dave62 Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 im am thinking of buying 4 lor and want to know how hard is it to get it working ?.can you use any xmas light and what is the best light to use ?.i like to try the mega tree how many light go on a mega tree ?.i need to know every thing from start what is the 1st thing to do to make a show ?.i ran a cross a web site with light show on it and fell in love with it now trying to fine every thing can about it and dont know anything about it at allis there somewhere on here have step by step with pic ?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iresq Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 Welcome Dave62. As light up night is fast approaching, it will be hard to walk you through this. Unless you are an extreme learner and have a lot of time on your hands, you might be too late for this year.I would recommend taking the time to read through this board, read through the help files found here. http://www.lightorama.com/support.htmlAlso check out Planet Christmas http://talk.planetchristmas.com/index.phpThey have an entire section dedicated for mega trees and the like.What kind of Christmas light will depend on what you like, what you can afford and what you can power. Regular minis work great. Many of us scoop these up by the case at the after Christmas sales (though local inventory suggests no such luck this year). LED's are making inroads and many of us use commercial LED lights available through online vendors. Of course there are C9s, C6's, rope light, spot lights, dmx fixtures, specialty lights, LED walls, you name it.It would really help if after some reading, you could narrow your questions down a bit. It would take a lot of effort to answer the very broad questions you have posed.It's not hard to get 4 boards to work. You can buy plug and play. Questions for consideration, what are your power requirements and what is your power supply?The hardware is the easy part. It's the software that will eat up hours, days, weeks, and months.You might want to download the trial and give it a spin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave62 Posted November 14, 2009 Author Share Posted November 14, 2009 thank iresqi know it too late this year to do a show im hoping by jan or feb i can buy some lor and just play with it all year long and maybe next year i can set it up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Mitchell Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 I would suggest downloading the software now and start playing with it. You could upgrade to one of the more basic levels as the demo is kind of limited on some features. I would also wait until Spring before buying any LOR boards as there is usually a pretty good sale around tax return time and another one in June or July. The savings from the sales are definitely worth waiting for if you aren't going to be using the boxes until Christmas anyway.Pretty much any lights will work except flourescents with LOR.Megatrees can have as many or as few lights as you want on them. I have a small 12 footer with 1200 lights on it, others have as many as 24,000 lights in multiple colors.The first thing to do is to sit and layout your display on paper, what you want to light up and how you want to seperate the items into your channels.A great way to learn is to use the search function on the forum and read read read. There is a ton of info here that can answer a lot of your questions ahead of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim6918 Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 I don't know where you are located Dave, because your profile doesn't say, but, I would try to locate some friendly LOR'r within a reasonable distance and pay a visit during the season. I did this with a great guy about 2 hours from me and the time I spent with him was paid back in spades when I bought my controllers and started sequencing. I sat in front of his house during the show and got many ideas about my own house. He explained every aspect of animation, including power requirements, controllers, extension cords, and even security of your display and equipment.I second spending hours on this forum, just reading posts and looking for threads of interest. Almost all of the time you will get honest helpful answers, once in a while somebody might give you an answer that might seem a little rude, but just blow it off and keep plugging along. I found that there are so many great people here. Just look at some of my early posts, looking back they now seem like pretty silly questions, but I am glad I asked them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shfr26 Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 "Just look at some of my early posts, looking back they now seem like pretty silly questions, but I am glad I asked them".I believe the only silly or dumb question is the one that you don't ask! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim6918 Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 shfr26 wrote: "Just look at some of my early posts, looking back they now seem like pretty silly questions, but I am glad I asked them".I believe the only silly or dumb question is the one that you don't ask!LOL, if you think that you should look at my post about soldering FM transmitters. Almost quit the forum because of that one. Admit now I might have been a little thin skinned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shfr26 Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 I'm in the same boat, I looked at some of mine, REALLY dumb questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim6918 Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 Jeff Millard wrote: jim6918 wrote: shfr26 wrote: I believe the only silly or dumb question is the one that you don't ask!LOL, if you think that you should look at my post about soldering FM transmitters. Almost quit the forum because of that one. Admit now I might have been a little thin skinned.Seriously? You almost quit? Now I really feel like a jerk! I never meant to make it seem like you asked a stupid or dumb question, I just wanted you to know that if I can do it... there's no doubt someone's pet hamster is better at it than me...JeffPS Bet you thought I forgot that huh? Trust me, I clearly remember each and every person I unintentionally offend. It's the ones who deserve it I tend to let slip my mind...:cool:Hey Jeff, I admit I was being a little childish getting my feelings hurt. You have certainly more than made up for it since then with your expert help, not only to me but others, from whom I have certainly benefited.Merry Christmas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Redman Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 I am also a newbie to all of this and I am just in amazement of the knowledge and experience that is given freely here and at Planet Christmas. I am in an electrical field so the hardware is simple for me but the average person does not have a clue about Ohm’s Law, wire sizing and local codes, but very thing that I have read so far is true and has safety in mind at all times (my hat is off to you guys and gals). As I am finding out that the programming is awfully time consuming but hopefully I will have enough for a short but good show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave62 Posted November 15, 2009 Author Share Posted November 15, 2009 thank eveyone it dont look like im going to be in the dark trying to get this runing i was looking at Tacky Light Tour to see where all the light show is round me look like in dc and harrisburg pa . harrisburg is about is hour away and dc is 2 hour away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddmoon Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 LOR also has some music packages that are programmed to 16 & 32 and 48 channels displays. There also sequences that others have done and posted for free use. You may not have a custom show but for the average viewer they would never know the difference anyway.As I ran my Halloween show this year just for fun I added all of previous sequences into the scheduler and had them play the music and run the lights that I had customized for a halloween display. There were some interesting results and folks had fun listening to it. Most have no idea what goes into making a display or how it works and how many channels are involved weather you have 32 or 64 channels most would not know the difference they just like watching the lights.Jump in and go for it! There are lots of folks on the boards here that are willing to help.Knowing how to use MP3 music helps, and the programming is not difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwertz Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Dave, you won't find me on tacky light tour (because I don't want all that attention). But I'm only 50 minutes away in Dillsburg. I can send you my address and phone number in a Private Message if you'd like.I'm experiencing a little setup stress right now. But once I get everything up and running I'd be glad to have you come see the show (and give you a lengthy behind the scenes tour). There should be a couple other LOR shows in Carlisle this year, and a nice display in Camp Hill that uses a different system (termed DIY). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave62 Posted November 16, 2009 Author Share Posted November 16, 2009 hello rwertzi work in carlisle .i love to come to see your show .but i thick i need to just buy one controller and the software .to just play round with it . then buy more more later .i have no idea what im doing but what i have read so far i thick i can do it and maybe not there is so must to learn on is . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Singer Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Hi Dave I'm one of the LOR users in Carlisle that Rwertz spoke about. I'm on Vacation Thanksgiving week to set up my ligths. PM me also I would be more that happy to help you out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave62 Posted November 18, 2009 Author Share Posted November 18, 2009 hi ali dont ready know what to say right now becase i still dont know if i can do this i been reading it go in one ear and out the other till i can go over to rwertz house to see what all i have to do. it not me to go to someone house that i dont know . i love to see your show too right now im getting my truck fix . with out anything here to play with it like im in the dark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Singer Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Well to tell you the truth Light-O-Rama is really easy. Heck if I can do it anyone can.Your first step would be to download the demo and just play around with it.I think that’s how most of us started.I have no problem with you just showing up at my house.I met Rwertz on this forum and a 2 other members, much like meeting you here.One night the 3 of them knocked on my door and the 4 of us just talked about our displays as I showed them mine. It was a load of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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