The worlds most advanced lightning simulator

danaomaii · #1 09-05-2008

The new "Hauntworld" magazine has an advertisement in it by "Lights Alive" found on the web at www.Lights-Alive.com . claiming that their "Firefly" lightning simulator is the worlds most advanced. I am looking for a really cool lightning show for my home haunt and cant decide between the Zombie & H.H.I.A.B and now this firefly. has anyone had any experince with this "Firefly" ? What lightning simulator would look most realistic . If anyone out there has experience with lightning simulators , my time is running out , i need to order soon , please advise .

SoCal Scare · #2 09-05-2008

I purchased the I-Zombie stereo version last year and I love it. I am going to use photo floods this year to get a little bit bluer, brighter flashes but overall it's fantastic. last year I had 4 120watt flood lights on each channel and it was a crowd pleaser.

I have not heard of the firefly until now so I couldn't give any input on it. as far as the HHIB goes all I know is its pretty expensive but can control all of your lights w/ music.

halloween71 · #3 09-06-2008

I can't help but would love others opinions.I plan on buying hhib next year.I want something that dosen't have to have a computer.a plug and play.But I think hhib can also be computer programed.
I was intrigued by firefly-but to little info.
I read i-zombie doesn't support strobe lights.
So hhib seems to be the fit for me.But I would love to here others comments.

SoCal Scare · #4 09-07-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by halloween71

I read i-zombie doesn't support strobe lights.

I used a 700 watt strobe w/ my I-Zombie last year and had absolutely no problems at all. I used 4 120 watt bulbs on each chanel plus the strobe and it worked fine. I am planning on using photo floods this year to see how much of a difference there is between them and the regular floods. I know others on the forum have used photo floods and said they worked great and gave the bluish tint of lightning w/out needing gels.
If you are just looking for lightning effects it looks like the Firefly might be a good choice or the I-Zombie but if you want to control lots of different lighting than you can't beat the animation controlers for that use. If you go to the LightORama web sight you can see all the things they are doing w/ christmas lights w/ controlers and you will see it's just a matter of $ and your imagination on what you can do w/ them. You can use HHIB w/out a computer but to realy get the full effect of it w/ your haunt (or whatever holiday) display, you will want to get the program to make your own sequences. I am also active on a couple of the Christmas forums and I have heard that it takes on average an hour to do 1 minute of sequencing. So taht tells you how in depth it can get.

halloween71 · #5 09-07-2008

I thought I read that i-zombie didn't support strobes inthe faq..http://www.i-zombie.com/pages/faq.php
It does state that but it must not be true.

jimmyzdc · #6 09-10-2008

This part of the description sounds really interesting....

Quote:

MODES
Three operating modes are provided with the FF-101. While its primary function is that of a lightning simulator, it can be put in a dimming mode to simulate power fluctuations during a lightning strike. Specifically, it can be used to dim the house lights or porch light erratically when a “strike” occurs. Also included is a Sound-To-Light that switches off all audio filtration and feedback circuits. In the STL mode, all sounds trigger FireFly, not just thunder. This can provide an entertaining effect for those who do not elect to purchase more expensive lighting controller systems to synchronize lights with music.

i-Zombie · #7 09-11-2008

Hi, I am the owner of i-Zombie Productions. I would like to clear up the confusion about using strobes with our Lightning Controllers.

Yes, the i-Zombie controllers will activate strobe lights. But, perhaps not all strobe lights. When designing these units, our goal was to match the percentage of light output to the intensity of the audio signal. Loud crashes = 100% light output, Medium crashes = 50% output and so on. A strobe light is either ON or OFF and flickers at the rate you set. These are two entirely different effects with circuitry performing two different functions. Because our units do not actually control the intensity or brightness of the strobe light (it only turns them on and off) we wrote in our FAQ's that the i-Zombie units do not work with strobes.

As SOCal Scare put it, "I used a 700 watt strobe w/ my I-Zombie last year and had absolutely no problems at all." Many others have told us the same.

We have not tested the units with any strobes and would appreciate anyone who is using them with i-Zombie units to email us and let us know the model and wattage of the strobe light and which model i-Zombie you are using. I will post the results on our website at
www.i-zombie.com Anyone wishing to use strobe lights with our units will have a list of strobes to choose from. If anyone finds a strobe light that will not work with i-Zombie lightning controllers, please send us that info as well.

We will change the FAQ's on the website to reflect that i-Zombie lightning controllers will work with strobe lights.

SoCal Scare · #8 09-11-2008

As I-Zombie said the controller is not designed to work w/ the strobe due to the type of lighting output it uses. I do not plan to use the strobe for my lightning this year because I did not realy care for the effect it gave. I plan to use photo floods extensively for their brightness and color as apposed to standard floods (W/out gels in front of them) this year. The lighting that the I-Zombie puts out is very cool for a lack of better terms. It fades in and out or is only as bright as the thunder sound is loud (if that makes sense). I have no affiliation w/ I-Zombie but I would recomend it to anyone looking for a great lightning effect.

halloween71 · #9 09-11-2008

Thanks for clearing the strobe thing up.I have to admit when I saw that statement it pushed me to other products.

halloween71 · #10 09-12-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimmyzdc

This part of the description sounds really interesting....

I think this maybe the one I buy since(I would get the more channel model) I can also use it for a simple light show it is cheaper than hhib.
This year I guess I will use my cheap fx boxes 1 for thunder/lighning and 1 for making my pumpkins sing.
To bad they don't have a mister halloween I bought the mister christmas and it has songs built in and 4 channels.Alot cheaper to.