MegaTree Planning (size, strands, spacing)

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BigRedNole

Apprentice elf
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Dec 6, 2016
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I have received 40x strands of 100 bullet nodes. These are to finish out the basic design of the house and mega tree. I am estimating 800 nodes to do the eaves of the house. That leaves the overall design of the mega tree. I have a few limitations that would define the height of the tree and overall design.

Viewing distance (my side of street): ~40 feet or 12 meters
Viewing distance (other side of street): ~80 feet or 24 meters
Pole: ASAP Sr with the plan to cement a slide in base in the ground 3 feet deep with a total height between 12-14 feet (3.5-4.25m)
Design: 180 degrees with base ~0.5x of height

Planning decisions I need assistance with:

Strips to use: Boscoyo is 2" spacing which many people recommend. HolidayCoro has custom spacing which I could go to 1.5" for more density on the strip.
  1. If going with 2" spacing, I could do 36 strands of 75 pixels each which makes managing the 100 node strings pretty easy (~12.5 feet tree).
  2. If going with 1.5" spacing, I could only do 24 strands of 100 pixels each. Much easier for pixels strings. (~12.75 feet tree)

With the distance from viewing, which of the two would you recommend: 1.5" spacing or 2" spacing?
 
If it was me I would go 1'' spacings as the detail looks a heap better.

Dont get me wrong 2'' looks ok and you will love the look of it. But when you get into the hobby you we want it better and better every year. So you might as well go the best straight up and save you money later on.
 
I think both will look good. Maybe try drawing these possibilities to scale in xLights (or any sequencer) so that you can compare them.

I would suggest planning things before buying the strings of pixels. If your pixels will be placed close together, you could order them spaced close together (shorter wires between them) to reduce voltage drop. Some headroom is still important though.
 
I have already received the pixels. I have 4,000 (40 x 100/strand). If I go with 1" spacing, I can only do 24 strands this year. That would be a ~12 foot tree (~3.5m). That would be 150 pixels/strand for a total of 3,600 pixels. I would need to make 25 (need one for spare in case one goes out).

Unfortunately, finding videos with different setups is difficult. I have not found any with 150 pixels/strand at 1" spacing.
 
For reference to get an idea of spacing, this is 2" spacing around my windows from my sidewalk (~40 feet). If this helps in estimating spacing, any other input would be appreciated. Brightness is at 30%.

2" Spacing around windows
 
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