Newbie Controller Question

[chris19681986]

Makes sense, thank you.

Take a picture of your house so you are able to get all areas of where you have stuff. Import into xlights where you can add and subtract arches, lights, trees etc. Once somewhat happy with your choices, get out your tape measure and measure everything. if you are going to put up a tree, measure from that point back to your power/ controller. Takes time but it will give you a better idea of lights needed which in turn will give you enough info to figure out psu needs

 

[BrianZ]

Take a picture of your house so you are able to get all areas of where you have stuff. Import into xlights where you can add and subtract arches, lights, trees etc. Once somewhat happy with your choices, get out your tape measure and measure everything. if you are going to put up a tree, measure from that point back to your power/ controller. Takes time but it will give you a better idea of lights needed which in turn will give you enough info to figure out psu needs

Will do. You're actually the second person that said to do this to get an idea of my display. But what else would it show me besides a visual? Does it allow me to enter measurements of the windows and doors for example?

 

[chris19681986]

Will do. You're actually the second person that said to do this to get an idea of my display. But what else would it show me besides a visual? Does it allow me to enter measurements of the windows and doors for example?

No it doesnt allow that. But you may have something pictured in your head that you think is awesome. Put it on your house and yuck. That's why I advised you to measure everything from windows to this to that plus distance and route you plan on running your wire. Example. Distance around your window could be 12ft.. now say your pixel spacing is 4". Now divide 144 by 4 and you will a pretty close number of how many pixels you will need for that window. That leads to how many watts and amps it will take.

 

[BrianZ]

No it doesnt allow that. But you may have something pictured in your head that you think is awesome. Put it on your house and yuck. That's why I advised you to measure everything from windows to this to that plus distance and route you plan on running your wire. Example. Distance around your window could be 12ft.. now say your pixel spacing is 4". Now divide 144 by 4 and you will a pretty close number of how many pixels you will need for that window. That leads to how many watts and amps it will take.

This is a good idea. So, I'll do a spreadsheet with all the areas I intend to put lights on, measure each, and total the amps need at a specific brightness to get what I need for that area, then total my amps for the entire display. Let's say the window only requires 40 pixels, but the string comes is 50, does the wiring allow me to cut 10 pixels off?

 

[i13]

Yes, you can cut, join and change the length pixel strings. You'll configure the controller to send data for the number of pixels that is attached to it. The pixels then play a game of digital Chinese whispers in which each one reads the data, strips out the data for itself and sends the rest on. The data sent from the first pixel to the second would be pretty much the same as the data sent from the controller to the first pixel if you configured it for one less pixel in total. Cutting out a pixel and replacing it with a new one also has no effect.

 

[BrianZ]

Yes, you can cut, join and change the length pixel strings. You'll configure the controller to send data for the number of pixels that is attached to it. The pixels then play a game of digital Chinese whispers in which each one reads the data, strips out the data for itself and sends the rest on. The data sent from the first pixel to the second would be pretty much the same as the data sent from the controller to the first pixel if you configured it for one less pixel in total. Cutting out a pixel and replacing it with a new one also has no effect.

This is great, thank you!! OK, so...xlights is my first step, then comes a spreadsheet, and then the researching proper lights and purchasing. Do you recommend pre-wiring with power injecting at the correct measurements before putting up the lights? I think this makes more sense because imagine putting up your display and then needing to power inject or is it better that way in your experience?

 

[chris19681986]

No it doesnt allow that. But you may have something pictured in your head that you think is awesome. Put it on your house and

This is a good idea. So, I'll do a spreadsheet with all the areas I intend to put lights on, measure each, and total the amps need at a specific brightness to get what I need for that area, then total my amps for the entire display. Let's say the window only requires 40 pixels, but the string comes is 50, does the wiring allow me to cut 10 pixels off?

Yes you can cut off or add

 

[BrianZ]

Yes you can cut off or add

How do I add 18 a pixel snow flake to a string of lights and draw that out in Xlights? I can't seem to plot it out. The snow flake is 6" and requires 18 nodes. Currenty, I use a poly line and just draw a straight line down from the string to indicate a snow flake is there, is that ok? I plan on running about 5 and want to wire them into a 100 pixel string, which is an extra 90 pixels, totaling 190 pixels. I'll splice them in every 1 foot or so.

 

[BRW]

Are you making the snow flake or purchasing? The Keith Westley Zoom call last night did show how to import a template from a vendor and modify if you choose. I don't know just how flexible that truly is but may meet your needs.

 

[BrianZ]

Are you making the snow flake or purchasing? The Keith Westley Zoom call last night did show how to import a template from a vendor and modify if you choose. I don't know just how flexible that truly is but may meet your needs.

This is what I was referring to. I'll have to wire it to the original string. Just couldn't figure it out how to draw it in Xlights.

Check it out here:

PixelTrim System SNOWFLAKE Style 2 / 18 of 12mm Nodes / 14.5 In - 36cm / WHITE

HolidayCoro is the Leader in RGB Lighting Products and Accessories. From parts, assembled systems and complete design services, HolidayCoro is your choice.

www.holidaycoro.com

 

[BRW]

The download section has items from Boscoyo and Gilbert, I don't see HolidayCoro. Westley did mention that you can create custom props, there are several videos about custom props on his youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVOKeP2mWsBEKqqHkT0QndQ/search?query=custom

You might check with HolidayCoro and ask if they have a model you can download.

I don't have enough experience to comment further, good luck with it.

 

[uncledan]

This is what I was referring to. I'll have to wire it to the original string. Just couldn't figure it out how to draw it in Xlights.

Check it out here:

PixelTrim System SNOWFLAKE Style 2 / 18 of 12mm Nodes / 14.5 In - 36cm / WHITE

HolidayCoro is the Leader in RGB Lighting Products and Accessories. From parts, assembled systems and complete design services, HolidayCoro is your choice.

www.holidaycoro.com

Have you looked on the official xLights Facebook page? Tons of models on there for download. Easy enough to create a custom model of that in xLights in a few minutes if not. Pretty small model

 

[BrianZ]

Have you looked on the official xLights Facebook page? Tons of models on there for download. Easy enough to create a custom model of that in xLights in a few minutes if not. Pretty small model

Thanks, I'll check it out. I was able to screen shot the snow flake and I custom built it. I just want to know how can I wire it in (18 pixels) into the original roof line and reflect that in Xlights. Instead of it being 100 pixels, it'll be 118 pixels. Right now, when I add the snow flake, it starts at a new channel (301). Not sure if I"m explaining myself.

 

[uncledan]

It will be a separate model. Nothing to do with the roofline. Data is coming from the end of the roofline to the snowflake? I assign start channel as uni:channel to every model. I don't use the new stuff. Maybe someone else will chime in who does

 

[TerryK]

How do I add 18 a pixel snow flake to a string of lights and draw that out in Xlights? I can't seem to plot it out. The snow flake is 6" and requires 18 nodes. Currenty, I use a poly line and just draw a straight line down from the string to indicate a snow flake is there, is that ok? I plan on running about 5 and want to wire them into a 100 pixel string, which is an extra 90 pixels, totaling 190 pixels. I'll splice them in every 1 foot or so.

Can you clarify a bit please? It sounds as if you are confusing the physical wiring of the strings with how props are shown on the xLights layout. If I understand what you are trying to accomplish, it is to create and place the individual props in the layout and then group them as models or sub-models. It somewhat sounds as if you are not sure about a prop's channel settings.