this is a great hobby and a lot of great people help us newer people along and I for one appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeA Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 See this thread. It is right below yours http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/27801-led-lights-which-type-mega-tree/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caniac Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 I am working to finalize my light selection for a 20' mega tree. I am planning on 32 strings of R, W, and G on sixteen channels each going straight to the ground. I am thinking of using 100 light mini lights for each strand which would give me 9600 lights on the tree. I have read that some people are using C6 LED lights which are bigger and just want to hear what people think about this choice? Will it look full or will it be less than impressive? I understand the power and energy efficiency arguments and this is about a 30 Amp tree which I can support with dedicated circuits. I am concerned with the look of the tree and want to hear your thoughts. As always thanks to everyone for sharing and providing your input....this is a great hobby and a lot of great people help us newer people along and I for one appreciate it!I wouldn't do it, won't be as bright. At 20ft you need lots of lights and bigger bulbs otherwise it just looks skimpy. Power company will love you though because it will take lots of $$ to light that up unless you only do a 1-2 week show. I sorta went that way but with rope lights my first year, little bit better look than mini's BUT when the light bill came in I had a WTF moment. Next year C6 LED and a substantially lower light bill, even after doubling the amount of lights and adding more inflatables. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 See this thread. It is right below yours http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/27801-led-lights-which-type-mega-tree/ Mike,Actually both threads are started by the same person. Not sure the reason though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caniac Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Mike,Actually both threads are started by the same person. Not sure the reason though.hmmm, needs a hug? maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 hmmm, needs a hug? maybe? LMAO . Dang that was funny!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeA Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 (edited) Mike,Actually both threads are started by the same person. Not sure the reason though.I can understand not remembering starting a thread. Rum & Coke are usually involved with my Christmas hobby also. Edited September 5, 2013 by MikeA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 I can understand not remembering starting a thread. Rum & Coke are usually involved with my Christmas hobby also.And I can vouch that Rum and V8 Fusion (banana & strawberry) have the same effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theyork5 Posted September 5, 2013 Author Share Posted September 5, 2013 Thanks for the hug!! I started the second thread because the first one was titled LED's and I was worried that some people may not open or respond to my question on Ican's so I broadened my approach. Just trying to get as many opinions as I can as I don't want to spend more than I have to and certainly do not want to spend a bunch and be dissappointed with the final product. Who would have ever thought that Christmas lights could be so stressful!! Yup did it to myself when I bought that first controller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theyork5 Posted September 5, 2013 Author Share Posted September 5, 2013 Since I have little or no experience with LED's how many diodes are in a C6? I assume just one with M5 or M6 but are there more in C6 or is just a different housing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caniac Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Thanks for the hug!! I started the second thread because the first one was titled LED's and I was worried that some people may not open or respond to my question on Ican's so I broadened my approach. Just trying to get as many opinions as I can as I don't want to spend more than I have to and certainly do not want to spend a bunch and be disappointed with the final product. Who would have ever thought that Christmas lights could be so stressful!! Yup did it to myself when I bought that first controller.Plan B could just be to scrap the mega tree this year and use what you have to control other props then tackle the mega tree next year. Mini's have their place in a display but mega trees are like a foot long hot dog, size does matter. C6's give you the biggest bang for the buck. Now if you want your display seen from space then go C9's!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Since I have little or no experience with LED's how many diodes are in a C6? I assume just one with M5 or M6 but are there more in C6 or is just a different housing? C6 have one diode, same with M5 & M6. These guys are closer together than C9s which have three diodes. In my experience, and only IMHO and as Caniac has mentioned, you get more bang for your buck with C6s. More per strand than C9s and to me, just as bright if not brighter.I've compared C6 and C9 hung in different trees and was not happy with C9s.And I'll add, C9s take more strands to have a full tree AND they take more power. I actually ran into an issue of blowing fuses on the LOR controller because I had too many C9s. It blew me away because I didn't think I had that many. Case in point. The tree didn't look full enough with C9s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Back to your original mega tree thought. Mega trees are awesome. The biggest thing in a display "most of the time".So if the budget only allows incans for the mega tree, then by all means, do it.BUT keep in mind that after you see it, you might be thinking LEDs will be better next year and now what do you do with those icans you just bought for this year.Buying LEDs is just as addictive as buying a LOR controller. And both can be costly. But remember, this is supposed to be a fun hobby.And if your not having fun, your doing it wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeA Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Who would have ever thought that Christmas lights could be so stressful!! And that is the reason for the Rum and Coke. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 (edited) S.H. quite buying the cheap shite stuff and get the good stuff. My C9 have the 5 diodes and got them from CDI. They also dim. Edited September 6, 2013 by Max-Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefy Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 Check out the forums here and the other popular Christmas sites for LEDs. I've managed to pick up around 5000 LED lights over the past 12 months at an average of $4.25 a string shipped. About the same price as incans from Target/Walmart and I'll save roughly $120 this season on power alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 S.H. quite buying the cheap shite stuff and get the good stuff. My C9 have the 5 diodes and got them from CDI. They also dim. MP, I only buy from CDI. My experience with C9s was a few years ago when helping do a display for someone else who had the C9s.C9s with 5 diodes I'm sure makes a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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