"Reel Time" Build Log-14' Scope, 9.7 17,000W Transducer Audio, Dedicated Stadium Room - Page 10

Thanks. I will give it a look.

Thanks. Cool thing with the LED strip lights is that I can have any color. I showed the wife red around the star ceiling and green on the walls for Christmas time!

You can get just single color LED strip lighting, but this is RGB with all the colors possible. It comes with a remote that allows you to control the color, effects, brightness, etc.



This is the one that I purchased...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o00_s01_i00

I ended up needing four sets, and then purchased an additional roll of just the lights. I have two extended about 24' for each side and half of the ends of the star ceiling. So technically, I could have one side one color and the other another. Then one for each side of the room at about 21'. I just used a splice connector that you can find on Amazon. I then run an IR lead from my remote control system to run them.

I'm using two other sets, one for the sit down bar area and another for inside and below the upper glass cabinets of the wall bar.

aaustin,

No issues at all with the questions. I can't remember, but I figured it could be extended 4-5 feet and still be within the amp rating of the transformer. I was originally looking to have a third strip to keep everything below 20' but went ahead and gave it a shot.

What I would recommend is getting two kits and then extending the four conductor wire from the controller to where your next strips starts. LED Wholesalers sells the wire by the foot as I bought some myself. This way your controllers are in the same place for power and IR control. I did connect two full strips together and it works but dims by 20-30%. I wouldn't recommend it though as its easy to just extend the wire to the junction. Cowger is doing this also.

Dimming the LED Strips

I picked up a dimmer that had the IR remote to control the dimming, but once I got it I quickly realized that it only works with single color strips, not RGB. I ordered the following (http://www.amazon.com/Inline-Dimmer-.../dp/B004T9ITQ0) and tried it. It just plugs in between the transformer and the controller of the LED kit. It is manual control, but it does work and I got it down to the level I wanted. You can set the manual dimmer to say 50% and then still use the levels on the LED strip remote. You just have to play with it a bit as if you go too low, the LEDs will flicker.



So it works for me. I picked up a few more so I have one for each strand.

Memorial Day Weekend Push

First, to all those that served, serve, and gave their lives for the freedoms and nation we enjoy, thank you!

I took the opportunity to make a big push this past extended holiday weekend to get in the HT and move forward. The posts that follow track the various items I was able to accomplish.

One of the biggest items was simply (not really though) getting the room emptied and cleaned. It is amazing how much stuff (tools, scraps, trash, etc.) all pile up. Trying to find a place to store it all elsewhere is always a challenge!

Here we go with the progress posts...

Memorial Day Weekend Push - Wall Bar Plumbing & Electric

When plans change, there's always additional work to do! The original wall bar design was to have the sink over to the left hand side. That all changed, so the plumbing needed to be moved to accomodate the sink being in the center of the bar.

I also needed to run pigtails for the electric going into the base cabinets since we will be installing the base cabinets 4" off the back wall to create more countertop space.

Memorial Day Weekend Push - Grafix Eye Systems

Finally time to get in the AV closet and wrangle those 12 zones of 12ga wiring into two six-zone Lutron Grafix Eye units. Oh how I hate working with 12ga wiring. The stuff just doesn't want to bend!

Below is the before pic of a few switches I was using to fire up the lights over the past many months. Blue wire is one of the GE communication lines that goes between the units and over to the wall switch at the entrance.



An hour and a half later, and it becomes...



I had a brain fart moment when I was testing out all the zones and my back wall bar 4" can lights wouldn't dim. They would just go off and on. I checked wiring and the settings in the GE, all to no avail. I then decided that I must have a bad zone in the GE unit and decided I could just swap the units since I could use an off/on zone on the with the bottom unit. So off I went to reinstall them, only to find out it made no difference! Finally I woke up and took a look at the cans and realized I had stuck those stupid CF bulbs in there when I ran out of standard bulbs a couple months ago. Changed them out, and of course, all is good!

Installed the wall switch by the door and played around with all the settings and levels for a while. Very nice!

Memorial Day Weekend Push - Custom Air Return Covers

With the return outlets being a custom size, I needed to build my own vents. I've done this before in other areas of the house, just using a decorative quarter round molding and stamped aluminum. I just ripped a channel down the middle of the molding, insert the aluminum cut to size, assemble and spray paint.

Here's the assembly and finished product.

Memorial Day Weekend Push - IR Wire to Sit Down Bar

Not good planning on my part as I decided only recently to install the LED strip lights under the counter and under the lip of the wall cap of the sit down third row bar unit. I was able to get electric routed from my outlet to feed the seating of the second row. But I wanted to get IR control to handle the LED lights. This I had to route from the AV closet to the bar. I was able to snake the wire under the baseboard and into one of the rear sub bays, but then I had to get about 4'-5' from there to where the wall bar will be.

I just cut a 1/4" deep channel with my circular saw from the bar location to as close I could get to the sub bay. I then used a drill bit to channel the rest of the way and under the existing baseboard. I'm just installing two pairs of CAT6, having an extra pair for any future needs. I pressed in the wire and then covered with duct tape. I just need the carpet installers to not staple through it now!

Memorial Day Weekend Push - AV Closet Trim Painted

Finally got around to painting the trim around the AV racks. Picked a gloss black, and it took three coats to cover over the white primed wood. I think it makes a nice finished look when you open the doors (off in the picture here).

Memorial Day Weekend Push - Cabinetry Installed

Cabinet markers arrived early Monday morning with the third row sit down bar unit and the wall bar. The sit down bar unit is a little over 11' wide and very heavy. That was a chore bring in even with four men. Everything is mahogany, stained much like our family room wall but with a dark glaze applied. They look incredible and the pictures don't do them enough justice.













I'm going to be installed LED strip lights up the insides of the two side wall cabinets and under the center wall section. So I run four-conductor wire two each corner and will solder them onto the strips later. All five wires home run back to one of the base cabinet where I can install the LED controller and power supply.

The second photo is the same four-conductor wire come up sit down bar wall for the strip that will go under the cap.

Memorial Day Weekend Push - Foyer Finishing Touches

Went ahead and installed a few final touches in the small HT foyer at the end of one of the days. I installed a Lutron occupancy sensor to automatically turn the light on with motion and go off a minute later. Very nice as the light comes on and off gradually for a nice effect. I still have the lock catch to install.

Final Item Before Carpet

The carpet is coming today (Wednesday) and I had to get in the HT last night and finish one last step, bullnosing all the steps and transitions. I created my own molding by ripping down 2x4 studs into 1"x1" stock and then routing two of the edges.

I installed the bullnosing using biscuits and glue and then screwing them down.

Here are a couple before photos...





And here's the assembly...





And the finished product...







By the way... here in this last photo you can see one of the other projects completed over the weekend. I unfortunately learned that a 6' deep platform is not enough. When the seats are reclined, 6' didn't allow the people in the middle to get out without asking the ones on the end to sit up! So I had to build out the platform 8" to accomodate. It pushes the front row a little closer, but I know that 98% of the time there will be 2 or 4 people in the room. Having two PJs, I can accomodate a smaller movie size if I want.

Actually the Final Item Before Carpet - Cleaning!

At 11:00pm last night, I finished the bullnosing and cleaned out the room of everything and went about the process of scraping the floor and vacuuming.

So here are the last photos the room sans carpet, because the wife just called and said the installers are on site!

Thanks TMcG! I was actually glad to come back to work on Tuesday to get a break! Not sure if you caught my recent posts, but carpet is being installed as we speak (type).

Wife took and sent a carpet pic as a teaser. Not a great shot, but at least I can tell they're in there working! No doubt they have been cursing my name all day as they cut around all those crazy angles and transitions! Looking forward to seeing how much it quiets the room too!