How are you guys getting your network cable outside?

[dgrant]

Don't waste your time on wireless options I wasted 2 months of my life last year researching and there seems to be nothing that can keep up with the packets of info we send out to say a pixel tree.  

Good advice and Thank You for at least trying, then letting us know so we don't waste our time and money.

[Steven]

Here is my LOR network:

That's the eaves outside of my garage.

 

I also use this:

That orange cable is the charging cord for my Chevy Volt, but during the Christmas Light season it also has DMX and will have E1.31 this year. I would have used it for the LOR network, but I didn't get the Volt until my 5th year of LOR, and I didn't install the conduit under the walkway until the 3rd year.

[Arteom]

I ran it through the access we have to our crawl space above the house and out a heat vent. One Year I also ran it underneath the houses crawlspace and out a vent. If your house is built directly on a concrete slab with vaulted ceilings you wont have either of these options. But if you don't it's super simple and, best of all, there are no connections within the line so you don't need worry about them failing or causing strange glitches. This year Im using the MP3 Director, its just much simpler. 

[TonyD]

Don't waste your time on wireless options I wasted 2 months of my life last year researching and there seems to be nothing that can keep up with the packets of info we send out to say a pixel tree.  

 

I think Plasmadrive has done just this. See post #2. You might have to search a little in the forum or i'm sure he can elaborate if you PM him for help.

[gmac]

I think Plasmadrive has done just this. See post #2. You might have to search a little in the forum or i'm sure he can elaborate if you PM him for help.

Thats good to know.....I'll send him a PM cuz every thing I tried was a big bust last year......Maybe something new has come up

[plasmadrive]

Hi Guys,

 

I ran 8 universes thru my E1.31 wireless for the Plasma Icicles.  I used

Wireless Router - $50

http://www.bestbuy.c...outer&cp=1&lp=1

 

Wireless Bridge - $50

http://www.bestbuy.c...ridge&cp=1&lp=1

 

ShaggySS suggested these and they worked perfect.  He set them up to talk to each other via my laptop for me at one of the Sacramento meetings.  I took them home, plugged em in and away we went. 

 

While I run the shows I leave my laptop dedicated to the show and I don't allow it to connect to anything but the wireless bridge via Ethernet and the ELL via USB.  I had no issues with latency or dropouts of any kind.  The cool thing for me was that since I don't use the Visualizer I really had no way to see if my programming of the Plasma Icicles was any good other than to go out front and watch them.  I used my laptop with the bridge out front of the house and it worked great all the way out to the street.  (the router was mounted under the 2nd story eves). 

 

I ran 2 of the 6804s from the router to the Icicles.  The ELL connected via the USB talked to the rest of the ELLs around the yard and I could do the entire show from out front while tweaking.  (not Twerking)  LOL. 

I ran everything in Unicast for the E1.31.  3300 channels.. no issues.   ELLs about 330 channels.  No issues. 

[plasmadrive]

I think Plasmadrive has done just this. See post #2. You might have to search a little in the forum or i'm sure he can elaborate if you PM him for help.

Tony, you saw my display this year.. did you see any issues with my wireless and the Plasma Icicles? 

[gmac]

 

Hi Guys,

 

I ran 8 universes thru my E1.31 wireless for the Plasma Icicles.  I used

Wireless Router - $50

http://www.bestbuy.c...outer&cp=1&lp=1

 

Wireless Bridge - $50

http://www.bestbuy.c...ridge&cp=1&lp=1

 

ShaggySS suggested these and they worked perfect.  He set them up to talk to each other via my laptop for me at one of the Sacramento meetings.  I took them home, plugged em in and away we went. 

 

While I run the shows I leave my laptop dedicated to the show and I don't allow it to connect to anything but the wireless bridge via Ethernet and the ELL via USB.  I had no issues with latency or dropouts of any kind.  The cool thing for me was that since I don't use the Visualizer I really had no way to see if my programming of the Plasma Icicles was any good other than to go out front and watch them.  I used my laptop with the bridge out front of the house and it worked great all the way out to the street.  (the router was mounted under the 2nd story eves). 

 

I ran 2 of the 6804s from the router to the Icicles.  The ELL connected via the USB talked to the rest of the ELLs around the yard and I could do the entire show from out front while tweaking.  (not Twerking)  LOL. 

I ran everything in Unicast for the E1.31.  3300 channels.. no issues.   ELLs about 330 channels.  No issues. 

 

Thats promising to hear that the WiFi worked for you...........I have a few questions and hope maybe you could help since you allready did it.   My plan was to have cat5 from the house to a router at the curb by the street and then send signal across the street to a 1200 pixel tree.....Thats where it couldn't send the info fast enough and it had serious lags I did experiment with a N series like yours.  Could it be that trying to get the tree to do to many things at one time is what caused the lags (say do more than icicle lights traveling down?)

also what are 6804s?   I've just heard of a different router introduced at Comdox it's called AC guess it's supposed to be faster than N

[plasmadrive]

Thats promising to hear that the WiFi worked for you...........I have a few questions and hope maybe you could help since you allready did it.   My plan was to have cat5 from the house to a router at the curb by the street and then send signal across the street to a 1200 pixel tree.....Thats where it couldn't send the info fast enough and it had serious lags I did experiment with a N series like yours.  Could it be that trying to get the tree to do to many things at one time is what caused the lags (say do more than icicle lights traveling down?)

also what are 6804s?   I've just heard of a different router introduced at Comdox it's called AC guess it's supposed to be faster than N

If you are going just across the street you should be fine if you have enough height for both the router and the bridge.  Since my router was up high I assume reflections were not an issue.  I ran 1100 pixels for the Plasma Icicles without issue and some of mine had some really fast effects.  I can't see where 100 more pixels would really be of any consequence.  I also was using unicast.

 

There is one more thing I left out.  My distance from bridge to router during the show nights was only about 15' thru one outside wall.  However, while testing from out front I was 30-60' away.  Depended on where I was standing to test.  As long as I had 3 green lights on the bridge it worked perfectly. 

 

The 6804 is the e6804 from San Devices.  I ran two of those instead of a single e682.  Worked better for the way I programmed the show. 

I don't keep up on the technology for the network stuff so I would not tell you anything about the AC vs. the N.  Sorry..

Edited January 24, 2014 by plasmadrive

[-klb-]

Unicast is probably one of the keys to making wireless work. Many wireless protocol stacks filter out multicast from what I understand.

The AC access points should do everything that N will. If all the features are implemented, they even provide benefit for all existing clients, in the form of beam steering. My wife bought an apple AirPort Extreme with AC, and everything WIFI works better now. The beam steering allows it both to actively listen in the direction of a known client, while ignoring same frequency signal from a different direction, and also focus its transmitting energy at the client. Cell tower technology brought to the consumer is cool.

[TonyD]

Nope, no issues at all, it looked great!

[gmac]

Ok, Did some checking on wireless AC technology  and to be able to move info at 1GB speed might work for a pixel tree as oppesed to N which is 450gb speed sounds good but it comes with a price tag almost $300 with the router and bridge from Linksys .....Probably cuz it's new technology. 

 The one used by plasmadrive has a much better price tag.  With me trying to go across the street I don't know how to get the router up high without building some type of stand and don't know how high I would have to go, I don't even have a tree to set it in (LOL). 

 

Maybe someone with more knowledge could chime in about this new router.

[plasmadrive]

Ok, Did some checking on wireless AC technology  and to be able to move info at 1GB speed might work for a pixel tree as oppesed to N which is 450gb speed sounds good but it comes with a price tag almost $300 with the router and bridge from Linksys .....Probably cuz it's new technology. 

 The one used by plasmadrive has a much better price tag.  With me trying to go across the street I don't know how to get the router up high without building some type of stand and don't know how high I would have to go, I don't even have a tree to set it in (LOL). 

 

Maybe someone with more knowledge could chime in about this new router.

I would bet if you put them up about 4' above the ground you would be fine.   The speed is plenty for the tree.. just need to make sure the distance is good..   Maybe you can measure how far away it is and I will take my setup outside and test it for you.  If I get all three green LEDs at your distance, you should be golden. 

[-klb-]

Do consider how you might get higher if you have issues. If I set up at 4', I would have a string of vans parking in line of sight between the endpoints.

For my ELL crossing a fairly busy street, with a fair bit of truck traffic, I set one ELL 14 feet up the side if the building bracketed out 2 feet. The other on an arm clamped 14 feet up the side of a traditional 26 foot tall frame and pannel tree, about 500 feet away. I never saw any flaws. But my PC across the street to the PC, just doing VNC on wireless N access point (both about 4 feet high) would drop the session any time something larger than a car drove up the street. (Prior year exp, did not get VNC set up this year)

[gmac]

Plasmadrive , Thank You for the offer,as soon as our snow blizzard stops I'll go out and get some distances and let you know, also a point that klb made about cars and vans parked watching the display might hinder the signal.He was talking of ells but just wondering of it could disrupt wifi also.

 

If possible you could have a van stop between you and the bridge and see if the signal gets disrupted. Sorry for trying to take so much of a  advantage of your helpful offer  .

Edited January 25, 2014 by gmac

[-klb-]

I put the ELLs up high, but notice my example was actually WIFI being impacted at a lower height, with similar but not display data.

[gmac]

I see that now....guess my eyes read faster than my brain can comprehend........

[plasmadrive]

Plasmadrive , Thank You for the offer,as soon as our snow blizzard stops I'll go out and get some distances and let you know, also a point that klb made about cars and vans parked watching the display might hinder the signal.He was talking of ells but just wondering of it could disrupt wifi also.

 

If possible you could have a van stop between you and the bridge and see if the signal gets disrupted. Sorry for trying to take so much of a  advantage of your helpful offer  .

Ah yes.. I didn't think about going across "A STREET"  Doh!   They do need to be up much higher for sure..  Consider over a motor home would be good.  We had several come thru this year.

 

I must have had a brain cramp! 

[gmac]

And we also had  senior citizen buses parked outside also...........Wish LOR would come up with some type of gadget like their Ells    I think there the greatest thing since sliced bread