Hi

Hello,

I really shouldn't be here, it'll be another trip into another hobby that will be so deep I'll never get out.

light displays have fascinated me since I built my first sound to light system back in the 70s (using a triac, potentiometer and a transformer) but I've not kept up. Have a few cheap disco lights in the shed.

It's time to get on board.

Welcome. I suspect there's a few of us who fall into that category - I was sure my first post on this forum was going to be a one-off.

Here's my usual getting started suggestions:

1. Since it's December -- go around and check out some local light shows. There's a map of locations here. See what works, what you like, reach out to the people running it and ask for some details (give us someone interested to talk lighting to - and we will often jump at the chance)
2. Read the ACL 101 Manual. It's showing it's age a bit and needs a re-write --- but it's still a solid foundation.
3. Install XLights. Take a photo of your house from where you want to view it and import it. Then start playing with what looks good on your house. What outlines can you build? What features can you highlight? What space do you want to fill?
4. Post on here and ask for feedback/ideas/suggestions. Put together a list of what you might need to purchase and ask for more feedback on that.
5. Look at attending a mini conference in person in June/July. The Melbourne one will probably be on July 5th/6th next year. More details will be posted on ACL (and the FB Group) in about March.

Thanks, Yes I think I'm looking at getting something up for next year, never thought it was going to be this year.

Where we are you can't see our house from the road and we don't have a huge open lawn either so I'm probably going to base the first effort on a few tree installations maybe a cluster with the max being 10-12ft. I will be interested in equipment that will scale just in case I do get hooked.

Downloading the manual as I write this and then we'll se where we go from there.