Newbie needs help!

[NickWaka7]

Hey guys, I hope this is in the right area.

Anyways, I have a few questions concerning DMX lighting controllers, softwares, etc. This year for my family's haunted house, I wanted to create an intro room, where my talking bucky skull talks to guests before they enter the attraction. I want the room to have lights that "interact" with the audio, such that if there is thunder, i can make a light flash or when the preshow begins, some lights fade out. I want to use a program such as VenueMagic which uses a timeline to tells the lights how to react and when. I just need to know what I will need to pull these effects off, such as if anyone knows of some great computer products, dmx light controllers, etc. In the end, i want to simply press play on my computer and watch the show take place.

 I know of the company Light-O-Rama and how what I want can be achieved through their products, but I was wondering if there are any cheaper ways to go about this.

[sjb]

Welcome

You have found a great place for your ideas to come true. I would recommend post a "Hi I am ......" in the "New Members Introduction" section and it will open the site up for you.

For your set-up, if you are using incadescent or regular LED string lights you would need the following

Dongle (USB or Ethernet") this communicates from the computer to the controller
Lynx Express controller (this will controller up to 16 different output plugs)
Software (a lot of us here use Vixen which is free, you can download through the WIKI)

Hope this helps

Steve (from Edmonton)

[NickWaka7]

Thank you! Quick question, will I need any special parts if using either incondecent or LED? Or maybe If I use a bit of both?

Also, where can I buy these products (other than the computer program which you said was free)

[t.jo13]

If you look at the top of the forum there is a tab that says wiki. Start reading as it has a wealth of info to give you information on many areas of our hobby. Software, equipment ect..

[jnealand]

You get roughly twice as many DMX channels for the money using the Lynx LE vs the LOR controllers.  I made the switch and have not looked back.

[sjb]

Thank you! Quick question, will I need any special parts if using either incondecent or LED? Or maybe If I use a bit of both?

Also, where can I buy these products (other than the computer program which you said was free)

No special parts, as long as they are 110volts (or 220 for overseas) the people on the forum are using these and a lot are or have switched to the 12volt RGB LED nodes (on this forum we call them pixel string) and these use different controllers.

We have group buys called COOPs and there is one for Lynx express right now (it is closed for ordering and the kit price was $70.81). After this is closed you might find some express boards in the store at the top title bar and then order the parts on the Wiki through Mouser.

As t.jo13 mentioned, read up on the Wiki as there is all the info there, but do not stop asking questions as the members here are very active in helping each other out.

Hope this helps.

Steve

[zwiller]

IIRC the wiki and other things do not appear until after a member does their intro. 

As others have already said, yes, this is THE place.  IMO not only is the hardware here less expensive but it is better than commercial alternatives.  The DIY aspect just adds more enjoyment to the experience. 

In all actuality, what you are trying to accomplish is rather easy to do.  There is some learning involved but I am sure it will click soon. 

[caretaker]

One thing you didn't mention is whether your talking bucky is using software to talk or just a audio to movement device. Reason I ask is I used to run my whole yard haunt off a computer using VSA (Visual Show Automation) with DMX for the lighting, strobes and foggers and servo control for my SkullTronix. If your bucky uses just a audio to movement device like autotalk then Vixen with a USB dongle and a lynx express will do the trick saving you some $$$

[NickWaka7]

IIRC the wiki and other things do not appear until after a member does their intro. 

As others have already said, yes, this is THE place.  IMO not only is the hardware here less expensive but it is better than commercial alternatives.  The DIY aspect just adds more enjoyment to the experience. 

In all actuality, what you are trying to accomplish is rather easy to do.  There is some learning involved but I am sure it will click soon.

I will do my intro. Also, what do you reccommend I buy? Down to every last piece. I am a newbie and have no clue how to do any of this.

Caretaker: The skull I am using uses a simple Aux cord to run the servo controll. I simply plug in my ipod or into my laptop and it transfers the audio over to the skull. With a few tweeks, the skull talks. Very simple. Being that the audio track I will be using has various sound effects and talking sequences, I just planned on using one of the channels to turn the skull on and off through the preshow so I didn't have to slice up the soundtrack to feed only the audio to the skull.

[Night Owl]

Steve pretty much summed it up.  To elaborate further, if you want to go the simplest route you will need:
A computer running software that will handle the timing.  Vixen is simple and free.
Something to get the control signals from the computer to the box that controls the lights.  For this site, we use the Lynx DMX dongle or the Pixelnet USB dongle (more on that later).
You need the box that controls the lights.  This is known as a dimmer box.  This site supports the Lynx Express.  One Lynx Express can control (turn on, off, and any intensity inbetween) up to 16 channels. 
Finally, you will need the wires to connect everything together.  USB cable to attach the dongle to the computer.  Standard Ethernet cable to connect the dongle to the Lynx Express.

What I really like about RJ's equipment (he's the wizard that designed all this stuff) is it is all modular.  If you want to avoid Ethernet cables strung all over and go wireless, then you build the wireless modules and plug them in and you are good to go.  Need more than 16 channels?  Plug in another Express. 

The latest and greatest is the Pixelnet USB dongle.  It is the replacement for the DMX dongle.  It can do the same thing, but the added capabilities are unbelievable.  In addition to working like the DMX dongle, with an added daughterboard called the Conductor you can run your program off a memory card and not have to use a computer.  It will output both the controls signals as well as the music.  There is also a Trigger board that works with the Conductor that has up to 15 triggers.  Say you have a pressure mat under the floor, when the ToTs step on the pad, the trigger board can tell the Conductor to play a sequence that emits a scream and flashes the lights.  I use the equipment here for both my Halloween decorations as well as for  Christmas.  The Pixelnet USB dongle needs a little more hardware, but all this is like potato chips, you can't stop with just one. 

The Beginners page on the Wiki will get you familiarized with the terminology and equipment.  Armed with that, you'll be able to follow along when we start reeling off acronyms and terminology.   

Welcome aboard!   

 

 
   

[NickWaka7]

Thanks so much guys! I have been exploring the wiki and reading up on everything. I plan on purchasing the parts stated above. Being that the shows cannot be timed due to the variations in group sizes and flow, I plan on just pushing the play button over and over again when the show is ready to begin. Doesnt sound like the best job, but its fine. In the future I plan on expanding into areas like night owl said, where I can use pressure pads and wireless controlls to control the lights and sounds throughout the haunted house. This year I am just going to start small and expand one I get the hang of things.

Question: I know this may be a dumb question, but if I use Vixen and the Lynx Express, I can control the 16 channels seperatley correct? Like if I have 16 lights, I can turn them on and off one at a time correct?

Edit: This is my inspiration for this year. You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login
My preshow will be similar to the first clip in the video. You enter a room, all seems okay, and then a loud thunder boom will put you in complete darkness. A spotlight fades in as my bucky skull starts to speak of bloody mary. A face appears in a mirror (two way mirror lit from back) and its her. There are some loud noises and scream, yada yada, and the preshow is over. Another spotlight fades in to reveal the hidden secret passage into the haunt while a fog chiller covers the ground. So basically I need something simple to tell the lights when to turn on an off. I believe the express is the best way to go! Cant wait to get my hands on this stuff and start creating this puppy! (This is a very general idea of the show. Of course there is more to, but ill keep those secret for later)

[tbone321]

The latest and greatest is the Pixelnet USB dongle. 
 
 

Just a qiuck terminoligy correction.  The new dongle is actually called the Etherdongle.  The Pixelnet USB dongle is just the older DMX USB dongle flashed with Pixelnet firmware. 

[tbone321]

Question: I know this may be a dumb question, but if I use Vixen and the Lynx Express, I can control the 16 channels seperatley correct? Like if I have 16 lights, I can turn them on and off one at a time correct?

Edit: This is my inspiration for this year. You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login
My preshow will be similar to the first clip in the video. You enter a room, all seems okay, and then a loud thunder boom will put you in complete darkness. A spotlight fades in as my bucky skull starts to speak of bloody mary. A face appears in a mirror (two way mirror lit from back) and its her. There are some loud noises and scream, yada yada, and the preshow is over. Another spotlight fades in to reveal the hidden secret passage into the haunt while a fog chiller covers the ground. So basically I need something simple to tell the lights when to turn on an off. I believe the express is the best way to go! Cant wait to get my hands on this stuff and start creating this puppy! (This is a very general idea of the show. Of course there is more to, but ill keep those secret for later)

The Express is a 16 channel AC controller so yes, it can do most of what you wanted.  The only two issues you would have would be with the fog machine and the input sensors.  The fog machine may not like the way the Express delivers power which could damage the internal power supply of the fog machine.  With the Fog machine, I would have the Express controlling a 120V AC relay that supplies the power to the fog machine.  This will isolate the Express from the fog machines power supply.  The other issue is that the Express has no sensor inputs so it is not able to respond to any hidden switches to control the show start.  The Conductor (EhterDongle with daughter card) can do that with the added input controller and in tat case you would have the sequence loaded into the Conductor and the Conductor controlling the Express.  The great thing about that is that you would not need to create any show schedules.  The show starts would depend on the sensors triggering them.

[NickWaka7]

[/quote]

The Express is a 16 channel AC controller so yes, it can do most of what you wanted.  The only two issues you would have would be with the fog machine and the input sensors.  The fog machine may not like the way the Express delivers power which could damage the internal power supply of the fog machine.  With the Fog machine, I would have the Express controlling a 120V AC relay that supplies the power to the fog machine.  This will isolate the Express from the fog machines power supply.  The other issue is that the Express has no sensor inputs so it is not able to respond to any hidden switches to control the show start.  The Conductor (EhterDongle with daughter card) can do that with the added input controller and in tat case you would have the sequence loaded into the Conductor and the Conductor controlling the Express.  The great thing about that is that you would not need to create any show schedules.  The show starts would depend on the sensors triggering them.
[/quote]

Thank you for clearing up the sky for me! This year I am going to manually operate both the computer and the fog machine seperate. I will start the show myself and then use the fog machine on its own as a single unit. Sounds like a lot to do when everything could be controlled by itself, but since I am still new at this im just going to go piece by piece. 

Quick Question again: Whie in WIKI and looking at the Lynx Express, I notices in the picture that the board doesnt have any output plugs for the channels. Well, it has the outputs and they are labeled, but they are not standard (US standard) output sockets. How would I connect my lights to the board?

[craig d]

A lot of people use cheep extension cords ( buck a piece at the dollar store). Cut off the male plug, strip the wires and attach them to the terminal strips at the bottom of the express.