Light-O-Rama Controller Setup
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- čas přidán 12. 09. 2024
- Unpackaging and easy sett up of a Light-O-Rama CTBPC-16 Christmas light controller. Purchased 4 new controllers for my 2011 Christmas show as part of the Light-O-Rama March Mad Grab spring sale where they sell off their inventory after the Christmas season.
Needed:
* PC running Light-O-Rama S2 Software
* USB to 485 Converter
* USB Cable
* RJ45 Ethernet cable
I've been sitting on the fence to see if I should make the leap and buy this controller. LOR owes you commission as I'm now going to buy the unit thanks to this video. Thank you for putting together this tutorial.
Your display is epic!
New to LOR, i just bought my starter kit and this tutorial made my life easy ! Thank you so much !
What tutorial ? Where to plug in ?
THANK YOU SO MUCH JOHN,YOU'VE INSPIRED ME TO TRY AGAIN AND MAKE MY LIGHT O RAMA WORK. It had been sitting in my garage since I bought it 3 years ago. You make it very easy to figure out, Kudos!!
dude, it took 5 minutes to set up just like you said it would... don't listen to the haters, your video was dead on. thanks a lot.....
That is a good question. Thing is there are 2 main things you do with the LOR SW. 1 - Developing the sequences. For this a beefy computer is not required, but handy. You can sequence on a crappy computer, but the visualization does better on a faster one. 2 - Running the show. I use a very low-end netbook that can barely run a browser and it runs the shows fine. What you have listed will handle both.
Great video John.
.... Just be extra care everyone, that's FULL mains voltage floating around inside that box!
Thank you, you are my new favorite person I’ve always wanted to make a light show but didn’t know how
Thank you for making a video that is simple and to the point. It answered lots of my questions in a very short time :-)
ValerieSmith2020 mkkkk
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Christmas 2020 and I just used your video to program my second controller. Thanks for the help! =)
@Randy if you don’t mind answering- is the software complicated to use from LOR? I’m just not a computer literate person at all that stuff.
Light-O-Rama controllers can fade in and out.
Extremely helpful. Thank you for this!
Thank you! First time user and you made it super simple!
Yes they can be used with a MP3 Director..... people do it every day.
@jenny91763 Pretty much this box is only sold from the manufacturer Light-O-Rama. They do have some partners, but I don't think they have special pricing. You can sometimes find them used, but you have to be careful that it was not put together from a kit or that the previous owner didn't modify the unit. Each year after Christmas they do a clearance sale, then in the summer they do another sale as well. This is the best way to get a good price.
this is freaking awesome. I really thought it was more difficult.
One question, do you have to use LED lights? Last year i purchased a bunch of regular xmas lights on special and would hate to throw them away and have to reinvest on new LED lights.
Thanks John nice one
@NathansVideos46 FM Transmitter is even easier to setup. It plugs into the audio out jack on your computer. That's it.
This was very helpful, thank you so much!
Yo this comment old
John, How long do you think it will be before this sort of light show is done on a larger scale? For example A Navy Aircraft Carrier, Chi Town (Chicago), or New York City! Yea its a hell of a lot of led lights and labor but if we can build things of this size, I'm sure they can be lit up. - just a thought or a challenge?
This video is so helpful THANK YOU SO MUCH!
@drummaster12435 LOR controllers with 16 channels go for ~$200 on sale. If you are good with a soldering gun you can buy a kit for less. Also, there are DIY solutions for much cheaper.
Bravo, Bravo. Awesome presentation my friend. You deserve a youtube award.
@QuesoJim The Light-O-Rama S3 software only runs on Windows XP or newer.
@killbert3 I have never setup an 8 channel controller, so I'm not sure. I would imagine it would be very close.
You make it look so easy, Where do you suggest I can get the best quality and price for this box? My city has a Christmas decorating contest and I won 2 years ago and am now eligible to compete this year so I have to come back with something different. Thanks for posting.
There is a plug and play musical power strip you can buy
:-) Ethernet is also a serial connection :-)
Did I call it an RJ45 cable? Too funny. I must have been fixating on the plug at the time. I'd have to go look through the specs to see what the minimum cable requirement is.
Dear Mr. John, I have been watching your video. I have connect my light o rama to my computer. The green light in the controller is blinking. However, when i play the sequence the light is not blinking. Am i missing something?
first let me say nice video. second, and i dont mean to be forward or nosy in any way but on average, bout how much does one of those cost and where can i order one??? any info will be very useful and i thnk you greatly
One more thing.. I've learned even more in the past week, but I'm curious... Could I sequence my songs onto my faster laptop then export/import onto my older laptop that I'm wanting to run the show on? Sounds like it'd be much easier for me.
What’s the purpose of the 2 x 120 VAC inputs? Is it designed to load-share using two separate circuits?
@uedrn Got it from the shop at NVIDIA dot com, but they don't make em' anymore. Lots of cool shirts at thinkgeek.
Ok so if I have this right I have to plug in each light into its own plug into the LOR plugs. Do each controller have 16 plugs? After I plug the LOR controller into my computer do I have to always keep the LOR plugged in or can I move the controller to outside? Can I control the lights using xLights? Please send advise. Thanks.
I have a question so for the light o Rama do you need smart lights or can you just install any with the light or rama
thank you
Got a question I do Christmas lights every year I've always wanted to get light-o-rama I'm probably going to get it this year what new unit do I need as a beginner and I wanted to play Christmas music do any of the models or all the models do that.
Can you use this to program LED Lamps to play an binary code instead of using Christmas lights? Are they preset programs or can you make your own program to display a Morse code message or a binary code message?
Can I have regular Christmas lights on this program
do you have to have the computer hooked up all the time or can you program the controller and operate without the computer? lastly what is the amperage of each of the 16 leads? thanks in advance for the info.
I was wondering if you could tell me how to duplicate (sync) two controllers together? I did it last year, it worked beautifully, and now I can't remember how. Any assistance would be appreciated- LOR has been useless, unfortunately.
I would not recommend anyone soldering a kit together that operates mains unless they are knowledgeable on matters of electrical safety, or they have someone that is, that can check it over afterwards. There are an incredible No. of accidents/fires each year started by people that thought they knew what they were doing.
Are there any other ways to connect it to the computer; maybe something on amazon? I just got one of these units off of eBay.
Hello I have one question I just started doing this about a year ago I’m using light O Rama software My light controller is CTB16PC and I’m thinking I want to go with strip lighting to i’m thinking of purchasing a E1.31 controller on the light o Rama I can use red green blue conversion on the same software but I don’t know if I can Daisy chain cat 5 Connected to CTB16PC Controller can you do both on the same networking and my software I have can convert to Red green blue channels do I have to use a different networking on the same computer for the software to run both controllers? Very confusing... thanks lots to learn
Do they ship to Australia ?
does the computer have to be constanly on when it is being used
Can I still use my contrller without the adapter cause all I did was get the controller and to get the adapter its $20 shipping and $29 for the adapter
How do get this controller? I want one for next year so I can make a light show.
Can you use old school christmas lights with this box???
I've just purchased my LOR package.. what are the min comp specs requirement? I have an old 1.5 gb of ram intel that I'd rather run it on rather my new 4 gb pc.
Hey John have a question , I have the Halloween setup and I'm using windows 8.1 the old disc is configured to XP & VISTA what are you to do if the disc won't work in window's 8.1 [I've tried the driver update on their website doesn't seem to be working :{
What computer do I get to connect to the light o rama box?
We lost our adapter, we have alight-o-rama ctb16pc.. im from philippines and i cant buy from light o rama sinceit's near december and it takes ages for them to send in their product. can you tell me what adapter to buy?
Just a question How would u hook up A speacker to the controller box Cuz i want to do one one day u
Are there any UK versions of this
Thanks for the tutorial! Do you know if LOR has the capabilities of setting up addressable led strips?
+Paul John : If the device driving the strips can do DMX or E1.31 then chances are LOR can sequence it.
Paul John yy
Paul John ffj
How much was it ??? And where did u get it ??
what is the ampacity of this control/decoder package and cost
@ Patrick yes google it
do you know if this unit will work with new LED light that can change color?
It will not. You want to see pixelcontroller dot com
How do I add time using xschedule with my light o Rama controller
Okay newbie here I'm trying to link two controllers together it looks so simple just add the cable I have set the second controller as number 2 and the original as number one and I play a 32 and it doesn't work what am I doing wrong
How do you connect multiple controllers to your laptop? Is more than one controller necessary for a small house?
You can connect as many controllers as you want, I think with the standard license you can go up to 8. I would suggest start with one and master that first. 16 can be overwhelming if your never done anything like this.
did you purchase the software or downloaded it?
is the software pretty easy to use?
can this fade cuz in the description on planet christmas site says nothing about fading
where on the internet can you find a place to buy this
Any way to use this wirelessly???
hola disculpe soy de chile quisiera saber donde compro el controlador alguna pagina web
What is the voltage output of these things?
Can this be used the same way for the 8 channel?
How much is the 16 channel controller
where did you get this?
Does this work with vixen???
how much does this cost
@NathansVideos46 I just posted a video on how to hookup FM transmitter.
could you just connect a phone line cable to your computer to the controller?
Since the RS485 cable, or ethernet cable, is being used as a serial connection, then the computer must interpret it as a serial connection. This is why you must have an RS485 to USB adapter.
Nathan Maduta hgghbngygyy
john, is their a web site for light-o-rama?
Hi we are looking for freelancer for our upcoming job... can you advise?
My question is, do I have to kep the cord plugged in to the computer? How can I put this outside for a light show if I do?
+Misty Colian Usually the computer is located in the garage and you run cable out to the controllers. There is a show director that you can buy to allow the show to be standalone
+listentoourlights can I start with one controller and basic software or I need to buy the advance software
+Misty Colian You can run an internet wire through the wall to the garage (wall has a certain plate to plug into cat5 cable)
+art islas (arisyou) yes
Controller for Eu users(230V , 50Hz)? Please send me some info
Is the software compatible to a mac computer ??
No, but if you have Parallels then it will work. Thats how I do it.
your electricity bill must be huge
Blinky Blinky
Anybody know anyone near Pittsburgh that could help me with this stuff? It’s so overwhelming. I don’t know where to begin.
With the Light O Rama system, can you use any kind of lights that use a standard plug?
I've been looking in to this for next year. According to LOR's website, any 120V standard plug in lights will work, but they highly recommend ones that are dimmable. If you use regular LED's, you could burn them out quickly.
How much do these typically cost?
$200-300+ EACH unit
Tonyfly the fully assembled kit is 300$, semi-put together is around 200$
Can someone hel me put music on my new light o rama light show I am new to this and I want to have it done by this year Christmas so can someone help me put sequences on and tell me how to make the show run
Try joining a Facebook group dedicated to Xmas lights lots of good resources.
Anyone here updated to pixie link controller box? I'm having issues finding ip address. Even after reboot
@Angeles I’m wondering the same thing. Is the Pixie board the same guts of the one in the video minus the power pack and pig tails? I read something in another CZcams channel you need to reboot the computer or something to find that IP address.
Hi my names billy
lame
Sorry, but you are dangerous! All light controllers have live 120 volts AC inside. You should turn off the power to the controller box before adding or removing any wires inside the box. Once all of the internal connections are made, you should close the box, then connect your lights to the plugs on the outside of the controller box. Last, once everything is connected, then turn on the AC power and proceed to set the unit ID. Please show responsible use of AC-powered devices.
how much did it cost?
At this current time, for the controller it's self, around $257 USD, but the starter kit is $307 if you already have an RJ45 cable you can take that out to make it $300.
Or a CAT 5 cable as it is known