Want to buy...what to buy?

[Kulstad]

I've been the tech support guru for my neighbour for years for his Christmas display, and I'd love to get started with my own 16-channel LOR unit.  I find myself getting so incredibly lost and confused when it comes to what-goes-with-what and what pieces I need.  I'm hoping that if I post what I'm wanting to accomplish, someone can guide me to the checkout.....

 

• Price is a moderate concern
• Residential unit
• 16 channels
• Able to run the light show (complete with music) from an SD card (or latest-and-greatest equivalent)
  • my neighbour runs his show (complete with music) from an SD card, so I am of the belief that this is the only non-wired option available
• Software
• Ability to run both as an independent, stand-alone unit AS WELL AS connect to my neighbour's setup via wireless (I know this will require a transmitter and receiver, but I don't know if I can use this on a "master unit")

I'd also, if possible, like to be able to control LED RGB spotlights from the unit as well.  That is, I have access to RGB LED spotlights, and would like to control the colour mixing IN ADDITION TO dimness/brightness of the light(s) on the end of each channel.  This is not a deal-breaker, but it would definitely be a bonus if this were available.

 

If anyone is willing to take my by the hand and go shopping with me, it would be greatly appreciated.

[dgrant]

Welcome to our hobby! For wireless controls, LOR has the ELL, Easy Light Linkers and they work very nice. They will transmit and receive the RS485 communications for the AC controllers as well as the CMB24D DC controller and many others. What I normally suggest is that you should start out with a picture of your house and print multiple copies. Draw strings of lights on it and decide how you wish to control them. This will dictate your hardware requirements. I do not use a SD card to run my show, rather a regular computer as I find its easier for me. Things to think about are stands for the controllers, wire, extension cords, FM transmitter, tune-too sign(s), I suggest LEDs instead of incans for power consumption reasons and many more things. The RGB spotlights use the CMB24D DC controller. It will require a 12 Volt power supply and if putting outside, it needs an enclosure such as a CG1500. Logistics of connecting it means, running cables of 4 conductor wire and I would suggest 16Awg, connectors and pigtails to make setup and take down a lot easier...I use trailer connectors. If you use a computer to run the show, you'll need the USB/RS485 adapter. 

Software, get at least the Advanced license therefore allowing for expansion in the future as once you have the bug, you'll want more. Start saving hyperlinks or shortcuts to the many Christmas sites out there so you can get back to them easily. For a show this year, you need to get busy right away. You'll need music of your choice(legally purchased), software(download now), order hardware and start sequencing.

[Parkie]

With our display here I've tried to keep it as simple as I can for the next person that would replace me doing this to understand. That being said we have 36 controllers run by a G3-MP3 director which runs on the SD card. That director lets me split the network to go in different directions. I can also have different shows set up with different songs ready and all I have to do is swap SD cards. The mini director with MP3 player would be fine for a smaller network, it also has a plug for audio out. The first 4 controllers that we had were the residential type and they were fine in the set up running a 26' tree but I don't believe they can be used as stand-alone units, I haven't tried it yet but someone else here may know for sure about that. I do like the LOR1602W g3, commercial type controller for the simple way to change the address of the controller and the ability to use as a stand-alone unit. You will need to purchase a USB485 to connect to your computer for downloading the sequence for stand-alone and for testing the units. I do also have 2 DE-C-24DC controllers from Holiday Technologies to run 16 10w LED floods as part of our display. I also use about 10 ELL for linking up the networks. I program all this with the LOR Advanced software. I haven't gotten into  DMX or programing pixels just for the reason that the next person will have enough to figure out my madness and then once they do that, they could add to it. I started with the 4 controllers added the programing and 2 more controllers the next year and keep adding every year so we have something new. I hope this helps, there is a lot of GREAT support here with LOR and all the users.  Good Luck 

[Kulstad]

CMB24D

CG1500

LOR1602W

My head is swimming with all these product types.

 

The CMB24D looks like it's a DIY kit, and I know that I'd end up soldering my fingers to my belt buckle if I tried it.  Is there something pre-assembled that does the same thing?

 

[saxon]

31 minutes ago, Kulstad said:

CMB24D

CG1500

LOR1602W

My head is swimming with all these product types.

 

The CMB24D looks like it's a DIY kit, and I know that I'd end up soldering my fingers to my belt buckle if I tried it.  Is there something pre-assembled that does the same thing?

 

nah!!.....numbers, too many of them...

CMB24 is the board to control your RGB lights, most common are the flood lights and/or RGB dumb lights (strips or nodes). There is NO soldering required

The CG1500 is nothing but an enclosure to put your CMB24 in, along with other things. weather proof box.- NO soldering required.

LOR1602 is your commercial grade A/C controller with 16 channels,- NO soldering required. Personally I would get the ctb16pc, it has a plastic enclosure and save you $80.

[dgrant]

As Saxon stated, there's no soldering with the cmb24d controller. You do need to put it into an enclosure such as the cg1500 and yes, it will need a 12VDC power supply which should nicely fit into the enclosure with the controller. It connects via the LOR RS485 comm buss which is also what talks to the regular AC controllers. As suggested already too, just use the ctb16pc for an AC controller unless you need the higher power of the 1602W. Once you have these in front of you and connect them, it becomes way easier to understand. Now I wish to caution you...do not confuse the RJ45 connectors with TCPIP from the computer. They both use the same cables but they are NOT the same. One is from the usb/rs485 adapter and the other is tcpip(ethernet) from/to the computer. LOR uses the same cable type, Cat5,5e or Cat6 since it saves us money but the protocol and hardware on each end is totally different. You must be very careful when you get to adding intelligent RGB later on. For your first year, start out with AC controller(s) and possibly the CMB24D which is for dumb strips. Those connect via the RS485 buss

[k6ccc]

To echo part of what dgrant said, don't mix Ethernet and LOR RS-485 cables. My suggestion is to use different cable colors. In my case, LOR RS-485 is purple, E1.31 Ethernet is green, and my normal home LAN is blue. Even if I don't know where a cable goes, I do know what type of network it is - and therefore what NOT to plug it into.

Sent from my Droid Turbo via Tapatalk

[EmmienLightFan]

What RGB spotlights are you talking about?

 

You need 12v ones with common anode 12v PWM inputs.

[Kulstad]

Thank you all for your help.  This is starting to become a little clearer to me now (slowly, but surely).

My apologies for not being completely clear on the type of spotlights I have (my terminology definitely needs work, if I'm going to be asking help from professionals).  What I have are actually LED floodlights that are red, blue, or green (like this: http://www.feit.com/led-lamps/performance/performance_led/performance_led/color_leds/color_led/par38-r-ledg5 ).  I did not know that you could purchase actual LED RGD spotlights (like the ones listed in the LOR Store), but I like the LOR ones much better, I think.

[EmmienLightFan]

On 5/12/2016 at 11:39 PM, Kulstad said:

Thank you all for your help.  This is starting to become a little clearer to me now (slowly, but surely).

My apologies for not being completely clear on the type of spotlights I have (my terminology definitely needs work, if I'm going to be asking help from professionals).  What I have are actually LED floodlights that are red, blue, or green (like this: http://www.feit.com/led-lamps/performance/performance_led/performance_led/color_leds/color_led/par38-r-ledg5 ).  I did not know that you could purchase actual LED RGD spotlights (like the ones listed in the LOR Store), but I like the LOR ones much better, I think.

You may be able to use what you have in a Par38 housing and on a regular LOR channel.

They nay not be dimmable however.

 

The LOR ones allow colour mixing. You can have 16.7 million different colours, but obviously the difference between most will be negligible.

[Kulstad]

Ok, I've been allotted a $500 budget by my Economic Advisor wife (with maybe a little bit of room to play with), so here's what I have in my shopping cart so far:

• CMB-24D Deluxe DC Card
• SPK-ST Generic Start Pacakge (Advanced)
• 12 Volt Wall Transformer
• RGB Flood - 10 watts (x8)

I cannot find the CG-1500 anywhere on the LOR Store site.  I'm also pretty sure I'm missing other things, but I have no idea what.

Edited May 14, 2016 by Kulstad

[Dennis Laff]

What are you buying the 12 volt wall transformer for ?     CG-1500     check out DIY leds express website

[lightzilla]

I sent you a pm. However I forgot to mention that you should wait until the Lor summer sale which might be in late August or early Sept.

Is that $500 Canadian or US?  $500 US is $649.92 right now. If oil goes down from where it is now then that figure will change again.

Edited May 14, 2016 by lightzilla

[Kulstad]

13 minutes ago, Dennis Laff said:

What are you buying the 12 volt wall transformer for ?

...because someone said I needed to buy one?  See?  this is how lost I am

Edited May 14, 2016 by Kulstad

[Dennis Laff]

Well you need a 12 volt transformer but you can't use that type to power any controllers on the DIy LEDs express website look at 12 volt power supplys    350watt 12 volt  this is what most people use

[lightzilla]

Remember Kulstad buddy  the Canadian dollar is living on the Island of Misfit Toys these days.  I sent you  2 new pm's

Edited May 14, 2016 by lightzilla

[Kulstad]

Thank you, everyone, for all of your help.  It really is an eye-opener for me just how blissfully unknowledgeable I truly am when it comes to all of this.  A special "thank you" to Lightzilla (a fellow Canuckistanian) for his guidance and assistance.  With his recommendation and strong-handedness encouragement, I will probably be picking up the Showtime Central Starting Package.

[canadianchristmas]

 

3 hours ago, Kulstad said:

Thank you, everyone, for all of your help.  It really is an eye-opener for me just how blissfully unknowledgeable I truly am when it comes to all of this.  A special "thank you" to Lightzilla (a fellow Canuckistanian) for his guidance and assistance.  With his recommendation and strong-handedness encouragement, I will probably be picking up the Showtime Central Starting Package.

Wow Another Calgarian!!!

I wanna see your show when you have it up!

[oilmoney]

9 hours ago, Kulstad said:

Ok, I've been allotted a $500 budget by my Economic Advisor wife (with maybe a little bit of room to play with), so here's what I have in my shopping cart so far:

• CMB-24D Deluxe DC Card
• SPK-ST Generic Start Pacakge (Advanced)
• 12 Volt Wall Transformer
• RGB Flood - 10 watts (x8)

I cannot find the CG-1500 anywhere on the LOR Store site.  I'm also pretty sure I'm missing other things, but I have no idea what.

buy this instead, cheaper... it puts some of your listed items together at a discount I believe. Greetings from fort mac!  Welcome to the addiction! http://store.lightorama.com/10wrgbfl8pa.html

[Kulstad]

After many intense negotiations with my wife, I finally got the official okey-dokey to go ahead and purchase the following:

• Showtime Central Starter Pack
• 10W RGB Flood 8 Pack

It just occurred to me, though, that I need to buy a case of some kind for the RGB Flood kit, as well as a 12V adapter, don't I?  Based on what everyone has mentioned throughout this incredibly helpful thread, here's what I think I need:

• Case - CableGuard CG-1500 Coax Demarcation Enclosure (there's no picture of the inside of the case, so I can't tell if this will work or not)
• Power supply - 12V 360 Watt Power Supply

As always, I await the opinion of the experts here before I buy something I shouldn't (*cheap pandering*   )

 

@canadianchristmas: My initial plan is to tie in with my neighbour across the street for Christmas, but will be definitely doing something for Halloween.  You're definitely more than welcome to swing on by whenever you like, and I might just pick your brain for ideas over a couple of pops in the not-so-distant future.  Feel free to contact me offline anytime.

@oilmoney: I hope your and your family are alright after all that's happened in your neck of the woods.  If you're ever down this way, feel free to get in touch.