Hi to you all

[Benslights]

Welcome to the group Mm

 

[Mm]

Hi Yagoona Lights, you are just down the road from me. I'll make sure I come around and check out your lights.
Matt

 

[Bird]

Reading the manual now. Full of good info and I hope leads me in the right direction.

That's where all the excellent friendly ACL blinky heads on this site come in. Once you think you have your direction picked out, ask questions to verify it will be your best route. Everyone here has been in your position, made mistakes, learned the hard way .. and now freely offer that knowledge to you.

 

[Mm]

I have decided to go the LOR way. Due to my limited knowledge I think this is the best option. Now I have my direction I will try and pick what is going to be the best. The 16 channel LOR control box looks like been the first thing I will get and then will start to try my current lights using this system.
any tips are always welcome.
Matt

 

[Bird]

LOR is fairly close to plug-n-play. Sequencing is semi-easy to learn, once you figure that out it's easy.
Main thing to keep in mind is safety for yourself and others. That 240v is nothing to mess with.

 

[mborg10]

I'm in the same boat as you Mm just one year ahead. I built a collection of 240v lights in the previous 2 years and wanted to use them in my sequence. I bought the 240v controller from LOR and a couple of dc boards. I was afraid if I did to many fiddly bits my first year I wouldn't get a display up and running.

I bought one 240v and its good for a starting point as I could use my existing lights. Now I have an idea how it goes together I won't buy another.

DC is just safer, easier to create custom lights and cheaper.

But start with a 240v controller learn the ropes and go from there.

I'd suggest mounting your 240v stuff up high on the house or on your roof just to keep them away from little hands and feet.

 

[Mm]

Since I last communicated I have had a change of heart in going the LOR way. After some very helpful advice from the good folks on here I have decided to get with the following setup. I have yet to set my heart on the software to drive everything just yet.
https://www.audiovisualdevices.com.au/viewprod.php?catid=&productid=DC48 withhttps://www.audiovisualdevices.com.au/viewprod.php?catid=&productid=USB485RJ-ISO
https://www.audiovisualdevices.com.au/viewprod.php?catid=&productid=SP-320-24https://www.audiovisualdevices.com.au/viewprod.php?catid=&productid=SP-320-12
also with some of the following lights
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/DC12V-5m-one-roll-5050-SMD-30LEDs-m-led-strip-waterproof-by-silicon-tube-IP66/701799_587735379.html
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/IP68-DC12V-input-12mm-through-hole-LED-channel-letter-RGB-color-100pcs-a-string/701799_522236867.html
Let me know if you have any comments.
Matt

 

[David_AVD]

Hi Matt,
What lights were you planning to use with the 24V power supply?

 

[Mm]

A virarty of my current lights are 24v or should I start all over again? My current net lights and a few led lights are using 24v power plugs.

 

[David_AVD]

If the 24V ones are 24V AC (not DC), you will need a 30V DC power supply (SP-240-30) instead of the 24V DC one.

 

[Madko]

Hey David_AVD
Are you saying that you can run AC powered LED strings off a DC supply using your DC48 boards?

 

[Kaden]

Hey David_AVD
Are you saying that you can run AC powered LED strings off a DC supply using your DC48 boards?

Yes, you cut the controller off them and wire to any DC controller (that supports that voltage). LEDs are DC devices anyway, the strings have a rectifier somewhere (I assume in the controller) to convert the AC to DC.

You need to run them at 30v because 24v AC is the average voltage of the alternating wave of electricity, there is a more technical answer, I just can't recall it at the moment.

Members have reported exciting (ie flash/bang/smoke) things with the newer style switch mode power supplies (SMPS) found on the majority strings these days. The SMPS don't handle dimming or twinkling well at all so if you have the know how, just convert them to DC.

Make sure you check out the wiki and more importantly the the ACL 101 Manual here http://auschristmaslighting.com/forums/index.php?topic=1889.msg15570#msg15570

Finally, we are all happy to help you with any questions you have (even if you think they are stupid) or if you get stuck.

 

[Madko]

Thanks for that.

Yeah i just connected them directly to a variable dc supply and found that dropping the voltage from 31V dc down to around 28-27V DC all the LEDs start to go dim.

Anyway, sounds good and sounds like a DC48 board goes onto the list.

Cheers

 

[Kaden]

Don't forget the aahmega60 if you need more channels or even rays 27ch board which some members have reported success in running at 30v.

However David's board has been around the longest and has proven to be stable and reliable (I am told).

Just more options to think about