Cost of 128 channels with express vs freestyle

[medic1621]

Strictly speaking of the boards and parts not the needed cabling/cords.  Is it cheaper to obtain 128 channels with using FS and SSR4's or Express?

[RJ]

This has been beat around many times and the answer in the end is this :

The cost will be debateable based on weither you get it in a coop or just order the parts yourself but in the long run the amount difference would be very small and nothing compared to the cost of extenstion cords lights ect.

The express is a newer more capable system by far.

The express is much less work as you have less to build over all.

You are 10 times more likely to get the express on a coop than the freestyle since I rarely get request for Freestyle pcbs anymore but am always running out of Express pcb's.

The support on the Express is better because thousands have been done so the users know them well.

Hope this helps I do not like to play favorites with my kids but the facts are the facts. 

RJ

[budude]

You also have a single point of failure with the FreeStyle (love mine btw!) versus multiple Express. If something catastrophic happened to it, you would be in a real pinch.

[rm357]

For me, it was a question of how to get the controled channels where I wanted them. The megatree has two expresess. For the house and bushes, a SSR4 with 4 channels here and there and over yonder works well with the ethernet cables run close to the house and through the flower beds. I've also got three DMX SSR4s out in the middle of the yard - 12 mini trees with 4 foot separation - one daisy chained DMX line and 1 power line with multiple taps makes for a clean and easy setup.

Sure, I could have done more expresses, but that would have meant more extension cords. On the SSR4s, I planned my lead length based on where I planned to use it...

[Made2Rock]

For me it became more a question of how I use them. I have 31 mini trees each with Red, White, Blue and Green. I use these same 4 colors all over the house. So the SSR4 fit my need very well. In my case I believe the cost is close. What I saved in per channel cost with the Express I believe I would have made up for in extension cords. Bottom line I use what fits. For the house and the mini trees I use SSR4 for everything else I used expresses.

  Another key point to keep in mind here is you have no status lights with a Freestyle or SSR4. With a Version 5 express you can open the cover and tell exactly what is going on and what to do next. I now always go to one of these expresses to see what they say before I go to the problem box.

Joe