New to the Forum & Looking for advice

B_P_J

Full time elf
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Jan 6, 2014
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Wadalba
Hey Guys, name is Brad and i am new here (well obviously), i have always loved Christmas Lights and enjoy putting a few up here and there, never anything too technical in terms of the lights just your normal LED style, this year i added a few more things into the mix, candy canes on the driveway, hanging lights all around my eaves and gutters, a few blow up figures, a few rope light figures and rope lights around the place, all controlled using a remote control/ relays and time schedules on my Alarm System, pretty fun to fool the neighbors kids when they touch the candy canes i would turn the lights off with the remote, good for a laugh, but next Christmas i want to go more, bigger and better, i am looking at setting up a PC controlled RGB LED system, i know we just got over last years, i hope you all had a great one and decorated the house really well, will have to check out pictures as i go, looking forward to it,
So my plans will be running a few "Dumb" RGB Strips & maybe some CCR strips as well (funds pending) around the house, need to measure it all up and plan it how i would like it so i am on here for ideas, layouts, designs and most importantly advice, tips and how too's...
I have good knowledge in Electronics so this side of things should be ok, depending how in depth we talk, there is no issues with me soldering, relay knowledge, resistors, diodes, caps, etc etc, i work on Alarm Systems, Access Control, CCTV & IT Networks, so i am dealing with 12v & 24v DC or AC all the time, 240v AC does get a work out too when it needs to be done,
So basically i am after some recommendations and what you guys use and prefer, so far i have been looking at LOR alot and seem to be getting a bit more of an understanding, i am looking at getting a starter kit sometime earlier this year so i can tinker with it in the garage and learn more and try a few things, i have downloaded the LOR Software Suite (Demo) just to get my head into it, and i dont mind it,
I have a quick question though:
Firstly with setting up these RGB Strips would it be a smarter idea to stick with the LOR CMB24D controller for both the Dumb & CCR or is there really no point in using these with the Dumb RGB Strips?
Anyways i will be browsing through the forum pages and no doubt you will probably see me posting questions around where and when i need too, thanks for reading and i look forward to chatting with some of you soon.
Brad
 

fasteddy

I have C.L.A.P
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First welcome to ACL. Second dont rush into making any decisions until you have taken the time to understand your choices. many many times in the past I have seen people rush into making a choice early on to then go a couple of months and then regret that decision becuase of the extra knowledge they have aquired. So dont rush into anything. But you must make sure you at least stick at it learning and asking questions and before you know it the pieces will all fall into place.
 

B_P_J

Full time elf
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Jan 6, 2014
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Wadalba
Thanks guys, and Thanks Fasteddy, i wont be rushing just looking for now, thats why i joined on here so i could find out more, see what other things are out there and what other people use and prefer, so many choices i want to look at them all before anything, good thing is that i have plenty of time to look and save, lol
 

Habbosrus

Back again
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Dec 5, 2012
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Swansea, NSW
G'day Brad, welcome to ACL mate. You really have come to the right place for your information and inspiration. You're doing the right thing by taking some time to have a good look at your options. There are lots of truly talented and friendly people here ready to help. I'm so glad I found this site 12 months ago. The smiles and laughter I experienced in my little Christmas show will live with me forever. I am in awe of the things ACL members have produced.
 

fasteddy

I have C.L.A.P
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Habbosrus said:
G'day Brad, welcome to ACL mate. You really have come to the right place for your information and inspiration. You're doing the right thing by taking some time to have a good look at your options. There are lots of truly talented and friendly people here ready to help. I'm so glad I found this site 12 months ago. The smiles and laughter I experienced in my little Christmas show will live with me forever. I am in awe of the things ACL members have produced.

So what great plans are you making for xmas 2014
 

Habbosrus

Back again
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Dec 5, 2012
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Fasteddy said:
So what great plans are you making for xmas 2014
Well, I like the look of the plasma icicles, so a version of those is on the cards. I would like some mini trees. Thinking of a small matrix to scroll some text, etc. Singing trees to backup my tree is right at the top of the list. Everybody's favourite part of my little show was my singing tree. White Christmas and Hamster Dance were crowd favourites. I've got so many ideas running through my head right now it's not funny. Now i just need to find work to fund it. Definitely a severe case of CLAP. Your 2012 video was my inspiration to get started Eddy. I can't find the words to convey my sincere appreciation.
 

mborg10

Michael Borg
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Dec 28, 2011
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claremont meadows
Re: New to the Forum & Looking for advice

Brad welcome to ACL. I'd look at lightshowpro to program it. J1sys controllers. The p2 controller seems best value for money and some ws2811 rgb pixels modules or strip from ray wu. Just my opinion, but is a good place to start especially if you plan to have a high pixel and channel count in the future.
 

caffeine

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Nov 25, 2010
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I'm an LOR user for quite some time now, and it will most certainly do the job (especially with SuperStar add-on).


That being said if I was starting from scratch I probably would go LSP. I already 'knew' LOR and had invested some money in license, but without that LSP would probably be the go.


Either way regardless of which software package as others have said CCR's are not the best bang-for-buck. Even I avoided those.
 

Bird

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Nov 8, 2011
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Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Welcome.gif

to ACL Brad
 

dale82

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Nov 19, 2010
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Kingaroy
welcome to ACL Brad, As previously been said, I would read the 101 manual and try all of the software before jumping in and committing to anything. also jump into chat and say G'day as there is good advice there too.
 

B_P_J

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Jan 6, 2014
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Wadalba
Thanks heaps everyone for to warm welcome, looking forward to getting as much help, advice and ideas from all of you, thanks in advanced.
 
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