Ideal Setup/Layout

[gndn]

Since I'm new to light animation, I have some questions on how to physically layout the Controllers/SSRs.  After doing some looking through the forum and the wiki, It's quickly becoming clear how many extension cords will be required to setup a light animation show.  What layout do most of you find that physically works the best?

I will most likely be hardwiring all my equipment and am leaning towards the LE at the moment.  Is it easiest to just run the two power connectors to the first LE and connect a network cable from the dongle inside the house and run it to the first location of where you would start wiring?  Then just run power and network cable to the next location you want to hookup lights so the Controller/SSRs are always close to where they are needed...?

However, If all the controllers were mounted either in a garage or on the side of a house, I'd imagine you would almost need more extension cords running all over the place than the lights themselves.  Since I don't know anyone around me that does this, it's kinda hard to layout a plan without seeing one.

~Dennis

[rrowan]

Hi Dennis,

The Lynx controllers are design to be place out in the yard near the lights.

Yes there is electric wires that need to be run to each controller (LE in this case) and one control cable (cat5), but that is still cheaper and easier than running 16 extension cords from the each LE in a garage to the lights in the yard which could be many feet for each channel.

Hope that helps

Rick R.

[gndn]

Thanks Rick, yes that does help.

I also had a question on DMX cable length.  I understand that DMX is capable of stretching I believe I read up to 4000 feet, however, the DMX in this case is being run through Cat5 cables.  If this is true, does the 300 Foot limit on the Cat5 apply?  If so, is that from one controller to another or maximum across all controllers?

For example, I will most likely be running a PC in the basement, then stringing Cat5 from the dongle to the first Controller in the front yard.  My house backs up to a community pond so I had planned on when I'm done wiring the front of the house, chaining more controllers to the back yard.  Since this most likely won't be more than 300ft, lets just say in theory I then wanted to run a few of my neighbors too... What are the limits I would be dealing with if any?

Thanks,
Dennis

[tbone321]

The 300 foot limit applies to the CAT 5 ethernet standard and has little to do with the cable being used for other purposes such as serial or DMX usage however I have some suggestions for you.  I would consider picking up a few splitter boards in the future.  You could use one in the basement after the dongle to allow you to send one cable from the basement to the front yard and a seperate one from the basement to the back yard.  This could save you a few hunderd feet of cable alone.  I would also consider going wireless when connecting to your neighbors.  This will allow you to go across the street as well as next door and again will probably pay for itself in reduced cable costs.  RJ is working on a new unit that can act as either a transmitter or a receiver and with a greater range and do it all for a lower price.  Sounds pretty cool to me.  I only hope that it has on board power and doesn't need a wall wart.  CAT5 cable does not do all that well outside as it was not designed with that in mind and I would rather replace a few hundred feet of cable every few years instead of thousands. 

[Murl]

Hi Dennis!

I've seen pictures where people have done just what you described - they mounted all of their controllers in a basement or garage and ran home-made extension cables out to the lights.  They end up having huge bundles of wires that run all over the place.

I think you'll find that the majority of us agree with Rick & Tbone.  It's usually best to keep things as simple as possible, so most of us spend a great deal of time planning which controllers to buy and where to put them so we can keep the cables as short as possible.

Another thing you'll need to plan carefully as you design your system is the power required to run everything.  The loads can add up pretty quickly.  For example, I have a 16-channel controller on my mega tree that requires two separate 15-amp circuits, because each set of 8 channels can pull nearly 11 amps if I have everything on at once.

You're already off to a great start, though.  The forum and the wiki on this site are both great places to learn, and the people here will usually go out of their way to help you.  Feel free to ask lots of questions.   

-Murl