Looking to get started but need lots of help.

[Ramon91]

Hey everyone thanks for taking a second to help me out. I am a fresh newbie who is getting ready to buy my first components. The only problem is I am completely confused.

I am leaning more towards doing RGB. I want the full color option. I have read tons of forums but when I start to get clarity I get lost again.

My questions are;

1 what kind of lights should I buy?

2 how many ccr or ribbons do I need to buy to outline a single story home? ( I know it will be an estimate)

3 what components do I need to buy? (I am getting the starter pack for the 16ch)

4 about how much $$$ would I need to start off. ( I know will not be accurate just need a budget to expect to start off with.)

Thank you again really want to make this a hobby and make it fun for my family.

[sonoma]

learning the sequencing i think would be a great place to start.this is my fourth year and i'm still working to get that right. Good luck in your quest.

[Ramon91]

Yeah I have been watching lots of videos on it I am going to download the demo and start making some sequences. What do you use? Rgb or regular lights?

[Don]

My two cents ...

 

Start with an idea of what you want your display to look like when it's done. I started planning my very first display in December of the year prior by looking at the display I had at the time, and figuring out how to animate it. If you don't have a display now, then you may want to get ideas from other displays, and think about how it might look on your house.

 

Once you have a display in mind, you would want to start planning the hardware and lights that you would need to make that happen. At this point you will start to get an idea of what kind of budget you will need the first year. Keep in mind that many of the displays you see today took years to get there. Very few people start out with hundreds and hundreds of channels.

 

The starter kit is a good option to start with, but do note it has zero RGB channels with it. If you want to go the RGB route, be prepared to spend a little more than you expected in both programming time and money.

[Ramon91]

Thank you and yeah I think I will start with just regular lights and and one by one get to rgb thanks for the input if any more tips or advice pleas share them I greatly appreciate it

[Randy]

Hi Ramon,

I live down in San Diego about 25-30 miles from you and would be happy to show you around my display and explain things to you...Our lights will be running through 12/26 from 530 to 10pm every night....belardolights.com  5306 Belardo drive in Tierrasanta (San Diego)

[Ramon91]

Hey randy I would really appreciate getting a chance to see a setup to understand how it works. I am off Friday and was planning in going around with the family to look at lights and would love to go by and see yours if you have a chance on Friday?

[MickeyMag]

Randy, I just checked out your latest video link from the news clip, that is a substantial setup!  Congratulations!  A little overwhelming for me at this point.
One step at a time, I have researched how most of that is done so I understand it, but I must say very impressive!!!

[BryanZ]

I would recommend starting out with your budget first and going backwards from there. You can do a lot more with $3,500 than with $500. You also may budget $500 for lights but did you take into account the needed electrical cords/wires to power them? A megatree is nice but what about the underlying support needed for the tree and was that included in your budget?

 

As you know, this isn't merely plug and play. 

 

Decide what you want you want your display to look like and work backwards from there. Not everything needs to be done immediately. RGB may be nice but you could blow your budget on two strands of lights or you may decide it really isn't for you at this time.

 

Better to have a high quality, low channel simple display than a low quality, high channel complicated display.

 

Time is your friend. Your budget is your enemy.