Hello from Italy!

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mattia

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Aug 27, 2020
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Hi, I start by asking you for some advice.
I am writing from Italy and I have read the maunale 101.
The manual is very complete in which there are all the existing hardware and software, but for me as a beginner I am on the high seas in the sense that I do not know what to choose.
I would like to start planning something simple. At the level of electronics / electrical engineering I am an expert but I would like to be a bit directed on what to buy (LEDs, connectors, controllers, software, etc.) that allows me to start without problems: a sort of must-have list.
Thank you.
Mattia
 
Hello @mattia and Welcome to ACL!

Good that you're utilising the 101 manual!

Advise I give to anyone is: Read up, study, study, plan and repeat. Make sure you know what you're wanting before you spend money.
I would diffidently look around before buying kits, much cheaper and more suited when custom made. And it's part of the fun making your own!

mattia said:
I would like to start planning something simple. At the level of electronics / electrical engineering I am an expert but I would like to be a bit directed on what to buy (LEDs, connectors, controllers, software, etc.) that allows me to start without problems: a sort of must-have list.
Click to expand...
Start looking around and you will see what people are using. There is no right or wrong way.
For software; xLights is the best choice because of support and it being free. A controller can be a cheap Raspberry Pi or fancy thousand dollar controller.
Lights can be in any style, any voltage and any protocol.
 
mattia said:
(LEDs, connectors, controllers, software, etc.)
Click to expand...

Leds - 12v or 5v WS2811, 18AWG wire, pick your own poison on voltage as theirs no right or wrong answer, what ever you choose people will still choose to argue with you over it, 12V you can get longer string runs, 5V is cheaper overall but cant go as far, but better suited to dense pixel props.

connectors - pick anyone of the Ray-Wu, X-connect or HC style, which ever one you pick you'll probably want to stay with forever, again they all do the same thing, they're all good outdoor rated connectors, the JST connectors that can sometimes be had you'll need to cut off and find another way as they cant handle any moisture if put outside

controllers - falcon is the most popular, pixlite, hanson electronics, kulp and holidaycoro also popular choices, again they all pretty much do the same thing and some do some things better then others, hats can be found for various boards, these unfortunately don't easily have the same density of the more popular controllers,

software - xlights is where you will want to go, vixen is good but not as popular anymore

I would recommend to start thinking about DC power supplies now, how you are going to mount your pixels, if you'll be using props, enclosures for your controllers and power supplies
 
Welcome to ACL and good luck with the journey.
Software- Xlights
Leds - Pixels from Aliexpress rather than ebay. A number of reputable suppliers listed in the ACL101
Controllers - mine (Hanson Electronics), Falcon, Advatek, Kulp and a number of others. Don't go with Light-O-Rama as you get locked to using their software which isn't free like Xlights.
 
Thanks everyone for the advice !!
I found some material and for now I would start with something simple, I know that I have come a little along with the times but I could not do otherwise. I'd start with the star for the top of the tree. What are the measurements of the star in proportion to the height of the tree? Was I thinking of doing it with a wooden panel or is it better to use aluminum strips?
I thank those who give me suggestions
 
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