Stick with us an we'll make you into a coop kit junkie that likes to help the new guys.
Our coops usually take 2 to 3 months, so it's too late to get started for this year with the stuff we support. However, if you are thinking about 2013, you are in the right place.
For the smart strings, first you a pixelnet dongle. We have two types - the older USB dongle which does 1 universe and the newer etherdongle (EtD) that does 4 universes. There is also the conductor option for the EtD, which allows it to run independently - it adds a real time clock, show scheduler and audio playback device to the EtD.
Next you will need a hub and a PC power supply. I would recommend your first hub to be an active hub, as it includes a DMX output, which mirrors some of the pixelnet channels on a DMX output. For the power supply, you just need one with a single 12v rail that is big enough to run all of your smart string nodes
Next are the smart string controllers (SSC). You will need a minimum of one of these for every 128 nodes. At 128 nodes, the string draws 4 amps when full on, which is just about all you want to draw from an ethernet cable...
Ethernet cables. The pixelnet data uses a standard cat 5 ethernet cable. For connecting between the hub and the SSCs, you need to find stranded ethernet cables, not the solid core. The stranded is better because we are running power through 6 of the internal wires. The other two wires are data. Most ethernet "patch" cables are stranded, but it is best to check or make a small order to make sure then order more...
you will also need software to drive them. There are a variety of things available, some free, some not.
