DIscombobulated By TOo Much Information

[Oilfield trash]

Im sure this has been asked 100s of times. I have used the Search function and many other websites.

I have purchased and built the CTB16pc controller that my wife was kind enough to get me for my birthday.I have been researchng on what i need to do next to get my light going.

I already have a large display for my area 30 blow moldS,16FT Static Mega Tree. Blah BLah BLah (nothing like most people here have) . i belive i need to purchase the g3-mp3 or the Mini Director. If I plan on using the pre programmed shows do i need the software?I have played with the DEmo software but am freaking totally confused.

Am i correct in my thinking? Once again i am sorry if this has been asked 1000's of times

 

Kel

[ItsMeBobO]

Welcome to the madness  Kel.     Maybe you mean DiscomKelulated?

 

Bob

[ItsMeBobO]

There are always multiple ways to do something.    And in this hobby,   always something else to buy for necessity , coolness, or convenience. 

 

A lot of people use a PC to control the show.  Its located inside the house and you run a wire (cat5) to the outside through a hole or window.  This method avoids the purchase of a dedicated outside player device. 

You will need a sequencer and a player.   Since you are Discom Someone ulated, the easiest is to use LOR software suite.  It provides everything bundled in one purchase. 

 

 

video help  here 

[dgrant]

You'll need an USB/RS485 special adapter to connect to the computer, if you elect to use the computer for your show. This special adapter is available from LOR. As stated, it'll connect your computer to the controller and allow your light show to work. I suggest you go straight to the "advanced license" if you are going to get into this hobby. From there, its just a matter of picking a song(s) and start sequencing. You can also buy pre-made sequences and music and just assign the channels where you wish to your house plan. Its really late in the year to get a show going now but you can do it if you jump on things fast. First year, stay simple and learn. Watch the videos of other people's shows to give you ideas of what you can do.

[Oilfield trash]

SInce I am sitting behind a desk in the middle of the Persian Gulf Im gona try my best to learn the software before I get home Nov 1st. But if I dont (which is likley) Would a mini director or a G3-mp3 and a pre purchased SD card be the only things I need to get the lights to blink?

[Oilfield trash]

 Do you that i actually Googled Discomkelulated and it still never Dawned on me what you were makeing a Play on our names. Man i am so dense right now

[dgrant]

The directors still rely on a sequence that's been programmed for the lights to music. It does not do the sequencing itself. It will play the show for you but that's it. You'll have to either buy sequences/music already done and set the channels to your system or do your own sequencing. Seems the average time in sequening a song is about 3 hours per minute of music. Some of us can do it faster depending on your computer experience. The more complex the display, the longer it takes to sequence it. There's lots of people who will give away sequences and people who are willing to sell them. I've bought a couple myself to save me time and I've given away some of the ones I've sequenced myself. Sequencing is practically a work of art as such.

 

Start with a picture of the yard you will sequence when you get home. Draw the strings of lights onto it that you wish to control. That will dictate the channel requirements. Most everyone is switching over to LED's due to two simple facts, they look great and they draw very little power. You need to be careful of the power draw across the controller. Its got a max of 30 amps or 15 amps per 8 channels as they are two separate busses  If you turn on all 8 channels on one buss and draw 16 amps, you'll blow a fuse. Same goes for the other side of it. Usually we never have all channels turned on at the same time or at %100 power. Incandescents will draw a lot of power so the lights inside of your blowmolds are probably incans. Keep track of your power considerations.

[Oilfield trash]

OK i am starting to understand some of it now. Thanks for all the input

 I am playing around in the Demo software right now and it has taken me about an hour to get to 22 seconds. The Trials and Tribulations we go thru because the kids thinks it cool. If i actually finish a sequence in the demo mode and save it can i use it once i get home to my computer after I buy a license?. I am also noticing that i am going to need more than 16 channels to do what i am wanting to do. Well what my wife told me I was doing  Will any controller work with the Planet Christmas Diy Kit? I am thinking about adding the  Residential Series 16 channel starter kit. or would you reccomend something else?

[dgrant]

There are so many options out there to consider that its difficult for me to state what you should do. AC controllers, which you have one now, will turn on strings of lights, dim, fade, twinkle, shimmer and so on. Some LED strings won't dim...stay far away from "Martha" LED strings from Home Depot. They won't work except off/on and some have reported them catching on fire. DC controllers will do dumb strips of RGB LEDs and then there's controllers for Smart or Intelligent pixel strings. CCR's, CCP, CCB's are intelligent types but the ones LOR has, have their own controllers/power supplies and connect to the LOR comm buss.

 

Before going out there that far, start simple till you get a handle on things. Look at the number of strings you wish to control, then buy the controllers you need. There was a kit from LOR itself that all you had to do was connect the power cords inside to the main board. It came with an enclosure and so on and saved some money to buy it. Simple to assemble. Look at the LOR store as opposed to some of the other on-line stores. Now as I mentioned before, if you are going to run from a computer, you will need the LOR usb/rs485 adapter. Do not plug in a CAT5 cable from the controller to the back of the computer's TCPIP port as you'll fry either the controller and/or the computer. It connects only to the adapter. You need to consider where you are going to place the computer and if you can run a CAT5 from it to the controller(s). There's a wireless ELL from LOR which will allow you to remotely control things and it does work! BUT, it requires a "Powered" USB/RS485 adapter so pick the appropriate one if you elect to use ELL's. (ELL = Easy Light Linker). You must consider how the viewers will hear the music too...most of us do FM Transmitters such as the EDM. It costs more but it works. Then you'll need a sign that tells the viewer what frequency to tune too.

 

Megatrees and arches are huge channel cosumption items but they sure look nice. Megatree colors becomes the issue then too...Just one color, multiple colors and groups of colors. Anyway, things you should think about before ordering equipment. The Plan is everything as you are finding out. My first year, two seasons ago, I jumped in with both feet at 96 AC channels. Most of the long time users here are switching to RGB and Pixels, CCR's and so on. Cost is up there but coming down. But, you can do a lot more with them but we all maintain AC channels too. This year, I'm adding a 12 string pixel megatree with 600 pixels on it, plus RGB controlled window frames and two firesticks with 7 segments each of blue incans and one pixel string each. The rest will remain the same as AC channels.

Edited October 12, 2014 by dgrant

[Mega Arch]

WowLights puts a great Light-o-rama starter kit together . This is how I started a few years back.

http://www.wowlights.com/ProductListSub.asp?Category=20

Good luck & welcome aboard.

[Don]

Short answer: If you are using pre-programmed shows and those shows come on the SD card, then you would not need the software.

 

If you are expected to write the shows to the SD card, then you would need the LOR software. Shows are written to the SD card via the Simple Show Builder or the Hardware Utility (MP3 tab)