New guy with some questions....

[happylighting25]

Hi all,

I have been reading the forums all morning and think I have a pretty good understanding of how I am going to make things work. Being a new guy to this holiday lighting world I really need some guidence on where to get somethings.  Let me start here:

I think my best bet is to use the EtherDongle to get to my pixelnet hub.  Now my question is does the EtherDongle have a way of outputting both pixelnet and DMX from the dongle or do I need to from the dongle to the hub and than the DMX out port on hub would create the DMX data stream?  My reason for asking is I would guess my dongle would be near my computer so I would like to just go wireless from the dongle.  Or would I have to go wireless from the hub?

I plan on using other DMX devices that I already own.  Those include the a few moving heads and I have 1 Rainbow Flood Extreme and I would like to buy some more.  What pin outs does the EtherDongle use?  I saw in the wiki all kinds of things for crossover cables and LOR adapters but I didn't see anything for crossover cables for Seasonal Entertainment stuff.  Does the lights just plug in to each other or would I need some sort of crossover cable?

Finally, besides the exciting RGB stuff I also want to add some standard Christmas lights.  I see from other forums like the LOR forum and the PC forum that I missed some presales (boy you guys start really early!) on lights.  However, I got an email from Seasonal Entertainment that their light strands are on sale now and the preorder is on going.  Has anyone dealt with their light strands?  Are they a high quality item?  The light I have from them was a gift my parents got me (I know I am a DMX nerd) so I have never dealt with them before.  What about their light strands...has anyone used them?

I am sorry if I put this in the wrong spot but I am new here and just want to jump in with both feet.

Thanks for the info I have learned so far and I am sure I will learn a lot more in the future!!!!!!!!!!!

David

[tbone321]

Both the EtherDongle and the DMX dongle put out either DMX or PixelNet, not both so if you want both, you will need to either use two dongles or use the DMX output from an active Pixelnet hub.  If you want to use wireless for your DMX, then you would need to do it from the hub. 

The EtherDongle outputs 4 PixelNet or DMX universes on pairs 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8.  I don't know what pins your DMX devices use but if they all use the same ones, you can get away with one conversion cable connecting the controller output to the first device and then just string the rest along with a straight thru cable. 

I don't know about many of the on-line sellers for LED strings and don't plan on ordering any until after this years season when I have a better idea of what I need.  I will initially set up my new display items with icans which are much cheaper to make sure that I got it right before investing in the big money strings.  I hole to be just about all LED in the next few years.

[happylighting25]

Thank you for the info tbone!  I am starting to understand this the more I read.

I had sent in an email to Seasonal Entertainment regarding thier light strings.  I got this email back from them...

Hi David,

Thank you for your interest in our products.

Our LED Light Strands are something new we are offering this year.  We found a manufacturer that was willing to work with us to ensure that the quality that we expect was delivered.  In my opinion, they met that expectation without question.  The lights are fully sealed in every possible way you can think.  Moisture is the enemy when it comes to LED lights so we wanted to ensure none got into the lights.  We also designed in a larger full wave rectifier which helps ensure there is no flicker to the LEDs that you see on some lower quality lights and it helps with fading, if you are going to animate your show.  Through our testing we found that a “snubber” was not needed, even with the lower quantity strings.  You may want to take a look at a page on our site that explains why are lights are of such high quality.  The page is here:

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Furthermore, we sent out samples to a bunch of customers this year so that they could test our lights and see the quality.  If you head over to the LOR forums, there is a whole thread there on the quality and how the “testers” have been so pleased with them.  We are currently out of the samples but if you want to contact one of the people on the forums, they may be able to pass the lights onto you for some testing as well.

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Hopefully that answers all your questions but if you have anymore please do not hesitate to ask.

Regards,
Greg Renna
Seasonal Entertainment, LLC

Here is my questions...What is a snubber? haha  I have never heard of it.  Do I need this for all my lights and where would I get one?

David

[Steve Gase]

Be cautious with other vendors than Ray...  not from a legitimacy issue, but from a spec point of view.

RJ has tested and qualified the strings, flex strips, rigid strips, and smart pixels to work with his 12V design.  RJ only works with specific chips on the pixels.

When I looked through seasonalentertainmentllc they had 5v and other variations. 

Dumb strings are an easier matter.  The MR16 and other devices can be modified to handle other voltages, and there is not a chip dependency.  Still, I'd suggest going with 12V... because that allows you to fit into RJ's overall design that uses common PC power supplies to supply voltage to the hubs.  When the DSC (Dumb String Controller) comes out, I expect it will also standardize behind 12V.

so... be sure you know the lights will work.  there is SO MUCH variation out there, you really need to pick one standard to use in your display.  If you go with DLA, you pick the standard already adopted by a growing group of people.

[n1ist]

Pairing on cat5 cable is 1,2  3,6  4,5,  7,8.  Standard DMX-over-CAT5 uses the 1,2 pair for data and 7,8 for ground.  All of the Lynx stuff follows this spec.  Renard uses 4,5 for data; I believe LOR does the same.

/mike

[happylighting25]

Hi Steve,

I am not talking about the Pixelnet strings.  Of course I will stick with what the community suggests.

What I am looking for is LED Light strings.  Basic Christmas light strings.  They sell them and are having a presale on them now.  I am just trying to get a good price on them and they seem very reasonable. 

For the pixelnet stuff I will certainly buy from this Ray fella (although you will have to point me in his direction...haha)

David

[tbone321]

A snubber is just a small load added to the circuit.  Some circuits have what's called an inductive load which means that when it is shut down, it creates a voltage of its own.  The snubber drains this away so that it doesn't damage the control circut.  On the other side, some of the controllers have a voltage and current leakage.  This is not an issue for icans as thevery low current is not enough to light them up.  This can be an issue with some LED strings as they require so little current that the small amount of leakage can cause them to glow slightly.  The snubber drains away that leakage current preventing the LED strings from glowing at the zero level.  The Express already has them built in so you are good to go there.  If you need to add one, many people simply add a C7 or C9 bulb to the output.  It will draw all the current that you need and protect from counter voltages in inductive circuits.  Man people have also reported that using a C9 instead of a resistor smooths out the dimming curve with LED strings and that the LED's follow the dimming of the C9.

[gforman]

Welcome

Glen from California

[Steve Gase]

For the pixelnet stuff I will certainly buy from this Ray fella (although you will have to point me in his direction...haha)

Ray Wu runs the store in china.   You can get there by selecting the Wiki, then navigate to the smart strings page, and there you will find specs on various smart pixels and for each a link to the store.  Chris has a great writeup on buying from Ray.

[happylighting25]

OK...I am understanding all of this now.  So I would get the PixelNet strings from Ray, who I assume owns the store that is in the links on the wiki.  Simple enough.

I am also going to assume that these LED light strings are OK as well and I should go ahead and get my order in with Seasonal Entertainment.  I don't want to miss out on these prices, as they seem pretty low and all the other major light suppliers are no longer having sales.  I am also going to assume that the strings will fade great, based on the info on the site and the information you guys gave me regarding snubbers.  I know that tbone said the Lynx Express already had the snubbers built in so I went and did a little research over on the LOR forums and it appears the their controllers have them built in as well, so I think we are set.

Another question, seeing as you said you could add a C7 or C9 bulbs should I also order these from Seasonal Entertainment "just in case?"

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I could get those and be ready for the worst.

Boy I took in a lot of information today.  Thanks for all the help folks.  I am really getting excited for Christmas and it isn't even January yet!

David

[tbone321]

The C7 or C9 is a standard ican bulb and you could get those anywhere.  A C7 is basically a 7W nite light.  If you intend to use them as snubbers or to stabalize the diming of LED strings, I would buy a string of a dark color so that they don't stand out and then you can cut up the string to give you both the bulbs and the sockets to use as you need.

[Steve Gase]

There are MANY kinds of "lights", and many within the subcategory of "LED lights".

For 110v-connected lights (they may have their own power adapter) you would connect them to the "LE" Lynx Express DMX controller.  This has 16 channels that can turn on/off/dim 16 separate strings of lights.

You can have 110v lights that are net lights, strings, meteor/snowfall tubes, icicles, strobes, etc.  Some are dimmable, and some are not (strobes, and meteor/snowfall are two examples of non-dimmable)

You can also have other voltages of lights... in these examples you have a common power supply providing power to your controller -- and your controller sends that power to separate strings of lights.   The MR16 is an example.  It has 16 channels of 12v power.  The strings that connect to this will have the same on/off/dim capability to everything on that channel.  With 16 channels you are controlling 16 strings.

Then you have smart strings... smart strings have individual pixel control.  There has been a lot said about these already and I will not continue be repeating those descriptions.

The point is that there are many different lighting elements that you can choose between.  Learning about the offering will allow you to make good purchasing and planning decisions.  YOu don't wat 110v strings if you have no 110v controllers in your setup.

[jnealand]

If you read the response from Seasonal Entertainment it says that NO SNUBBER is needed.  A C9/C7 is just a substitute for a non lighting snubber that uses a resistor.

[happylighting25]

Thanks everyone for the info.  I went ahead and placed my LED string order this morning.  Chatted with Greg from Seasonal Entertainment and he was extremely helpful in getting me in the right direction.  It will be nice to get the lights and use them in my new setup.

I know I am new here and frankly have no experience in the holiday light field but if you haven't dealt with this company before I would really recommend them.  They seem very knowledgable on their products and seem to go out of their way to help you.  Hopefully I can find more companies like that to deal with.

Now to figure out how these COOPs work and get an EtherDongle!!  Want to play with that as well.

Thanks,
David