Peace Stakes

thewanderingpine

Full time elf
Joined
Mar 13, 2021
Messages
311
Yeah -- I'm liking the idea of the seed pixel path for aesthetic reasons. But I'm kinda dreading the amount of soldering/joining. Maybe I do joiners in sets of 4 or so. And compared to basically any other prop - these should be relatively simple to field repair.
For a denser cube I was wondering how many bicycle spokes I could salvage from the transfer station this summer.
Thankyou for this comment. I'm not sure I'll use them for my stakes - but I was after something similar for a fenceline and bicycle spokes is about the perfect size.
 

merryoncherry

Senior elf
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Apr 2, 2022
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633
Location
Cherry St., Hudson MA USA
I wonder if we could just skip the joining and leave a few pixels between stakes. A few seed pixels is cheaper and a lot easier than a connector, and we could probably use a script to generate the xLights setup.
 

merryoncherry

Senior elf
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Apr 2, 2022
Messages
633
Location
Cherry St., Hudson MA USA
Yes you would have to attach it to the PI every few stakes so that you were within 50-60 of a power point. But (with an amp) that could also be your data return to the start, for the next row of stakes.
 

merryoncherry

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Apr 2, 2022
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633
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Cherry St., Hudson MA USA
20230119_190107.jpg
These are the stakes I got from Ray, 2m spacing, with 1/4" aluminum extrusion rods and clips I got from Wizard of Wire. I assembled them but didn't field them in 2022... chickened out because I kept walking around in that part of the yard fixing water intrusion issues with the tree tubes above and didn't want to end up impaled.
 

bpratt

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Joined
Mar 31, 2019
Messages
562
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Jimboomba, Queensland
These are the stakes I got from Ray, 2m spacing, with 1/4" aluminum extrusion rods and clips I got from Wizard of Wire.

Don't suppose you've got the url for those ones from Ray Wu ?

So the pixels come with that mounting board already, and you just bought the rod to stake it in the yard then ?
 

merryoncherry

Senior elf
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Apr 2, 2022
Messages
633
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Cherry St., Hudson MA USA
The pixels - 12V regulated - a string of 10 12-node stakes with 2m spacing between.

Pixel clips:

Aluminum bar - many suppliers such as:

You want the cheap extruded aluminum... gives the clip more to grip on.
 

bpratt

Senior elf
Joined
Mar 31, 2019
Messages
562
Location
Jimboomba, Queensland
thanks for those links.... might try and 3d print them myself if I can find a stl for it.

I'm thinking the aluminium rod myself, 6mm (which is close to 1/4 inch).
 

drakky

Senior elf
Joined
Dec 2, 2012
Messages
515
I just used common tent pegs and a bit of aussie duct I think 25x25mm from memory and drilled 5 holes in it bought ray's standard strings which have 10 sets of 5 leds 1 metre apart, was about the easiest and cheapest way to do it , I'll get a photo of them tomorrow
 

jollyzee

New elf
Joined
Apr 30, 2020
Messages
48
Location
Louisiana, US of A
My implementation this year will be something like this:
I have 5 - 100 pixel string, some leftover ChromaTrim from Boscoyo, plenty of wire and will be buying some fiberglass stakes.
Extend the distance on the strings every 7 pixels by about 3 feet. Put them into the ChromaTrim (1,3,5,7,6,4,2) alternating holes up and then back down and off to the next stake. Attach the ChromaTrim to the fiberglass stakes, they will be about 18" tall. I think with xLights you can use the cube model and zigzag, as long as all zigzags are the same length, same number of stakes.
Kind of rudimentary, but I think it should work. And I'm planning on placing them unevenly and see what it will look like
Just my future thinking - any pitfalls I do not see??
 

thewanderingpine

Full time elf
Joined
Mar 13, 2021
Messages
311
Kind of rudimentary, but I think it should work. And I'm planning on placing them unevenly and see what it will look like
Just my future thinking - any pitfalls I do not see??
uneven placement is going to make them harder to model for whole yard / group effects.
 

Indigogyre

Journeyman Elf
Generous elf
Joined
Jun 26, 2021
Messages
420
My implementation this year will be something like this:
I have 5 - 100 pixel string, some leftover ChromaTrim from Boscoyo, plenty of wire and will be buying some fiberglass stakes.
Extend the distance on the strings every 7 pixels by about 3 feet. Put them into the ChromaTrim (1,3,5,7,6,4,2) alternating holes up and then back down and off to the next stake. Attach the ChromaTrim to the fiberglass stakes, they will be about 18" tall. I think with xLights you can use the cube model and zigzag, as long as all zigzags are the same length, same number of stakes.
Kind of rudimentary, but I think it should work. And I'm planning on placing them unevenly and see what it will look like
Just my future thinking - any pitfalls I do not see??

I think it would work. Take a good look at my peace stakes. The are in chroma trim and zip tied to rebar.
 

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