could someone answer this question - DIY Direct Control of Hardware. Read Only. No more posting. - PlanetChristmas! Forums. Read Only. We've moved to http://talk.planetchristmas.com - The Forums of PlanetChristmas have moved to http://talk.PlanetChristmas.com
Im trying to make a nice Christmas show like seen here. But my only draw back is im triing to save some money. I think i could build it myself but unless i see someones project myself i don't think i could do it. I seen a digital i/o board and it says 16 channels and it was pretty cheap and it hooks up to my pci slot in my computer. Is there a way to find out if this will work for me and if so can i get 2 of them one in each pci port to work??? I attached a picture please get back to me at boarder3@optonline.net
I'm not sure about that board, but I bought a NI PCI DIO 96 on ebay for about 50 bucks, that has 96 outputs.
Vixen (htp://www.vixenlights.com) has a plugin that makes this card work.
Using relays I soldered myself (You can get a board at SimpleIO.com, or ask seanbowf about his PCB) I can use all 96 channels for on/off control.
check out my site http://christmasalabama.com under turorials, and I have some pics of the SimpleIO boards I made.
Biggest drawback to DIO is that there's no fading or dimming, meaning no escape from "blinky-blink". 2nd biggest drawback is that you have to home-run all your power cords back to one location, or at the very least home-run all your control wiring back to one location. I'm firmly in the "place the controllers as close to the lights as possible" camp.
You might save a bit of money, but you'll be working hard doing it and without dimming, won't have the full capability of most of the shows you see videos of here. If you want to do it yourself, I'd personally recommend looking at the systems they are building at http://www.computerchristmas.com, some of which are dimming-savy...
Remember, with DIO, most of your money will be in SSR's and extension cords, so don't lull yourself into thinking you can have a hundred channels for $50...
with the DIO, I can put 4 relay boards out in the field, and power them from existing outlets in the yard, whereas with LOR cards, I have to run all 16 channels with cords back to the card, so for ME, the SSRs SAVED me extension cords. I combine mine with some LOR cards for what I think is a pretty well balanced show, and use the vixen to control other animated things that really only NEED on/off.
still your point is very valid, that the costs can rise with the DIY thing as well. A little research on making Renards, 595s etc will show that a LOR kit is actually a very good value!
