RoboticBrad Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 What is the temperature range that the Light O Rama controllers can handle? Do most of you bring in your controllers nightly, or leave them out? I know some situations will be different considering chances of theft etc. I live in a safe remote area and my controllers will be mostly next to the house, but will they be able to take the nights when the temperatures drop below freezing? How about the 27 channel DMX controllers too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sasmuse Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 I live in Southeastern PA, and it's not unusual to have below freezing nights for December. I put my controllers up at Thanksgiving and take them down after New Years and haven't had any weather related issues. I can't speak to the DMX issue as I don't have any of those. However, my LOR controllers work like a charm. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwertz Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 No issues with the standard LOR AC controllers. A few years ago several people had issues with the CCR power supplies that seemed to indicate it was due to temps well below freezing. No info on the non-LOR equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 I live in central Minnesota, and it's not unusual for the temperature to remain below freezing (and quite often even dipping below zero) for the entire lighting season. I've had only one cold-weather related failure in 5 lighting seasons - it was about -10 and a voltage regulator failed (from one of the earliest boards LOR made). No offense intended, but other than maybe a stray tornado I don't believe your controllers have anything to fear from GA weather in December. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobschm Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Heat is the enemy of electronics, not cold. Don't scientists make superconductors by cooling them to near absolute zero? So my display should speed up in the cold, right? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoboticBrad Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 Well I knew that heat isn't good, but I wasn't sure that freezing temperatures were good either. Thanks for the quick responses, nice to know! I was hoping to mount some of the DMX controllers to the back of a few displays but I didn't want to have to remove it every night. I guess I should be good. This is my first year... can't wait! Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty-Laser Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 As stated, they should be fine. but I wouldn't put them on a timer or disconnect the power either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoboticBrad Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 Now I do live in an area where we frequently get power bumps/surges, I was thinking about putting them on a timer so that power is not constantly connected. Is there a reason I shouldn't use a timer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 If something goes wrong with the timer, or if the power goes out and you're not there to remedy either situation, your yard will be dark when it's supposed to be lighted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty-Laser Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 If you "frequently get power bumps/surges", a timer isn't going to help much, although a good surge protector may be a good idea. Hopefully the experts will chime in, but my experience with electronics is going from the small amount of heat when the unit is on and the cold when off and back on again... can develop condensation & that can be very bad on electronics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Especially in really cold weather, leave them powered. The little bit of heat will reduce extreme temp swings which is very hard on electronics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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