Darryl's Doings: The Lights On Townley Blog

Rolling into the Christmas season

2010-11-07T09:44:00.002-07:00

With only 18 days until the Christmas lights are switched on, I have updated The Lights On Townley website. I'll be updating it one more time this year once everything is set up in order to post new photos, videos, and trivia details about the show. We look forward to you visiting us. The show begins Thanksgiving night, November 25th and continues through the Sunday following New Years Day, January 2nd.

In the works for 2010

2010-07-05T20:01:00.006-07:00

We're over halfway through 2010, so what's in the works for this year's show at The Lights On Townley?
This year, the show will feature:

Approx 15,000 LED Christmas lights.
9 Light-O-Rama CTB16PC controllers (144 channels)
A play list of 9 songs, putting the show length at 30 minutes
A 15' Mega-Tree split into two tiers
12 Mini-Trees
5 Color-changing Light Poles
Lighted Abstract Nativity
Kneeling Santa
Bethlehem Star on the roof - blinks Morse code during one song
Red, Green and Blue Arches
Synchronized video projected in front windows during selected songs

2009 Christmas light show is coming to a close

2010-01-03T21:35:00.002-07:00

This has been a wonderful 2009 Christmas season with The Lights On Townley! It is a new year, and we're in the last few minutes of the final show at the time I'm writing this. This has been a very fun way for us to meet other people in our neighborhood. Pray that God will continue to help us reach out and be a blessing to those around us.

We have been thinking of several ideas to incorporate into the Christmas 2010 show: Expanding existing elements, Adding more lights, Adding more channels, Changing the song play list, etc.

2010 will be a terrific year for us in several ways: We are starting a new growth project with McGinnis Mall; We want to increase our donations to the causes/people we currently support; We'll be taking more trips up to the property (after it warms up a bit, of course!); and unbelievably, Hannah will be starting High School in less than a year!

The show begins tomorrow.

2009-11-25T23:45:00.005-07:00

This week has been major crunch time for getting the show completed and ready to switch on Thanksgiving evening. While I'm writing this entry, I'm finishing up the video rendering on another computer. Things are coming together for a successful launch; however at the beginning of this week I encountered a very rough set back. One of the hard drives that make up the RAID-0 stripe set on my video editing computer failed. So, video editing was interrupted for a full day while I had to troubleshoot that problem and finally re-stripe the good hard drives and reload data from the backup. The good news is everything is now back in good working order and I was able to finally continue with the video editing.

I also discovered that the Light-O-Rama DC-MP3 Director inserts a small amount of time between each sequence it plays, so keeping the video in sync with the lights was not the easiest thing to accomplish; so much so that I had to slightly alter my approach to synchronization.

I use a NewTek VT3 Video Toaster to run the video with the lights. (Yes, I know that Light-O-Rama will handle playing a video file as its audio source.) ...I always have to make things more complex - ONE video wasn't enough. I wanted TWO separate videos to run simultaneously, both synchronized to the lights and music. A special interface was built for Light-O-Rama to "talk" to the Video Toaster. Really, it was a no-brainer... The Toaster could accept a GPI trigger to signal a transition. The interface is simply a relay. When power is supplied to the Light-O-Rama channel assigned to the Toaster, the relay trips closing the contacts for the GPI trigger. But a small amount of programming and careful setup was necessary to get an automated process to work correctly. Considering that I have the SX-8, not the SX-84 means that the only video output is PGM out. So how did I manage two separate video out content? ...there are ways! My Toaster setup includes dual monitor configuration with an NVidia MX440. I set up my second monitor as a full-screen Preview Monitor. The key is that I have a VGA to NTSC video encoder hooked up to that output. So I project Preview content in one of my windows and Program content in the other window.

Now the challenge of getting two videos to start simultaneously and place one of them on the Program Bus and the other on the Preview Bus. The trick is a little bit of programming in ToasterScript combined with a plan of execution in the switcher setup. I openned 12 DDRs and put them on the switcher inputs 1 thru 12. The content of DDR1 is for Preview. the content of DDR2 is for Program. However, the only way to auto-start a DDR with Cue-In is to transition it to Program. DDR1 is put on Preview and transitioned to Program with a simultaneous transition of DDR2 on DSK. Immediately following the transition, I place DDR1 on the Preview Bus. DDR3 is set up with Black, so at the end of the sequence, the Toaster is signalled again and it places DDR3 on both Preview and Program. I broke up the video into 4 segments to help with the synchronization; that's why I set up 12 DDRs. Through ToasterScript programming, I was able to "walk-thru" the DDRs at the appropriate occasions.

Only 10 more days

2009-11-15T23:20:00.002-07:00

Things have gotten so busy I've not really had a good opportunity to post updates lately. The nativity is the only element still under construction. All the mini trees are done, the arches are done, the faux poles are done, the stars are done, the sign is done. All light controllers have been built. All lights (except for the nativity) have been put up outside and powered by the light controllers. The spider box is in place and cabled up supplying power to the controllers. The transmitters are in place and working. A number of test-runs have been performed (and will continue until fully ready for Thanksgiving evening.) One of two video projectors have been set up. It turns out there is a very small lag between songs as the DC-MP3 unit performs the sequences. Normally, you wouldn't be aware of it; but when synchronizing video in the show, it becomes apparent after a few songs. So I'll have to account for that during my video editing.

Preparations continue

2009-10-21T21:48:00.005-07:00

Lights have now been clipped onto the Bethlehem star and the Mega Tree-Topper star. During the clipping I discovered that one of the LEDs was missing both the light-body and lens. The LED with it's bare wires was simply soldered in the line, looking rather goofy without the molded plastic body and lens. At this point in my clipping process, I had to find a way to make it work for me. Just a week earlier, I had purchased a small pack of heat-shrink tubing for another piece of the Christmas project. So, with electrical tape, the heat-shrink tubing, and a little finesse, I created my own light-body which could then be clipped to the star frame and secured in place with a zip tie. I doubt anyone without knowledge of the missing lens would notice. For those that read this blog, this can be a fun challenge for you to find this unique LED when you come to see the show.

My brother, Miles helped me wrap a couple more Mini Trees. Only two left to go now.

My daughter, Hannah helped me wrap the last of the arches. Blue now joins red and green. I also found a picture I took of D.O.G. "helping" me with the red arch.

If things weren't in high gear before, they certainly are now!

2009-10-10T12:10:00.031-07:00

I figured it was time to post another update. Things are very busy now (as if they weren't before??)! This post should catch everybody up to where things stand at this point.

Several weeks ago, I ordered some book from Barnes & Noble on behalf of my brother who lives in the boonies. When that package arrived, there was an advertising flier included for ordering printed material from Vistaprint. Deep discounts and Free offers caught my attention, so I ordered 500 business cards to promote our light display. Since that time, I've received a limited time promotional offer from them for several free products. So, I'm working at deciding exactly what I want.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the LED lights arrived from LED Holiday Lighting. To save on shipping costs, William and I and one other person formed a group shipment delivered to one address. In the end, LED Holiday Lighting wound up making a number of mistakes. They shipped the other guy's lights separately to his own address; Wrong amounts were charged to credit cards; Some light strings were mis-picked (wrong item shipped); And some strings were missing entirely from the shipment. Then we found out that Travis (of LED Holiday Lighting) was diagnosed having H1N1 (Swine) Flu. I am pleased to announce that the credit card charges have all been corrected and a shipment is scheduled to arrive Tuesday having the corrections to the orders.

I've sorted and labeled all the lights I've received so far, identifying the string count and the string's purpose within the display.

On facebook, I have commented on several occasions my progress on building extension cords, wrapping arches and mini trees, eating peach pie, etc. Here are a few pictures of some of the finished items. All of the extension cords are done. I have one more arch (the blue one) yet to wrap. I have four more mini trees to wrap, and the peach pie was delicious!

I started work on building the Nativity scene. 3/4" ACX Plywood is Expensive! But it is all worth it! Last night I transfered the pattern to the plywood with black graphite transfer paper and cut out the overall shapes. There's still a lot more work to do on them: more cuts to make, 420 holes to drill, lots of sanding, painting and attaching lights!

I bought the parts, and William wired up a GPI trigger interface for me. This device will trigger the synchronized start of the video elements in the show.

The light sequencing... oh, the light sequencing. At the start of this project, I chose 18 songs for the light show and declared that I was either crazy or extremely ambitious. I am sticking to that statement! I have 3 and a half more songs to program light sequencing.

Like I said, if things weren't in high gear before, they certainly are now!

The lights are here

2009-09-25T23:53:00.002-07:00

The LED lights from LED Holiday Lighting have arrived. There were a couple of mix-ups but I expect all will be resolved quickly. I'm now testing each string and labeling each for their intended purposes. I've got 5 boxes, close to 20 lbs each -- so I'll be busy for a little while...

Painting Metal

2009-09-12T11:33:00.005-07:00

The Bethlehem star and the 5 pole grids are now white. The tree-topper star and mini-trees are now green.

The LED lights from LED Holiday Lighting supposedly have been shipped and should be arriving soon. There will be lots of clipping and wrapping soon to come!

I've continued building extension cords during television time.

Business cards have been made to coordinate with TheLightsOnTownley.com website promoting the address and dates the show will be running. September is NOT too soon to begin handing them out!

Less than 90 days to go

2009-08-31T22:29:00.004-07:00

We're now "on base, ready to turn final approach"!

Saturday night I finished the light sequencing for "A Mad Russian's Christmas" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. That places me at 11 songs completed and 7 yet to go. Sequencing is where I'm feeling the most pressure at the moment for getting things finished.

Also over the weekend, I built 32 extension cords from SPT-2 wire and vampire ends. I have 81 more to construct. When the project is complete, I will have slightly more than 1/2 mile of extension cords.

I've received word from LED Holiday Lighting that my order of LED lights should be shipped/delivered within the next couple weeks. Then I'll be wrapping the arches and clipping light strings to my Stars, Poles, etc.

The end is within sight and approaching quickly!

Director and FM Transmitter

2009-08-15T15:25:00.003-07:00

Today I mounted the DC-MP3 Director and the EDM Design FM Transmitter into a controller enclosure. Even though the box has a ton of mounting holes all over it, the combination of these two items in the one box forced me to slightly angle the Director to get them both to fit decently. Overall, I'm quite pleased with it! I'm running out of time this afternoon, so a full-scale test will have to come later.

Building stuff continues

2009-08-08T16:09:00.008-07:00

With only 110 days until the lights are switched on, it is time to shift into high gear to complete the project. Light-O-Rama had their July sale. I have received the DC-MP3 Director and an enclosure to mount it in. I still have two more controllers to build but they only take me a day each to build.

The LED lights should be delivered mid-to-late August. I'm getting anxious for them to arrive!

Last weekend, William Morris helped me finish up the welding work I needed done. The Mega-tree Star Topper now has mounting hardware to attach it to the top of my basketball hoop pole with hooks around it for stringing the Mega-tree lights.

The 4th light pole now has a detachable cross beam which secures with 4 bolts.

The tomato cages have their tops welded together to make them into mini-trees.

I purchased 6 10ft sticks of 3/4" PVC pipe for the Arches. Cut three of them to 6ft and the other three to 9-1/2ft. They assemble with T joints. I secured the 6ft base of each one with PVC Pipe Cement and painted them Hunter Green. The 9-1/2ft pieces will remain "loose" to make wrapping lights simpler.

Three controllers ready

2009-07-03T23:17:00.003-07:00

Today I built the third of five LOR controllers. I also upgraded the LOR software to version 2.3.6 Advanced.

From July 6th through July 20th, Light-O-Rama is having their Summer Sale. I will be ordering the DC-MP3 Director during this time-frame. As an extra incentive, LOR is offering a "Try For Free" promotion in which certain orders picked at random will be provided completely free including shipping. Last year, there were 36 winners. All orders that are not picked will get an extra 2% discount off the price. The number of orders to be provided free of charge will depend on the value of each order picked. LOR is giving away a minimum of $20,000 worth of merchandise, up to $2,500.00 per order. But that's not all - There will also be four people that will receive a new Dell PC, worth a minimum of $700.00 each. I hope I win! But either way, the sale price plus an extra 2% discount simply for entering the contest is worthwhile!

UPDATE: I was not selected as a "Try For Free" winner... oh well - I still got the extra 2% discount beyond the sale prices!

Power is ready

2009-07-01T21:16:00.008-07:00

Between Monday and today, my father-in-law, Leonard helped me acquire materials and install the RV outlet which will supply power to the Spider box. It took two trips to Home Depot, but we got what we needed. We routed the power out of my electric service panel inside conduit through the storage room on the East end of the house to the carport. The total length is 24 feet. It would have been nice if the price of copper was lower, but I'm glad this part of the project is complete.

Of course I hooked up the Spider box! This was the first time I have applied power to it, and I'm happy to say that it is fully functional and works correctly. Considering what all this is for, I decided to initiate the system with a string of Christmas lights to test each of the Spider box's circuits.

Also this week, I received three rolls of SPT2 wire and vampire plugs & receptacles from ChristmasLightShow.com for making my own custom length extension cord "bundles" for multi-channel items.

Almost half way there (time-wise)

2009-06-03T20:45:00.004-07:00

Only 175 days and 21 hours until the lights are turned on. That means my New Year's resolution is 154 days old! ...so big picture - How am I doing?

When I started The Lights On Townley blog, I wrote out an eight step plan to put this all together:

#1 - Watch for sales throughout the year! Big Christmas light displays = big expense. Part of the planning means knowing the associated costs. Remember LED strings initially cost more than conventional strings, but the operating costs are only 10% of conventional.

I'm watching! I found LED Holiday Lighting as my LED supplier. The lights were ordered during their Pre-Sale event providing a significant price discount. There are several other elements necessary for putting together such a display. 1. Power source - 50Amp RV outlet (I know it is way overkill for LEDs, but it becomes a nice addition to the house!). Measurements have been taken to determine lengths of cable and conduit. 2. Power distribution - Multi-outlet "Spider Box" typically used at construction sites. Found a great deal on it via Craig's List. 3. LOR Controllers. I purchased five, most of them during their "Super Secret Sale" in February. During their Summer sale, I will purchase the DC MP3 Director unit. 4. Extension cords. I'm watching for any sales. Unfortunately the price of copper is rather high right now. Overall, I'm on track!

#2 - Design the show. I've already nailed down the basics. My goal is roughly 5,000 lights (mostly LED if possible) controlled by 48 channels of Light-O-Rama set to several Christmas music selections.

The design is complete. I doubled the number of lights and increased the number of LOR channels to 80. All music selections have been chosen. Overall, I'm on track!

#3 - Purchase and build light controllers, FM transmitter, and various items used in and for the show.

Five LOR controllers have been purchased and two of them have been assembled. The FM transmitter has been purchased and built. An AM transmitter was given to me. 200 feet of 1/4" round steel has been purchased and welded into a Bethlehem Star, a Mega-Tree Topper Star, and five "RGB Poles". These items still need to be painted and mounting hardware attached. I have charts for building an illuminated Nativity scene. My father-in-law will be helping me with the wood-working. Overall, I'm on track!

#4 - Program the light sequences to music.

I have completed sequencing for seven music selections. There are a total of 18 songs planned for the show. Overall, I feel slightly behind schedule, but I should be able to easily catch up to where I want to be.

#5 - Edit video elements for coordinated use in the show. (That's all I'm saying on this subject for now - wait and see!)

I'm deliberately not saying much related to the video elements. I will say though, overall, I'm on track!

#6 - Acquire a temporary power distribution unit such as a CEP 6506-GU, power connection cable, and install a plug-in receptacle for it at my breaker box.

I got one - or something VERY CLOSE to it! Personally, I think what I got is even better! Only thing lacking is the installation of the RV receptacle. Overall, I'm on track!

#7 - Set everything up in time to throw the switch after Thanksgiving.

I still have 175 days -- We'll cross that bridge when we get there!

#8 - Plan for 2010.

I'm already thinking ahead for next years additions - but at this point they are still only ideas.

Metal working

2009-05-23T23:10:00.008-07:00

Yesterday I picked up 200' of 1/4" round steel from Industrial Metal Supply. Today William Morris helped me with the welding.

This past week, I have been finalizing the designs of the Bethlehem star, tree topper star, and "the poles". The most challenging was calculating the size of the Bethlehem star. About halfway through my calculations, I figured there MUST be a faster way that wasn't so brain consuming... and I found it. (Gotta love the Internet!) The Triangle Calculator worked wonders to speed up the process and help preserve my sanity!

The tree topper star design was a bit simpler considering all segments were equal lengths. Its build time was roughly equal to that of the Bethlehem star. There is still one thing yet to finish for the build of the tree topper star. The base needs a short segment of 3/4" pipe attached to a metal junction box with coat hooks around its perimeter.

Finally, "the poles" were very easy. They are simply 3 parallel rods "capped" at the top and bottom.

Next step will be to primer and paint them all, followed by attachment of the lights.

By the way - There are now 6 songs that have the light sequencing completed.

Achieving a desired appearance

2009-03-30T00:34:00.012-07:00

I recently saw this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sGmCox-toU showing a comparison of leaping arches. One standard arch, the other sheathed in white vinyl vent hose. I preferred the standard arch, however the idea got me to thinking about my poles. I wanted to have an RGB look without the expense of true RGB LEDs. The unfortunate thing is that no matter how closely you can physically place a red led, green led and blue led next to each other they will still look like red, green and blue points of light. From the opposite side of the street they might begin to appear to blend together but you'd have to be several houses away for them to totally blend together - and that's certainly not what I'm going for...

Tonight I experimented with a small section of white vinyl vent hose on my own. Like a dummy, I didn't take pictures until I achieved the look I was going for. So, to describe what I did: My first attempt was to wrap red, green and blue led strings around a broom handle (since I didn't have any PVC handy); stick that inside the vent hose; and light it up. It looked stupid. There were "hot spot" points of red, green and blue since the leds where pointing every which way and were uncontrollably close to or touching the inside of the hose. Next, I re-wrapped the broom handle, but this time kept the leds pointing in the same direction, securing them in place by wrapping the wires over the leds as I went. This helped eliminate the bright points of red, green and blue light; however the sheer randomness of the wrapping ended up creating clump patterns of color which still defeated the blending effect of the red, green and blue.

Finally, I used my new 1/4" clips and attached the leds to three plastic coat hangers and clipped the coat hangers together in a similar fashion to my original plan using 1/4" steel as a framework for my poles. Next I cut the vent hose lengthwise so I could wrap it around the lights since there's no way the hangers would fit inside the vent hose. This proved to be a blessing in disguise as well. I was able to affix the vent hose providing a maximum distance between the lights and the inside wall of the vent hose which is necessary to achieve good diffusion of light. Overall, I like the effect!

In addition to pictures, I have included a video below which demonstrates a test. It starts with all lights off, fades all lights on then off again; then fades up red and fade-cycles through the color spectrum.

Thank you William for letting me borrow a string of blue leds since my blues won't be arriving until LED Holiday Lighting ships the 2009 pre-order!

The bells are nearly finished

2009-03-27T22:52:00.003-07:00

I have attached the 100 Green and 100 White LED lights to the wire frame bells. The three berries in the middle will have to wait until I receive my order of LEDs from LED Holiday Lighting. When they arrive, I'll attach a 35-count string of 5mm Red LEDs to complete it.

Light Clips

2009-03-25T18:12:00.007-07:00

The 1/4" light clips for attaching lights to various wire frames arrived today. These light clips were ordered from Betty's Christmas House. $22.95 per bag of 1000.

Not a whole lot else has been going on. I've done a little bit more sequencing but we're still at four songs fully completed.

Bells will be ringing...

2009-03-17T19:52:00.007-07:00

Membership has its privileges! Today I received a "Double Bells with Holly" wire frame from Suprtec Novelties (www.Christmas-LEDs.com). I got a 30% discount on my order for being a member of Planet Christmas (www.PlanetChristmas.com). It stores folded in half. A threaded bolt in the middle secures it unfolded. 1/4" light clips will be used to attach Green, Red, and White LED strings to the frame. I still need to order the clips, but I've found that Betty's Christmas House (www.BettysChristmasHouse.com) has them for a very good price. They carry both 1/4" clips and 3/16" clips.

Phoenix March Meet Up

2009-03-15T10:07:00.009-07:00

Last night a Phoenix area Meet Up was held at the home of William and Kim Morris (www.twodoglights.com). I got to meet Frank and his wife Christine Kostyun (www.ahwatukeeholidays.com) and Larry Johnson. William had set up a few elements of his show in the back yard along with some new strobes he is adding to his show this year. He had the LED flood lights and countdown clock from Craig operational. Both Craig and Frank have a few really cool things in the works that will be made available to the public later this year.

Thank you William and Kim for openning your home for the Meet Up. Thank you Kim for the delicious lasagna & salad! (If you weren't there, you missed out!)

More controllers and transmitters

2009-03-14T00:04:00.008-07:00

The last couple weeks have been busy with things like work, taxes, technical directing at CCV, and setting up an IBM iSeries (AS/400) recently added to my computer collection. However that does not mean the Christmas lights project came to a stand-still; far from it! I have completed 4 music sequences now so far. The four Light-O-Rama CTB16PC controller kits I ordered from their "Secret Sale" arrived. The FM transmitter kit from EDM Design also arrived this week. I also had the pleasure of meeting Craig in Tucson who is building LED flood lights controllable via Light-O-Rama to produce any desired color. These are the flood lights that William Morris has been testing.

Tonight I built the EDM Design FM-TX-LCD kit. What they consider a kit is hilarious; yet fantastic! The kit required me to press the processor chip into its socket, solder the power connector to the corner of the circuit board, and mount the board inside a supplied metal case. After only a couple minor adjustments, I was on the air. I set the transmit power to 1mW (lowest power setting) for testing. The supplied wire test antenna was laid out horizontally across the table for simplicity. I got in the van and was able to hear the broadcast up to three houses away in either direction. It will work perfectly well when it is moved outside and the antenna is vertically oriented.

LOR Secret Sale

2009-02-28T10:02:00.005-07:00

Today is the Light-O-Rama Secret Sale. The sale begins at 2:00 PM Eastern Time. That's only an hour and a half from now! I'll be ordering 4 more CTB16PC Complete Kit Packages. Regular price $179.95, on sale for $149.95 each.

Thanks Bulbby for letting me know about the Secret Sale!

UPDATE: During the final moments before Noon Local Time (2PM Eastern), I was pressing the F5 key at the Light-O-Rama website waiting for the sale to "go live". As quickly as possible, I navigated to the item I was interested in and added it to my cart. At this point, the site indicated that there were 249 units available. I updated my quantity to 4 and checked out as rapidly as possible. As soon as the transaction was complete, I went back to check their inventory levels and found that they were already down to 192 remaining. WOW! Regarding this blinking light obsession/addiction, I'm obviously not alone!!

Light stakes and transmitters

2009-02-24T23:30:00.005-07:00

With the regularity of packages arriving at my doorstep, it is almost like everyday is Christmas! Yesterday, two packages arrived. The first from Ron's Home & Hardware containing 350 Light Stakes for the perimeter of my yard. Including shipping costs, I got them for a dime each.

The second package came from my sister, Julie. She had told me that they had an FM Transmitter laying around from when they sold their previous house. It was just collecting dust, so she would give it to me. It turns out it is an AM transmitter, not FM. Oh well - I'll still get an FM transmitter and then I can simulcast the show on both AM & FM! I played with it for a while last night - it works. It seems that a line level signal fed into the line input needs more attenuation and EQ adjustments though because the audio at the receiver sounded over modulated especially in the lower audio frequencies. Another issue I'm not certain yet how to overcome is that there is a low frequency hum that is heard in the reception. It does get drowned out fairly well when audio is present, but when all is quiet, the hum is rather obnoxious. If anyone has ideas, I'm open to suggestions.

Mini light color caps

2009-02-21T22:56:00.008-07:00

The color and black-out caps arrived from Christmas Light Show today. These mini light caps will be used on roughly 500+ conventional mini lights affixed to painted wood cut-outs. The exact light count won't be known until the artwork designs are finalized.

These little caps work very nicely on conventional mini lights; however they are to small to fit over the M5 LEDs. The picture of the caps attached to the mini lights was difficult to get looking even this good. It really does look much better in person. The black-out caps are terrific! They completely block all light from the bulb.

UPDATE: At the March Meet Up, I discovered that these caps will fit over the 5mm concave LEDs. These LEDs will not go deep into the caps, however they should stay on reasonably well. They also look very good over the LED light (better than the conventional minis in my opinion).

The LEDs are on order

2009-02-21T00:54:00.003-07:00

The LED lights order has been finalized with 172 strings of varying lengths. This combined with other LED lights I already have will provide 10,435 LED lights plus approximately 500+ conventional mini lights for the show.

We've been busy selecting the songs to sequence the lights to. I'm either crazy or very ambitious! (Maybe a little of both). We've chosen 18 songs!! So far, the sequencing for ONE of them is complete. There should be something for everyone's musical tastes - chosen artists include: Trans Siberian Orchestra, Relient K, Veggie Tales, Lawrence Welk, Stryper, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Point of Grace, Go Fish/Brad Stine, Wynonna, and Selah.

The Lights On Townley

2009-02-19T00:36:00.003-07:00

I created a new website for the project: http://www.TheLightsOnTownley.com/
Be sure to sign the Guest Book!

LOR Sequencing

2009-02-16T20:44:00.003-07:00

I have completed the LOR sequencing of the first of 18 planned songs. It is a fun artistic process that the LOR sequencing software makes quite simple. That doesn't mean it's not time consuming... it most certainly is - especially for those with a perfectionist bent.

I have ordered a bunch of Emerald Innovations light stakes from Ron's Home & Hardware. These stakes which come in packs of 25 will line the perimeter of the yard.

From the beginning of this project, I've stated that MOST of the lights will be LEDs. Of course that still holds true, but I have decided to not go 100% LED. I have decided to utilize roughly 500 conventional minis to illuminate painted cut-outs. I have ordered some packages of various color and black-out caps from Christmas Light Show for minis that will enhance the colors painted on the cut-outs.

A cable comes together

2009-02-06T21:30:00.015-07:00

Since purchasing the 36 ft 50 amp cable with the RV plug on one end and the other end bare, I've been searching for the best price for a CS6364 twist lock cable end. Turns out, they are not the easiest thing to find. Plus, the typical cost is around $70.00 -- even on eBay! Finally I stumbled upon a website (http://www.bestmaterials.com) showing retail price $49.99 on sale for $39.45. As I was about to place the order, I noticed a local phone number on the page. OOooo! I could even eliminate the shipping cost by picking it up at will-call! So, for a grand total of $42.72, I purchased a CS6364 twist lock cable end! Tonight, I prepared the bare end of my cable and attached the end.
Tomorrow, my father-in-law will be helping me evaluate exactly what I need for the best method of installing a permanent RV outlet at the side of my house. He has worked numerous commercial jobs as general contractor and definitely knows his stuff!

Building the first controller

2009-02-02T21:54:00.017-07:00

One controller -- in 299 separate pieces...
On Saturday I began building the LOR CTB16PC kit. The day started with a trip to Radio Shack. I already had a 25 watt soldering iron, but in addition to this, I needed a 40 watt soldering iron as well. I found what I needed with no problem and also found a "helping hands" project holder with magnifier, iron holder & sponge. Having this item was a tremendous help! However, before I had 40 components soldered into the board, its weight became too much for the "helping hands". Once this stage was reached, I used a roll of painter's tape to support the opposite end of the board.

Step 1 of assembly was soldering resistors, diodes and ceramic capacitors to the bare circuit board. At this point, I was beginning to get comfortable and into a routine of insert component, solder the connection and nip off the long leads on the backside.

The second step added the resistor networks and IC sockets. These items just barely poked through to the backside of the board. As it turned out, these items weren't any more difficult.

Getting serious now, the third step was soldering various ICs directly to the circuit board. Again, these barely poked through on the backside and by this time I began to feel comfortable with these.

Finally some proof that I truly was becoming more comfortable with the project: I forgot to take a picture after step 4. Step 4 added the status LED, pin headers and the fuse holders. Step 5 added all of the spade lugs. Beginning with the fuse holder and continuing through the spade lugs, it was time to switch to the 40 watt iron. For the spade lugs, the instructions stated that either a 40 watt iron or a 100 watt soldering gun could be used. I suppose the lugs would have gone quicker with a 100 watt soldering gun, but the 40 watt got the job done.

Back to the 25 watt iron for step 6. Voltage regulators, network jacks, a resonator and electrolytic capacitors are added. It truly is beginning to actually look like something!

Another example of feeling comfortable with the project - I again skipped a photo opportunity following step 7. Step 7 added the triacs with the 40 watt iron. Step 8 completes the soldering portion of the build by adding the transformer. Heat sinks are added to the voltage regulators. An 8-pin IC and the main processor are pressed into their sockets. After jumpers and fuses are installed, it was time to test!

I only ran into one snag. The USB485B adaptor configured itself on my laptop as Comm port 18. However it turns out the LOR software expects a Comm port number of 10 or lower. I had to manually change the port number of the device for it to even consider "talking" to the LOR network. It turns out, for what ever reason, my bluetooth adaptor was hogging 5 of my Comm port numbers. WHY? Who knows?! I didn't have the bluetooth adaptor plugged in, so I "stole-back" Comm port 8 for LOR.

I attached the electrical supply and pigtail outlets to the controller along with a CAT5 cable. Plugged 16 strings of lights into the controller pigtail outlets. Upon applying power to the controller, the status LED starting blinking right on cue as it awaited communication from the laptop. The status LED went steady-on after assigning a unit number to the controller. Everything was communicating properly. It was time to turn on the lights, make them dim, chase, etc. etc. It was a beautiful thing! But wait... we're not done... this was only a test - and fortunately, a successful one!

It was time to install the regular heavy duty heat sinks, prepare the cable strain relief bracket and rubber grommets, then mount everything in the plastic box and route and attach all of the wires properly.

Finally, the build is finished! Controller #1 is done! Doesn't it look pretty?

The first controller has arrived

2009-01-27T23:28:00.004-07:00

Just over a week ago, I ordered one LOR controller w/ the software in order to get the $99.00 bundle-price on the software. The package arrived today. I will be ordering the remaining controllers during one of their sales (either February or in the Summer). Meanwhile, I'll be building this first controller from the kit and begin programming some light sequences to music. We'll see if I have some time Saturday to begin the build process. The soldering is something that I'm not exactly looking forward to, but I've been assured that it really isn't difficult; plus the kit instruction manual appears to be very user friendly.

Finding Great Deals

2009-01-23T22:58:00.007-07:00

Supplying power to a display can be one of the greatest expenses in creating the display. My original plan was to basically duplicate what William did to supply power. This plan required a dedicated 50 amp circuit via an RV receptacle to a Spider box (a Temporary Power Distribution box with GFCI outlets that is typically used at construction sites). After doing several searches on the Internet, I was beginning to get a bit discouraged. The new retail price of one of these Spider boxes alone is typically around $600.00. I had pretty much resigned myself to building a home-grown contraption consisting of an electrical sub-panel, and several GFCI outlets. Building something myself could definitely be accomplished for considerably less than $600.00. Then I stumbled upon a couple of fantastic deals! I found a Spider box locally on Craigslist for only $150.00 having 6 GFCI 120V 5-20R duplex receptacles plus 1 240V L6-30 receptacle.

Typically, a 30' 50-amp supply cable for a Spider box will retail for $300.00 - $400.00. On eBay, I found a new 36' 50-amp cable with an RV plug on one end and the other end bare for $80.00. All I need is the CS6364 twist lock cable end to attach to the RV cable, and install a permanent RV receptacle at the side of the house. Quick browsing has shown that the typical retail price for the CS6364 connector is in the neighborhood of $70.00. We'll see if I might find one cheaper!

I have also ordered the first of five Light-O-Rama (LOR) controller kits with the show software. In July, Light-O-Rama will be changing their method of licensing, introducing multiple levels of capability ranging from very basic to advanced. By purchasing the software now, I am automatically entitled to a free Advanced license once registration begins. The controllers are offered in various forms: Show-Ready, Assembly-Required, and Build-It-Yourself-Kits. Of course, each of these various forms are offered at different prices. I have decided to save the most money by purchasing the Build-It-Yourself-Kit version. I've seen a preview of the instruction manual and overall, it looks to be fairly user-friendly. The whole idea of soldering everything initially had me a bit worried, but I've been assured that it isn't all that bad; besides, you really can't beat The Light-O-Rama Promise: "If you choose a DIY product that requires soldering, we will stand behind you 100%. Almost every problem can be fixed via email or a phone call. If you cannot get your controller to operate we will attempt to repair it absolutely free. If you damage a component we replace it free!. If we cannot determine the problem we will replace the kit for free! In the extremely rare case, that you physically damage the kit beyond repair, our standard warranty will cover 40% of the replacement cost!" In late February, and again in the Summer, Light-O-Rama will be having a special sale on controllers, at which time I'll purchase the remaining four that I will need.

Did I mention that I have increased my plan to 10,000 lights controlled by 80 channels? It is easy to get carried away - it is also very difficult to accomplish anything close to what I want with only 48 channels... I have pretty well finalized my plan. I will be placing my order for LED lights with LED Holiday Lighting in February during their 2009 Pre-Order Sales Event.

2009 LED Pre-Order Event

2009-01-09T20:50:00.006-07:00

The 2009 LED Pre-Order Event has begun at LEDHolidayLighting.com
The sale runs through 2/28/09. Travis has some very good prices, and does not restrict to purchasing in case quantities. You can buy as many or few as you want.

Current plan: 5335+ lights
I've been calculating how many strings of which types/colors/count I'll need to purchase for what I have planned. Based on Travis' pricing, it looks like about $700.00 in lights yet to purchase (only slightly more than I was initially estimating); however I'm still hoping to lower my cost on the icicle lights. My current plan calls for:
12 strings of 50 C6 White
8 strings of 50 C6 Multi-color
8 strings of 70 M5 White Icicle
30 strings of 50 M5 Green
10 strings of 50 M5 White
2 strings of 50 M5 Multi-color
1 string of 70 M5 Multi-color
3 strings of 35 5mm Red
10 strings of 50 5mm Red
10 strings of 50 5mm Green
10 strings of 50 5mm Blue

Light-O-Rama controllers
I'm also seriously toying with the idea of building the LOR controllers from the full kit. This means soldering - certainly not my favorite thing to do, but it will save me a bit of money that adds up in the long run.

2008 is officially over

2009-01-04T23:12:00.004-07:00

After helping William take down his display yesterday, this afternoon was my day to take down my own decorations. It was a piece of cake - 6 strings of mini LEDs on the front of the house and 1 Christmas tree at the front window. Next year will be a completely different story!

Shopping has begun! Today I picked up 8 strings of White LEDs and 3 strings of white LED snowflake-icicle-thing-ies that Ace Hardware had on clearance sale. More than likely I'll be purchasing the majority of my lights online. Finding exactly what I want at a clearance sale various places has been challenging so far - already sold out (imagine that!). I'm still keeping my eyes open though! If anyone knows of any specific sales having LED stock in inventory, let me know (unless of course you are building a big display too and beat me to it).

My sister has told me she has an FM transmitter they got when they were selling their previous house that I may have. At the moment, she doesn't remember the details about it - no biggie; Free is FREE! As long as it works decently, I'm happy - one less thing for me to buy/build! I'm anxiously looking forward to checking it out.

A behind the scenes look

2009-01-03T21:44:00.021-07:00

Today was a wonderful day!
I spent this morning from 9AM to 2PM helping William take down his Christmas lights display. It provided me with a great deal of insight to the details of planning involved in "doing it right".

All of the lights marking the perimeter of the yard are bundled up and the stakes pulled and stored in a bin.

Clips of various types are most definitely a decorator's friend! 1/4" rod clips for minis are perfect for attaching lights to various frames and keeping them in neat organized lines. Shingle roof clips are somewhat universal in that they can hold either the large C9s or the minis depending on the orientation of the clip itself. Then there's the fascia board clips that are perfect for hanging the icicle lights.

Gotta have power! LEDs certainly don't need much, but you still have to get the power to them. We're talking LOTS of extension cords! You can never have too many. Just watch for sales and pick them up throughout the year.

Planning and organization truly are key to successfully creating such a display. It provides for a painless take-down process and organized storage. Working together, we got it down in one day.

Thank you William for the opportunity to help you and have this behind the scenes look. I know you appreciated my help, but I came away with a lot of knowledge learned that just doesn't compare to reading about the process in a blog or a forum! Thank you so much!

Christmas lights

2009-01-01T13:45:00.012-07:00

Happy New Year!

It is time to start a new adventure!
I have always enjoyed driving around to see various Christmas light displays. The more lights, the more excitement. For about the last three years, I've had a desire building within to erect my own big light display, but for various reasons have never turned that desire into an executed plan. It is time to change that! It isn't going to happen on its own - I must develop a plan of action and follow through with it.

Give credit where credit is due.
This season while cruising the various light displays around Phoenix, I came across one having 10,000 lights. That's a fair sized number of lights, but no where near the size of the Mega-Displays that I would typically frequent. Generally, I would plan a route based on locations of displays having at least 30,000 lights. Some of the home displays in Phoenix are upwards of 500,000 lights! This particular location had the fewest lights of all the stops on this season's route. So, why did I bother? The write-up stated, "Animation and 10,000 lights set to tunes from FM 96.1." I was curious about the lights set to music and the location happened to be near another stop I had planned on my route. Boy! Am I ever glad I put this one on my list! I met William Morris, the owner of the home, a very nice fellow, and I chatted with him for quite some length of time. His website is www.twodoglights.com.

This was my turning point. The "bug" has bit me! William has been a wealth of information. He has posted details of his adventure in 2008, which has spurred me to do the same throughout 2009. This coming Saturday - Jan 3rd, I will be assisting William as he begins taking down his display. I'm looking forward to having him as my Christmas lights mentor!

The plan for 2009:
#1 - Watch for sales throughout the year! Big Christmas light displays = big expense. Part of the planning means knowing the associated costs. Remember LED strings initially cost more than conventional strings, but the operating costs are only 10% of conventional.

#2 - Design the show. I've already nailed down the basics. My goal is roughly 5,000 lights (mostly LED if possible) controlled by 48 channels of Light-O-Rama set to several Christmas music selections.

#3 - Purchase and build light controllers, FM transmitter, and various items used in and for the show.

#4 - Program the light sequences to music.

#5 - Edit video elements for coordinated use in the show. (That's all I'm saying on this subject for now - wait and see!)

#6 - Acquire a temporary power distribution unit such as a CEP 6506-GU, power connection cable, and install a plug-in receptacle for it at my breaker box.

#7 - Set everything up in time to throw the switch after Thanksgiving.

#8 - Plan for 2010.