Need ideas for a SS project and not have to take out a loan for the nodes

[trekster]

I have been thinking for a while now on something to make with the RGB nodes that would look great in my yard and not cost me a bunch of money.  I am in the coop for 1 hum and 12 SS controllers.  I would like to only spend about $200 total for the lights.  I have thought of putting them on the porch but I would need a bunch to look good.  In the yard??  Lighting up??  I have thought about coro boxes to make presents in the yard.  Some things start out as a good idea and then no.... The space between the lights has to be close.  Best I have come up with so far is

1.  About 6 strings of 75 across the front yard about 6 feet in from the street ( I have 2.5 acre lot).  This would make it easy to see some awesome awesome chases back and forth showing off the rgb nodes.

2.  I have 4 posts on my porch.  Last year I used 4 channels of red 100 count mini's on each post for a total of 16 channels.  That looked really neat having motion control over the posts.  I thought about putting 40 per post of the long individual 20 per string (look like about 3"L X .75"W).  I could mount them on a 1X4 board horizontal about 2 inches apart.  This would give me 40 channels per post for a nice smooth movement.

3.  Still working on it...........

Anyone have any good ideas they would like to share for a good project costing about $200 or less in lights?  I do not want to make scrolling text or a mega tree that would be mega bucks.

Ron

[chrisatpsu]

meteor or rain light tubes.

[tng5737]

I would buy 4 of the SS flex strips and get four sections of gray electrical pvc conduit then make four arches for the front yard.  Very easy to do just use cable-ties to secure the strips to the conduit and use a couple of rebars to secure the conduit on the ground.

[trekster]

I thought about this but will the flex strip flex like this?  It seems like it would only flex on an arch pointing up or down.  Kind of like my belt.  It flixes around me but does not bend the other direction as easily.

Thank you for the input.

Ron

[MrChristmas2000]

How about some stars from You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login. Each one takes 3 nodes and would be easy to string up and look cool. They have a video on their site as well.

Tom

[JimWright]

Another thing you could try is to use a wreath and put the lights on it in a spiral pattern. Then you can have all sorts of fun with the sequencing. That is what I am planning to do when I get everything. I am using a 4 foot wreath. For initial layout it will take one or two 128 node strings to fill it up with lights. Once I get it together I will post a video to show what it does.

[dmoore]

It's my opinion that to get the biggest "bang for the buck" with RGB you will find that duffusion works best.  Just like a single or just a few C7 bulbs can light a large blow mold by diffusing the light over a larger area creating "volume", the sample applies with RGB elements.  PM me if you can some specific questions.

[tng5737]

Concerning attaching the flex strips for arches -  take a look at dmoore's video (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login) starting at about 1:52 you'll see some nice shots of flex strips attached in this manner.

[TheBanker]

I think also along with what Dmoore said is floods.  You can get a huge impact for a few dollars when working with RGB floods.  But, thats not smart strings.......so......i would think, arches, mini mega tree, columns.  think about using the pixel rgb's with the cheaper 3 channel rgb.

[taybrynn]

I think for the money and your situation, you might just want RGB modules and regular (cheap) 3-ch controllers and inline 12v injectors re-injectors ... connected to the Lynx DMX dongle.  You can make more customized strings with $1 RGB 5050 modules.

You might want to stick with 4 wire modules and controllers.

If I were you, I'd consider re-selling the SS hub and controllers to fund whatever you end up doing, since I'm not sure those are a great fit for you needs and budget.\

[dmoore]

I think also along with what Dmoore said is floods.  You can get a huge impact for a few dollars when working with RGB floods.  But, thats not smart strings.......so......i would think, arches, mini mega tree, columns.  think about using the pixel rgb's with the cheaper 3 channel rgb.

You know...this all brings up a good point.  This is just my opinion but sometimes it seems that people determine the cool, new hardware they like and then work to figure out how to use it in their display.  While it seems more logical to work the otherway - determine the look you are going for and then determine the best hardware that fits the look.  Yes, you still need to know what options exisit to know if it would meet your needs...

I went the cool, new pixel/RGB hardware route last year and it really bombed when compared against my prior years all incandescent display - that's no just my opinion but was also the opinion of display viewers.

Just my .02 cents.

[rm357]

I don't know what it would cost, but i saw a post where someone put one or two leds in a glass brick and used a bunch of them as stepping stones in their yard.

Lots of possibilities...

RM

[trekster]

I went the cool, new pixel/RGB hardware route last year and it really bombed when compared against my prior years all incandescent display - that's no just my opinion but was also the opinion of display viewers.

Just my .02 cents.

You are right David.  I do not think only RGB in a show is as flashy as the good old light stuff.  I am only wanting to add something RGB to my show.  It is hard to figure out what.  I am being swayed back to just a plain long (6X75 nodes across the front of the house close to the street.  One could make killer chases back and forth.  I think that would be about 125 feet straight across the front of my yard.

Ron

[RJ]

Say what you want the RGB megatree was the only thing anyone talked about last year in my show and I have been asked over and over if I would have the colorful tree up again this year.

RJ

[chrisatpsu]

I don't know what it would cost, but i saw a post where someone put one or two leds in a glass brick and used a bunch of them as stepping stones in their yard.

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Towards the end of the RGB Disco Floor post.