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Where to begin

April 6, 2015, 4:59 pm
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Hi all,

I've been out of pocket since the intro of version 4.x. I just went to Sean's Vimeo site to start learning how to use the new and improved version.

Wow.....lots of videos...Can someone point me to the best place to start when beginning from scratch....? I don't mind watching several vids but I sure would like to start at the beginning with some sort of how/where to start.... I thought to just go with the dates but the titles seem to indicate you're already past the first few steps... I'd sort of like to start at step 1....LOL... :wink:

Thanks

SC
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Audacity and XL/NC

April 6, 2015, 6:36 pm
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Hey all....

As long as I'm in the updating mode.... I see there's an update to Audacity (v2.1)that I don't have. Does anyone remember what plugins I also need to install? I do recall the Vamp one.....but I seem to recall that wasn't the only one...

I ask in this forum because we all use Audacity so I figure someone here will recall which plugins are typical for our type of use.


Thanks....

SC
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F/S 2pcs 100ct Technicolor Pixels $30 ea.

April 6, 2015, 6:38 pm
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These are new unused 100ct Technicolor Pixels 12V 2811. These are the replacements that Ray sent me to replace the 2013 season failed pixels. These are still all black and do not have the 2811 on the side. $30.00ea plus $11.35 postage
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2015 Pacific Northest Regional C.L.A.P. Mtg - Reminder / RSVP

April 6, 2015, 8:41 pm
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Just a reminder about our annual gathering on Friday/Saturday, May 1st/2nd. I have detailed everything below:

Friday May 1st - Set Up at Nancy Foley's 12:00pm - This is always fun, Bill's shop gets its annual cleaning and the conversation is always riveting. That evening at 5:30 is the Pizza Meet & Greet for those in the area or staying in the area.

Farrelli's Pizza & Pool Co
4870 Yelm Hwy SE
Lacey, WA
360-493-2090

Sat May 2nd - Networking, coffee, donuts 7:30am - CLAP starts at 8:30am

Nancy Foley
4842 Thompson Lane SE
Olympia, WA 9851

Lowell (thank you!) put together a great agenda for the day:

1. The Ups and Downs of Ladder Safety - Pete "AC/DC" Peters
2. Lumens, Lamberts and Lux; Projection Mapping - Ken "FMR/FOCUS" Collins (ask him)
3. The Matrix; Kinetic Excitement - Chris "Captain Murdoch" Pinkham
4. You Drive, I'll enjoy the show; Traffic Control - Kevin "Wirekat" Thomas
5. I've been framed; Wireframes - Matt "Mr Pixclip" Ross
6. Go North - Pole Man; North Pole How-To - Craig "Pex Tree" Dye
7. "Hooked" on Lights: Attachment Methods - Round Table, Lowell "PapaLF" Fuher & Craig Dye
8. How TGCLF was won - Darren "Mr. $50K" Huffty (No Trophy, no proof!)

We have some sponsors as usual for give aways. Thanks to Kevin for working them.

Don't forget the swap meet if you want to reduce that overhead inventory out of your shed, garage, house etc.... bring your wares along.

CLAP is in one of the best venues in the country on the shores of lake St Clair in Olympia. It is a free event to attend. We only ask that you RSVP with a head count so that we can work with Nancy on the lunch planning. She ever so graciously still wants to put up with us and we appreciate that. Also let us know if you will be there for the Pizza Fest as well!

Last bit of housekeeping. Anyone coming from Oregon or Southern WA that will come up Friday afternoon, we are looking to have someone car pool to CLAP. If interested, let me know.

If there are any questions, fire away! We look forward to seeing you in a few weeks and talking Christmas!
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Ac light setup and sequencing questions

April 7, 2015, 3:31 am
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So I have the majority of my pixels laid out, which is about of my display. I still have a few props that wi consist of single channel Leds like my 4- 5 ch poles with 3 channel stars on top. Icicles on the gutters and fences, etc... I started working on them last night. I was able to make the poles using a custom model consisting of 1 channel wide 25 channels long and repeated each channel 5 times. I used the star model 3 times per pole. Everything looked nice. Also found that you can select all the star and pole in the preview and move them as a group to a different location. That helped immensely. So questions are how to make a model for the preview for icicles lights and how do I sequence the poles and starts to chase up /down the poles and stars?
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Happy Birthday glaforce

April 7, 2015, 3:53 am
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Happy 43rd Birthday glaforce !

Hope you have a wonderful day, and very best wishes from everyone here at Do It Yourself Christmas.
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Happy Birthday kingofkya

April 7, 2015, 5:53 am
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Happy Birthday kingofkya !

Hope you have a wonderful day, and very best wishes from everyone here at Do It Yourself Christmas.
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Check my wiring please

April 7, 2015, 6:53 am
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I am using the chase-cicle idea for some strings that I am making up.
:question: Does this look ok?

image.jpg

I am worried about the shared -DC. Is that legal? :pinch:
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Practicing ideas needed for soldering

April 7, 2015, 7:31 am
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I just finished (99%) of my first big soldering project and I have come to realize that I need to practice more.

So this is a two question thread.
1. What soldering iron tips are good get? I have seen these
http://screencast.com/t/fP0UsvyccniT

So I figured I would ask more experienced people in here. Are the really sharp ones good for soldering IC leads?

2. What do you suggest for practicing without blowing good parts?

Thanks!

Buddy
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Release 4.0.16

April 7, 2015, 9:34 am
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xLights 4.0.16
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o This release adds hot keys to change the icon size
o ctl-1 thru ctl-4 select the icons shown in the sequencer area. Atl-1 thru atl-4 select the icons in the toolbars.
o dan has made improvements to make the display look correct on the hi resolution monitors some of you have. He tested on a full retina resolution (2880x1800) simulation on his MAC. People who have these 4K monitors were raising issues about text and other objects did not size correctly on the very large displays.
0 Gil released his first pass at importing in SuperStar files and have them converted into xLights Morph effect.

XLIGHTS/NUTCRACKER RELEASE NOTES:
---------------------------------
4.0.16 Apr 7, 2015
-- enh (sean) Added new icons (16,24,32,48 bit sizes) for pictures, text, spirograph, twinkle,wave,tree,snowflakes,snowstorm
-- enh (Gil) Add SuperStar import function (Morphs only).
-- enh (dkulp) ctl-1 thru ctl-4 and alt-1 thru alt-4 now select the icon sizes for sequencer area and tools area respectively
-- enh (dkulp) Bunches of size/position adjustments to try and get things to display better on HiDPI screens
-- bug (dkulp) Fix potential crash when change to Preview tab.
-- bug (gil) Models window Alphabetizing? #167
-- bug (dkulp) 4.0.14 Fade Up, Fade down have improper timing #172
-- enh (gil) Application allows multiple simultaneous instances to be launched #74. We will continue to allow multiple instances to be launched.
-- enh (dkulp) Enhancement request: Effect icon sizes #162

To get the latest xlights code http://nutcracker123.com/nutcracker/releases/

To see current issues https://github.com/smeighan/xLights/issues
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New vimeo tutorial on moving all of your 3.6 sequences to xlights 4.0

April 7, 2015, 5:22 pm
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New vimeo tutorial on moving all of your 3.6 sequences to xlights 4.0

I have added links to three XL 4 vimeo tutorials on the releases page. This is where i will keep adding new tutorials
http://nutcracker123.com/nutcracker/releases/

I just made a new video that walks you through moving from xlights 3.6 to xlights 4.0

When you are done your PREVIEW will be identical, all of your sequences from last year will be identical.

https://vimeo.com/124365374
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Taxman Sale - Wire Frame D'Lites

April 7, 2015, 6:21 pm
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Hi Everyone,

I will be having a TAXMAN SALE starting Apr. 13th thru Apr. 17th, 2015. During this week you will get a 10% discount on all orders placed. When ordered through the website, I will show the discount on the invoice that I will send you and apply the discount to the shipping cost.

Also, I will be adding a singing, dancing and waving Snowman to the website soon. He will have 6 arms and two bodys. I will be posting a picture soon.

www.wireframedlites.com
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Anyone Else Receive "Failed Login Notification"?

April 7, 2015, 8:26 pm
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I just noticed an email that I received from the DIYChristmas admin copied below. Has anyone else received this notification recently? I googled the IP address and it appears to be from China.


Quote:
Dear ppohlman,

Someone has tried to log into your account on Do It Yourself Christmas Forums with an incorrect password at least 5 times. This person has been prevented from attempting to login to your account for the next 15 minutes.

The person trying to log into your account had the following IP address: 183.226.24.211

All the best,
Do It Yourself Christmas Forums
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Hackable Pixels?

April 8, 2015, 2:01 am
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Greetings -

BACKGROUND:
=============
This is my first year of binky-flashy, but I am not using pixels, just regular incan and LED strings with some Renard24SS and Renard32+ controllers. But,…

I picked up some of these “Symphony of Lights” Color-Chasing LED Light System 10 Jumbo C9 LED Lights “displays” during Christmas clearance. (Some being 5 sets.) This seems to be about all the manufacturer has to say about them at the BrightStar.com web site/products/LED Light Show (page 5 of 6):


Quote:
Originally Posted by BrightStarWebSite
10-Count Jumbo C9 - Choose Your Own Light Show

JUMBO C9 LED Choose your own light show is a fascinating display of lights for any occasion. Change the ways the lights blink and flash with a push of a button! With a capability to synchronize up to 40 sets the possibilities with this light set are endless. This set comes with a 12" lead cord, 12" spacing between bulbs and a 6" end cord. Suitable for indoor/outdoor use, UL Listed.

SKU: 39-615-00
I have found precious little else by Googling – and I’m usually pretty good at that.

DESCRIPTION:
===============
The 10 Jumbo Bulb unit comes with a 5v/500ma DC adapter and a controller to choose color or patterns (1 of 4), and can be daisy-chained (up to 40 sets) to synchronize together. I was trying to figure out how I could change the patterns under other than manual control: some electronic interface to simulate pressing the buttons. So I opened up the controller and one of the bulbs…


As I was trying to figure out how to use them in my show, I suddenly noticed a similarity between these LEDs and your pixels: the wiring, the connector, etc., and even the shape of the “Light Show Lamp” assembly inside each Jumbo Bulb.

Inside the controller: two ICs plus the custom AISC under the epoxy blob. One is marked
ATML H140
02C M Y
.167607B (or perhaps 8)
Ostensibly some type of Atmel microprocessor. But, 02CM is truncation code for AT24C02C == Atmel Serial EEPROM 2K w/I2C 2-wire ifc. Hmm - storage for the pre-defined sequences/patterns?

The other is marked
1031DK
-10
1222
Can't find anything on it.

The three wires that go to the LED string seem to be more closely connected to the custom ASIC than to either of these two ICs.

QUESTION:
===================
1. Do these looks like some type of pixel similar to the ones I see talked about here?

2. What type of protocol do you think they would have used?

3. Is there an easy way to “sniff” the wires while it is operating to recognize the protocol?

4. What are the odds I can just jut off the original controller(s) and string the LEDs together and using one of the “standard” pixel controllers to do something useful?
5. What can I try to determine any of the above (non-destructively).

For now I primarily hope to be able to just control the 4-predefined patterns that the units support. But ultimately I would probably want to have more control on individual “bulbs” to make them fit into my show better.

Thank you for you suggestions.

Jimboha!
Attached Images
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Wanted to Buy PX1 controller

April 8, 2015, 12:10 pm
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Looking for a PX1 controller (assembled), kit, or BOM. Prefer kit or BOM due to budgetary constraints... :hmm:

I do see that Wayne J has some PCBs, but no kits or BOMs currently.

I've got a few pixels and wanted to give it a try.

Jimboha
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Found on K-Bid

April 8, 2015, 12:52 pm
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Special Build?

April 8, 2015, 4:19 pm
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I almost D/L and installed this, but I thought I better ask what the deal is, just in case it's a delete C: or something.
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release 4.0.17

April 8, 2015, 5:40 pm
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XLIGHTS/NUTCRACKER RELEASE NOTES:
---------------------------------
4.0.17 Apr 8, 2015
-- enh (dkulp) Add changes to support older graphics cards. This code fixes white boxes seen in the sequencer grid.
-- bug (Gil) Delete model and effects from Sequencer when model is deleted from Preview page. #178
-- bug (Gil) Fix Vixen import issue.
-- bug (dkulp) You can't use a comma in text effect. :-) #188
-- bug () Drag and drop crash #161

Releases and Tutorials: http://nutcracker123.com/nutcracker/releases/
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Issues with moving a model in the preview window

April 8, 2015, 6:41 pm
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First, I would like to say that I am new to the XLights/Nutcracker environment, but I have watched the relevant tutorials and am moving along with mapping my channels and making models in the preview. I am finding this going surprisingly well and very easy for this Vixen veteran. Kudos to Sean and the XLights team. My problem is with the moving of the models after they are created. In most cases, I have to click above the model in order to highlight and move it. If the model is larger (model size 33), I have to click about an inch above the model. If is smaller (5), I have to click about 3/8 inch above the model to highlight and move it.
The original picture size was 2856 x 1904 and I lowered that to 1620 x 1080. I had to change that size in the preview screen to 1620 x 900 just to get the lower part of the picture in the preview. The biggest issue that I have is that some of the models overlap and if I am trying to move something smaller near one of the larger models, if I drop it, I can't pick it up again, because it is in the field of another model (but not physically). I know I have seen others with the same issue, but I don't know how to correct it.
Again, I am looking forward to sequencing a completely new show this year, and so far, I am impressed with the functionality.
I am using ver 4.0.16 Apr7, Windows 8.1, an ASUS R 9270 video, and a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080.
I still need to add Fast Fall Tubes and my mini floods. I wanted to hang the tubes off of the house, but it is proving to be difficult.
Here is a screen shot.
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Sample rate questions

April 8, 2015, 7:04 pm
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I'm playing with 4.x and was curious about a couple of things regarding audio.

Since the recommended sample rate is 192kbps what happens if I tweak a sequence from last year that played on my FPP (different sample rate) and the audio is still loaded on the FPP.....can I use that old audio with the tweaked sequence or will I need to replace the audio with the 192kbps file?

Here's another one that's even more confusing.....Using HLS, as I do to run my 'army' of wireframe that uses dumb strings....I am required to use a .WAV file for the audio......Now, that being said, I can use an mp3 but Joe turns around and converts it into a .wav file so that he can generate a PCM file for the music. And .wav files have an entirely different sample rate than 192kbps (instead the .wav is like 1411kbps).

So if I drop an effect generated in XL that 'likes' a sample rate of 192kbps when I drop it into my HLS sequence will the 2 match?

Thanks for any comments....

SC
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