OFFICIAL TASL Meeting February 3, 2018 9am till 5pm <Details in Post #1>

[kidcole]

Announcing the FIRST meeting of 2018 for the Triangle Area Synchronized Lighting <TASL> group.

Date and Time: Saturday February 3, 2018 9am - 5pm (setup and goofing around starts 8am)

Place: Swift Creek Community Center
6221 Yates Mill Pond Rd
Raleigh NC, 27606

The agenda will be growing and changing so check back often. Also feel free to send your suggestions. We want to plan a mix of topics covering the basics for our newer members, as well as pixel related topics and other common interest topics.

@Jack Stevens usually runs a live feed for the meeting. Location is TASL RDU in Google. I’ll be checking with Jack to confirm for this year.

Agenda items for Feb 3rd:

8:00 - 9:00am Setup and socializing. Come early for meet and greet. Bring your items to share/display. PLEASE EVERYONE try to arrive in time to set up before 9am ! It's fun to chat early ..

9:00 - 9:30am INTRODUCTIONS - Meet new members and what they are doing with their displays. Tell us your plans for 2018.

9:30 - 10:00am GROUP SESSION - Megatree Construction - There are many different types out there. Let's compare and contrast them.

10:00 - 10:30am ZOOM Teleconferencing - Mike Purser

10:30 - 11:30am xLIGHTS Demo - Eric and Joe. Including a discussion of multiple Pi Player solutions.

• Falcon Pi Player and Pi Cap. Also Pi Hat.
• Vixen on Raspberry Pi
• HLS on Raspberry Pi
• Dan Kulp F8 Beagle Board for Beagle Bone Pi

11:30 - Noon MORNING Mini Topics <If we run out of time, we will move these to the afternoon >

• 5 mins - OPEN
• 5 mins - Pixel Icicles <”Petr” Style>, construction idea – Denny Cole
• 5 mins - 5mm Strobe Light String demo (purchase link posted on CC in Lights section) - Denny Cole
• 5 mins - RBLs with 7 Pixels (rectangles with 3 LEDs each), construction - Denny Cole
• 10 mins - Controller Boxes - Eric, Denny, need volunteers to bring controller boxes with cooling and waterproofing ideas.

NOON - 1:00pm Pot Luck LUNCH (everyone bring something to share). Check the list below and post what you will bring !!

1:00 - 2:30pm AFTERNOON Mini Topics

• 10 mins - Pixel ribbon for wrapping porch columns, and most anything – Charlie Comiskey
• 10 mins - LED Upgraded Blowmold Candle, Tree Wrapping <A better way!> - Joel Goldman
• 10 mins - Solid State Relays (SSR) - Joel Goldman, Don Williams
• 15 mins - P10 Panels (Chris Gebhardt) and P5 Panels (Eric Rogers)
• 10 mins - Binder Clips, Y Cables, Hook mounts with no holes - Eric Rogers.
• 10 mins - Pixel Power Injection - Denny Cole

2:00 - 3:00pm Don Williams session – What’s new for 2019 at Lake Myra Christmas? Don’s sessions are always fun !

3:00 - 4:00pm OPEN SESSION

4:00 - 4:15pm TASL Business - Open TASL Discussion - Denny

• Discuss the date for the August meeting, workshops for the balance of 2018. Matt is offering his workshop facility in Morrisville for a project day.
• Bank Balance Report
• Do we want any training classes this year, and for which software/hardware are you looking for training.

4:15 - 5pm Pack Up, Fold the Chairs and Tables, Sweep the floor

I will arrive to open the hall between 8:00am and 8:15am for unloading and setup. We'll use the first hour to mingle and get set up. Swing in early for coffee .. Introductions starting 9:00am. We need to end the formal presentations around 4:15pm to begin teardown, and cleanup the hall. By the rules of our rental agreement we need to leave by 5pm. Many times they have another renter coming in after 5pm.

This is a POT LUCK LUNCH meeting. Please let us know what you will bring to share. Be sure to check what others are bringing so we can get a range of main dishes, side dishes and deserts. I can supply a Keurig machine to make coffee. TASL buys the K-cups, creamer, plates, flatware and drink cups. Optionally feel free to bring breakfast snacks to share !

I will try to remember to bring some nametags. I keep forgetting them. I may just buy the stick-on nametags.

Be sure to bring your own drinks for the day. There is plenty of room for coolers and a full refrigerator in the kitchen. The kitchen also has a full size stove with oven and a large microwave. There's lots time for baking or reheating before lunch !

This meeting is open to ANYONE who would like to participate, or just listen in for their first time. It is a good time for new members to sign up to be a TASL member for 2017. But you do not have to be a TASL member to attend a TASL meeting. If you are thinking about creating your first holiday show with synchronized lights and music, you can join a TASL meeting to learn more about how its done. Come on out and join us! If you are bringing friends or other family members, please make sure you post their names when you acknowledge your attendance.

We always have tables available for an informal Christmas Garage sale throughout the day. Bring cash if you are looking for deals. Bring your items to sell or trade. There are always some real nice deals and giveaways !

Contact anyone from the TASL Steering Committee for more information:
@kidcole - Denny Cole
@Bartek - Dariusz Bartkiewicz
@Samj435 - Sam Johnson
@scottmcl - Scott McLellan
@Jack Stevens - Jack Stevens

PLEASE everyone REPLY. Let us know you are coming and WHAT FOOD you will bring for the pot luck. We need a range of foods and having the list of what everyone is bringing will help others decide. We try to avoid duplicates. It's always a GREAT meal.

Attendees:
@kidcole - Denny Cole < Baked Ham n Swiss Sliders, Keurig, creamer, plates, cups, flatware, etc >
@Tripplett - Joe Tripp < food? >
@EricR - Eric Rogers < ham and cheese sliders >
@Charlie – Charlie Comisky - < sausage/cheese dip with chips >
@Jack Stevens - Jack Stevens < baked spaghetti >
@AnniesSS - Annie and Joel Goldman < Chili >
@Mikeg - Mike Guzi < Mac Salad >
- - Mike is bringing his brother in law for first exposure
@Robby Wrenn <fried chicken>
- - Robby Wren from Burlington and Randy McMaster from Graham. Both coming with Mike Guzi.
@Chris Gebhardt - Chris Gebhardt < Breakfast foods and Snacks >
@apraleigh - Al Parker < rabbit food >
@dnorman - Dean and Gene Norman < Desert >
@Don Williams - Don Williams < Bojangles >
@FrankP - Frank Plesch < TBD >
@rooster423 - Scott Joyner < food? >
@FarmLights - Mike and Ruth <Bisquits and Jam>
@tsavage - Tom and Linda Savage <3 bean salad and a kale salad>
@Bartek - Dariusz Bartkiewicz < food ? >
@mpurser - Mike downeast BBQ N SLAW
@Paul Lowe - Paul Lowe < food ? >
@michaelvhunter - Michael Hunter <Bojangles Chicken>


See y'all on Feb 3rd

[rcktpwrd]

Pretty sure @AnniesSS and I will be there. Probably make chili...

[Jack Stevens]

I should be there, but may not be able to stay the whole day. Food is up in the air, could be baked spaghetti.

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[EricR]

I will likely be bringing ham and cheese sliders again. I was going to do chili but was beaten to that.

Denny do you really plan for a 30min presentation on the icicles? That's seems long. I made the Petr icicles this year as well and I can't imagine how that would fill 30 minutes. I'm not sure what we should have instead just throwing it out there.


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[EricR]

Maybe we should start a poll for what people want to talk about. At the very least submit some ideas. I can see how an intro demo to FPP again could be valuable but not if you never plan to use it. Or how to setup a Pi since a lot of people have had problems, but once again would you all care? I could do both of those if people want it.


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[kidcole]

I will likely be bringing ham and cheese sliders again. I was going to do chili but was beaten to that.

Denny do you really plan for a 30min presentation on the icicles? That's seems long. I made the Petr icicles this year as well and I can't imagine how that would fill 30 minutes. I'm not sure what we should have instead just throwing it out there.


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Yup .. I was just throwing stuff in to get things started. If I can keep away from weekend distractions, I'd like to demo board-mounted roof lights, and the RBLs .. all together. Still might not be 30 mins.

Maybe we should start a poll for what people want to talk about. At the very least submit some ideas. I can see how an intro demo to FPP again could be valuable but not if you never plan to use it. Or how to setup a Pi since a lot of people have had problems, but once again would you all care? I could do both of those if people want it.


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Yes, good idea. We might need both of the Pi ideas for one of the main events. xLights is not the only one that runs on a Pi .. HLS (Petr display) and Vixen (Sam Johnson display) both run on Pi. Probably others. Too bad there is not a cool LOR-Pi app.

I have not sent the TASL email yet .. since so many people have stopped routine monitoring of this site. I should get to it soon. But I usually always ask what people want to learn, and also if they have any unique props they would demo ..

It's been a while since I showed my 5' Coro Flakes (from Holiday Coro). They are pretty cool, and now that pixel costs are down, they are a lot more affordable .. I always take in as many things as I can from others, and then fill gaps with my stuff .. only if needed.

Keep those ideas coming !

[rcktpwrd]

I could bring one of my SSR assemblies that I built... Maybe we can also bring along one of our blowmold candles the we put a bunch of LEDs in... That will fill a few minutes of time! LOL

[kidcole]

I could bring one of my SSR assemblies that I built... Maybe we can also bring along one of our blowmold candles the we put a bunch of LEDs in... That will fill a few minutes of time! LOL

Absolutely. It always helps when someone tackles updating an old prop or blowmold. and a lot of the new members may not know how an SSR works. Will be great to show its construction and operation (live demo).

[EricR]

Absolutely. It always helps when someone tackles updating an old prop or blowmold. and a lot of the new members may not know how an SSR works. Will be great to show its construction and operation (live demo).

I know nothing about an SSR!


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[EricR]

It's nothing crazy cool but I can show how I used binder clips to mount pvc all over the house. I am also going to bring my "Y" I made for my big spinner power injection but this doesn't need to be it's own section. I also made hooks to attach things to the house without drilling holes using wire that I will show. The hooks had 1 problem so maybe someone can come up with an idea to solve it.


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[kidcole]

I know nothing about an SSR!

We have not talked about solid state relays in years. We had a group buy for the parts back around 2010 or 2011. I sold mine to someone but don't remember who. I still have a parts sets left to build a couple more. I'll hold you in suspense until Joel gives his demo.

It's nothing crazy cool but I can show how I used binder clips to mount pvc all over the house. I am also going to bring my "Y" I made for my big spinner power injection but this doesn't need to be it's own section. I also made hooks to attach things to the house without drilling holes using wire that I will show. The hooks had 1 problem so maybe someone can come up with an idea to solve it.


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Excellent. Bring them all. It's always good to show wiring examples, and all different sorts of products. I try to get them all on tables, even if they are not scheduled items. We still point them out and invite people to look. I
ll book you for a 10 minute gadget session.

[tsavage]

Denny, Linda and I will come to the meeting. We plan to bring a 3 bean salad and a kale salad for the pot luck. (could bring a meat dish if needed) Also, if not adding too much time to our day, I could do a mini topic on the globe that I added to my show this year. Let me know. Thanks!

[Tripplett]

I'll be there and I'll have to let you know on food (always get beaten to bringing chili, darnit). I'll see if I can come up with a topic too.

[EricR]

I'll be there and I'll have to let you know on food (always get beaten to bringing chili, darnit). I'll see if I can come up with a topic too.

I checked like 2 hours after this was posted and Joel had already gotten chili. I was hoping for that as well. We could do a chili cook off?


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[rcktpwrd]

Sorry, I just happened to check the forum shortly after Denny posted!