Artificial Pixel Tree Help

Rygy12

New elf
Joined
Nov 22, 2015
Messages
2
Location
Us
Hello guys. I would like to replicate this but I have no idea where to start. I've never done ANY led project and I'm new to LOR, so I really have no idea where to begin at. I obviously see the products used which are listed in the video description which are helpful, but as far as wiring and hooking into the laptop and powering and programming goes, I haven't a clue. I'm dedicated to learn how to do this. Any help is appreciated. http://youtu.be/2exSd0IMcj4
 

madmaxisback

New elf
Joined
Nov 6, 2015
Messages
25
Location
Malaga
:) OMG!

I would like to know what our resident experts say is the best way to achieved this too!

I will be watching this thread closely...
 

i13

Dedicated elf
Joined
Jul 5, 2013
Messages
1,172
Welcome to ACL

I can't write a single post long enough to explain everything you need to know in one go. There are so many setup options to choose from and you need the understanding of each one to decide which is best for you. When are you trying to have this set up by?

The best way to learn this is by taking your time. I started here by reading every forum post as it appeared and letting it gradually sink in. It became routine.

Those are RGB pixels so a good starting point would be to try familiarising yourself with xLights and Vixen 3 because they are free software for that purpose. You don't necessarily need any hardware or software from Light-O-Rama.

If you haven't read it yet, check out the 101 manual and then come back with a new set of more specific questions.
http://auschristmaslighting.com/forums/index.php/topic,1889.0.html

That looks similar to a matrix with vertical strings except in reality they're just wrapped around the trees. Information relevant to matrices (grids of pixel lights) should be relevant to this project. Similarly megatrees are wired the same way (or close to it).

Approximately where are you located? The supplier options vary.
 

AAH

I love blinky lights :)
Community project designer
Joined
Dec 27, 2010
Messages
4,188
Location
Eaglehawk
That's probably fairly difficult to do in LOR unless the new pixel editor (that I haven't seen or used) does some flash stuff. It is however very easy to do with Xlights 4 and probably a couple of the other sequencers as well. It looks like there's 125 pixels in each of the 13 trees so if you drew each of the 13 trees up you could belt that sequence out in less time than it would take to create the elements in the sequencer. According to the youtube comments it was done with xlights so that would be a good starting point.
Basic specs would be 1625 pixels, nearly 10 universes of data/channel assignments and about 90A at full load.
 

Rygy12

New elf
Joined
Nov 22, 2015
Messages
2
Location
Us
It's such a beautiful jaw dropping display. I thank you for the help. I'm going to begin reading the manual and learning what I can from that. I am pretty sure I have the concept down. What really helped a lot was simply seeing the green boxes on this website... http://www.sandevices.com . I will begin reading and learning how to sequence through xlights.... Youtube, here I come. If anybody else has suggestions such as what TYPE of 12mm WS2811 are the brightest, or anything else you can think of, please post it. I know I'm going to need to figure out how to connect or make 3 pin JST ends and cables in the future too. Thanks everybody and can't wait to see your guy's opinions and thoughts throughout this. I'll keep everybody updated on my end too.
 

i13

Dedicated elf
Joined
Jul 5, 2013
Messages
1,172
The 5V WS2811 pixels are generally brighter than 12V. 12V ones that match the brightness of the 5V suffer from voltage drop like 5V ones and they use ridiculous amounts of power. It can be difficult to know what you're getting when ordering 12V pixels for this reason. In reality they're all very bright compared to store-bought lights. The problem with 5V is that you'll need to inject power which takes more work to wire together. Power injection is done to overcome voltage drop which causes the lights to display incorrect colours.

Some of what I just said only applies to nodes, not strips.

Waterproof connections sold by Ray Wu on AliExpress (who also sells pixels) are very commonly used on this forum. JST connectors are not waterproof. If you buy multiple types of items in one order then it is a good idea to email Ray because AliExpress overestimates the shipping cost.

I suggest writing up a shopping list and posting it to get feedback. Ray is just an example; there are a few suppliers to choose from.
 

starzen

New elf
Joined
Oct 13, 2012
Messages
44
Location
Stuart, Florida
just added a similar tree this year. i like it because it looks nice and is probably the easiest one to do


i bought an artificial unlit christmas tree 7.5 feet


used a J1SYS P2 controller and a C9 pixel string and a 12V power supply. i used the larger pixels because i like the look of them on the tree but of course you can use whatever pixels you prefer


for sequencing i use xlights and i simply made the tree a single vertical line in the sequencer


you can easily build a tree like this in a matter of 20 minutes.


also cleans up easily. the tree and all the electronic fit back into the original box for the tree


in the yard i put 4 rebars into the ground close together slid the tree inside and put 4 strong zip ties around the rebars
 
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