Gday/Kia Ora

[St Gabriel]

Gday to the aussies, and Kia Ora to the kiwis, Hello to anyone else. Actually a bit of a half caste meself, aussie citizen but NZ resident for last 16 years, this just means i get conflicted on who to barrack for (cop HoHoHo off everyone) every time there is a thugby match on. Currently located in the sunny Waikato.

Just got an interest this year after seeing numerous youtube displays the last couple of years, and thinking to- myself "how hard can it be, couple of relays, bit of wire, be a piece of HoHoHo" and now I just continue on further down the rabbit hole. Picked up a couple of strands of LED from "the warehouse" on boxing day sales, and have now got to the point where they wont even be used...

Cheers

 

[David_AVD]

Welcome to ACL. Lots of info and friends to be had here.

Use the warehouse LED strings for parties, etc so you get your "lights fix" all year round.

 

[djgra79]

Welcome to ACL, your central point of contact for all things Christmas blinky!


We recommend having a read through the 101 guide and then start asking any clarifying questions form there, enjoy!

 

[fasteddy]

Welcome to ACL. I was only recently at Hamilton as I was involved with their Christmas tree. Lovely part of the world you live in.
Sounds like you are an electrician which will give you a great head start in this hobby. feel free to ask any questions

 

[St Gabriel]

We recommend having a read through the 101 guide and then start asking any clarifying questions form there, enjoy!

That was the start of the rabbit hole, initial thoughts were Arduino Leonardo/uno with 8 channel relay board. MAde a "proof of concept" with 18 channels of LED's on a breadboard all set to music using Vixen. Would like to go to pixels from the outset but controllers etc seem a little spendy at the outset

Welcome to ACL. I was only recently at Hamilton as I was involved with their Christmas tree. Lovely part of the world you live in.
Sounds like you are an electrician which will give you a great head start in this hobby. feel free to ask any questions

Never got over to see the Hamilton tree, I live about 30 mins away so just laziness really. Is there any online information in relation to the Hamilton tree? Either on ACL or elsewhere?

And yes, your correct about the occupation.

 

[fasteddy]

Welcome to ACL. I was only recently at Hamilton as I was involved with their Christmas tree. Lovely part of the world you live in.
Sounds like you are an electrician which will give you a great head start in this hobby. feel free to ask any questions

Never got over to see the Hamilton tree, I live about 30 mins away so just laziness really. Is there any online information in relation to the Hamilton tree? Either on ACL or elsewhere?

And yes, your correct about the occupation.

Here is a video from the opening night

https://youtu.be/cgEj7P2WP0Y

 

[i13]

Would like to go to pixels from the outset but controllers etc seem a little spendy at the outset

Have a look at Advatek's PixLite 16 MKII and the Falcon F16. These are good value because they're both capable of running enough pixels for a large display.


If you want to save more money and you're good at soldering and picking up an understanding of electrical concepts then ask smartalec about pixel capes for the BeagleBone. This is what I use and mine supports up to 19200 pixels.

 

[St Gabriel]

Welcome to ACL. I was only recently at Hamilton as I was involved with their Christmas tree. Lovely part of the world you live in.
Sounds like you are an electrician which will give you a great head start in this hobby. feel free to ask any questions

Never got over to see the Hamilton tree, I live about 30 mins away so just laziness really. Is there any online information in relation to the Hamilton tree? Either on ACL or elsewhere?

And yes, your correct about the occupation.

Here is a video from the opening night

Minleon Australia & NZ Digital Tree Lighting - YouTube

Got a work callout to Hamilton conveniently that night so as I was driving home in the early hours of Wednesday morning, though i would drive past and check if it a) still up and b) still turned on at 0030hrs, looks more impressive in person than the vids

 

[fasteddy]

Im surprised they still had it going as last I spoke to them it was being turned off after new years and was on a timer to shut off at midnight every night. But maybe they decided to run it longer for new years and haven't turned it off yet