What would you do?

A

algerdes

Supporting Member
I have been asked to assist with our downtown volunteers' project to light the downtown street for the different holidays. The first thing we are going to tackle is how to control 5 city blocks of lights. At this time they are all LED rope light, but eventually we will be crossing the street with lights from building to building.

There is not one power source for these lights. At this time we have 10 different timers doing the duty. Unfortunately this means that we do not have control on when the lights are on or off outside the times on the timers.

I am looking for a method to add a central control point, but at this time have no ideas as to how to get control over this distance. Google maps shows it to be 1,966 feet from one end to the other. There is a rise to this route, but I'm not sure of how much. It looks to be about 7 feet from each end to the high in the center.

All ideas are appreciated.

BTW - In the future it is possible that we will be adding RGB lights (as in a display) along this route, but for now plain control would be wonderful.

Thanks
Al G
 
One solution is to setup your own network using LoRAN or Xbee, both can cover that distance. I believe XBee can do mesh networking as well. Just send control commands for on and off and have the receiver turn on a relay to provide power.
 
XBee is both solid and easy to implement. It's also faster than LoRan. And you can use either direct or mesh too. Additionally, it seems to be impervious to WiFi even though it's operation is in the same 2.4ghz spectrum.

Ubiquiti also has really high performance mesh gear for long distances. NASCAR uses it for their live data communication to the cars, and they not only work over a large space, the darned cars are moving at 200mph!
 
For some reason when I hear "XBee", I have the impression of out-of-date tech. Don't know where that comes from, but still...
Oh. We do not plan on people running their NASCAR vehicles through downtown. Not without some "resistance". :)
 
XBee has evolved into an amazing wireless platform, with short range units (100 yds) to very long range (25miles), WiFi, Bluetooth and more. It was originally developed for warehouses and agriculture and we only used it for a few years here for blinky-flashy because Shelby came out with the uber-cheap ESP. So yeah, it might seem like "old" tech, but a deeper dive into Digi's product can really open your eyes.

And Randy, all that telemetry data from the cars in a NASCAR race has to be managed by some pretty solid gear, so I did some research, thinking there might be some nuggets of helpful info there that might be used in our hobby. And it could, providing you have pretty deep pockets....
 
Thanks for bringing me up to date. I'll dig into it.
If I can create a web with it, and each drop point can control an AC circuit, then we will be in business. Now I'm off to learn some more (after my nightly nap.)
 
algerdes said:
Not quite sure what you are referencing here.
Click to expand...
If it is 2000 feet end-to-end...a 315mhz remote control can easily reach 1000 feet. (Not just any RC outlet, mind you...you have to check out the range before you buy it. Those long-range ones can run around $50).
 
I looked up quite a few 315s and they all come in around 100 feet. Can you give an example of which ones go 1000?
BTW - Most of the devices found during the search for "315 mhz remote" were "garage door opener" types. I actually have two of the ones that I found and they work great at 100 feet, but during Christmas the range shrinks down to around 25 feet, apparently due to the lights we use (pixels).
 
Here's one. 2000 Meters Long Distance Wireless Remote Control Switch high Power Water Pump Motor Lighting Industrial Wireless Remote Control Switch AC 110V 220V Relay Switch Transmitter High Range 6600ft https://a.co/d/9sNoUBu

Superheterodyne RF is the technology (it's the stuff that runs RC airplanes). If you want a timer, you can use an Arduino, a relay shield, and an NRF905, and stick the Arduino's barrel plug on a timer. But that's a lot more work. It seems the simplest on a populated street is just to use a remote and have to hit a button every day. Pros and cons.
 
I think it would be cool if you used a bunch of wireless controllers that could sense vehicles driving down the street that had "special" transmitters attached to them. Like if the police drove down the street, all the lights would turn red within 100 feet around their car. If you drove down the street, the lights would be all aqua colored like your name badge. The lights would follow you as you drove down the street. It would be pretty cool. You could rent out special transmitters to program them to people so as they walked or drove down the street, things would happen all around them.
 
MikeKrebs said:
I think it would be cool if you used a bunch of wireless controllers that could sense vehicles driving down the street that had "special" transmitters attached to them. Like if the police drove down the street, all the lights would turn red within 100 feet around their car. If you drove down the street, the lights would be all aqua colored like your name badge. The lights would follow you as you drove down the street. It would be pretty cool. You could rent out special transmitters to program them to people so as they walked or drove down the street, things would happen all around them.
Click to expand...
You could do that with the nrf905. Only the off-the-shelf remotes limit you to basic on/off. But you can transmit entire strings wirelessly if you use an Arduino. Your receivers can interpret those strings however you want. I did it for a drive-through tunnel--that one prop alone exceeded the range of WiFi.
 
1. Thanks for the information on the Wireless Remote.
2. I knew with this group that things would eventually turn into something a bit off center, but wonderful in the ideas that it brings! :rolleyes::cool:

Thanks to all for the ideas. I'm going to pass on the color change to match the button that was issued to me when the website reset. :LOL:
 
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