Difference between pages "Beginners" and "Firesticks"

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Welcome to one of the greatest hobbies in the whole world! This page is dedicated to you, the newcomer to this hobby so that you can fully understand what the animated lighting hobby is all about and what your role in it will be if you decide to join in. There's also a helpful section in our forum called [http://diychristmas.org/vb1/forumdisplay.php?5-How-Do-I-Get-Started '''Getting Started'''] where you'll find more detailed information -- highly recommended reading!
 
  
== General Information for EVERY Beginner ==
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A firestick is simply a post that's covered/wrapped with lights. They can be short, tall, skinny or fat. A common post material is PVC pipe, but they can be made out of 2x2 wood just as well. Most users wrap lights around the pipe in short sections and assign multiple channels to each firestick so it can be animated.
  
:*:'''[[How Computer Controlled Animated Lighting Works]]''' - Start here. Get a basic understanding.
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'''Simple'''
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Here's an example of a short, 44" tall PVC firestick that has a topper ball. It's wrapped with three strings of 50-count white incandescent mini-lights, and the topper ball was made by splitting a whiffle baseball, stuffing it with a short string of 15 white mini-lights and zip-tieing it to a couple holes drilled in the top of the firestick. Prior to assembly, the PVC and whiffle ball were spray painted with flat black paint to provide a better wrapping surface as flat paint provides more friction for wrapping, as well as hiding the wires. As each of these firesticks had 4 channels, they were controlled by DirkCheapSSRs inserted up inside the PVC pipe; they were zip-tied to a short piece of rebar pounded into the ground when mounted in the yard.
  
:*:'''[[Skills you will need]]''' - Please, please, please read this.
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[[File:Firestick.JPG|250px]]
  
:*:'''[[Tools you will need]]''' - Common tools you'll need... and some exotic ones...
 
  
:*:'''[[Supplies you will use/need]]''' - Build your shopping list here...
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'''Pixel Firestick'''
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Here's an example of a firestick that uses multiple strips of smart pixels attached to a PVC pipe and then covered with shrinktube for waterproofing. This particular example was 17' long and used three, 5-meter pixel strips, connected in parallel and driven by a single ESPixelStick.  
  
:*:'''[[Immutable Issues: Money and Time]]''' - Don't ignore this. This can make or break your show.
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[[File:Shrink-3.JPG|750px]]
  
:*:'''[[Misc. Questions & Answers]]'''
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Here's quick test showing how they look...
 
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https://vimeo.com/670380047
:*:'''[[Where to get more info]]'''
 
 
 
== More Specific Beginner Information ==
 
 
 
:*:'''[[Pixels a beginners guide]]''' - A quick intro into pixels
 

Latest revision as of 07:19, 3 December 2022

A firestick is simply a post that's covered/wrapped with lights. They can be short, tall, skinny or fat. A common post material is PVC pipe, but they can be made out of 2x2 wood just as well. Most users wrap lights around the pipe in short sections and assign multiple channels to each firestick so it can be animated.

Simple Here's an example of a short, 44" tall PVC firestick that has a topper ball. It's wrapped with three strings of 50-count white incandescent mini-lights, and the topper ball was made by splitting a whiffle baseball, stuffing it with a short string of 15 white mini-lights and zip-tieing it to a couple holes drilled in the top of the firestick. Prior to assembly, the PVC and whiffle ball were spray painted with flat black paint to provide a better wrapping surface as flat paint provides more friction for wrapping, as well as hiding the wires. As each of these firesticks had 4 channels, they were controlled by DirkCheapSSRs inserted up inside the PVC pipe; they were zip-tied to a short piece of rebar pounded into the ground when mounted in the yard.

Firestick.JPG


Pixel Firestick Here's an example of a firestick that uses multiple strips of smart pixels attached to a PVC pipe and then covered with shrinktube for waterproofing. This particular example was 17' long and used three, 5-meter pixel strips, connected in parallel and driven by a single ESPixelStick.

Shrink-3.JPG

Here's quick test showing how they look... https://vimeo.com/670380047