Converting wireframe deer to LEDs Question

[tlogan]

Hi, All! Hope you are doing well. I've been reworking all my sequences to take full advantage of S5 and think I have it down with only one or two more things to do.  Last year I made the jump to S5 and got it working, but that was about it. I've been using purchased sequences from WOW and now I believe it will only take about 5 minutes to add new ones. And I also think I'm now positioned to start trying some of my own.

ANYWAY....

I have a number of old wire frame deer and want to convert those to LEDs. I ordered a couple of strands of 100 LEDs and clips. On closer inspection (after the fact!), I realized that the existing lights have the clips built in to the light holder. The LEDS do not. I only bought a 100  clips thinking I would just need them to replace any broken ones, but now I realize I would need 100 per deer.

So, instead, might I be able to clip the end off the existing string, clip the end off the LED string with the resistor and splice it onto the existing string and then replace all of the incans with the LEDS? 

My main concern here is that most likely, some of the wire may be branched out to allow skipping around the foldable parts (like the legs and head) for storage. Any idea if this would still work with the LEDs instead of the incans?

 

 

[TheDucks]

7 minutes ago, tlogan said:

Hi, All! Hope you are doing well. I've been reworking all my sequences to take full advantage of S5 and think I have it down with only one or two more things to do.  Last year I made the jump to S5 and got it working, but that was about it. I've been using purchased sequences from WOW and now I believe it will only take about 5 minutes to add new ones. And I also think I'm now positioned to start trying some of my own.

ANYWAY....

I have a number of old wire frame deer and want to convert those to LEDs. I ordered a couple of strands of 100 LEDs and clips. On closer inspection (after the fact!), I realized that the existing lights have the clips built in to the light holder. The LEDS do not. I only bought a 100  clips thinking I would just need them to replace any broken ones, but now I realize I would need 100 per deer.

So, instead, might I be able to clip the end off the existing string, clip the end off the LED string with the resistor and splice it onto the existing string and then replace all of the incans with the LEDS? 

My main concern here is that most likely, some of the wire may be branched out to allow skipping around the foldable parts (like the legs and head) for storage. Any idea if this would still work with the LEDs instead of the incans?

 

 

Resistors (values) are selected to MATCH the strings they came with. Change ANYTHING about the string and you need a new value.

Black ZIP ties (higher UV resistance than clear or other colors) and a $20 Zip tie  tool from Amazon (they work fairly well without paying the Panduit 😵 price)

[tlogan]

Thank you. Good to know. I have a zip tie tool and a Harbour Freight nearby for zip ties. I hope I can run the wire on the same path as the existing wires are run. I'd really like to be able to continue to break them down for storage.

This may turn out to be a bigger project than I thought....but isn't it ALWAYS?

[Orville]

4 hours ago, tlogan said:

Thank you. Good to know. I have a zip tie tool and a Harbour Freight nearby for zip ties. I hope I can run the wire on the same path as the existing wires are run. I'd really like to be able to continue to break them down for storage.

This may turn out to be a bigger project than I thought....but isn't it ALWAYS?

When I re-did my deer, now all gone, they finally just rusted away, but anyway, I did what TheDucks suggested.

What I did was buy bright white LED strands in smaller bulb counts, believe I used 2 strands per deer, one was a 100 count and the other a 70 count {if my memory serves me correctly}.  The 100 count was used for the head, upper body and tail {inside and out}, the smaller count was used for the lower body and legs, but I made sure both strands could be plugged into each other so they'd all be on one channel.  I also used black zip ties on mine to hold the strands in place along almost the same exact path with a few minor changes here and there that the original incandescents took.

As long as you don't zip tie any areas that are hinged, head, legs {I did on mine to give them better stability} you should still be able to fold them down.  Some of mine were motorized, on those, the hinged area the motor controlled was NOT zip tied.  But after the season, I just cut the zip ties from the hinged joints and folded them up for easy storage.   Zip ties are cheap enough that having to add a few here and there for better stability each year wasn't a big deal.  Took all of about 5-10 minutes per deer {I only had 4}, so it didn't take a lot of time out of my setting them up in my display.

My deer were well over 25+ years old when I scrapped them due to corrosion, rusted out areas and just weren't worth saving.  Of course before I scrapped them I did remove the LED strands I had on them.  But no longer have them, so going on memory on what bulb count I used for the conversion process.

 

[tlogan]

Thanks, Orville -

Thankfully, most of mine (only 7) are only about 10 years or so old. I have replaced one or two along the way, so those are the newer ones.  We don't have very rough winters here so they are still in pretty good shape. At lease it's worth converting at this point. Hopefully by the time I need to replaces hem will all be LED lit. I do want to keep most of these as long as I can as the newest ones I bought have VERY thin wire. They were cheap, but I guess you get what you pay for.

I had the idea of multiple strands rolling around the back of my head and I kept thinking in terms of two 50s and thought that may not do me much good. I hadn't thought about 50 or 70 for the second string. I'll give it a go and see how it works out. I have one strand of 50 I was going to use for a small one (that currently only has 30...I SAID they were cheap!), but  maybe I'll try it out on a big one along with the 100.

I'll try to remember to update when I get done.

[Orville]

4 hours ago, tlogan said:

Thanks, Orville -

Thankfully, most of mine (only 7) are only about 10 years or so old. I have replaced one or two along the way, so those are the newer ones.  We don't have very rough winters here so they are still in pretty good shape. At lease it's worth converting at this point. Hopefully by the time I need to replaces hem will all be LED lit. I do want to keep most of these as long as I can as the newest ones I bought have VERY thin wire. They were cheap, but I guess you get what you pay for.

I had the idea of multiple strands rolling around the back of my head and I kept thinking in terms of two 50s and thought that may not do me much good. I hadn't thought about 50 or 70 for the second string. I'll give it a go and see how it works out. I have one strand of 50 I was going to use for a small one (that currently only has 30...I SAID they were cheap!), but  maybe I'll try it out on a big one along with the 100.

I'll try to remember to update when I get done.

You're welcome.  I had some smaller ones at one time, but I think those were small enough that I used 50 count for the upper area and 35 count for the lower. {again if my feeble memory serves me correctly! LOL}  As their legs were very short, more like the children of the big deer {fawns}, so their LED bulb counts were a bit different, but done in the same way I had done the larger.   But they didn't hold up as well as the older, larger deer {and these were a lot NEWER than my older ones}.

As you said, you get what you pay for.   Although sometimes we do luck out and get a bargain for the price.   All my larger older deer actually cost LESS than the new ones did.  Paid about $15-$20 for them over 25+ years ago, the newer flimsier ones were somewhere in the neighborhood of $30-$40 price range and only lasted about 5 years before they were so bad I had to scrap them!

As the old saying goes, "They sure don't build them like they used too!"  

And none of the newer {smaller} deer were even motorized either, all 4 of my original ones were, and for LESS money!  Over the years a couple of them became static as parts wore out, I kept the motors for other use as they were still going strong, just couldn't get the replacement parts I needed to animate them any longer!  Tried fabricating some on my own, but that was a bust. LOL

[tlogan]

I'm finding the same thing. The newer ones use smaller gauge wire, AND I'm finding, fewer lights, AND cost more.

Anyway, I started on one of my no-longer-motorized deer (and I KNOW I had a spare motor around here somewhere, but heck if I can find it now!) to see how it goes. So far it's OK, but I'm only half done. I found a tip to use the old school spring loaded clothes pins to tack everything in place before zip tying.

  

[Orville]

10 hours ago, tlogan said:

I'm finding the same thing. The newer ones use smaller gauge wire, AND I'm finding, fewer lights, AND cost more.

Anyway, I started on one of my no-longer-motorized deer (and I KNOW I had a spare motor around here somewhere, but heck if I can find it now!) to see how it goes. So far it's OK, but I'm only half done. I found a tip to use the old school spring loaded clothes pins to tack everything in place before zip tying.

  

I forgot about using the old wood or plastic spring loaded clothes pins.  I used those as well when I redid mine.  But forgot about using them, most times I just zip tie the lights as I'd go along on some of the things I redid to LED.  

Know what you mean about the LED and Incandescent lights getting more expensive for less bulb counts.  I noticed that too when I start looking at what's new in the retail outlets for Christmas every year.   Never know, might find something I might want to add to my display, especially if the price is low enough for my pocket-book.  Yep, I'm cheap! LOL