Our Blog

The lights are going up!

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:46:32 -0800

This weekend was the 3rd with us out front both Saturday and Sunday putting up lights. We are currently at 16,241 done with 4,971 to go. We’ll finish up this weekend. The above is a photo of our mega tree. This year it includes both multi color and white lights and uses 16 channels. At 6,470 lights, it has twice as many lights as 2007 and more than the entire show had our 1st year in 2006.

You can see more photos of the work in progress in the 2008 photo gallery.

-Mike

1st day of installs called, on account of rain

Mon, 3 Nov 2008 09:26:27 -0800

Well, the original plan was to start putting up lights this weekend but due the an amazing mount of rain (the 1st storm of the year) I was stuck inside. Luckily, there was still a lot I could do inside putting together presents, drums, penguins, the snowman, and mini trees.

I was able to build a weather
proof box to hold the
Definite Purpose Contactor.
I’m very happy with it.

I was also able to get everything down off the
shelves, double check the power requirements,
re-total the light count, and
make sure the power
consumption is spread
across the LoR channels
and banks accordingly.

This weekend, the roof line and palm tree lights go up!

-Mike

This is what makes time travel possible! The flux capacitor!

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:37:42 -0700

Ok, so it isn’t a flux capacitor. This is a Definite Purpose Contactor and it is what makes controlling the snow machine possible. One of the problems I knew I’d have when I got the snow machine was how to turn it on and off during the songs I wanted it to be used with. Officially, the snow machine should be controlled via its DMX interface but connecting DMX to the Light-O-Rama network, especially for one device, is an expensive way to go. It turns out, when power is applied to the snow machine, it turns on. Unfortunately, it draws way too much, (about 10amps), to just be plugged in to a channel on LoR. I thought about using X10, to control power to the snow machine, as LoR supports a serial connection to an X10 PC interface, but I just hate X10. In my experience, it’s just not reliable enough for this purpose, (and I have a lot of experience with it). Enter the Definite Purpose Contactor. It allows me to “switch” on and off 110v power from a separate source by supplying 110v from a trigger source - the trigger power supplied from a channel on LoR. While the snow machine will pull 10amps from a separate outlet, the trigger will only pull .08 amps from LoR. Perfect! Once I put this in a weather proof case and replace my test cords with nice outdoor cords, this part of the project will be ready to go!

-Mike

CaCL 2009 Workshop & Expo

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:35:28 -0700

Don’t miss out on the newest, biggest, ONLY West Coast Christmas Lights Workshop & Expo. The California Christmas Lights Community is putting on their 1st Workshop and Expo in May 2009. Signup before Oct 31st and save $20 on registration.

Register and get all the details here!

Hope to see you there!

-Mike

Shopping

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 10:31:38 -0700

Lights are on the shelves at Wal Mart! I went shopping for a few things on Saturday and I think I’m getting pretty close to being fully ready to start putting lights up. I also picked up a 5 gal container to hold the “snow” fluid, a few more cords, and the parts I need to convert two of my LoR boxes to 20amp units. The current plan is to finish getting everything prepped and then start putting stuff up on 1/1/08!

-Mike

The new power is in!

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:28:31 -0700

Everything was finally wrapped up last week with the installation of the new dedicated 20amp circuits. There are two new 20amp outlets on the left side of the house and 4 on the right. My electrician did a great job and I’m thrilled with the results. I can’t wait to start plugging stuff in!

-Mike

Boxes and Nighttime Snow Machine Testing

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:12:15 -0700

I spent some time this weekend building a box to put the “snow” machine in, to protect it from the weather, as well as a platform so the whole thing can sit up on the roof. The platform still needs to be painted, as does the top of the box, but I think it will work well. It’s pretty easy to get to, so I shouldn’t have too much of a problem filling up the snow fluid ever few days and the box helps reduce the noise a bit from the snow machine.

We did a quick nighttime test last night and quickly discovered the snow will need to be lit somehow so it can be seen better. I think we mount a small flood light on the platform, which will only come on when the snow machine is running. I can’t wait!

-Mike

More tomato cages

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:22:02 -0700

Last year we made 4 “mini trees” out of tomato cages wrapped with clear mini lights. This year we are adding another 4. At first it looked like Home Depot didn’t have any cages but I found a few stuff in the back of the garden section. This year, the 8 mini trees will be on 8 different channels and will run across the front of the lawn just behind the candy cane arches.

-Mike

Cord shopping

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:19:01 -0700

One of the biggest expenses of this hobby is the number of outdoor extension cords needed, and you always seem to need more. Lowe’s started to display green “Holiday” cords this weekend and I picked up 23 more for this year’s expansion. After getting home, I did some more thinking and it looks like I’ll need another 8-16. We might break 100 cords this year. Ugh!

P.S. They also take a lot of room to store.

-Mike

Let it Snow

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:05:55 -0700

Well, like the “Snow” Machine, it isn’t real snow but in addition to the white pool and fountains on the lawn this year, the rest of the lawn will be covered in a polly batting to give the effect of snow for our “Winter Wonderland”. The snowman and penguins will be back and the clear mini trees will double in quantity. Also, the poly batting will be lit from underneath with clear lights also sequenced to the music (matching the mini trees). It should look great with fountains as the centerpiece.

More soon!

-Mike