How I caught CLAP

B

Boomer#6

No magic smoke yet!!
Joined
Jan 3, 2013
Messages
78
Location
Goodna Qld
Hi everyone!
I'm a newbie when it comes to synchronised lights, but have been putting up blinky blinky displays for several years though. In fact, I'm a newbie when it comes to forums too. This is my first post. I'm amazed by the wealth of information shared in this forum.
I was first exposed to CLAP in December 2011. The 4KQ Christmas light winners were published in the paper, so I decided to grab a bunch of grand kids and check out some light displays. Reactions to the many static blinky displays were 'nice, beautiful, wow, clever idea, etc'. The kids loved it. We couldn't get to them all before bedtime. We missed out on the winner for best synchronised lights. Never seen synchronised lights, sounded interesting, so I went out on my own.
I knew I must be close, there was a traffic jam but I could see the star high in the sky several blocks away. Ummm, people, cars, buses everywhere, better get out and walk it. People carrying folding chairs, an esky....oh my god, it's a street party! It was like a 'day on the green', people gathered in the park across the street with their chairs, drinks, snacks watching the light show. People sang along, children danced to the 'chicken dance', it was incredible. Took video with the iPhone and showed everyone I talked to. I was blown away!
I didn't think it was possible for the average punter to do something like this (albeit on a smaller scale) until Christmas 2012 when I saw another synchronised display with leaping arches, spinners, colour changing lights, etc. Figured there must be a system to this and began searching, and here we are, AusChristmasLighting. The videos confirmed it. This is what I want to do for 2013. Thanks to aussiechristmas (and the many other brilliant makers of video posted on this site) I am hooked, and I've got all year to get ready.


Time to shop.
- looking for LOR 240v controller for various rope lights and motifs
- a J1SYS P2 and D2
- a DC48 or AAHmega60
- power supplies in 5v, 12v, 24v, 30v to suit various led strings & pixels
- some Ray Wu 27ch controllers, WS2811 strips, pig tail connectors, etc, etc, the list goes on


Looking forward to the Brisbane Mini in mid-June
Cheers, David
 
Welcome to the forum and hobby. You should find all the info you need here to get up and running. Being your first year then i would start planning and building now because the first time is always the hardest. So feel free to ask any questions and also pop into the chat room as normally you can find a group of us in there and its also a great place to get good live advice.
 
Wecome to ACL, Boomer


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Welcome Boomer.
Greetings from Ipswich.
Geoff's display will sure give you clap it has always been something for everyone to aspire too.
 
Hi Boomer


Your eloquent description of becoming infected with the CLAP brought back so many marvelous memories of Christmases past. Thank you, and welcome to the addiction.


I don't remember if I chatted with you during the display season, but if ever you (or anybody) would like to discuss ideas and approaches to synchronized lights and the approaches I have taken or found to have worked, please feel free to contact me to arrange a mutually suitable time. Note that I am a dedicated LOR user and have no plans to ever shift camps.


Welcome again - Geoff
 
Thanks all for your kind welcome.
Good to know there are some fellow Ipswich CLAPPERS about (is that a real term?)


Firstly Geoff, apologies for misspelling your id. You were kind enough to come and chat with a few of us spectators towards the end of the show one night I was there in 2011. Someone asked you where you got the lights and you replied very matter of factly "they're mostly Big W strings". I chuckled. That explained why there was no stock at any of our local Big W's - they're all here at Sinnamon Lights LoL!

ѕυρєямαη I see you are promoting the Brisbane Mini in June. If you are looking for suggestions for Sunday activities for novices like myself, I wouldn't mnd seeing someone add the RJ45 sockets to the Ray Wu 27ch controllers. With limited soldering experience and zero electrical knowledge, I'm reluctant to start modifying PCB's. (I've been known to blow things up - hence my Id). Would be very practical and not very time consuming from what I've read so far and seems to be the norm for you guys.
Also see you have fasteddys coro canes on Sunday - Looking forward to that!


Thanks again[/color]
 
Welcome Boomer!


You're doing it the right way...with plenty of time to build, plan, sequence, etc. I did my first animated show in Christmas 2012, and decided to do it at the end of November. I slept about 2 hours a night, but was able to get 3 songs done by the week before Christmas. It is a TON of fun. You'll love it. Good luck! I'm confident you'll find all the answers to your questions on this forum. This is a great place to start.


-Thomas
 
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