Show Tips, Tricks, and useful information

Charlees Props has a lot going on that we want you to know about! Partnership! We will be announcing, very soon, a partnership in the works with a well known sequencer/vendor!  Watch for their props to be available on our site, with some modifications, and for specials linking the 2 vendors! Sales for the next few days! 05/24-05/26 only - we will be offering a special on regular priced props!  Buy any prop at regular price and get any 2nd prop (equal or lesser) at 50% off!  Must enter code Flash50 during checkout. We still have some 'new old stock' from our pixel hole size change-over, you can find those on sale by clicking here! We also still have our 'defect lot' for sale - which is a huge savings over regular priced props.  They're not perfect, but all still very usable at holding pixels in the right place.  Check it out here. Christmas Expo, July 2023 We will be at Christmas Expo.  One of our popular props will be painted, pixels pushed, on display - and GIVEN AWAY!  Check out what we are offering in terms of discounts/product pickup by clicking here! Custom Prop Orders/Requests We are currently working through custom orders that get requested.  Several have recently gone out, some have been added to our store, one we are working on is 10ft tall and one we are about to work on was requested by a well known pixel vendor!  To find out more about the process for custom props - check out our page by clicking here. New Name? Charlees Props may not be the easiest to find, or there could be a mis-spell directing you to the wrong place.  We plan to keep the name - but some of our visible links may change which could be:propsforpixels.comcustomcoroprops.com  

This weekend, 05/06/2023, Charlees Props (Thom) will be at the PNW Mini, C.L.A.P. (Christmas Lights Addiction Program..... what were YOU thinking?! ;)  ) In our 2022 season, for both Halloween and Christmas, our EFL wings were 'travelling' - but also integrated with our show. At CLAP we will be presenting how to setup the Experience Lights GPIO Extender kit with props - and how to use for both 'on the go' without a show network and how to easily integrate it back into your show!   Check out the presentation here!  

This post is of a certain opinion that may not apply to all and many may not even agree with. That said - I always recommend spending the time to plan, plan again, and way overbuild your show.  Almost to an obsessive point.  I'm not talking about pixel counts or too many controllers.  I'm talking about structures and securing props. There are many ways to build bigger structures (like mega trees) - when planning your structures - consider your climate and how to secure it.  What works for us may not work for you.  However - always over plan, over engineer, and overbuild. An example - a 20ft megatree (plus star) seemed a bit questionable with an ASAP kit where we live.  Our climate can include winds that exceed 70mph, snow, and freezing rain - all in the same day.  Our solution was a 20ft radio tower, 600lbs of concrete, a 10ft trampoline base with an additional 400lbs of concrete - 3/8" steel cable that runs to 5ft steel stakes pounded into the ground.     With that said - I'm going to talk about how we attach our props to our house at our personal show.  This requires a bit of a commitment for (minor) modifications to your house, PVC pipe, bolts, and zip ties. We use Sammy's anchors - and install these (or shorter versions, depending on location - buy what you need) into the house where we plan to have props. The prop will get a PVC frame made - and either zip tied from the coro to the frame or, depending on prop and pixel tightness/density, from the pixel wiring to the pvc frame.  Holes are drilled through the PVC pipe and 3" bolts with wingnuts inserted through the PVC holes and threaded into the Sammy's anchors. Obviously you would want to install the anchors after the prop is framed out and ready to hang, but you get the idea.  When these are being installed - we drill a pilot hole, fill it with silicone (allowing it to spill over to the surface) then drill in the anchor, ensuring enough silicone surrounds the hardware.  This ensures a waterproof install. This method DOES leave (semi) permanent hardware in your house.  However, removal of a prop is simply loosening/removing the bolts (usually 3-4 per prop, even heavier HD props) and taking the prop down.   This method allows you to use the same frames between holidays and swap the props out - and simple install of a few bolts into the hardware year after year. As a note - I mention this is 'semi' permanent because your type of siding may determine how permanent.  Drilling through vinyl will leave a permanent hole.  Drilling through wood/fiber cement board will allow you to remove the hardware, fill the hole, and paint over if ever needed. These are only opinions and ideas of how we have built a weatherproof show that sees a variety of extreme weathers. Happy, and safe, building!  

Zip tie safety?!  They're zip ties!   Yep - Zip tie safety.  Zip ties are used in this hobby - thousands, possibly, even just in your show. What makes them not safe?  When you cut the tails.  Now - safety here might be a low priority - but sometimes a cut zip tie tail will get your arm or backside of your hand, and sometimes they can give you a pretty good cut. There's a super simple solution to this - and you probably have the needed 'tool' in your bathroom.   Watch this video to find out more - and then check out our props that are designed to ship in pieces then use zip ties (and coro brackets) to re-assmble, saving you on shipping costs!  

In this blog, including video, we discuss the extreme differences in 5v and 12v Megatree builds and mindsets

The pixels are pushed, the wiring is run, controllers configured, sequences are... sequenced - and your show is running live!  Viewers love it and you decide you want to take video of your show.