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For some reason when I hear "XBee", I have the impression of out-of-date tech.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:
 
It's a good idea with any of these fine solution to also consider line of sight. The antennas need to be high enough so that there are no major obstacles, like your 7 foot hill, in the middle of your path. The radio frequencies used for any of these solutions don't really work without line of sight between the two points
 
Lower RF frequencies are much better at almost-LOS than 2.4 GHz. A little hill or curve in the street doesn't immediately kill it all.
 
After a year long delay, I am back on this project with some sort of urgency by the new head of the lighting committee. :unsure:
Please excuse any repeat questions, though I am endeavoring to re-read EVERYTHING I can find about this.
Thanks in advance for your words of wisdom.
Al
 
I just re-read all the posts above, and I'm surprised I didn't say more about Xbee and its mesh capability. I did mention that Xbee is used in agriculture, and what they do is put solar-powered units out in the fields that are attached to temperature and soil moisture sensors. The mesh communicates all the information across miles, eventually landing at the main nit in the barn/house/office/wherever at the farm. This information is used by the farmer to decide where water is needed. Transmission speeds are typically in the 9600 baud range for better distance, but it's a fabulous solar powered solution because the Xbees run at very low current and voltage (3.3v, 50ma). You can put them anywhere and they're almost configuration-free as the radios find each other (those in range) and the mesh figures out the best way to get the data through to the main unit. Xbees have several pins that can be used for input or output so they can quite easily drive a power relay.

Downside is price: they're currently running about $35-40/each for the Pro model, which is likely the one you'd want. The regular radio runs about half that. Digi (digi.com) has some helpful explanations about their solutions (https://www.digi.com/solutions/by-industry/agriculture) and it's pretty impressive....

Since I originally got involved with Xbee in 2009, they've greatly expanded their line. Amazing gear. But I think you could contact them on your challenge and they'd help you with it.
 
Thank you.
I'm a newby using this stuff. Not a clue.
All I want is multiple receivers connected to relays to turn the lights on the buildings (all white rope lighting) on and off at command.
The group added one item that I wasn't consulted on. All the power sources were moved to our street light power system. This means that power will be off during the day and will be restored when the sun goes down. The building rope lights will come on with the street lights, but it is desired to shut them down at a preset time (such as 11 PM). During festivals, they may be turned off during the start of "festivities" and then turned on for effect. (I had nothing to do with them being changed from a constant power source to street light timing.)
 
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