Ask Slashdot: Best Wireless LED Light Setup for 2015? 68
An anonymous reader writes I want to get a jump-start on next year's Christmas by wiring up my mother's gnome garden for a Christmas light show. I need a setup that can use wireless LED lights and speakers, the lights using a custom sequence set to music, that can be controlled remotely indoors to go off on a schedule, say every hour. Do you know of an off-the-shelf setup that is cheap and works seamlessly, especially for someone with little to no coding or custom building experience?
Re:Arduino + C (Score:5, Insightful)
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Only for newbies.
Mine your own silicon and grow your own wafers and then process from there.
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Amusing and all that, but honestly, arduino led blinker projects aren't really all that much. It's basically hello world and the IDE comes with an example that clearly explains everything:
http://arduino.cc/en/tutorial/... [arduino.cc]
It really is basically plug and play -- plug in some LEDs to a pin and to ground and then light 'em up. Of course, if you want to do more complicated lighting up, the power is there if you want to use it.
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Arduinos are good for showing complete newbs how to interact with hardware, but you'll be out of options
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The guy has one year to get his first year of experience. Plenty of time. After all, that's how we all started.
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Great, except I live in Australia.
There is nothing NOT wrong with this question. (Score:5, Funny)
Bah, humbug, AND get off my lawn.
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Wrong site (Score:5, Informative)
Try asking on http://www.hackaday.com./ [www.hackaday.com] Lots of people there doing exactly that kind of stuff.
Time+Luck (Score:2)
At least give it 6 months! (Score:1)
See what new technology is available, THEN start planning what you will do! ;^)
Light O Rama (Score:2, Informative)
I use a Light O Rama setup http://www1.lightorama.com
It is not wireless but is very easy to setup and can be used with regular Christmas Lights.
They have a software suite that is pretty easy to use and you can do some pretty cool stuff with.
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Yep.
Light-O-Rama is the go-to choice for pre-built kits for newbies (or professionals who need UL certification). The well-beaten path is to begin with LOR, learn about what's possible by joining communities like Planet Christmas, and hone your sequencing skill - not too flashy, not too dull, and just below the threshold where your neighbors formally complain. After that, once you're comfortable with the idea of running a few hundred channels and a few tens of thousands of lights (or in short, once you're a
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I'm glad that there's a COTS solution for this, but I suspect that a lot more control could be had with an actual logic controller or mini computer. Other than the soundboard/mp3 playback function (are there any good linux applications for this? I know there are many MP3 players that can be invoked from the console (eg, via an SSH session) but the soundboard would be a bit of an issue) a Raspberry Pi or a BeagleBone with a few diodes, transistors and resistors could drive a shitload of lights in obscene co
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TL;DR: There's a lot more to the craft than just wires and a board. This started as a short post, but turned into Light Shows 101.
I've been on the fringes of the community for a few years. If you're willing to touch a soldering gun, you can do far better than a single-board computer, though I'm sure I'm going to annoy some Slashdotters for suggesting such blasphemy.
First, consider your requirements: Lights, elements, power, control, sequencing, and sound. We'll tackle them in that order.
Lights are actually
Best starter system I've used (Score:5, Informative)
I started down the fancy Christmas lights path last year after seeing a 12-string CCR tree based-on LOR (light-o-rama) that this guy made:
http://www.superstarlights.com/Sequences/Videos.php [superstarlights.com]
LOR Technology is pretty simple and your IT knowledge will translate pretty well to get it setup. The gist is you're using a LOR network protocol over RS-485 (long-range serial) that itself is using CAT5/6 cable to work. This network needs a control node that's either a hardware device or (like most people) a computer running the LOR software package, both of which can work with an audio component.
The neat part about starting here is that there's translation hardware between LOR and the more widely used DMX protocol when you're ready to step-up to fancier shows. DMX gears tends to be cheaper because there's more of it (and more things you can control), but it'll also need a fair bit of comfort with stuff you can start-off learning by point-and-click in LOR. I've been playing with some DMX stuff this year that'll be in the show for December 2015, but didn't have the time to get it perfect on this go.
One thing to keep in mind: more fancy = more bandwidth. Single flashing strands don't use much traffic, but when you start looking at 150 LED strands where each pixel has RGB+intensity I'd recommend against going wireless.
Happy learning, and post a video!
While you're out of the basement can you... (Score:5, Funny)
>> I want to get a jump-start on next year's Christmas by wiring up my mother's gnome garden
This is mom. While you're out of the basement can you take out the trash?
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On one hand I agree on the other I think of Lego mindstorms. Where there is money there is a way. I can see a company like Lutron doing this. Well maybe not Lutron as that particular company has a fire extinguisher shoved up its arse. But the concept is still valid.
Re:No Custom Building? (Score:4, Informative)
>which makes me think that there never will be a commercial solution
Quite the opposite. I've been 'thinking about' doing this for a couple of years now, and my research has led me to the conclusion that 'everyone' uses Light-o-rama commercial setup to do this.
It's not wireless, but I don't believe (other than the DMX solution DJ's use for their stage lighting) there's a wireless solution to be had. Even that 'solution' isn't actually wireless, since it uses wires for.. the power! Wireless dongles can be plugged into recievers at the light end - but to be honest, you're better off just going the light-o-rama route.
That solution works by giving you a 'squid' of power connectors, into which you plug your extension cords and it just.. turns them on and off. They give you some kind of application that you can use to sync the lights to your music - if you've ever made an animated thing in like Blender or Poser or Daz Studio you'd get right along with it - timeline.. flip this on at second 3, flip this off at second 5, turn the other on at second 10.. etc..
However, it's not cheap - by any standards. In controller hardware OR lights.
Re:Use a wireless router. No coding. (Score:3)
Adding wireless to Lights-o-rama or vixen is not that hard. Use one of the DMX over Ethernet solutions. Be aware there is a huge difference between DMX over CAT 5 and DMX over Ethernet. Don't confuse the two.
The first decision to make is based on what your controller software supports and what LED interface controller is chosen. The most supported protocols are Artnet and E1.31. I recommend E.131.
Uisng out of the box hardware, I would recommend a PC to run Lights-O-Rama or Vixen. Vixen is free.. hint
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There's nothing that I'm aware of off-the-shelf to do this.
Light-O-Rama is as off-the-shelf as this gets, apart from tiny trinkets only suitable for lighting a single tree.
In addition, actually writing the lights sequences takes FAR more time than you think it will, which makes me think that there never will be a commercial solution because Joe Neighbor doesn't want to invest that kid of time into it.
LOR has decent-enough software for basic synchronizing. Last time I used it, it really wasn't suitable for controlling huge pixel fields, but anything simple was easy, like it's easy to go buy a tube of paint and a brush. The hard part is the art of good sequencing, and you're absolutely right about the time commitment. Every show is a custom layout, and should have a custom sequence. There are a
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This isn't too far off of what a lot of the virtual pinball cab folks are doing to add light shows and other toys alongside their virtual pinball machine (currently controlled by emulated ROM). They've designed whole APIs that abstract hardware (arduino, cheap Sainsmart USB relays, LEDWiz, etc) from lighting commands and macros. It could be used with any combination of lighting controllers. There is a lot of off-the-shelf hardware that is designed for this purpose, including the amplifiers you can u
DMX512 (Score:1)
Have a look at DMX512, it's a control standard for stage and architectural lighting. It's basically a wired standard, but it has wireless adapters. Since it's a standardized interface there's bound to be loads of interface hardware and control software. I don't know a lot about it myself, but a friend of mine uses it for his friends' band.
What's the point of wireless? (Score:2)
What is the point of "wireless"? You still need to power the lights.
You haven't said just what kind of "LED lights" you want to control. You mean a string of lights from CVS or Home Depot? You mean some individually-addressible, color-changing lights? Something else?
Since I have Insteon in home home, I'd just use these to control strings of lights:
http://www.smarthome.com/inste... [smarthome.com]
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if your not the one making the whole radio interface it may be
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What is the point of "wireless"? You still need to power the lights.
You haven't seen the LED light strings powered by PV panels and a LiPo battery pack? I'm planning to use some of these for some trees along the far side of my driveway, being able to sequence those lights would be cool.
What's the Big Deal? (Score:3)
Just tell the damn gnomes to do it or you'll kick them out.
Adding to naughty list... (Score:2)
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Some DMX wireless solutions are not WiFi. Only Artnet, E1.31, and related DMX over Ethernet protocols are able to be carried on consumer wireless links. Most hardware commercial solutions are spread spectrum frequency hopping. Links are more like paired Bluetooth than WiFi. As such they are in common use where high reliability is needed.
DMX (Score:1)
yep, pros use DMX. China relay packs cheap (Score:2)
As parent said, almost all professional lighting, for stage and displays, uses the DMX protocol. Mobile and club DJs also. You can get a decent programmable DMX control board, like DJs use, for $100-$200 from a site like Cheaplights.com*. You can instead choose a USB-DMX converter for about $39. You don't need the expensive type of USB-DMX converter.
Be open to the possibility of running a wire or two to your DMX-controlled relay packs. In general, wireless is required for things that move around, such a
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1 wireless receiver can carry 512 channels. It is permitted to daisy chain a string of DMX devices off one wireless receiver.
Have a look at this site (Score:2)
I haven't seen what you want on this site, but then I haven't been looking. There is a HUGE range of different areas there, so spend a bit of time having a look.
http://www.instructables.com/ [instructables.com]
No connections to the site, just amazed at some of the stuff people come up with. For anyone interested, subscribe to their RSS feed.
Random subjects from today;
Like lava lamps? Got a spare mason jar?
http://www.instructables.com/i... [instructables.com]
This sounds delicious;
http://www.instructables.com/i... [instructables.com]
Always wanted to know how to make a
The lights are only half of the story. (Score:2)
You also need to find yourself a copy of "The Lost Christmas Eve" and an FM transmitter. Federal law requires that you be playing track four from that album at all times while operating any kind of christmas light display.
Easy answer. (Score:3)
Look up DMX lighting. Everything that is the REAL stuff is DMX controlled. If you want it easy to do and reliable, that is your answer.
Wireless is not going to happen, you are already running wires for the power, or were you expecting to erect a giant Tesla tower to power all the lights?
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If you want it to be flakey go wireless.
If you want it to be flawless, go wired.
You are already running power, run the DMX wire along with it.
DIY or kit? (Score:2)
Are you looking for a diy or a more off the shelf setup?
Gnome garden? (Score:1)
Check out processors for signs/scoreboards. (Score:2)
Since the Corsair RGB keyboard came out I have discovered that there are processors dedicated to managing signs.
You should look into those.