New to all this

fluffymassive

New elf
Joined
Dec 3, 2014
Messages
4
Hi,

I'm very interested in getting my place set up next year with all controlled Christmas lights, and possibly with music.

I have had a look at various sites on how to do this and have found this site very informative.

I would like to use a raspberry pi to control all the lights (rope, fairy, curtain, etc) and associated devices. I was also looking at LED matrix walls as I think this would be a great addition to the front of the house to show Christmas videos.

Any information or pointing in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

And of course all of this would need to be done on a small budget.

Cheers,
 

mborg10

Michael Borg
Joined
Dec 28, 2011
Messages
1,446
Location
claremont meadows
Welcome to ACL. If you are looking at a matrix to show videos you are looking at a descent build. Have a look at house projection. Some people have started doing it this year and looks to be an affordable option.
 

fluffymassive

New elf
Joined
Dec 3, 2014
Messages
4
Thanks. Yeah I have seen some Lasers that will display some pictures onto the house, but have not thought about projectors. As this would have to be outside and need to be waterproof.
 

mborg10

Michael Borg
Joined
Dec 28, 2011
Messages
1,446
Location
claremont meadows
Check out this link
http://auschristmaslighting.com/forums/index.php?topic=5569
You don't need a waterproof projector but a box to protect it.
 

Jamie

Lighting up the night.
Joined
Dec 16, 2010
Messages
399
Location
Warwick
Have a good look around in this site.. You will find heaps of useful info to get you on the right track. Anyway welcome and good luck.m
 

Bird

LOR user
Joined
Nov 8, 2011
Messages
1,746
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Welcome.gif

to ACL
If you haven't found it yet, the new revised 2nd addition AusChristmasLighting 101 manual is a great resource
 

fluffymassive

New elf
Joined
Dec 3, 2014
Messages
4
thanks guys,

Yes I have downloaded the guide already. very interesting read. :)

cant wait to get started. just working out where to begin is the hard part.
 

Bird

LOR user
Joined
Nov 8, 2011
Messages
1,746
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
fluffymassive said:
just working out where to begin is the hard part.
Best place to start is on paper. What do you think you might want to light up where.
This will change as time goes on, but measure the area or length of where the lights will be placed or mounted.
Measure how far from power source the lights will be.
Determine where possible power supplies and controllers might be.
The 101 guide will help you guess how many power units and controllers may be needed.
After you have made a very rough guess, let folks know about your thoughts and ask lots of questions before buying anything.
 
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