Recommendations for Controlling White Floodlights

T

tmarshal61

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Oct 14, 2013
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I want to put up some very bright white floodlights that will face the viewing audience along the corners of my house and along the roof line that can be used for a controlled strobe-like effect very similar to what Creative Lighting Displays did here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zjXr6Qnpcw (Fast forward to about 1:55 for the full effect) To pull this off the way my house is laid out, I am thinking I will need about 24 flood lights. I just started this past Christmas and up until this point, all I have done is mess around with some ws2811 pixels strips and modules (arches and candy canes). This year, I want to go big but I have never dealt with single channel white lights.

Any recommendations about how to implement this in the cheapest manner possible? How should I control them?

I had a couple of ideas but I can't figure out which one makes the most sense. I have not decided on the lights yet but they will probably just be dumb white LED lights. I ordered a few of these 12V 30W lights to experiment with: http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/6095896436.html

My biggest dilemma is how to control them. Here is a list of equipment that I have that I might be able to use:
Here are some options that come to mind:
  • I could possibly use the 2811DC15 in conjunction with a PixLite 16 Controller. This would allow me to control up to 15 lights per 2811DC15 but, I am limited as to how far I can place the 2811DC15 from the PixLight controller and I would have to run separate power wires from the 2811DC15s to each light, (no daisy chaining), and some of the distances get pretty long. This does not seem like a very good option to me.
  • I could use DMX in conjunction with the 27 Channel DMX Dimmers. Using DMX, distances are not as limiting a factor so, I could place the dimmers closer to the lights. But, still, I would have to run individual wires from the dimmer to each light.
  • Another option might be to purchase DMX RGB Modules like the ones here and just use each of the different channels for a different light which would allow me to run three lights per DMX RGB controller.
Of all of these options, I kind of like the latter best because I don't have to run so many wires over long distances, and I can chain from one DMX RGB module to the next. But, I am new to this, and I really don't know what I am doing. I would appreciate some comments, recommendations or best practices.


Thanks!


Tom
 
Tom. you seem like you have done your homework.

Each option you have mentioned all have their advanatages and will give you the same result depending on how you plan to install and what you percieve as important, so I think you may have already answered your own question by wanting to go and use the 3 channel module
 
I think the 3chan controllers would prob be best. Then bridge from e1.31 for the dmx.

Everyone seems totally focused on e1.31. However DMX still has a place when you need to control low channel counts with distance between nodes. The fact you can daisy chain simplifies wiring and required hardware.
 
Thanks guys! I just needed someone to confirm my thought process. I guess I am just lacking in self confidence at this stage of the game.
 
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