Thread: So anyone spend WAY too much this year?

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This guy did. I blame some of you forum people. I told myself.. DONT join the forum this year.. you took a year off.. you spent nothing last year.. don't do it. Then I read one post.. and fell into the trap. I've past the $1K mark this year and I don't know how the hell I did it. I saw a cool effect dvd.. then had to have it. Then I thought I didn't have enough fog, so had to buy another fog machine just in case. Last two years my chiller was 12' plastic corrugated crap with holes in it and stuffed with ice.. it wasn't that great. So this year I need to make not one but two chillers.. so I bought the igloo containers and all the PVC elbows and crap..

But the real problem for me started when I read the DMX guys.. Brother Grimm, Phoenix, etc.. it's all their fault. I couldn't help myself. I bought a DMX USB adapter, the DMX remote for the 2nd fogger (ADJ 1200), 2 DMX LEDs, and today, just in case I can figure something out, a 4 channel DMX relay thingy. WTF? I tallied up my costs now.. hell the stupid PVC stuff for the chillers cost me almost $120 including the two igloo coolers! I think with candy, a few small props (spider, ghoul that can have fog come out of it..hence the 2nd machine..), I am up to around $1K now!

And the kicker is.. I seriously doubt ANY of the DMX stuff I got will get any use via DMX.. I have to work all weekend + family coming over + set up some sort of graveyard with the few tombstones I have, build the chillers, web up the yard.

I am seeing some amazing props and setups here this year (well every year) so I am sure I am not the only one that went way over budget. Confess.. don't leave me alone in this.. help me feel better that once again I over did it for my favorite holiday!!

P.S. I don't blame anyone.. in case text, as usual, is misconstrued as being serious.. I am not. Grimm, Phoenix and the few others on those threads I've been chatting on have been spectacular! I can't wait to see some of their after-party/after-halloween pics/videos!

Without this forum, I would have spent more. The people on this forum are great about helping save some coin here and there. Several posts about sales or deals on products allowed us to purchase things at a discount. I thank everyone for their assistance and input and I look forward to a great Halloween. I know my kids are excited to finally see stuff appearing in the yard.

I hear you andjarnic. These good folks here got my Halloween junkie in high gear and I'm at about $600 to date. The creativeness and sharing spirit here is amazing. The technical aspect is what got me in the "money is no object" mode. The 3-axis skulls are what pushed me over the edge posted from buckaneerdude/babe and HalloweenBob (too many others to thank here). The VSA, boards, lindberg/bucky/blucky skulls and frames, a case of servos, leds, cat5, all the pieces/parts and tools to work them were not even considered in my no longer existed budget. I couldn't get it all done this year either andjarnic, but the good news is.....we have a whole another year to prepare for the best show the world has ever seen....aaahhhhaaaa (evil laugh). Keep in touch buddy.

@Vince.. yup! That is the plan. I'll be ordering the DMXorcist/software soon as I can put it in the budget, as well as the VSA software. Question for you (or any of you DMX/VSA guys).. the basic VSA program is all that is needed right? Since DMXorcist will actually run the show from the variety of VSA files, I don't need the $250 VSA version since I won't be using it to play back right?

I think I need a couple more DMX LEDs, and one or two of those movable head spots.. so that I can come up with a sort of "show" where I move the spot to one prop, turning out all the lights of the others.. then another prop kicks on and so forth. Not really sure yet though.

Another question.. for those of you that actually do a sort of DMX show between props.. I am curious if while kids are ToTing to your house, you have the show playing, or if you fire it off when it dies down a little.. maybe while others are on the other side of the block.

@Vince, I would like to get a few of the props moving with servos and such.. any tutorials you can point me to that would include links to sites to order things like acutators, servos, and al the DMX fixings?

Thanks

For once I didn't spend enough. Alot of other things came up this year oh well maybe next year. lol

andjarnic. Most of your questions have already been addressed if you search this forum. Spend some time reviewing similar post. I suggest you pm Ms Terra for DMX questions. Next year buddy..........

Originally Posted by andjarnic

Question for you (or any of you DMX/VSA guys).. the basic VSA program is all that is needed right? Since DMXorcist will actually run the show from the variety of VSA files, I don't need the $250 VSA version since I won't be using it to play back right?

Spending way too much and coming up with creative justifications to the wife is all part of the fun

VSA has changed their pricing plan, the hobbiest version can support 128 channels in a single routine, if you need more then you have a number of options

Providing any single routine doesn't use more than 128 channels (and they dont have to be sequential), then you don't need anything other than hobbiest... DMXorcist can address the full span of 512 channels, so if for example you could have a system like this

routine 1 uses channels 1-126
routine 2 uses channels 101-228
routine 3 uses channels 25-75 and 400-475
routine 4 uses channels 1,2,5,6,8,12,23,456,80,450-500

So you can take advantage of the full range of 512 channels providing you don't use more than 128 channels in a single VSA routine.

I probably did. Luckily last year was most of my big expense - all the electronics. Of course I spent $35 on a sonic rangefinder, about $200 in parts for my scarecrow, $80 in pumpkins, god knows how much in burlap and other odds and ends.

I havent checked out the DMX or any of that, but I highly recommend looking into an arduino board. You need some electronics background, its not completely plug and play, and having a background in a C-based language programming helps. But with a $54 Arduino Mega and some extra parts, I have a scarecrow that activates on a motion sensor, has a sonic rangefinder, speaks, lights up, moves, commands pumpkins to light up and move, as well as dives off his post and auto-rewinds back up. Oh, and I can control him from my ipad.

Not for the faint of heart, but absurdly powerful.

Sigh. I always overspend. I blame this forum, and it's members. All their awesome stuff makes me crazy! I just bought more this am, good old Grandin Road giving me an extra 40% off. The bastards!

Haha I know what you mean