LED Rope Light Questions

[lightingnewb]

Hi,

 

I'm a newbie this year looking at buying LED rope light to try LOR this Christmas season. I had a couple of questions about Sequencing Software + LED rope lights that may help in deciding (a) whether I buy rope lights or incandescent and ( what effects I use in the software.

 

1. Dimmable LED? If I buy this kind, does this mean I can use the fade effect?
2. I intend to also use the twinkle and shimmer effects with LED rope light. Will this be possible?
3. Hanging LED onto a GUTTER. How should I go about this? I saw other posts advising velcro, some saying zip ties with a screw insert, others tell of electrical tape. Which one has worked THE BEST?
4. Show length. In making a show, how many songs should it last? I don't want people to have to sit for 20-30 minutes for a whole show (unless they wanted to), but I also don't want it to be just 2 songs. Currently I am sequencing (with some assistance) 3 songs.

Any and all insight will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

 

[rjmcmasters]

1. yes - dimmable led rope lights can use the fade

2. yes - works ok but with the 'thin' lighting, probably not as visible as the bulb LED strings.

3. check Christmas-leds.com and see if they have anything to hang rope lights.  I do not have any experience with that.

4. you will get all sorts of responses on length. Most of it depends on the traffic you will receive. The greater the traffic, the shorter the show so the cars keep moving.  I try to keep my no longer than 20 min- give or take a few.

[dgrant]

I currently will run 37 songs this year, I think. I run continuously from 6Pm to 10Pm here and most of the time, the show player is commanded to randomize the songs. This assures that most anyone driving by will never see the same song running twice. This year, I'll add a message to my new pixel tree to show when its done for the night.

 

Stay away from Home Depot's "Martha" led strings...they will not dim. As much as I'd love to use expensive LED strings from some of the good manufacturers people buy from, I use a bunch from BigLots and Target. They all work great, so far, for a lot less money. They may not last for a decade but they are cheap to fix or replace. I did buy good led strings for my two mega trees. I've bought a couple of LED rope lights from Sam's Club and they dimmed just fine. I suggest staying away from LED sets that have their own little controller unless you are just turning them on/off. Do not try to dim/fade/twinkle/shimmer anything with its own controller. Last piece of advice, curtain strobes which add a lot of sparkle....do not try to dim them. They are on/off only.

Edited August 2, 2014 by dgrant

[Orville]

Have to agree with what dgrant says.  I use the "cheap" LED's from local retail stores, and many of mine have actually lasted a good long time, I have several LED strands that are still going strong after 8+ years of use.    I buy mine from Big Lots, Target, Wal-Mart, Home Depot {except not the Martha Stewart ones-won't even tough those}, Lowes, K-Mart, Ace Hardware, Walgreen's, CVS and Garden Ridge{now called At Home in my area}.

 

All have worked great with all effects the SE can put out to the controllers.

[lightingnewb]

Thank you for your wise words. I'm thinking I will be buying LEDs from christmas-leds.com or one of those online ones. Your input has greatly helped!

[Big Sanch Mafia]

http://www.holiday-light-express.com/

 

I bought all of my LEDS from them, watch for sales right at the start of the new year. make sure to sign up on websites for notices, this way you know when the sales are coming. if you can plan ahead, you'll be able to save a ton of $$$ and get good quality lights.

 

Good luck this year. You'll learn a bunch from this year to next. this is my second yr and i was looking at some of my sequences from last yr, laughing..thinking, "Man i've picked up a lot more knowledge since last year this time."

[Steven]

1. Show length. In making a show, how many songs should it last? I don't want people to have to sit for 20-30 minutes for a whole show (unless they wanted to), but I also don't want it to be just 2 songs. Currently I am sequencing (with some assistance) 3 songs.

I realize this is not answering the question, but I recommend that songs be about 2 minutes long. Not only does it make them easier to sequence, but viewers don't get bored.