Newbie Questions concering LOR 1602W Controllers

[ChristmasDude]

Hi Everyone,

I am new here, just registered today, and live in West Los Angeles, CA. Since December 2003 I have been an avid lighted Christmas Light Display guy in my neighborhood. I think I would like to take it to the next level or levels, a neighbor sent me a Youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szLmAPW39uE) a while back of this house.

So I have been studying and believe I would like to do such a show or as close as I can for December 2010. I have some questions below, if anyone can answer them I would br greatful. They are the first in what Im sure will be a long list.


1. I have a USB port on my computer. If I purchase the USB-RS485 Adapter with Booster and the USB485B cable, am I setup proper for the addition of a wireless unit like the 'Easy Light Linker'?

2. If I'm using a USB port on my computer than I've no need for the SC485 adapter is that correct?

3. In the FAQ on the LOR website it mentions the 'RF02' is this the same as the 'Easy Light Linker'?

4. Has the LED issue been fixed? By this I mean, I understand LED lights may only light at an intensity of less than 100% using the LOR1602W controller.

5. As it concerns the issue above, is the Cosmic Color Ribbon affected by this issue as it uses LED ligh bulbs?

6. I'm curious if I have 4000 feet total of electrical cord, will my signals from my LORW1602 controllers be affected? I just want to make sure the 2000-4000 feet applies to the Cat5e cables connecting the LOR controllers and not all the electrical cords cucmulative length?

7. Let's say you have a string of candy canes, like those which might align a walkway and are three feet in height. Is there a way, using the controller that you could make only one cane in the string of five light up?


Thank you everyone!

[JBullard]

ChristmasDude wrote:

Hi Everyone,

I am new here, just registered today, and live in West Los Angeles, CA. Since December 2003 I have been an avid lighted Christmas Light Display guy in my neighborhood. I think I would like to take it to the next level or levels, a neighbor sent me a Youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szLmAPW39uE) a while back of this house.

So I have been studying and believe I would like to do such a show or as close as I can for December 2010. I have some questions below, if anyone can answer them I would br greatful. They are the first in what Im sure will be a long list.


1. I have a USB port on my computer. If I purchase the USB-RS485 Adapter with Booster and the USB485B cable, am I setup proper for the addition of a wireless unit like the 'Easy Light Linker'? YES

2. If I'm using a USB port on my computer than I've no need for the SC485 adapter is that correct? Correct

3. In the FAQ on the LOR website it mentions the 'RF02' is this the same as the 'Easy Light Linker'? YES

4. Has the LED issue been fixed? By this I mean, I understand LED lights may only light at an intensity of less than 100% using the LOR1602W controller.
Depends on the LED lights I use over 33,000 FWR LEDs in my display and have no problems. Some retail store LEDs have been reported with problems

5. As it concerns the issue above, is the Cosmic Color Ribbon affected by this issue as it uses LED ligh bulbs? Shouldn't be, although the CCR has not been shipped out to anyone yet, I'm still waiting on the two I have on order.

6. I'm curious if I have 4000 feet total of electrical cord, will my signals from my LORW1602 controllers be affected? I just want to make sure the 2000-4000 feet applies to the Cat5e cables connecting the LOR controllers and not all the electrical cords cucmulative length? Nothing to do with the electrical cords, I use over 6000 feet, Just as a matter of practice, don't bundle your electrical and CAT5 in parallel for long distances

7. Let's say you have a string of candy canes, like those which might align a walkway and are three feet in height. Is there a way, using the controller that you could make only one cane in the string of five light up? YES, just plug each candy cane into a channel of the controller, then you have total control of each individual candy cane.


Thank you everyone!

I use the ELL's in my display and love them for the ease of setup and reaching across driveways and etc

[ChristmasDude]

Thanks JB. One follow-up question concerning your answer to #7. There is only one plug for the entire string on canes (7), how could I plug one cane into one channel?

[JBullard]

OK, your candy canes are different then mine.

The ones I have contain strings of 20 bulbs each, and each cane is a standalone element. In your case where all 7 canes are one element, you would need to rewire them for individual control.

Each of mine I have a string of clear lights and a string of red lights so I can change the color of each candy cane individually

[ChristmasDude]

Thanks JB. I will have to look for your type of candy canes.

[JBullard]

Mine came from Walmart. I only paid about 60 cents each after Christmas, I think they were around $2 at regular price They are about 28 inches high without the ground stake.

[ChristmasDude]

That is very good to know JB. One more question, you say your candy canes have two strings on lights in them with 20 bulbs on each string, one string red, one white. Is each of the two strings per cane plugged into its own channel?

[JBullard]

Yes, I added the strings. So for 8 candy canes, I use 16 channels

[ChristmasDude]

As it concerns the layout of my electrical.

I intend to wire up the front yard then use extension cords to plug all that stuff into various LOR channels. The LOR controllers will be in the garage on a table laid out horizontally. I believe this to be a good, efficient, straightforward setup vs. having the LOR controllers at random locations throughout the front yard. Would I be correct?

[JBullard]

That is a matter of personal preference.

I have 20 controllers, and that would not be at all practicle for me. I have to distribute my contollers throughout the display

[Guest wbottomley]

John's right.

Keeping them warm inside the garage doesn't help making them efficient.

32 of mine goes all over the house and the lawn.

[ChristmasDude]

Thanks. But having them all laid out in one location away from the display itself will do no harm right?

[JBullard]

No, no harm. Just makes it (in my opinion) harder to wire and connect up when your controller count starts climbing and uses a ton more extension cords

[rjnitto]

It just means that you will need longer extension cords to reach your display. If one controller is 50 foot from one display, you would need 16 extension cords each 50 foot in length. That's 800 feet just to reach the display.

Richard

[-klb-]

So far, with the more limited (~128) channels, and shorter distances at the house, I have all my AC controllers bolted to the side of the house, and several thousand feet of SPT2 cord.

At the city park, with 600 channels, we have controllers spread out to be as close to the elements as we reasonably can. The controllers on the firehouse are bolted to the walls behind the shrubs, above the bay doors, or on the back wall, to run cords up for the lights on the roof. In the park, we drive fence posts into the ground where needed, bolt the controllers to the posts, and let parks and rec pull them with a tractor in January. We still use a crazy amount of SPT2 wire, and a ton of 12/3 extension cord to feed the controllers.

It really depends on your personal preference, and your comfort levels with having the controllers in the display, but logistics of cord quantities and costs need to enter into it as well.

[ChristmasDude]

Thanks klb, that is good to know. Say, what is the difference between 'spt1' wire and 'spt2' wire?

[JBullard]

The thickness of the insulation on the wire, and the cost.

I use over 6000 ft of SPT1 in my display, even with the 20 controllers spread out all over the yard.

[ChristmasDude]

Thanks JP. I seem to see a lot of 'spt1' wiring for my c9 strings, can't find it in the length I want for 'spt2'. If 'spt1' works for you, it'll work for me.

[JBullard]

I buy the SPT1 wire in 1000 foot spools and add the end connectors to make my extension cordsto the exact length needed.

Much more economical then buying "tons" of extension cords and plugging them into each other, especially if you plan to keep your controllers in the garage.