higgs Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 hi guysim new to light o roma looking at moving to light o roma this year just have a few questions if any can help would be very great full (1) what voltage lights/ out does light o roma use ? ( as i have seen many set ups using what looks like standard lights 240v(2) if standard 240v are use how to u get away with using them outside and the rain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizywk Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Hi Higgs, welcome to the hobby. Unfortunately, I think you're asking questions so general, that you could get a wide variety of correct answers, but I think I have a good idea of where you're going. First, I humbly recommend hitting the Light O Rama website. http://www1.lightorama.com/. Look at the different controllers, typical set-ups, product descriptions, and product specs. Second, you may find the multitude of tutorials on YouTube to be very helpful in harnessing the experience of the multi-year veterans on this site. Many of the folks here are extremely adept at answering your technical questions and got my family through our first year last year, but you have to know what to ask to get the best response. To answer your question directly, LOR has products for a number of different technologies. You're specifically asking about their AC controller product lines. Yes, they are designed to support both 120vac and 240vac. http://www1.lightorama.com/residential-light-controllers/ They provide switched AC power to up to 16 outputs. The outputs are most often storebought Christmas light strings which simply plug in as easily as a lamp would. To create your display outside, I would first highly recommend you ensure that any light string you buy is rated for exterior use. Follow your local electrical code, observe normal electrical safety practices, and if you have GFI capability, definately use it. 240VAC ups the safety risk quite a bit. As for water protection, you'll find there are two competing schools of thought on this forum. Many, including myself, advocate tight wraps of electrical tape on every electrical connection. Others advocate leaving them open so that when water gets in, it can drain more easily. The debate continues on that but nearly everyone agrees with keeping all connections up off the ground and trying to ensure that all open female connectors point downward to prevent water draining into the connectors with gravity. If you're looking for more information, you may want to specifically search for that answer on this forum before asking questions. Additionally, here are a few good Newbie threads that may help illuminate questions you dont know you have yet: http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/27855-new-with-a-few-questions/ http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/29074-whats-the-one-great-idea-youd-share-with-a-newbie/ http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/30744-newbie-with-a-big-show-lessons-learned/?hl=newbie http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/30274-newbie-1st-year-setup-experiences/?hl=newbie Good luck and welcome aboard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 (2) if standard 240v are use how to u get away with using them outside and the rain?Don't use light strings that have power supplies (or controllers, those white boxes that go between the plug and the lights), because these can't be dimmed or shimmered. I understand that it is hard to find 240v strings without power supplies, but you can build your own by ordering some 120v (North American) strings and wiring 2 in series to make a 240v string. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Shepherd Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I'm also in the UK but I use all American lights at 110 volt I have a number of industrial transformers and spec 110 controllers from LOR. There are lots more options with USA lights. I think you will find that most people use American lightsTony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higgs Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 hi both thanks for replying steven this was my main concern i can buy 240v strings no probs but it hard finding outdoor useage ones they all seem to be indoor use only or low votage sets, but all videos ive been watching seem to look like strings that are brought off the shelf like our normal inddoor tree lights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higgs Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 not a problem using leds but the standard lights are much cheaper to buy as its my first year using light o roma and adding twice as many channels i need to buy a fair few light any links or advice greatfully received, have been reading and watching a lot of videos and articals on the subject and getting there slowly its just witch lights to use in the us was puzzling me as i see ppl just using stand strings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LORisAwesome Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Just a thought... Why not use 120v strings, set up your controllers for 120v, and plug the controllers into a volatage adaptor that converts 240v to 120v? I've seen these voltage adaptors for sale in the US. They are for Americans traveling in Europe who want to use US made electrical devices while in Europe. Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higgs Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 yeah thats what im thinking thanks to peoples advice, just looking for best place to order them from, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grinch Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Just make sure you buy an adapter that can handle the current required for the controller otherwise bad things will happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movieman4 Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 hi , i think (but not sure) that an adapter from 230v to 120v can take about 40 watt or so , it will be to light for a 16 channel lor controller. better use a bit more expencife trafo witch can handle 380 watt or so. myself i bought a 230v lor controller and put an adapter between every channel becourse i use 120v american led lights.european led lights are non dimmable and half wave.normal european lights are for indoor use only and costs a lot of power. greetings from netherlands and welkome to the addiction of lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viennaxmas Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 On the adapter - they come in so many different sizes.. The largest I own has 1500 Watt and selectable conversion 110 => 230 or 230 => 110. Right now I use it to either run a European 230V shop vac, my Hilti drill or my old Router on it in the US. Each of those drawing about 1000W. I know I could also just use the two hot legs instead and get my 220V - but then I still need the German plug.. Nice thing about those transformers is the ability to be used as up or down transformer. So load should not be a problem.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higgs Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 thanks for your help everyone, have a better understanding and can get on with ordering and working on this years ideas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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