scodavis Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 Greetings everyone, I'm looking at adding the 8-Pack of 10W flood lights to my 2017 show. Possibly two of them (haven't decided yet). I had some questions that I know veteran users of these devices can answer for me: 1. When using the shimmer effect, do the floods shimmer at the same rate as the standard CTB16PC controllers? 2. When using the twinkle effect, if multiple channels are set to twinkle (say, red and green), do the floods do a yellow twinkle, or do the individual red and green channels twinkle independently? 3. Another concern I have is brightness. The front of my house is relatively compact and, with many of my features being super strings, the lights are BRIGHT. My plan was to mount the floods to the eaves of my house and have them pointed diagonally down towards the house so they provide a wash of color. The eaves are approximately 14 inches out from the house. Here is a photo for reference: Photo with All Lights On 4. How far is the longest run possible (or longest you have done) of the extension cables between the controllers and lights? That will have a big impact on the physical layout of where I put my controllers. 5. And finally, for those who have used the floods - do you feel they are worth the expense? Thank you, I appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 I can answer a couple of those. 1. I assume you are using the CMB24D to drive the floods, therefore it is the CMB that produces the shimmer. It should be similar, but not in sync. As I understand it, with the AC controllers, the shimmer flash is synced with the AC power line. Since the CMB is DC powered, it would have no way of determining the start if light flash timing. 2. The individual colors twinkle independently. If you want specific combinations, you would have to manually sequence it (not that hard to do - I've done it). 3. You don't really ask a question. 4. That's all about voltage drop. Longer distance means larger wire gauge. I think the longest runs for RGB light strips to the controller is about 60 feet. I'm using 14 or 16 gauge with no trouble. 5. I have three of the 10w RGB floods, but do not have them in service yet. Did a little testing when I got them and they should do the job for me. Sent from my Droid Turbo via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 I've been using the 10W RGB floods for two seasons. I've noticed no difference in shimmer between the floods and other LED and RGB lights. In fact, the floods' shimmer is quite impressive. If you're twinkling just the red and green channels, you'll see either: dark, red, green, or yellow. Longest power run I've used is about 30' and there was no difference in brightness or color. I've seen people report up to 60' also, but I wouldn't recommend that unless there are no alternatives. YES - the floods are definitely worth the price! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scodavis Posted May 1, 2016 Author Share Posted May 1, 2016 1 hour ago, k6ccc said: 3. You don't really ask a question. Ok you're right - the question would be "in that instance, do you think the floods are bright enough to not get washed out by the rest of my lights?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oilmoney Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 The floods are awesome, my favorite part of my display. This year I'll be running 40 of them, 20 pointed at my house and 28 pointed at the street. Your house is a light color so I think that the floods would show well. You might get some funky colors when the two lights mix together but Here's a couple vids to show what they can do. The first vid is what they look like pointed at you and the second vid will show you what they are capable of. You can never have enough floods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncledan Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 I have 40 of them although I only used 32 of them this year. I have been very happy and feel it was worth the expense. Eight on the eaves above the garage, 8 on the small building with matrix and 8 on the second floor similar to how you plan on mounting. There are also 8 on the side of the house mounted approximately 10 feet from the wall. I have had no issues going 30 feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_b Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 I think all the questions have been answered here, but here's my 2 cents. I like them. I have 2 on the front porch that run about 30 feet to the controller. Not a whole lot of voltage drop. (Too much else going on to notice anyways) I have incandescent light strands on the side of my house and use the floods to help accent them. It makes for some really cool combos. They are dimmable, so if you feel they are too bright, just change the intensity in your sequencing. Here's a couple of videos of them in action. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtro7jRWHOA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwO6KYUhKKA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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