the making of my first spiral trees

thecrazylightlady · Jan 26, 2017

i13 said:
That's ok. We all need to start somewhere and the fact that you're reading and posting early in the year means that you're on track.

The exact strip to use comes down to personal preference. My choice would be a 12V WS2811 strip for a large spiral (same as the_grinch) or a 5V WS2812B strip for a small one. Some people prefer WS2801 instead. Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages. I'm happy to discuss them but I don't want to deviate too far from the original topic in this thread.

This strip is equivalent to what the_grinch used http://www.aliexpress.com/item/promotion-5m-DC12V-WS2811-150LEDs-10pixes-m-led-digital-strip-waterproof-in-silicon-tube-IP66-WHITE/32493161338.html

Try putting together a shopping list and posting it for feedback.

ive attached a link to ebay for the lights the grinch and i have used on our spiral trees, they come with a controller that has about 200 different sequences and you can run 2 strips off each one
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/121387312671?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

i13 · Jan 26, 2017

I stand corrected. You're not controlling them with a computer or simmilar unlike your mega tree. The 6803 pixels are getting a bit old but they do work if your controller supports them. Careful about this because some options (like the PixLite controllers) don't allow multiple pixel signal types at once.

lytnin · Jan 27, 2017

Adam,
I have a suggestion for you.
Lift the ring up 50-100mm. This will give you some legs to spike into the ground. If the ground is not 100% level you can adjust them accordingly. If the ring is right at the bottom, you'd have to chock them to make them level.
Hope it helps.
Dave

QLDKing(Brad) · Feb 1, 2017

Have not been to Bunnings yet to by the frames. Noticed in some forums they say if your doing music to do things in 4s. Does that mean I should buy 4 frames as a starting point?

Also the lights on eBay are out of stock at this point. Must have been a rush on. Hopefully they will be back in stock soon.
These type of lights how do I connect them to a computer? I would like to buy something easy to use but future proof it as well (having said that happy to go straight to something difficult so I don't have to buy again later).

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

OzAz · Feb 2, 2017

Qldking said:
Does that mean I should buy 4 frames as a starting point?

I would (and did, actually 8), lots of music is in 4/4 time, so when sequencing you can have 1 light at a time do something (eg. come on) to the beat of the music. Also most controllers are 4 or 16 channels (outputs).
[though you don't necessarily connect 1 prop to each channel, but that's a whole other topic]

djgra79 · Feb 2, 2017

There's no "rule" that says your elements should match your music, etc.
OzAz is right, most popular music is in 4/4 time (4 beats per bar) so if you had trees or arches, you could sequence them left to right such as:
A - B - C - D
But if you had 3 elements you could do something like:
A - B - C - B

At the end of the day, build what you see your vision to be (and what the wallet allows!)

scamper · Feb 2, 2017

It has only been recently that I have even learn't about 4 props to match 4-4 time in music.
I always have been brought up on odd numbers being more aesthetically pleasing, so I made 5 spiral trees and 5 fire sticks.
In saying that however, my roof arches are 6, but that is because that is how it worked out for the space I had.
There is no real method, just what works best for you.

the making of my first spiral trees

thecrazylightlady

Yes I admit it.....I have the C.L.A.P

i13

Dedicated elf

lytnin

Full time elf

QLDKing(Brad)

Senior elf

OzAz

Senior elf

djgra79

My name is Graham & I love flashing lights!

scamper

Dedicated elf