# Lightning and Thunder - On the cheap?



## edwood saucer

Hey gang - 

Progress is being made on many fronts for year one of "the Haunt I Haven't Named Yet"...

Anyway - Is there a good Lightning and Thunder prop option that can be made for less than $50?

I would really like loud sound connected to one or two lights that would illuminate a semi large front yard.

For those who have followed my LED threads - you know I am not the most electronically inclined - but have finally conquered the LED beast.

Any thunder and lighning help would be appreciated.

Thanks!


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## Brad Green

The best 'on the cheap' I've found is the Lighting FX box that you find on Ebay (I've also heard that Spencer's has them), runs about $20-$25. You plug your floods into it and place it near the sound source you want to run (mine is a Thunder-No Rain cd I picked up on Ebay for $5, just look up the word "Thunder") and off you go, all under $50. You could build a color organ from any one of the kits available online, but why bother when this item works right out of the box.


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## shaunathan

Wallmart has a complete thunder and lightning device for about 23, that's about as cheap as you're gonna get


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## edwood saucer

That might be the same one... I'll have to look.

I guess everyone pumps it through a stereo?


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## ShadyHallows

I've never timed mine to music but, strobes in the trees actually look really cool and pretty spooky.


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## Vlad

Reports from the field say stay away from this years Target Thunder and Lightning machine, a real dog.


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## beaton

I would like a link on where to buy a good cheap on also thanks


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## EvilGrin

There is one from FrightCatalog that you plug lights into... up to 500 w. They say household lights, but as long as the wattage is ok, you could use a combination of strobes and incandescents, or maybe a combination of the photo floods I have heard of people using? http://www.frightcatalog.com/Halloween-Special+Effects/Optical+Illusions/Lighting+FX-1408006/

I have heard people had good results placing a machine or color organ setup on their roof and pointing it up into the trees.


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## EvilGrin

Here is a nicer version I found this morning from Evilusions, although it costs a little more, but it does synchronize the lightning and thunder with a slight delay before the flash, like real thunder and lightning. http://evilusions.com/shop/product_...id=48&osCsid=bb0294495b0d183f9c1690865bf22404


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## HibLaGrande

I just bought a light organ kit from 123 electronics, the one Zombie pointed out. I plan on using this in conjunction with my BOSS stereo digital delay guitar effects pedal. the pedal will take the signal and split it and send one signal out straight which will run to the kit and the other through the delay which will go to the PA system. Now that I think about it,this is not really on the cheap.


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## JohnnyL

I checked out the one Target is offering for 19 dollars today and all it is is a strobe light that stays on (like a regular strobe) with thunder noises that come out the back... Could of been so much better if the strobe was coordinated with the thunder. I passed on it.


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## Vlad

For thunder and lightning on the cheap, I'd be looking for the Lightning FX unit. I got mine from Target last year, and Ghostie just bought hers online, you'd have to ask her where, I think with shipping it cost her $35. It's a great unit, handles 500 watts of lighting, and comes with it's own CD for sound. I think most of these other systems with multiple channels, time delays, etc, are just way overthinking, and overspending on a simple illusion. Cheap and effective is good.


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## JohnnyL

Vlad, that's the exact same thing I'm working on getting.


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## Vlad

Now if you want to talk really cheap lightning and thunder effects, I can describe the setup that they use on the Haunted House Makeover DVD that the Big Scream TV people put out. Very simply, it's a flicker circuit that can be purchased at any lighting store. You plug that into an outlet, then you plug in an extension cord to it. On the end of the extension cord you plug in a night light, to give the flicker circuit box enough juice to warm up and activate. At the end of the same extension cord as where you plugged in the nightlight, you plug in two strobes set to different speeds. The flicker circuit will activate the two strobes on and off as it goes through it's reheat cycle. Unfortunately while you can play thunder sounds in the background, there is no way to coordinate the sounds with the lightning flashes produced. But to tell the truth, I think even that simple set up is fine enough for the kind of effects we're talking about here. No need to overthink, when basic effects will astound people just as well as complicated expensive solutions.


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## edwood saucer

Thanks Vlad et.al.. It's getting down to crunch time - and my business is getting really busy - the good thing is that what I lose in time - I make up for in cash - so I can trade some "builds" for purchases. So I will chack all this out. I tried surfing last week for a lightning effects gizmo - but couldn't find any for the prices described earlier in this thread - (good for them getting deals!)

I'll chomp on all this info. Thanks!


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## Dreadnight

Edwood- here's one more option. Three years ago, when I was wanting to add lightning to my haunt, I happened to be at Sears looking for a tool and noticed they had their Xmas stuff already out (yep, it was the beginning of October). As I wandered thru there I came across this item called "LightVibe" to make "dancing xmas lights". You were supposed to use it to make xmas lights flash in time to music. Well, guess what - it's a color organ. So, for something between 35 and 39 bucks I walked out with what has proven to be a very nice lightning machine, with outputs for three separate electrical cords, sensitivity adjustment, etc. If you have a Sears nearby, check it out.... it'll save the shipping costs.


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## skullboy

Vlad said:


> Reports from the field say stay away from this years Target Thunder and Lightning machine, a real dog.


I can confirm this!Ok sounds but no volume adj. and its just a timed strobe not occasional flases like real lightning.


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## hidehoman

You can get supper dark pro black lights at home depo and Lows but you must order them in. They have no blue glow and they make any white or uv active stuff POP in a huge way.


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## Long_Tom

Regarding the delay between the flash and the sound: Real lightning can be simultaneous light and sound. That simply means that the lightning bolt came down frickin' close to you!

I saw somebody's video where they had delayed thunder, and I think the effect is less startling that way. I think subconciously we know it's synthetic (and I could see what the haunter was intending when it happened), but the combined startle of light and sound is a bigger assault on the nerves. (Either that, or maybe our primitive brains recognize that the simultaneous blasts mean that we just about got fried, which is a scarier situation to be in.) Just my opinion.


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## ScareFX

Long_Tom said:


> Regarding the delay between the flash and the sound: Real lightning can be simultaneous light and sound. That simply means that the lightning bolt came down frickin' close to you!...


Good point Long_Tom. I got first hand knowledge of that last night when a bunch of storms rolled through. Instant lighting AND thunder...man it was close.


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## EvilGrin

Not sure what the prtocol is about telling about discussions going on at other boards, but a few people on the Ghost Droppings board are discussing the performance of the Lightning FX machine they have at Fright Catalog and other places that I posted the link to earlier. Fright Catalog had them for 25 dollars but they are backordered, but I know other places (probably party stores at this time of year too) sell them as well. They recommend using photo flash bulbs from a photography store because of the super bright flash and quick response/light up time. As long as you are using under 500 watts of light and keeping it from direct exposure to the elements things should go smoothly setting that system up and can come in at around 50 dollars or less depending on how good a deal you get. And it works for the electrically challenged who don't know how to wire up a color organ themselves :jol:


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## kerryike

I got my Thunder & lightening effest from Hauntmaster Products: http://hauntmasterproducts.com/1.html

They are now closed for the season (until December) but I'm very happy with it...since I like the realistic delayed effect. It's a little over $50 and usrecommends a photo flood bulb for the flash.


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## spokanejoe

I have to agree with Vlad on the overthinking of our displays. I am such a perfectionist and am disappointed when someone does not see some special flair I added to my display. Most TOT's run to the door...collect their candy....say something like "Real cool dude" and run off. I have to say though. the quick and easy flicker circuit looked awsome in my graveyard this year. No one noticed that the thunder I had blasting didn't coinside with the flash. I used only one strobe because that was all I had, but even I was impressed with the effect. And lets all admit something...we do what we do for ourselves, first. All the kids just benefit from our kooky obsessions. So I know if I am happy that others will be WOW'ed. Vlad is right ...go for the basic...only you will see the difference.


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## CerysCrow

We use the 25.00 Lightning FX units and are very happy with them. They can be difficult to find, so we purchased several extras (just in case the ones we are currently using die in the future.)

As for the actual lightning, we use these lights from Sears, without the stand.


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## Haunted Bayou

CerysCrow,
How did you set up those lights? I don't have any trees and was trying to figure out how to add lightning to my yard this year.

Anybody else with suggestions, please chime in.
I also need to keep it as inexpensive as possible but still look good.

I was thinking of putting lightning in the yard and have bulbs flickering inside the garage at the same time if possible. Any suggestions? Should I start a different thread for that?


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## Otaku

HB,
Build some of those fluorescent starter flicker circuits for the garage lighting. I made a couple of them and work good for random AC flicker. I'm trying to build a power strip with four starters in it for a different flicker effect on each socket. 

Ooops, apologies for the hijack.


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## Haunted Bayou

Otaku, I think the hijack is my fault. I think I should start a new thread since I am asking about both effects. I don't know how to build circuits but thanks for the information.


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## IshWitch

CerysCrow said:


> We use the 25.00 Lightning FX units and are very happy with them. They can be difficult to find, so we purchased several extras (just in case the ones we are currently using die in the future.)
> 
> As for the actual lightning, we use these lights from Sears, without the stand.


We have one of those lights with the 2 positional lights. $14.99 at BL a couple of years ago!

This is getting me psyched that I can pull off a good lightening effect!


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## Austin:)

hey,
I have been racking my brain for a great lightning and thunder effect.
It seems pretty simple, ( although i have not yet tried it out i have no reason to believe that it wouldn't work ). Just get one of the cheap Lightning F/X machines and create and audio track that splits the sounds to the left or right channel. For instance, make one channel the thunder noise and make the other random noises, that way the lightning flash is never the same. I would think that an old stereo where you plug the speakers into the back would be the best bet. So, set one speaker next to the Lightning F/X machine and the other as far away as possible. Then, when the audio track plays you hear the thunder and then see lightning!


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## Troy

The I-Zombie stereo Units simply can't be beat, if you can spare the $$ by all means go with one of those!


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## Fright Zone

Inspired by CerysCrow's video of the cheap Lighting FX with the halogen work lamp and VEI 940 behind a scarecrow prop, I tested a similar set-up this Saturday at midnight. 

I used a double halogen work lamp (which is probably two 500W to equal 1000W). It gives off a nice color balanced white light compared to the warm orange of a regular floodlight. Even though the Lightning FX unit says not to exceed 500W incandecent, this still worked.

I had a 400W Gemmy fogger pointed at the back of a large tombstone 6" away which caused the fog to collect more and be lit by the lamps. The problem I found with the cheapo yet effective Lightning FX unit I got from Target a couple years ago:

A) The sound of the fogger caused the lights to stay on and not flicker when it was within 5 ft of the unit. The flickering FX worked when the fogger was about 10 ft from the unit. Cars passing by a busy road actually made the unit flicker. The sounds of passing cars actually makes for a nice flicker effect. I think the sound bounced off the wood fence behind it. 

B) The SFX/music CD that comes with the unit isn't that great. It's too inconsistent. The screeching cat SFX flickered the lights the best but who wants to listen to that. The beginning of track 2 worked OK. One passage is footsteps and whistling which doesn't work well at all. So I'd try making my own SFX CD or MP3 mix. I might even extract the car sounds from the video and use that. But then I have the problem of no thunder claps to go along with the FX. My iPod shuffle hooked up to the Audio IN on the unit didn't work. But my Aiwa portable CD player did. But you can't ehar the SFX. I don't want to tear up my $1k AV receiver just to hook it up outside. So I have to think about that. Maybe I just have my regular SFX in my entry archway and not worry that the sound doesn't synch with the flickering lights.

Generally speaking it worked. But it verified that if you use cheap, but effective, basic units you lose control over the FX depending on what you want to achieve.


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## Fright Zone

Update: Right now I'm testing it this way indoors by my computer. 

I have my iPod Shuffle playing a playlist of horror sounds. The iPs is hooked directly into Altec Lansing PC powered speakers via the mini plug from the iPs headphone jack. You have to turn the volume up on the iPs to hear anything. But it's good sound from those speakers. This is providing ambient sound.

The Lightning FX unit mic is very sensitive to ambient sounds. So at the same time I have my Aiwa portable CD player hooked directly to the audio input of the Lightning FX unit via a mini plug to RCA stereo plugs using the white left channel plug only. I have the volume cranked up all the way on the Aiwa portable CD player. The Lightning FX sensitivty dial is set just under 3/4 of the way on. It's playing the standard Sounds Of Horror CD that came with the Unit. Track 2 seems to give a good flicker. Track 5 isn't bad. 

Surprisingly the flickering lights look FINE not being in direct synch with a thunder & lightning ambient soundtrack into the Lightning FX mic. I'm OK with that. As a matter of fact a casual observer would never know.

I like this set-up so far. It gives me a little control. I'll use the iPs and AL speakers for sound in my entry archway tunnel. Then the Lightning FX & Aiwa CD player direct audio line in hooked up to the halogen lights behind a tombstone which will light fog from my fog machine or fog chiller. I won't have to worry about the hiss form the fogger turning on the Lightning FX unit nor any ambient sounds.

Now if I really wanted the lights to flicker in synch with a strict thunder & lighting SFX this set-up wouldn't work unless I had the same playlist on the iPs AND the Awia CD player and somehow was able to start them playing at the same time.


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## heresjohnny

I ordered a couple of light organs a while back and rigged them for working with speakers, which I learned about here http://wolfstone.halloweenhost.com/ColorOrgans/clobuy_CommercialColorOrgan.html#AboutKits I ordered some opto-isolators which should allow me to hook up line level and get away from the ambient noise problem. If I ever get this built I will post. Wolfstone used to have a nice page about using light organs for lightning, it seems to have been replaced with a ton of links to kits now.


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## jrzmac

I have one of these units also. mine has a rca jack in the back of it. i went to radio shack and bought a 1/8" stereo to rca jack. http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...w=1/8"+to+rca&kw=1/8+to+rca&parentPage=search . simply pulg the rca into the unit and the other into a cd player or mp3 player. no more worrying about the cars passing by. you also need one of these http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...Price-RSK&kw=y+adapter&x=14&parentPage=search plug this into the cd player, then you can run the tl machine into one side and the speakers on the other.


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## Fright Zone

^^ I saw that a long time ago on Wolfsotne but the "Light organ" or "color organ" name threw me so I never really looked at it. That's interesting.

^ Yeah there you go. The "1/8" Dual Mono Jack to 1/8" Stereo Plug Y-Adapter" would work for me if I wanted the sound and lights to synch and I could put the speakers somewhere near the Lightning FX unit and the lights. 

But I may put my small speakers hooked up to the iPod Shuffle in my entry archway at the front and have the Lightning FX unit with the portable CD player using the line in and halogen work lights flickering behind a tombstone in the back of the yard haunt. 

But if I end up putting the archway in the back, not as an entryway but for a PVC Grim Reaper or Emperor of Evil prop to be placed inside, I could use that Y-Adapter plug with one audio source so lightning and audio is in synch and all in one place. In that case higher wattage speakers may be necessary to throw the sound to the front. But maybe not. Those little Altec Lansing's are pretty effective for ambient sounds. Either way the Y-Adapter plug is a good suggestion. 

For the "6-Ft. Shielded Cable, 1/8" Plug to RCA Plug" I have a mini plug to RCA stereo plugs Y-adapter that came with the CD player. I use the left channel (white) plug into the Lightning FX unit audio Input. It acts the same way as the mini-to-single RCA it seems. But that's a good suggestion also for a cleaner connection. Thanx.


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## jrzmac

The thing i like about this set up is that you can have other ambient sounds playing (like a spooky soundtrack), and dont have to worry about setting the lightning off. I have mine outside and dont have to worry about the cars, or dogs barking or people talking etc. If you didn't want the sound and lights to sych together what you could use is a thunder track that has been split and delayed a little, so the lights flash a few seconds before the thunder . More realistic that way i think. I have an audio file like this somewhere if you need one. Let me know.


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## Fright Zone

@ jrzmac -Yeah thanx I could use a thunder sound. I'll try anything. You can PM me or whatever. Thanx.

What I tried yesterday indoors was this. I made a sloppy mix of thunder tracks in iTunes. Not enitirely well-balanced and thought out with smooth transitions but it was just a test to see if those specific sounds controlled the Lighting FX unit or if I'd get sick of hearing repeating thunder sounds (back home I have a Target strobe light that repeats thunder and lighting sounds ad nauseum is why I say that). Separately at the same time I had my Mac playing Carter Burwell's Blair Witch 2 soundtrack. The idea was to simulate a set-up where I'd have the LFX & thunder sounds in the background of a yard haunt while separate music plays up front (in the actual Yard Haunt it would be in my entry archway via an the iPod Shuffle to my Altec Lansing PC speakers). The results were that I liked the layered Sounds. the basic thunder sounds from my DVD player or my portable Aiwai CD player or the iPod shuffle to the LFX audio line in worked fine. I also had the DVD player hooked to my AV recevier so it played the thunder SFX through my home theater speakers just to see. So I'm goign to go out and get that Radio shak mini plug to mono Y-adapter you suggested to hook either the iPs or the Aiwa CD player to both the LFX unit and the Altec lansing speakers which is how it would be used in my Yard Haunt. If I get tired of listenin to the thunder FX then I can simply unplug the speakers and keep the LFX unit hooked up flickering the lights anyhow.

I tried that set-up yesterday (music only with the LFX lightning controlled by the CD that came with the LFX unit line in from the CD player so you heard no thunder SFX) and it looks OK. After a while though you expect to hear thunder sounds to go along with the LFX is the catch.


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## jrzmac

make sure you get a stereo y adapter not mono. i have both and only the stereo one works. i dont think the mono splits the channels or something?


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## Fright Zone

Thanx. You're right. I just went to Radio Shack down the street before I read this and found the "Stereo-to-Stereo Dual Headphone Adapter Accepts two 1/8" stereo phone plugs Fits 1/8" stereo phone jack" Number 274-313 shown here. Upon closer inspection it has a little "S" embossed in the plastic over each output designating "stereo" I assume. It was in the iPod accessories section. I hooked it up to my Awai portable CD player. I have the Altec Lansing PC speakers into one mini jack port of the adapter and a mini plug to the the RCA Audio input of the Lighting FX unit. I hooked up a single table lamp to test. It works great! Those little AL speakers pack some punch and deep sound. The true test is outdoors where the sound may be swallowed whole but I don't want the sound to be too loud and obnoxious anyhow. That little adapter was just the piece I was looking for to make this work - to isolate the LFX from ambient sounds and to synch the audible stereo SFX to the flickering lights while being able to control the sensitivity and the volume. Not rocket science but leave it to Radio Shack to have a goofy little product that's perfect for what I need ; ) Thanx for the tip!

I made a temp track out these in iTunes to set the start and stop times of the mp3's then I burned the playlist to a CD. I set the Aiwa CD player volume and the LFX unit dial to "Max"
1) Cathedral Of The Undead The Sounds Of Horror Start time 0:00 Stop time 0:14
2) Thunderstorm The Sounds Of Horror Start time 0:00 Stop time 0:15
3) Thunder Demo halloweenmusicgalore.com Start time 0:01 Stop time 0:12
4) Thunder Rain Demo halloweenmusicgalore.com Start time 0:00 Stop time 0:31.477
And then I repeated the tracks but mixed them up. The Awai is set to repeat.

The Sounds Of Horror CD that came with the LFX unit works too. I set the Aiwa CD player volume to "Max" but the LFX sensitivity dial to about "7 or 8 o'clock." I'm getting used to all the extraneous SFX sounds they put on it in addition to the thunder and lighting. But a I'll try your thunder track too. Or I may buy a couple from halloweenmusicgalore.com. In any event the basic set-up works.


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## jrzmac

i sent the track. let me know you got it.


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## Fright Zone

Yes I just checked my email. I received it fine. Thanx for sharing it! I'm playing it in iTunes right now. Sounds pretty good. Not very obnoxious like other ones I've heard or the test mix I made which was boom boom boom. Yours has some good lulls in it so it's not so a constant SFX. I'll try it out with my Lightning FX set-up tomorrow. Thanx again!

Update: Here's some Lightning FX Fog Tests :: 400W fogger is 6" behind tombstone picture by bpesti - Photobucket with descriptions in the titles of the test I did last weekend with the Lightning FX controlling halogen worklights (and the CD being played from an RCA clock radio with the hiss of the fogger making the lights stay on for the duration prior to figuring out the LFX's audio line in hook-up recently), they backlit a tombstone and the fog, the 400W Gemmy fogger was set to 30 second bursts, it was positioned approx. 6" from the back of the tombstone to make the fog collect in a thicker cloud to be illumunated by the LFX halogens which are a nice bright white btw. If I ever get a chance to try it again with the recent discoveries, info & thunder track shared here then I'll post a video. But for now the screengrabs illustrate what I was getting at for backlighitng a thick fog effect from a low wattage fogger.


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## kciaccio

*Cheap thunder and lightning*

I bought a DJ quality 75 watt strobe off of e-bay for $50 and a www.chauvetlighting.com and digital controller for $30. Used suburban thunder cd for a very realistic and large thunder storm effect!


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## Fright Zone

That's interesting. Still under $100. Which Chauvet controller did you get and how does it create the Lightning FX?


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## jrzmac

fright zone, check your email....


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## NickG

probably the chauvet CH-751 controller,

Amazon.com: Chauvet Basic Strobe Controller - Sound Activated with Cable: Musical [email protected]@[email protected]@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/[email protected]@[email protected]@41v9rJAoyVL

I thought about going that route but picked up some of the special fx boxes instead.


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## Fright Zone

Thanks for the link. That's interesting.


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## kciaccio

Nick is right on. That is the one I have.


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## kciaccio

Here is the exact strobe. http://www.chauvetlighting.com/fixtures/technostrobe2000s_fix.shtml


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## Fright Zone

Thanx for the link on the strobe.

Is the CH-751 controller only sound activated or does it have an audio line in option to control it?


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## NickG

FWIW, I picked up the atmosphere collection thunderstorm CD that wolfstone recommended (got it on amazon) and it's pretty good.. has a 60min long thunderstorm (ho-hum) andthen 23 individual tracks, each with a thunderclap in it, and the spacing is just about perfect. My CD player lets me choose a play list of tracks to repeat so I'll be able to skip track one and keep the rest on repeat...


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## Fright Zone

Thanks for the tip. I see it now. It's hard to find things on wolfstone sometimes. I see both of the CD's you guys mentioned are on there. And wolfstone's commerical lightning unit reviews. Here's the new web site for Suburban Thunder. He has another called Thunderstorms 2006. Might sound a little too nature-y and not ominous. They have both of those on iTunes. i-Zombie also sells their CD separately which wolfstone liked but it has tracks for mono, delay and stereo.


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## NickG

oh, bummer... I could have used the izombie cd instead b/c I'm going to be using two fx boxes in stereo...


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## Fright Zone

I hooked up my stereo Y-adapter mini plug to my Mac then one cord going to my speakers and the other to the Lightning FX audio line in. I played the 30 second sample off iTunes. The Thunderstorm Atmosphere Collection Breakout tracks flickered the lights really well. The only thing I'd say is that it has rain sounds which as someone mentioned before doesn't make the most sense in a yard haunt when there is not rain. However the rain sounds on that collection is relatively quiet and in the background and doesn't bother me too much. The demo videos on i-Zombie's site presumably use their thunder tracks. It sounds like it's just pure thunder but perhaps a little loud. But then again it's not fair to say since it's a QuickTime video demo.


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## Fright Zone

I recently bought the Thunderstorm Atmosphere Collection (Rykodisc) cheap off half.com. The breakout tracks work to my liking with the Lighting FX unit.


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## Gothic Nightmare

OK guys, here is one great method that needs to be mentioned.

Here is the process, in order:

one - create or load your thunder / storm track into your computer.

two - using basic digital video editing software (free ones are available, but I use Adobe Premier) load in your sound track, then create a video clip using just black screen, except when the thunder strikes, where you create all white frames. You can sync the white frame "flashes" exactly to the thunder sound. Repeat until you have all the thunder claps in your audio done.

three - when your video is done, burn it to a DVD.

four - use a very small TV (I use a 12") or video monitor as your light source, connect a dvd player and your speakers and point the TV where you want the lightning to reflect the flashes, and boom...perfectly sync'd thunder and lightning. You can also just use a laptop with extra speakers/subs too.

This can light up a large area with bright lightning flashes. You just need a place to hide the small TV. This work really good in windows, because you can place the TV below the window out of site.

For a long video just copy the video clip you made and repeat it until the DVD is at capacity.

best part - many people already have everything they need to do this, so it's free!

Just thought I'd share.


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## NickG

tested the stuff last night...


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## Fright Zone

Here's my [nomedia]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlAcO8ePrtk[/nomedia] I finally got online. From the video description:

Halloween Yard Haunt Test. A 400W fog machine with a timer. Positioned within 1-2 feet of the back of a large tombstone. 1000W halogen white balanced floodlights plugged into a Lightning FX unit behind the setup. The idea is to combat wind and create atmosphere by letting the fog hit the back of the tombstone to collect in an area then be backlit by the lights. One problem with the Lightning FX unit is that it was controlled by sounds from a CD player. The passing cars and the fog machine sounds made the unit stay on most of the time. So a thunder & lightning audio track in the future will be played by an iPod Shuffle plugged into a stereo Y-splitter. Speakers can also be plugged into the splitter. That will be plugged directly into the Lightning FX unit's RCA mono input. Ambient sounds will no longer affect the control of the lights. Possible demo video to come at a later time. Overall the idea of shooting fog into the back of an object and backlighting it worked well enough to try it again. Rather than shoting fog straight out of the fogger dissipating into thin air or broken up by the wind. Note that the Lightning FX unit is rated to handle up to 500W but the double halogens totaling 1000W worked fine with it. Video July 2007.


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