8' animated tree ?

[Jeffl]

What ideas do you have for an animated tree in the  8' range.  I have two that are 12' and one that is 21'.  I'm looking for ideas that are:

• 8' or so tall

• Easy to setup

• Uses regular mini lights for now +-24' in length

• 3 colors, red, clear and green

• Controlled by an LE

I can't seem to be able to figure out string counts etc for this that will work well.

Thanks Jeff

[combustionmark]

RJ had a nice tree at the academy. It was constructed out of 16 legs, that had 1 smart string flex strip. I liked it and it would be easy to store. I know there it a picture of it, I just don't have one. I am thinking of making one out of aluminum.

[jnealand]

RJ's tree had 16 legs but only used 4 flexstrips each cut in half and place on just the front 8 legs.  That makes each strip approx 6.6' long.  I am going to use 7.5 ft pieces of emt and use 16 half strips in order to get the light density up higher.  My tests using nutcracker show a big difference in using 16 half strips vs 8 half strips.  I plan to cut each original strip in half and then put 3 pin connectors on the ends so that I will only be using 8 SSCs but can turn the lights 180 deg and still keep them flat.  By putting the connectors on I figure it will also be easier to setup and store.  I am going to paint the emt green and use zip ties to hold the strips on and I will only be making a half tree and display it up next to the house so I don't need the back half of the tree  Here is a video I made with my Panasonic camera:
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[dmaccole]

Do you know about this tool?

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I think for an 8-foot tree, you'd probably want to use something shorter than a 100-count, 24-foot string (or be willing to wrap up and down and up and down -- quadruple).

I built a six-foot tree over 2010-2011 (what can I'm say, I'm slow) using 16 50-count, 12-foot strings that were up and over (doubled) and it came out nice -- I think the diameter is something like nine feet. I used PVC pipe for the trunk and four spokes and ran a circle of PEX through "T" fittings on the ends of the spokes. The elasticity of the PEX kept the strings tight all season (though this is the Bay Area, where the difference between June 25 and Dec. 25 is that it isn't as foggy on June 25 -- same temperature).

I'm not sure where I got the "plans" (ahem) for this setup (prolly over at DIYC) but I'm positive it would go two more feet without a problem.

The problem is figuring out the length of strings versus the diameter of the ring, which is what the tool above does for you.

HTH.

\dmc

PS: I used LED multis and was quite happy with the effect. I also used four DMX/SSR4s, but could have used a Lynx Express (and may this year -- I have a kit unbuilt sitting right over ... there).

[Jeffl]

I found the calculator but just confirmed what I thought.  Single strings or double is good but anything else probably won't do to well.  Super strings was the only way I could think it would work when you are talking down, up and down.

I'm not going to get any smart string technology done this year so that's out.

Thanks for all your ideas.