Using mix of static displays with controllable displays

[Chezstar]

Hi all!

I'm starting the planning for next years lights, where I hope to be able to start integrating some controllable items within the mix. I know that I will likely still have a bunch of old school static items such as net lights etc.

For those of you running both together, how do you find it? Do the controllable items get lost in the mix, or do they still stand out well against static bud lights and net lights?

I have a fairly packed front yard (500m2 worth of garden space), so there is a lot happening, separate "forest" area in one of the lawn spaces with my large hand made bud light christmas tree and blossom trees (Those I hope to bring into a controller to at least incorporate some on/off control), over to areas for inflatables that the kids can get up close to, and the initial aim is to have some bouncing arches down at the front of the garden to help infill that area, plus things like ball lights in the gardens and RGBW floodlights for the roof line (I'm not super stable on my feet, so want to be up on the roof as little as possible for safety reasons!).

So is there anything I should be aiming to do with the current static items that dont get converted? Should I am to make these into distinct areas within the display, or run them in more organic, curving layouts to make the controlled items pop more?

Current display photo for reference!





Andrew

 

[David_AVD]

My display has a lot of older style items and I'm slowly adding (or converting to) pixel based items.

Almost all of my "static style" lights are controlled now. That way they are not all just doing their own random thing.

To do that you'll need a DC controller and power supply. This can get data from the same system driving the pixel items.

 

[AAH]

I have very large quantities of fairy and icicle lights still in use and will continue to use for the forseeable future. I usually use icicle, fairy and net lights on bushes and the fenceline. A bunch of my fairy lights are also under computer control like Davids. I have a tad more than 500m2 to cover. I have somewhere in the vicinity of 2000m2 with the front yard and the house. All of my newer props are being built as pixel props but I don't think I'll ever replace the fairy, icicle and net lights on the fences etc. I also have a number of inflatables, illuminated cutouts, wire frames etc to bulk up the area.

 

[Mark_M]

My display for 2019 was a mixture of static and pixel. 2019 is my first year with pixels.
Pixels were the only controlled lights and everything else was static. It looked great.
All my static items previous to adding pixels were modified to be always on.
I use solar lights and a voltage regulator per string. Just means they're a constant brightness.

Store bought lights with multifunction controllers which reverse polarity are not in my display.

Display_2019

• Mark_M
• Dec 11, 2019
• 3

Light display 2019

I do plan on eventually converting everything to pixels. But I am not going to be spending more money on static lights if i'm getting rid of them in the future. If I were to control them I would look for a DIY solution.
The only exception to static lights being computer controlled maybe inflatables built in lights.



For your display, I would convert outlines first, then props to pixels.
Around the roofline and garden edging. Maybe a few Reject shop balls (link) scattered in the garden.
Flood lights would also do great for extra colour illumination.

You will find that pixels are exceptionally brighter than standard strings. I had my arches at 40% and roofline at 100%. My roofline acted as a very good 'wall washer'.

If you're set about computer control, you could buy a controller. Or use a stand alone controller. Even a pixel 'tester' with rainbow wash would look great.

There's cheap 50 node strings for $5USD.

8.1AU $ |Promotion!!!ws2811 Dc5v 50nodes Addressable Led Pixel String Node;ip68 Rated;3inch(7.6cm)spacing;24awg Wire,;rgb Full Color - Lighting Strings - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

And @David_AVD 's pixel tester.

Mini Pixel Controller / Tester WS2811 – da-Share

www.da-share.com

No harm in a small trial purchase .

 

[Tonyst]

Keep up the good work and go for developing onto the next stage with controllers. I started with a lot of fixed lights and then wanted to control them I used a Light o Rama box and split the lights into 16 zones. Start putting music to it and the world is your oyster. I never forget what someone at a Mini said: "Black is a colour". It is great fun (and potentially a good challenge) planning a sequence when you are looking at zones rather than individual lights as you would with pixels.
Over the years, I moved on and now have 3 LoR controllers and 2 pixel controllers. A wonderful challenge to get them all working together, especially with 48 zones for the static lights bit over 250 separate items fitting into the 48 zones. See if you can pick out the pixel lights from the AC lights in my photo, I don't believe they overpower.

The kids love the static lights so I will never get rid of them My pleasure is in putting the lights all in different zones and make it look good in a sequence. Then add pixels that complement the zones and the sequence. Go for it