Thread: Pros/Cons of various Controllers

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Loogs, what kind of prop(s) are you looking to control? I've not used any commercially available standalone controllers, but have made a couple for my own use with a BASIC Stamp II and a PIC.

If you're looking for simpler control (on/off devices with straightforward timing), the standalone controllers are definitely the way to go. Once you get to more complex props or displays, then the line isn't so clear. Computer-based solutions really start to shine once you want to add audio, servos, or controlled lighting. Not to mention the relative ease and speed of programming graphically.

- Hook

Originally Posted by Loogs

As we all are, I am trying to expand/improve on my haunt each year.

I think this is what we were considering some years ago. Buckaneerbabe is always creating new stuff and moving to expand the haunt. She started things some 5 years ago with VSA and a Parallax servo control board. We expanded every year and over time we have added more animated props, controller boards, DMX lights, relays and dimmers which we still control with VSA.

Our haunt is really more of a show so VSA along with our other stuff works really well for us, but if we wanted to do something like a walkthrough, we could still easily do that with DMXorcist and not have to buy a lot of new control stuff or learn or write computer code.