Hi All, I have decided to plunge in to the CLAP and was looking at LOR residential series 16 channel starter pack with all aussie options for convenience. I was reasonably handy with electronics at highschool but in order to get a simple set up going this year i think a commercial option would be best. Any feedback? what light strings are compatible with this system and where can I get them? also can anyone give me confidence in buying from the LOR store online? Thanks Guys, a really noob sort of thread but I'm am getting caught up in it all. Regards, Jarrod
Welcome to to the group. I started in the LOR side myself before taking the plunge into RGB's and Pixel Take a look at http://www.wowlights.com I got started there and they have a lot of canned Sequencing stuff to make it easy. They sell the LOR packages but the channels may be sightly different than directly through LOR. I used the 16 channel AC controllers so was using standard lights. When you are ready to move into Pixels and RGB, it is a whole new ballgame. You can jump into the forums and read the AussieChristmas lighting 101 manual as well located here... http://auschristmaslighting.com/forums/index.php?topic=1889.0 Finally jump into Chat...we all can help. -Blu
Do you already have any 240V lights? If not, I'd suggest that you don't go down the LOR AC controller route. Instead you could get a DC controller and use Big W strings or "dumb" RGB pixels and strips. The only mains connection is to the power supply. If you're feeling more adventurous, you could jump into intelligent RGB pixels and strips. There is more of a learning curve with those though. Overall, a DC controller is probably the simplest way to get into controllable lights. Have a talk to Alan (user AAH) as he sells a couple of different DC controllers at a good price.
I use LOR software myself and started with AC controllers as I had no idea at the time that LOR had DC controllers. I still prefer LOR software for ease of use but if you don't want to spend too much money you can do a simple display with Vixen 2. Once you get past a few hundred channels or move onto RGB lighting then you need to look at 1 of the betterer sequencers. Unless you have a bunch of 240V lights that you want to use it is cheaper and safer to use low voltage DC lights whether that is off a LOR DC board or a DMX controlled board. There's a few ACL members down Geelong way as I sold a controller to a Geelong member last year I think it was. After reading the ACL 101 and watching a few videos, popping into chat you'll be an expert in no time.
This ^ I bought a 240v controller and only had bigw style led strings which don't work with LOR AC controllers. I sold my unused 240v controller and went RGB in my first year of computerised lights. Take it easy and ask lots of questions before making a purchase, we are happy to help
Hi Jarrod, I have had many occasions to by from LOR online store. They are fast and very efficient. They wind send you a Paypal request and the rest is blackness.... I certainly do not have any issues with Dan and the team from LOR.
Jarrod, LOR is a very good product, very trustworthy, the easiest to use, and the only one I am aware of that you can buy (or with enough digging, find free) 16 channel sequences already done for you. They are by far not the cheapest option, but as always you get what you pay for. You will be paying for ease of use and no hardware assembly. I have been using LOR for 4 years. I now have 2-16 channel controllers and 6 CCR's. Never had any issues with any part of it. Like it a lot.
I can add in another "shameless plug" for LOR and their product. I started with them in 2008 and now have 17 of the AC controllers, 2 DC controllers, and a lot of extension cords and Cat 5 cables LOL! LOR is very easy to begin with and will get you going quickly. Their hardware is top notch and holds up very well ( I have only had to replace 1 triac and 1 of the Cat 5 on board connectors in my time so far with this stuff)! Sequencing is going to take the biggest time for you to get used to along with actually doing so prepare for that. Another thing to think hard about is what are your plans for things? If you think that you will be going into using pixels (RGB) stuff in the future, then I would say think hard about which software you want to use. I am in the process of changing from the LOR software over to LightShow Pro software as I am going to change over from the Leds that I have now to pixels in the coming future and the LSP software is better suited to handling RGB stuff than the LOR software is (in my opinion). You can still use the LOR hardware with the LSP software though so that is another reason to go with LOR for now if you decide too. Good luck and welcome to the hobby! Bill
