DiyLightAnimation

Hardware => Lynx Aether => Topic started by: chrisatpsu on March 10, 2012,

Title: coverage...
Post by: chrisatpsu on March 10, 2012,
when you guys use your aether II's similar to a floodlight, about how much area can you cover.

I attached a picture...

The red line is a row of tall hedges that sits on a property line where i live. I'd like to place a row of spotlights, or floodlights in about the areas of the yellow dots to shine on the hedges. the hedges are about 16-20 ft tall, and about 10ft thick.

so i can determine how many aethers i might need for this, do any of you guys know about how wide the aether can resonably cover while still showing a good coverage of color on hedges?
Title: Re: coverage...
Post by: tbone321 on March 10, 2012,
People can make all the guesses that they want but the only valid way to know is to experiment for yourself.  I would expect that there will be more than one coop for them this year and I doubt that you would want to order what looks like 12 of them (by your diagram) on one order anyway.  I would order 4 to 6 with the lens kits on the next coop and go from there.  Dependig on how bright you need them, you might be able to get away with 6 total.  Just remember that you have a lot of options on how you place them and what lenses you use and each one will give them a different look. 
Title: Re: coverage...
Post by: Steve Gase on March 10, 2012,
I wonder about the effectiveness  of rgb on a green hedge ... Unless you stay with green
Title: Re: coverage...
Post by: chrisatpsu on March 10, 2012,
i thought people light up their trees with spot lights? wouldn't this be close?
Title: Re: coverage...
Post by: tbone321 on March 10, 2012,
That's what I'm going to do but here the trees don't have leaves at Christmas.
Title: Re: coverage...
Post by: Gary on March 10, 2012,
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I would order 4 to 6 with the lens kits on the next coop and go from there.  Dependig on how bright you need them, you might be able to get away with 6 total.  Just remember that you have a lot of options on how you place them and what lenses you use and each one will give them a different look.

Chrisatpsu:

If the plan is to light up a wide area, I wouldn't bother with lenses. I have 6 of the Original Aethers with a bunch of different lenses, and I use only one with the narrow angle lenses to lights up a tall skinny tree. I kick myself now for buying so many of the 30 degree angle lenses and not even using them. Check out this video 17 seconds in to see what colour looks like on a green tree. The tree isn't that big, and it's partially blocked by my light poles, but it gives you an idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JyubYBnIk4&list=PL3D8FB64B918814D8&index=4&feature=plcp
Title: Re: coverage...
Post by: chrisatpsu on March 10, 2012,
right behind the arches?
Title: Re: coverage...
Post by: zwiller on March 11, 2012,
I am guesstimating you have 150' of hedges you're attempting to light up. 

The pics in this thread show an aether II with no lens 3' from my house.  The section of the house it's lighting up is 10'.  http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=7008.0 (ftp://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=7008.0)

I really wanted the color to stand out but it didn't look too shabby farther away.  Now that was on tan vinyl siding.  Never tried lighting greenery.  If it's remotely like siding, I bet at 6-9' away you might get a decent 20' spread.  You would still need 8 aethers... 

I would try a plain old work light out for a rough idea.  If you have access to some lighting gels try throwing some on it to test for color. 
Title: Re: coverage...
Post by: meman on March 11, 2012,
If you're gong to invest that much in the Aethers, you probably want to temporarily lighten up those hedges for maximum effect. Unless you have snow, I'd buy a big bag of chalk dust had rig up something on the leaf blower to coat them. Should wash off easy when you're done with the season (or if it rains).

Mike E.
Title: Re: coverage...
Post by: SteveMaris on March 11, 2012,
I would think 12 or 14 Aethers should do a great job of coverage. Maybe get 16 of them just to be on the safe side. You could always use the extras on the garage or house.
Title: Re: coverage...
Post by: tbone321 on March 11, 2012,
LOL, I wouldn't confuse an Aether with a MR16.  16 Aethers would be rather expensive and way to bright.  It would probably wash out the rest of his display.
Title: Re: coverage...
Post by: rogerwh on March 11, 2012,
Quote
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I would think 12 or 14 Aethers should do a great job of coverage. Maybe get 16 of them just to be on the safe side. You could always use the extras on the garage or house.

Or land some small aircraft ;D

I would follow the advise of others.  Just get plain worklight or something you can move around, preferably with a colored bulb or see if you find a colored lense or anything translucent with color just to make sure you will be happy with the effect.  If so, then I would start with a few Aethers and go from there.

FWIW I live in North Fla and quite a few people here used colored floods to light up green trees, mainly palms, live oaks, cedar and other that don't lose their leaves.  I kind of like the "background' effect it can give to the decorations.
Title: Re: coverage...
Post by: chrisatpsu on March 11, 2012,
unfortunately i have an even higher wall of shrubs/trees in front of the house (they're taller than my house)
now you guys see why i do a show in the back yard.   lol

that, and i really think i'm too close to the intersection (distraction to traffic / and/or cars stopping)
Title: Re: coverage...
Post by: Gary on March 11, 2012,
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right behind the arches?

If you were asking about mine... my stuff is laid out like this (it's hard to tell in the darkish videos):

Arches 6 feet from the curb, then 8 feet back from that are my light poles. The single Aether for the tree is about 2 feet away from it, pointing pretty well straight up. The ones for the house are, on average, 3-5 feet away from the wall being lit.