Planning a new show for 2024 (Newbie)

[jerseyjim]

Hello all,

A little background.  I have read many forums and watched countless videos of lights to music.  For more years than I care to say I have wanted to do something similar and be the "it" house everybody stops by.  For the past dozen or so years, my decorations for Halloween and Xmas have been inflatable centric.  Simple lights on bushes and icicles on eves.  I typically have between 25-30 blow ups in the yard, some with motion.  Great response from the neighborhood, but not really that "WOW" factor I am looking for.

I finally feel I am in a place to make the commitment (time and money) to do what I have been dreaming of for so long.  Here is my vision of what I would like to do:

I envision running the show 3 times per evening at 7, 8, and 9 PM.  I will start with pre-made song/sequence combinations but would like to learn the sequencing myself over the the course of having the system to enhance the show.

The show would begin with a reasonable amount of blow-up decorations scattered throughout the yard for daytime and between light show viewing.  The preshow would have the lights on the house come on (roof, windows, columns, floods.  When the show starts, the blow-ups will be powered down and the mini trees (8), arches (8), bushes (8), snowflakes (4), etc. would light up all white.  After 10-15 minutes, I would like to have a spotlight on a nativity come on and a short 2-3 minute xmas story.  When that is finished, the spotlight shuts off and the musical portion of the program commences.  I am thinking roughly 5-6 songs long (potentially changing songs each set).  When the music portion has run its course, the house lights would go back to white, the trees, arches, bushes, snowflakes, etc. would shut off and the blow-ups would re-inflate until the next show.  Everything shuts off at 11 PM.

If my math is correct, I am looking at 96 smart pixel channels and I would need an AC controller for the inflatables.  (all lights will be smart)

I know this is an ambitious plan for the first show.  I am in the process of figuring out all the equipment I will need for the show.  I would prefer to use a show director and definitely want an FM transmitter.  I apologize in advance for my limited knowledge.  The controllers seem pretty simple with an extension cord supplying power, then the light strings get plugged in and a Cat5 cable running to the director.   

I read that you should stay within 25 feet from the controller to the beginning of the light string.  Is there a maximum distance from the controller to the director?  I am thinking of housing the director in the garage which would make some of the controllers a good 75 feet away.  Would it be more prudent to centrally locate the director to minimize the lengths of cable from controllers to the director?

I have not purchased any equipment or license yet, I think it makes sense to get the pro license to set me up for future endeavors.

I appreciate any suggestions you have.  I have attached a picture of my house for reference.

Edited November 16, 2023 by jerseyjim
Clarifiaction

[jerseyjim]

Light bulb moment....I just realized the cat5 cables go from controller to controller with only one (or two to split the load) going back to the director.

[TheDucks]

smart pixels are 3 channels per bulb.  count nodes (ribbons have 3 LEDS, but count as 1 node/3 channels)

Why put the director in the garage? That means you also have to run a long audio to the FM. This is Low power FM. It needs to be close to your audience @k6ccc has his in his light post. There are weather resistant packages with the FM and director. The 25' rule is IF you do not use a Wall wort to power the director and just use the nearest controllers Aux Power feature

Inflatables have motors: You want ON-Off with no inductive back kick to harm the Triacs used in AC controllers. Consider a CMB24 with each (needed) channel (ungroup the RGB ports) controlling an Opto relay (Sold at electronics parts stores, 'coil voltage the same as the CMB bus voltage).

[k6ccc]

I'm going to strongly suggest that you re-think your show plan.  People will not show up on your schedule - they will show up on their schedule (that usually means when ever they happen to get there).  If they arrive to static lights, they will look for a few seconds, drive off and NOT come back.  If you're going to run an animated light show, run animated lights - not static lights for a half of the time.

And TheDucks beat me to some of what I was going to say.  Since he mentioned it, my FM transmitter is inside this brick column right at the sidewalk.  The antenna is inside the black PVC pipe visible extending above the back side of the column.  If your browser does not imbed the image, there is a link directly to it below.

http://www.newburghlights.org/photos/FM-Antenna_1.jpg

[TheDucks]

I got to agree (again 😛 ) with Jim.

Static lights  sorta = 'Nothing else to see here folks'

Something needs to be happening or they move on

[jerseyjim]

Thank you, Jim and Ducks, for the very quick response. 

I appreciate the suggestion of limiting the static lighting, it makes a lot of sense and wasn't something I had considered.  In the future I am considering animated faces that could add a lot of interest sans music show.  

I also better understand the FM transmitter having limited range, I was not aware.  I will make sure I order the weather resistant packages and locate the FM near the sidewalk. 

As I am not very familiar with voltage matching etc. it may be in my best interest to simply have the blow ups on standard timers.

I have read some conflicting information on how many pixels you can have per port.  I have read there is a limit of 100 per port on a pixie 16, but I have also seen a max of 170.  Most of my windows are exactly a 5m ribbon which has 150 pixels. Will I have any issues?  This information will also be helpfull when figuring out the max load for an entire controller. (Again, not very electrically intelligent.)  I believe it to be more cost effective for me to make a frame and attach the ribbon rather than use pixel strings and coro trim which would then need to be attached to a pipe frame of some kind.  

I have also read on some of the threads that C9 strings are preferable for roof lines.  My challenge is getting lengths to match.  Are they easily customized?

Lastly, I did not see any options for RGB net lighting for bushes.  Is this an option, or is it simply strings of pixel lights?

Thank you again for your time and suggestions.

[k6ccc]

6 minutes ago, jerseyjim said:

Most of my windows are exactly a 5m ribbon which has 150 pixels. Will I have any issues? 

How handy.  Note that most 5M ribbons have 150 RGB LEDs, but 50 pixels.  See the photo below.  The "pixel" is determined by the WS2811 chip.  The chip drive the three RGB LEDs between each cutting point (or the indicated cutting point and the end of the strip in the photo).  There are ribbons that have a chip for every RGB LED, but most are the triple configuration shown.

http://www.newburghlights.org/photos/Planter_strip_backfeed.jpg

10 minutes ago, jerseyjim said:

I have also read on some of the threads that C9 strings are preferable for roof lines.  My challenge is getting lengths to match.  Are they easily customized?

Depends on the look you are trying to get.  In MY opinion, going with ribbons on roofline makes it look like a nightclub - not a Christmas display.  I am using pixels that are a little smaller than a C9 on my eves and roofline and I like the look.  Yes, you can make then whatever length you want.

 

[TheDucks]

An Opto is just a solid state relay. 

Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/SSR-40DA-3-32VDC-Output-24-480VAC-Plastic/dp/B08GPB7N2T/ref=sr_1_4?crid=ARW2C9QX6QCF&keywords=solid%2Bstate%2Brelay%2B12v&qid=1700150906&sprefix=solid%2Bstate%2Brelay%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-4&th=1

[TheDucks]

Smart RGB and dumb RGB can be cut at the designated points because the Nodes are the input voltage.

OTOH Mini-lights are series strings that need the proper count of bulbs to =120V . 10 bulb strings are 12V bulbs, 35 bulb strings are 3.5V bulbs.

[jerseyjim]

More great information from you both.  So, each pixel controls 3 LED lights.  It raises more questions regarding sequencing but I will leave that for down the road when I get the license and start taking tutorials.

I was reading a thread about columns and you both had replies.  I appreciate the link to the coro store.  The thread got me thinking about one thing that was said and it referenced using more small controllers vs. larger ones.  I know it will cost more to go with the smaller ones, but it seems the performance and longevity of the lights will benefit.

I am currently looking at 54 pixie ports.   Is there a generic rule of thumb regarding distance between the controller and the lights before it is significantly affected? Rather than using 4 Pixie 16, I can opt for 8's or 4's with better understanding of the length issue.

[dgander]

I'll just pile on here a little about the static stuff. I ran my show continually each night from sundown to about 10pm or so. I got quite a few requests to have everything lit for a period of time as well for pictures. So, in trying to keep people interested (and the wife happy) I have 10 min of static at the beginning of each "round (40 songs)" BUT I have music broadcasting during that 10 min and every minute I state the show will start...in so many minutes so that people know there will be a show coming up. I do the same thing in the middle of the "round" as an intermission but this time only 5 minutes and again announce every minute how much time is left before it starts up. This way I do have people who take pictures and know when to return.

[tlogan]

@dgander - I basically do the same thing, but run the shows for about 30 minutes with only 2-3 minutes in between with announcement countdown to next show and music in the background.

[jerseyjim]

dgander and tlogan, those are great suggestions.  Thank you.

dgander, that seems like a very long set.  Do you get any flack from neighbors?  I assume a reasonable volume for external speakers is used.  What do you find is the ratio of standing vs. cars?

 

[k6ccc]

25 minutes ago, dgander said:

I got quite a few requests to have everything lit for a period of time as well for pictures. So, in trying to keep people interested (and the wife happy) I have 10 min of static at the beginning

I've never had a request, but thought about doing a static for photos - but I would do it FAR shorter (30 - 60 seconds).

13 minutes ago, jerseyjim said:

I assume a reasonable volume for external speakers is used.  What do you find is the ratio of standing vs. cars?

I know the question was directed to dgander, but I keep the yard speakers just loud enough to be heard on the sidewalk.  Across the street is is almost inaudible.  I'm in the Los Angeles area, so not seriously cold, but I would say 95+ percent in cars.

 

[TheDucks]

29 minutes ago, jerseyjim said:

More great information from you both.  So, each pixel controls 3 LED lights.  It raises more questions regarding sequencing but I will leave that for down the road when I get the license and start taking tutorials.

I was reading a thread about columns and you both had replies.  I appreciate the link to the coro store.  The thread got me thinking about one thing that was said and it referenced using more small controllers vs. larger ones.  I know it will cost more to go with the smaller ones, but it seems the performance and longevity of the lights will benefit.

I am currently looking at 54 pixie ports.   Is there a generic rule of thumb regarding distance between the controller and the lights before it is significantly affected? Rather than using 4 Pixie 16, I can opt for 8's or 4's with better understanding of the length issue.

IMHO you are exceeding a N4G4 director by a bunch.  Get a pre-owned windows DESKTOP tower (stay away fro Small form factor). You do not need High end for the show (only) computer.

 

Ribbons are still counted as 1 Pixel (node) as that is the smallest controllable level.

[Mr. P]

On a different note, I personally run only eight LOR controllers (CTB16PC and CMB24D) on one LOR RS485 network and I run 40 pixel controllers on one E1.31 network which is way faster. Now with E1.31 you have to use a computer instead of a director and I place network switches strategically around my property to extend the network but I only need two networks, one LOR and one E1.31, to control my thousands of channels.

[Steven]

The blowups can be included in the animated show by disconnecting the lights. Older blowups have AC lights that you can just plug into an AC controller, while leaving the fan motor connected to a timer. Newer blowups have LED bulbs that are wired into to blower circuit. To sequence these, your best plan is to disconnect the bulbs and then run some pixel bulbs inside (or outside) the blowup.

[tlogan]

1 hour ago, k6ccc said:

I know the question was directed to dgander, but I keep the yard speakers just loud enough to be heard on the sidewalk.  Across the street is is almost inaudible.  I'm in the Los Angeles area, so not seriously cold, but I would say 95+ percent in cars.

I do the same, but oddly, I guess because I live on a corner and the road past my house makes a big sweeping curve, about 4 house up the street it can be heard clear as day. Fortunately I haven't had any complaints. Yet. 

[jerseyjim]

 

Dumb question, how do I reply directly by showing the post I am replying to the way you guys are doing it.  Would be much clearer when replying.  Thanks.

[Mr. P]

19 minutes ago, jerseyjim said:

 

Dumb question, how do I reply directly by showing the post I am replying to the way you guys are doing it.  Would be much clearer when replying.  Thanks.

Hit the "Quote" at the bottom of the post.