How do I light a parade float?

[BigAl37]

Our youth group creates and decorates a float for the local Christmas parade and this year they would like to add fancy lights that sync to music. I am completely new to any of this and would like to know if anyone has an idea how to do this?
Thanks

[zwiller]

I'll let our more informed members decide whether this falls under commercial use, but I imagine using power inverters to convert 12V to 120V from vehicle pulling float will be the key.  Although there are ways to achieve this with 12V, it's a steep learning curve and more costly upfront.  At minimum, you need a computer to program a sequence (arrange lights blinking) which then drives a controller which turns lights on/off while music is played.  In your situation I would recommend a small PA system to play music as a car stereo will not be sufficient.  Powering this system once again with a 12V power inverter.  It will probably be wise to have a knowledgeable or professional setup dedicated power on the pull vehicle and make a recommendation on power inverter/s.     

If this is deemed commercial use which do not allow here (I suspect it is) you should look into Light O Rama.  They have all aspects of this covered including support and training.    You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login 

Good luck!

[sjb]

Depending on the size of float and the amount of lights, I would suggest using a portable generator.

Steve (from Edmonton)

[chrisatpsu]

Laptop, a usb dongle and an mr16 or two. Dont need 120v at all.

[BigAl37]

I do not believe this would fall under commercial use, its for our youth club at our church. The light project would be something the kids would like to tackle, I would just need some basic info/direction to get started. We would have a generator in the tow vehicle (pickup truck). The trailer is a 16' utility type that they put bails of hay on and other decorations.

[JonB256]

I have done this with AC (gasoline generators) and DC using almost all LED lights.

If ever tasked again, I'd only do 12vdc. It was much more reliable. The AC power from my generators (I tried two) was not "clean enough" to power my AC controllers.

Now, these were not Lynx Express controllers (I was running the LOR protocol on D-Light boards), so maybe they would work better, but the TRIACs on almost all AC controllers are very dependent on a clean crossover of the sinusoidal waveform from positive to negative. They get their timing from it. Most generators have noise at that point so my lights were very unpredictable if I did anything "quick." 

Now, since Lynx Expresses use DMX and therefore sends a full command set 20 times per second, it should be better. Should, but no personal experience.

Regardless - using DC controllers was flawless. I had two 12vdc batteries on the trailer, fully charged. They controlled 48 channels of LED floods and dumb pixels strips. Very colorful. Very bright.

No noise, no exhaust.

[Night Owl]

When you say you are completely new at this, does this mean you are new to the idea of making your show mobile?  Or are you saying you have no experience in making lights flash to music?

If it is the former, then we can assume you have the hardware and some familiarity with the terms involved.  If it is the latter and you are starting from ground zero and would like help, then we can approach it from a different angle.

How big (how many lights)?  How many channels did you want?  What is your budget?  How much time do you have to arrange a show?  Depending on the amount of channels you have, sequencing can take a long time.

If you want to start small and have no equipment, you might want to look into a color organ.  It will cause the lights to flash to the music, requires no sequencing, and is probably the cheapest way to go.  However you have no control over the lights as it will be responding to the sounds only.

Here is a vid of a 5 channel one.  Normally I see only 3 channels or less.
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[SantaJim]

Important question, is there equipment already available, if not what is the budget? That would control what can be done to a great extent.

[Garyi]

I do believe this is in violation of the rules as commercial usage. With out UL ratings there is a liability factor hence why RJ's controlers are for hobby home usage only. IMHO

[JonB256]

Parade floats are temporary and rarely for profit. I don't see how it conflicts with RJ's ban on Commercial setups.

[mykroft]

No more liability of burning up the float than burning up your house.....

I see no problem as long as it is not advertising for a commercial business and if the person owns the trailer itself that the float is being built on, no different than sitting out in my lawn on on my house ....

No different than a donation box out front, its just mobile and on wheels.....

Myk

[tbone321]

The problem is simply liability.  If you buy the kit for yourself as a form of learning and then personal use on your own property, you assume responsibility and there is little to no liability on RJ's part.  If you buy the kit and then have others work on it or use it to light up a public display (such as a float) and someone gets hurt, then lawyers get involved and the liability can fall back on RJ.  Commercial mean much more than for profit.  As for burning up the house, when it's your house and you use the equipment with fair warning, then the responsibility is yours.  If you use the equipment in a public forum (suck as the float) and someone else gets hurt (such as a scout), then the responsibility can wind up failing back on the creator of the device.

In order for RJ t protect himself from this, he has to make a best effort to prevent it and he does.  He makes it clear that the devices (both high and low voltage) are for personal use only and you must agree to it before you can order any kits.  If he finds out that you are using them in a "commercial" application, you are banned from the forum.  This way, if he is sued, he can claim that this was not the boards intention and that he actively works to prevent that and the person who purchased it did not use it as intended and it's their responsibility for the outcome.

If you really want to do this in the DIY format then I would probably go with Renard.  Because that format is so open, there really is nobody to sue so I don't think that they have the same restrictions.  You can get the boards and even the board layouts on line and make them yourself.  The components and even the firmware source code is on line so if you use it, you really are doing it on your own.  Another possible option is LOR.  They are commercial units and are intended to be used in this way.