The next several days went by quickly. I had just received the Renard TR24 controller in the mail, and I needed to get a few more items. I kept looking for good deals on an enclosure, but nothing was surfacing. I found some FM transmitters on eBay that were very cheap, but the sellers all had limited reviews. I was nervous about ordering from them. I found the same transmitters on Amazon for a few dollars more with free shipping. I would also need a USB to RS485 adapter to hook the show computer or Raspberry Pi up to the controller. I found an inexpensive one on Amazon, also with free shipping. Now if I could just find a cheap enclosure.
On Wednesday, I couldn’t wait any longer. I decided to go ahead and get the enclosure from Amazon as well. It was a little more than I wanted to spend, but it was not really that expensive. I placed orders for the transmitter, the adapter, and the enclosure. The adapter and enclosure would be there by the end of the week, but the transmitter was shipping from China and would take longer. Then I sat back to wait.
To my surprise. the USB adapter arrived the next day. That was followed up on Friday by the CG enclosures. I basically had everything I needed to assemble my first Christmas lighting controller. I needed to mount the TR24 in the enclosure and add the power cord and pigtails to it. Then I needed to use the USB adapter to connect it to my computer, and try to communicate with it using the lighting software. Hopefully, it would recognize it and I would be in business.
However, it would have to wait. I was going camping with my son for the weekend, and I had lots of things to prepare. I took the items down to my shop in the basement and set them on the workbench. Hopefully, I would have time to get to them in the next week or so. I thought I was finished with purchases for this year, until I saw a new post pop up on one of the forums on Saturday morning as I was getting ready to head to the camp out. Someone had posted this:
Looking for a/c or other controller for new start decor. Looking to purchase, but any advice is welcome.
Thanks!
Another new enthusiast, about to head down the same path I had started a month earlier. I almost closed the post, but then I saw that he had received a reply:
Are you looking for just the controller board or do you want them already in an enclosure ???
I have a couple of Renard SS8 boards that I would sell. But I already used the enclosures for something else.
I started thinking about my light show. I knew that I had 24 channels of on/off/dimming already. I also knew that I had gone over and over in my head how it was going to be a stretch to make that many channels work on my house. If I could add two more 8 channel boards, I would have 40 channels, a pretty good start for my first year. I wondered how much the seller wanted for them. I also wondered if they came with pigtails? I sent him a reply:
Are the SS8 boards ready to go with pigtails included?
He replied right back:
No just the boards. I have the pigtails but I don’t have the enclosures since they have been used for something else . . . How many boards are you looking for ???
I’m possibly interested in both of them. My budget is a little tight this year though, as I’m just starting out.So far I’ve gotten a Renard Plus TR 24, enclosure, adapter, and FM transmitter. I have most of the lights from my static shows in the past, but I’ll probably need to pick up more extension cords. I could probably go with 24 channels this year, but I’m noticing it’s making me make some concessions. Another eight or 16 channels might really make it work a lot better.How much for both of the boards and pigtails included?
Doyon Lights 