Jeff's Christmas Lights Thread...

[Jeff]

Boy yesterday was rough on the old credit card. LOR had a "Secret Sale" for their end of tax year inventory reduction. Bought 5 more controllers to bring the total up to 6. Looks like 2008 will officially feature 96 channels of pure joy(unless the credit card takes another hit during LORs yearly sale in June).

I also wired up 5 more mini-trees for a total of 12 now. I am almost thinking that I will go for 16 total and control each tree AND each color individually(for a total of 48 channels just for these trees). At first that sounded like a lot of channels to me, but with securing 96 channels this early in the year already, I can see myself adding 2 or 3 more controllers in June. (yes, it *IS*a sickness just like DC and everything else fun in life)

And of course, another electrical update. After wiring the sub-panel up I got to thinking about the "not to code" hookup I had for the emergency generator. If I'm going to be doing things right, I may as well do this 100% correct then too so I ordered another sub-panel(with lockouts) and an outside generator outlet.
(JFYI, the generator was backfeed through a 240v 20A circuit breaker to the main, which is only illegal because you have to switch the 200A main off and this one on in two seperate steps. Code requires some form of lockout so it is impossible for both to be on at the same time, which can create hazardous voltage outside your house by backfeeding through your transformer)

[gopher_yarrowzoo]

Jeff - STOP NOW before it takes over your life , oh wait I think it already HAS!
96 channels of joy - yeah you say that now but think of the wiring NIGHTMARE that will be 96 channels unless you plan on using good power rated multi-cored cable with at least 8 pairs so 1 for every 2 trees.. or just making it a massive bundle I'd start laying cable out about oh sept I know how hard it is to try and wiring up a single alarm panel fully zoned out - 8 zones, remote keypads, bell and a phone line + space for the battery - to say space is at a premium wouldn't be too far from the truth, and then there is carefully pushing it all in to make sure the cover closes and nothing is shorting out
Now if your gonna make joint I did see something not sure how much of a power rating it's got but it's basically a gel filled crimp so you put the cables in, crimp it with a pair of pliers and your done it's water tight (to a point).

Oh yeah Good luck with explaining the credit card to the Boss!

[Jeff]

Thanks for the great ideas.

I think being involved in a few video game shows in the past has helped me prepare for this undertaking. I was the guy in charge of getting as many old arcade games to the shows as possible. It was up to me to make sure everything was wired up for power and such so I started this whole thing off with a bunch of cords.

On top of that I have purchased 3000' of "zip cord" and ends for most of the channels I will be doing. Less than 1A will be passed on most of my channels so this wiring will be plenty in terms of current.

There are many different ways to wire up channels, one way is via a shared neutral. You basically oversize the neutral and then control each circuit with just the hot. It sounds worse than it is and it saves copper. I was planning on this route, but with all the wire I have already, I don't think I'll need to go this way.

At any rate, LOR has shipped my controllers so I should have a present waiting for me when I get back home on Friday(away for work this week unfortunetly).

[Jeff]

Ended up getting the last of the controllers soldered/assembled today. It was nice having a very slow day at work today.

The stack of boxes on the left are "Planet Christmas" controllers from LOR, think of them as a "bang for your buck" controller. The large gray box to their right is part of LOR's Showtime line, pretty much top end.

Basically, the way I am going to be using them there isn't much difference in the two, except for $$$. And soldering/assembling them makes them all the cheaper.




Figure I'll make the last two mini-trees tomorrow(for 16 total, or 300x16=4,800 total lights). After that, a little break is in order. Maybe for a week or two since I'm pretty much right on(or maybe even a little ahead) of my loose schedule.

Next on the list are the outside electrical outlets. Only real pain in the butt ones are going to be up on the roof. Getting cables up there isn't going to be impossible, just dirty and time consuming.

At any rate, once the weather gets a bit nicer, I'm going to be putting the 16 mini-trees in the back yard and then doing some demo work. I'll be sure to post a video once the real fun begins. Up until now it's basically just been all preparation work... and to be honest, I'm getting a bit antsy to start programming the show.

[Digital Parasite]

Sweet, can't wait to see the demo.

[Jeff]

Here is what we are working on now...
http://www.adventurevision.com/pub/Arches/

I'll put a little demo together once we are finished with the four arches we are making. The pictures show them with 800 multi-color minis on them. After that, we add 900 clear minis. The multi-color will be either all on or off while the clear minis will be grouped 100 per 12". These sections are how we will animate.

[paleseptember]

Ooooh, shiny!

is still eight months away, you'll have to install your own power substation at this rate to ensure 'quality' electric

[LAURENU2]

Thanks for the great ideas.

Jeff did you ever think of getting like a disco laser light show
That way you can use All the houses around your house as a screen for your Lights
Or just to high lite the snow when it falls

[Jeff]

Personally, I haven't really thought about it, but I did notice someone else has...
http://planetchristmas.mywowbb.com/forum13/23113.html

I have a feeling my location of being within 2 miles of our airport may just make me forget about anything like that. Pretty darn cool though.

[Jeff]

BTW, I have been taking a small break from the Christmas lights. Those arches take alot out of you since it is such slow work. I partly wish I would have settled on just white lights since over-wrapping a second layer is tough. I will eventually update with pictures and a video or two of them working.

[LAURENU2]

ya you could put a star over your house like this
http://chinesedepartmentstore.com.cn...n-laser-01.MPG
You should setup a network Vid cam and broadcast live to the Net