need help

[bigbuck]

hello all,i am new to this,i want to get started on a display for next year,i am blind to this whole thing,i wanted to see if anyone is willing to help me to get started?i am looking to control regular old lights.where is the best plact to buy a controller and software about 32 to 64 channels,or should one build the controller himself,i am not even sure what all i need,i guess i'm looking for someone to take me under their wing so to speak,i have 4 megatreee in my display already, looking to make them do something other than stand there!!!!,PLEASE HELP!!!!

[mitch09]

Welcome. I too was in your shoes two years ago as was everyone here at one time. I had little to no soldering experience but was comfortable with computers. I started with ordering 2 Lynx dongles and 4 Lynx Express 26 channel controllers. With the help of the Other members I was up and running last year.
I guess if you feel comfortable soldering or are willing to learn as you go I say build your own. There's a nice reward when you see your hard work make "magic" for the first time.
If you don't want to take a stab at building then wait until the season is over and watch the Sale/Trade forum for members parting ways with some equipment they no longer use.

Good luck and Merry Christmas!

[rrowan]

First thing I would do is to download the software choices. The software is the hardest part along where you will spend the most time. With the software you can play with it and you don't need one piece of hardware to use it.

Free Software options:
Vixen 2.1.x You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login
HLS  You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login


Paid Software options:
LSP 2.5 (Trial available) You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login
LOR S3 You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

For the Hardware I would look at the Lynx Express (LE) controller. Its a 16 channel controller with advance features. Come Jan to Feb we start to open up COOPs which is a group buy of the different controllers on this site. The advantage of the coop is the parts for the boards is brought in quantity so you can get the parts cheaper.

ALso you will need a Dongle to control the LE (two options here: USB dongle or the Ethernet Dongle) The USB dongle is easier to setup but has a small total number of channels. It has two different modes of software (firmware) either DMX or Pixelnet for DMX you get 512 channels to control or with Pixelnet you get 4096 channels to control. The EtherDongle is much more advance and can do 4 times the channels of the USB dongle plus it has expansion connectors to allow more features like a board where you don't need a computer to run your lights.

Here is some diagrams to help make some sense of all of this.
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Its basically saying you need a computer (windows) then dongle then the light controllers (dimmers) then your lights.

Clear as mud?

Take your time, read the forums, read the wiki and ask as many questions as you like. This site is beginner friendly with many helpfully members.

Good luck

Rick R.

[bigbuck]

thanks for the advice but i had trouble downloading vixen 2.1,not sure whats wrong or what to do???

[rrowan]

are you using firefox? Some versions has/had issues with downloading

Rick R.

[winwin]

i had trouble downloading vixen 2.1,not sure whats wrong or what to do???

Having problem downloading it or installing it? here is the link to the vixen website.
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Make sure you have the .Net framework installed. A link is provided on the vixen website and on the wiki (here it is: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login)

[bigbuck]

still cannot get it to work,downloaded everything????2.1 version acts like it downloads,but when you open it it brings up a bunch of folders???any other suggestions

[rrowan]

I just tried it again and it works fine.

I attached the zip file.

Rick R.

[bigbuck]

after i open it where do i need to start,i'm sorry about this but i dont know where to start

[rrowan]

On youtube a member of another site a few years back did a series of videos. The first couple apply to downloading and using a different controller but after that the sequencing part works just the same way.

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Rick R.

[bigbuck]

for some reason my computer wont let me download it,maybe it will be better to buy some software

[winwin]

What kind of computer and OS do you use?

[bigbuck]

toshiba with windows windows 7,played around eith it all day yesterday,it downloads a bunch of icons and folders that contain nothing

[rrowan]

Sounds like a firewall or anti-virus programs causing problems for you. What web browser are you using?

Even if you brought LSP you would still have to download it.

Rick R.

[bigbuck]

what should the screen look like when its finished downlaading?