Where to buy a lighting system in Australia?

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kaz_qld

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Dec 23, 2012
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Hi Everyone, I would like to make a light display to music, so I did some research online and found some fantastic tutorials using a company called 'light-o-rama'. The company doesn't seem to ship to Australia though :(

Does anyone know if any companies in Australia stock complete set ups (or even light o rama)? I am basically looking for a really simple unit to start out with, something I can pretty much just plug in and it's 'ready to go'. At least until I get familiar with the trickier stuff.

I also noticed that light o rama even stocks pre made programs for songs...so you don't even need to sync the lights (I would love something like this!)

would love your input on where to go to purchase a unit! cheers -Kaz
 
Lightorama usally ship down here to nz and austraila just they been popular again this year and i know it was said they had run out of aus / nz plugs but they do ship down here
 
Word of warning - LOR has a very high cost compared to what is available here and it is plug and play HOWEVER it is common that many members here start with LOR and within a couple of years sell it as it is too restrictive in that it is really geared that you buy their lights as well ( once again will cost top dollar).


You have one BIG advantage time youve got 11 months to work it out which you should do easily there are plenty of people here to help and many have done it this year from scratch with no electrical background and theyre not computer experts.


Personally David AVD boards are great, I'm running 11 of them with no problems at all. and I believe that Alan (AAH) has a 60 channel board as well.


We see this every year people get the bug and spend the big bucks because they think they cant do it any other way only to find later they should have been a little more patient. Time is your best friend at the moment
 
Hi Beacy,
I was thinking of getting the LOR system from the US (they do ship to Australia) until reading all the info on this site that has now convinced me it will not be hard to use the boards sold by David. That type of system gives me more flexibility for the future. At first I was not sure I could do it but now feel after some reading it will be OK.
Hope you find what you are looking for.
Matt
 
thanks for your advice everyone!

David AVD. I would be completely starting from scratch. I have christmas light in the house, but they are run on solar panels, so it's a complete do over. It looks like the recommendations are to get lighting systems from you? do you have a business webpage or something to browse? :)
 
Some of the boards I make and sell are listed on the AVD web site. I also sell power supplies and other items (not lights though). There is some DIY involvement required, but the learning curve is not as bad as what it may seem at first glance.

What you need will depend of what type of look you're wanting for your display. People use DC LED strings, RGB pixels, RGB strip ad other items in their displays.

The type of control is determined by what type of lights and what you want to do with them. Don't start with the controllers. Of course you'll need to know what controllers suit what lights, but think about the lights first.

Check out what other members have done, see how they did it, ask questions and go from there. You have plenty of time to learn and get something together for 2013. :)
 
kaz_qld said:
Hi Everyone, I would like to make a light display to music, so I did some research online and found some fantastic tutorials using a company called 'light-o-rama'. The company doesn't seem to ship to Australia though :(

Does anyone know if any companies in Australia stock complete set ups (or even light o rama)? I am basically looking for a really simple unit to start out with, something I can pretty much just plug in and it's 'ready to go'. At least until I get familiar with the trickier stuff.

I also noticed that light o rama even stocks pre made programs for songs...so you don't even need to sync the lights (I would love something like this!)

would love your input on where to go to purchase a unit! cheers -Kaz
Click to expand...

If you hold on for a bit then there will be some fantastic plug and play systems coming out in 2013 and they dont even need a computer to run. So stay tuned, the hobby will become more accessable to those who dont want to invest in the time to learn DIY.
 
Welcome.gif

to ACL Kaz

First the disclaimer:
Joining these forums and entering the chat room can give you CLAP!!! :D
Christmas Lighting Addiction Problem

OK .. LOR sells/ships to AUS all the time so no problem there.
I have been using AC LOR controller for 3 years, 2 CCR's (RGB ribbons) with no issues or failures. LOR is as close to plug-n-play in this hobby as it gets which is a great benefit. LOR does have sequences offered by many sources, that with some work, can be adapted to your display. LOR also has great support, but all this comes at a higher cost.

LOR is very popular in the USA as we deal with a dangerous but more manageable 120 volt AC at a reasonable cost. You have 240 volt, a lot less manageable and more cost. You also have warm weather which means people on foot around and/or in your display. So safety is a very large concern.

You have some large LOR displays around you, but you also have a large amount of DIY displays that are mostly or all low voltage DC displays. Look for a display around you using the 'Display Locations' (at the top of this page) and maybe arrange for a backstage tour.
Bottom line take a month or so before you decide which direction (LOR or DIY) is best for you.

Hope this helps.
 
Where are you located?

Most of us will be happy to show you how our displays work and what is easy or difficult.

You might want plug and play, but if you see how easy some of the DIY stuff is and how much money you will save (which means more lights) you may just change your mind!
 
I bought a DC LOR system all made up which wasn't a cheap option but helped me to understand how easy it would be to a DIY system. I then got two of David's DC 24 boards and connected those up myself which actually was very easy to do and they have worked flawlessly for the last month. I have found them better bang for buck than the LOR boards as you can run more RGB strings per board than the LOR ones.

However, I am intrigued by fasteddys post above about what is coming for 2013.
 
bear said:
What is the site for Davids DC boards
Click to expand...
It was linked above on David's post - however it appears that they are no longer for sale (this thread being 10 years old).
This is the board section of the shop - https://www.da-share.com/product-category/boards/

Newer DC lights (such as those from Bunnings and BigW etc, use a two-wire design, and need a special type of controller.
There are a few threads on that - one such example
auschristmaslighting.com

Hi - looking for threads to lock a multi-function controller to one setting (Lytworx icicles)

Hello, looking to step up and go bigger with our Christmas lights around the house. I have found the https://auschristmaslighting.com/wiki/Bypassing-multi-function-LED-controllers thread so will start there. Thanks for the vault of knowledge already shared here.
auschristmaslighting.com auschristmaslighting.com

Hanson Electronics (www.hansonelectronics.com.au) does have some boards capable of driving these types of strings.
 
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