Hello,
Okay here it goes. I'm a noob to all this blinky, flashy stuff. I have been reading allot of postings but some things are a bit fuzzy still. I just want to make sure I have this right.
1 Computer - going to be running Vixen this year unless someone tell convinces me that LSP will save me hundreds of hours. if I pony up to get it.
Unless you are planning on jumping in big time with RGB and huge channel counts, neither LSP or S3 will save you any reaL time but will cost you real money. They may actually cost you more time due to the learning curve. I would wait until your sequences exceed the real abilities of Vixen 2.X and then look to see what is available at that time to make your decision.
2- Here's the fuzzy part. From the computer USB I will need a "Dongle". I get that so far. But can I use a "Pixelnet EtherDongle" instead of a Dongle? or must i have a Dongle regardless?
It depends on your need and finances. The Etherdongle has a huge channel count and the ability to be turned into a conductor. The conductor can store and run you show without the need for the computer but it does come at a cost. That is the way that I would go but the USB dongle works just fine and can be configured to output either DMX or Pixelnet.
3. From the Dongle I have 3 choices.
a. I can go with Cat5 and plug in from the Dongle to the first Lynx Express and then 1 to 2, 2 to 3, etc.
b. I can go with wireless where I would need one (1) Wireless(TX/RX) and a Express Receiver (EX/RX) for each of the LE I have.
c. A combo of both Wired and wireless.
Either one will work just fine. The express can have a daughter board that works as a receiver and you could daiseychain from that, every LE can also have it's own daugher board requiring no wiring at all, you could use a TX/RX unit at the front of the string and connect the chain to it or everything can be hard wired. The transmitters work on one of three channls so you can have up to 3 trasnmitters in the yard as long as they are on different frequencies and nothing is intefering with any of them. There really are almost countless possibilities here.
4. For the controllers this year I think I will just be using the LE. As I understand the Transformer is not available for the SSR4. So even though I may have wanted to go with the Lifestyle and SSR4 or just a couple SSR4-DMX. That is not a option at this point due to the transformer part.
That issue has already been corrected and there just was a coop for the new SSR4 and splitter. Did you mean Freestyle? Unless you have a need for multiple small controllers I would just use some LE's which have a lower cost per channel and more abilities.
5. For the lights I am using a mix of incans and LEDs. I guess the question here is how many watts would I be able to put on a LE Channel safely? I know that each string is different. The largest incan string I have is a set of 300 Blue high density icicles. The box says not to connect more then 2 strings together 2 set=210 watts. Is this a safe amount for 1 channel. if yes would it still be safe to run this much power on 8 channels of the same LE?
The LE is good for up to 4 amps per channel but there is a limit on the total current the unit can handle, depending on its configuration. If it is configured with a single input plug, then the limit is around 15A. If you have dual inputs AND each input is connected to a different circuit, then it is 15A per side.
6. For the extention cords will be using spt2 with vampires.
I guess right now while waiting for the next coop for LE's, Dongle or EtherDongle. I should be playing with Vixen learning and trying to build a sequence...I know that make the most sense but until I build a LE and dongle that work It seems like a futile task.
Anyway, if someone could clear some of the fog for me.
Thank you
There are no coops for the USB dongle. Just buy one from the store and order the parts from Mouser. If you want an EtherDongle, then you would need to wait for a coop. Vixen has a preview that allows you to import a picture of your house and then add your lights. With that, there is no reason that you couldn't create your actual complete sequences without a single controller or light and that's what I would start doing now.
There is a lot here and perhaps it might be better to arange a session in either the cat room or teamspeak to talk about this and ask questions. There are a lot of people in here including myself that would be happy to get on line and discuss some of these issues. All that is needed is to set up a time.