how much time

[lizardking]

hi All how much time if working hard once you have all your supplies did you give yourself to build your first display i am wondering if getting my first delivery in around May or June am I leaving my run too late to get my display finished by November
my build list is
1 Mega tree built with a 6 ft trampoline ring and the pixel holding strips
7 mini trees (just need to wrap the trees with pixels )
about 8 to 10 4 m arches
eve lights inside tint tubes
candy canes
home made wire frame raindeer probably 6
then i need to build my boxes wire my controller boxes and get all wiring and and PSU's sorted out
thanks Lizardking

 

[David_AVD]

Be prepared to let one or more projects slide into next year's schedule if need be.

Have them prioritised so you at least get some fully done and don't end up with a heap of harf-arsed incomplete items.

Better to do fewer things really well than lots not completed at all.

 

[mborg10]

I built my first display in a month. I just gave up a few small things like sleep. I do some of my best work under pressure. If you wanna do it you find a way.

 

[lizardking]

i think i am just a little overwhelmed with having to set up controllers and programming controllers to ip address and i want to run my display off a PIb+ and getting it all set up with FPP and all the other setting up need to make things work

 

[dale82]

In my opinion, I would build your major items and run them and get them sorted first this will ensure that the big ticket ones are done and tested, then plot along with the smaller items and if you get them done great, but if you don't get chance to finish them that you will still have a show. I know all too well that it may seem daunting but you will get there mate

 

[mborg10]

May sound silly but start at the beginning, work you way thru the middle and before you know it your at the end. Start early so the people on here can answer your difficult questions so next year they seem trivial. With confidence comes speed too.

 

[Habbosrus]

I think feeling overwhelmed is normal in this hobby, especially for the first year. As the others have said, get some major stuff done and then see what time you have left. Above all, don't stress too much and enjoy it. Your audience will love whatever you put in front of them. You will be your worst critic!

 

[mararunr]

I agree with the comments here but wanted to add one thing. When you prioritize consider prioritizing whether you use Raspberry Pi and which songs you want to sequence. I got my Pi in July but did not get it up and running by October because of working on display items (October and November we crammed in sequencing 3 songs)...it's like David said, I let the Pi piece fall into this year (already have it basically running thanks to work in early January). I just ran my show off a laptop for the first year. It's all give and take. Best of luck.

 

[nzlongfellow]

My little bit or advice is to build something AND GET IT TO WORK, that is rewarding and builds the confidence.


The day before showtime last year a whole months work of a 9m x 1m matrix failed. I had stressed over getting it finished and working, then just walked away and did the rest well - without the stress.
This is supposed to be enjoyable for you, the viewers and your loved ones[/size] so keep it enjoyable.

 

[scamper]

Agreed with most comments.
get something done and tested. It gives a great deal of satisfaction to see it working if it is big or small.
I personally built many small projects with whatever I had, as in the actual build, then added the lights when they arrived and the cabling and controllers and then finally sequenced it all.
I will give one bit of advice that I learnt the hard way, just because it is all going well in the workshop, doesn't mean it will all work in the yard. Start putting your display up a week before you think you need to, that will leave time to iron out some bugs.
I spent the best part of a week sorting out my mega tree (this was meant to be the star attraction) and so the rest of the display suffered, by either being rushed and not setup correctly, or in some cases simply left out all together.

 

[dale82]

Scamper I took a different approach with my display, I built and tested the big ticket items such as my megatree, when I went to set it up it was a breeze, I knew how to do it and then I started testing it all out and I was able to then move onto the smaller items that didn't take up a bulk quantity of my time. But once you build your first project you will be amazed and motivated to go onto your next project.

 

[scamper]

Scamper I took a different approach with my display, I built and tested the big ticket items such as my megatree, when I went to set it up it was a breeze, I knew how to do it and then I started testing it all out and I was able to then move onto the smaller items that didn't take up a bulk quantity of my time. But once you build your first project you will be amazed and motivated to go onto your next project.

I built my mega tree, and I tested all the strings, but what happened is I over did it with channels as I added a star topper that I hadn't planned for and even though I tested everything separately, I purchased a new controller (which I thought would work fine) and there was a problem with the communication of the controller that in the end I had to use 3 separate controllers and sacrifice a couple of channels to get it working. This then compromised the rest of the display.
I am still to find the problem with the said controller.

 

[dale82]

yeah I can see your issue, I was able to set mine up and fully test in March, then I packed it up and re-set it back up in November and it was all good to go, yeah I had teething issues when I built it but November was setup and forget.