Xmas lights...Help!

Hi there and welcome to the board.

My initial thoughts are that you will need lights that are suitable for outdoor use. Unfortunatley, most DJ lighting, such as moonflower projectors are not waterproof/resistant and are not electrically certified to be used outdoors.

My next thought is that a 60' tree is a pretty hefty object to illuminate, and would require a lot of lights/power to make it seen, especially from a good distance.

May I suggest colored flood lighting perhaps? You know, like the ones you can light the front of our house with? They make lamps for those with colored lenses in them. Maybe use a few of those to light the tree from multiple angles away from the base?

If you want to make it a little more complicated, you can utilize a lighting dimmer/chaser, which would have to be indoors, but you could run extension cords out to the tree (assuming that is feasible). A chaser would allow dfferent colors to switch on and off and maybe bring it to life a little more.

Best,
-Tech

Hey thanks for the quick reply Tech! I figured I would need to keep any type of light set up protected from the elements. Luckily I have a little portable (with the tractor) "run in shed" on the farm that I was going to use to house the lights.

I found this on the web and it looked pretty interesting.light flurries

Basically it just looks like a small mirror disco ball and a 35W projector bulb and focusing lense. They say it can be used on an area as large as 60'. Not sure if a 35W bulb really goes that far?

Anyway, I thought a professional DJ light system might do a better job. I could probably even spring for a couple of double moon flower units if needed be. The thought of renting a crane to string actual lights is a great motivator to get this to work!

Does anyone know which puts out more light, a Barrel Flex or an Agressor? What is the normal projection range for these things?

I also saw that there is a self contained laser that American DJ sells thats pretty cool. Its called a TriFecta I think. Any chance that this would have enough power to create some kind of impression? Remember we are out in the country so it is really pitch dark black most nights. I also only plan to turn the lights on for a couple hours a night and only when the weather is nice. The plan is to only light up the side of the tree that faces the road. That should be enough to satisfy the wife!

Thanks again,

Orb

hello and welcome to the forum. in my opinion the snow flurrie light looks like something to use for states that don't get snow! so if u get snow u prob. don't need it. but have u looked at the color fusion from adj? check it out here COLOR FUSION this is a R,G,B mixing light. it mixes those three colors to create millions of colors similar to how a t.v. works! but the only thing is u need a controller and have lots of power for this thing! a total of 7amps! any more questions let me know! also a good controller like the stage desk is a good cheap one thaty might suit ur needs! here ias a link for that stage desk controller remember when u see prices on the site those are just asking prices the real price in stores will be much lower than that! jingles out!

Thanks Jingles. Good idea but not really the look I'm going for. I spoke to Tech Serv at ADJ and they said that the Agressor and Barrel flex just wouldn't have enough umph to do what I wanted. They suggested that I try looking at something like two accu color 250's instead with a controler, program in a good flashing light patern and hope for the best. Not a bad idea but it seems to me to be a little overkill. They weren't even sure if the units would have a duty cycle that could support two to three hours of use.

Anyone know where I can get something like this made up for me? If this becomes cost prohibitive I thought I might do better with some kind of ball set up like the "snow flurries" product uses and a single "follow spot" like the Chauvet 400g. This unit has seven colors and a 350W bulb. Only problem is it doesn't have a function that allows it to automatically cycle through the colors on it's own. Does anyone know if this (or any other follow spot) has this feature?

Thanks

orb

well what is ur budget?? and u might want to check out the accu wash. nice big spot good colors and u can spot with it and it can replay the colors u want but u still need a controller such as the stage desk i mentioned earlier u could prob. get one of the desks for like 200. just my two watts! but i can try a lil more harder for ya when u tell me what ur budget is! jingles out!
p.s. i just looked at the accu wash and u can record up to 48 steps in the light itself which means if u get on if u plan on it doing something in less than 48 steps u will not need a controller. check out the accu wash here ACCU WASH jingles