Grinch Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 rcolvingRGB is a different animal. There are Dumb RGB and Smart RGB. Big difference in setup and function. The Dumb RGB is basic in the fact that the entire string turns any color, and the smart ones can turn each pixel any color. Each of these are driven by a DC voltage and different controller boards. Check out the Cosmic Color Section and you will read about why people choose different voltages for their projects. I am in the process of learning as well. So plan early you will probably need extra time with RGB for the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movieman4 Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I am also planning ahead for christmas 2014 , But here in the Netherlands you cannot buy the stuff so need everything import from the USA.Not many people doing this in the Netherlands so i am dedicated to this forum.Thanks for all good advice , i will need it , lolKeep up the good time and i am already addicted , hehe have bought 1 16 channel controller and 3700 M6 lights.Everything needs to be rebould to 230V here. Thanks for al the advice. Greetings from Breda, The Netherlands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryanZ Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Plan, plan, plan and then plan some more. Finalize your setup as soon as possible. 1. Realize you're likely to blow whatever your budget is. Take your initial budget and multiply it by three. That might be close to what you will be spending once everything is all said and done. 2. Remember all the infastructure and plan and budget for that accordingly. This is what causes you to blow said budget. Wires (power and audio), props, controllers, fm transmitter, outdoor speakers, etc. Lights are mearly the tip of the iceburg and the icing on the cake. 3. Watch the tutorials and do searches on youtube. More information isn't a bad thing. 4. Ditto on the backups. Finalize your show and save it on a flash drive. You want to have it just in case your computer craps out on you and you have to install everything from scratch. There isn't any feeling quite like having an elegent show planned only to have to revert to all lights on with no music. 5. More isn't necessarily better. You can have a gaudy display with too many lights or one such as this which I would call simple yet absolutely amazing:http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/30758-first-year-decorating-and-on-good-morning-america-what-a-rush/?hl=%2Bgood+%2Bmorning+%2Bamerica Plan accordingly. Most important item of all: Enjoy the fruits of your labor for it is a labor of love. If you don't enjoy it then don't start. Otherwise your simply wasting all that time, effort and money into something you will regret later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medicman350 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Great posts! This was my first display in 2013 with 32 channels and took it slow this year with 5 Wowlights preprogrammed sequences to ease me into this. Definitely blew my budget out 3x over by the time was all said and done. Also learning how time consuming, planning and sequencing is especially when you are first learning it. I am trying to work on all this around hour or so a day to chip away at learning and planning all this. However I am already programming to more songs w/ CCRs and 32 additional channels for 2014. This a great site and appreciate all the great advice on here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince4xmas Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Newbie next year. Just ordered 6 controllers, 8 rgb dumb ribbons with controller and G3-MP3 Director. 104 total.Last 3 years used Allen-Bradley PLC. Has anyone programmed their lights with ladder logic. PLC died, outputs failing, decided to make the $3K plunge!Did display with speakers and Boo tunes controller and FM transmitter all with a PLC. Painful. Hope LOR is better choice. Check out my display on YouTube "Colley Christmas 2013"........coolest thing was it was to Queen! Audicity helped a lot. Wish me luck.....Christmas is only 9 months away!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NitieLightie Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Newbie next year. Just ordered 6 controllers, 8 rgb dumb ribbons with controller and G3-MP3 Director. 104 total.Last 3 years used Allen-Bradley PLC. Has anyone programmed their lights with ladder logic. PLC died, outputs failing, decided to make the $3K plunge!Did display with speakers and Boo tunes controller and FM transmitter all with a PLC. Painful. Hope LOR is better choice. Check out my display on YouTube "Colley Christmas 2013"........coolest thing was it was to Queen! Audicity helped a lot. Wish me luck.....Christmas is only 9 months away!!!What is a bootubes controller? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eurbani Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 What is a bootubes controller? He said boo tunes, but I am equally curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLD Kevin Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I was curious too so I google it... http://www.hauntedhousecreations.com/index.php/controllers/bootunes.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bschwotzer Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 This was my first year as well. I had a horrible time with GFI trips this year. I quickly learned to keep lights and plugs off the ground. If you want light to look like they are on the ground use the plastic stakes that are light holders they are cheap and with stop the hair pulling when searching for that GFI trip. The mini Christmas tree built with tomato cages needed a 4 two inch pieces of pvc pipe cut to isolate them from ground faulting. Plastic anchoring stakes are better to help isolate props, using metal stakes when need for strength. The older the prop the better the chance of ground faults. I had 30 candy canes from my static days of Christmas decorating that I used, and they were one of my main culprits for the GFI trips. I found that the simplest fixes are the best, do not over think solutions. The wire between the candy canes when on the ground was almost guarantee to get a GFI trip. I zip tie the wires up the side a bit so the wire was held off the ground. Take time to zip tie the last open end of the string of lights facing down so water will not accumulate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBeachBum Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Newbie here for 2014. This post and comments were very helpful! Doing things ahead of time makes sense to enjoy the hobby. I have bought my first controler with a Show Director included, purchased vampire plugs & sockets from HD online for $45.00 for 100 of each, spt 1 zip cords 1000 feet and today got by wire cages from Lowes, didn't know they came in colors, so on my way to getting started . Learning how to sequence and some readers have sent me sites for freebies. Getting started is exciting and posts like this one are very helpful to us newbies THANKS...Marc-Anthony RBeachBum31@aol.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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