ive started to program my display which consists of 15,000 lights ( give or take) and 48 channels.my display went viral on the NBC news networks across america and now that i live in Vancouver i get to show it to another wonderful city! good luck on yours!
I plug my controllers into power surges. I live in Texas and thunderstorms do happen in the fall and winter. My entire show pulls less than 15 AMPs so putting 2 into one outlet works fine. You have to keep an eye on how much load you're putting on the circuit as a whole though. This year I may go over 15 AMPs so I'm getting another circuit put on the front of the house to balance it out.
to avoid all the cords, one thing i used was thermostat wire. Its a single overall jacket, 16 or 18 Ga., solid wire, and you can get it up to 15 conductors or so. I used 1 wire (they all marked) as the neutral, and then spliced into the jacket and hooked up a single female receptacle every few feet as needed, using a different wire as the Hot at each recp. Takes a little time to do it, but it really cuts down on all the extension cords everywhere. Another idea is to use the Thermo wire as the main feed, then take apart and outlet strip, and wire each color from the thermo wire, to an individual recp. in the strip. That way you have one "wire" running to it, but each recp is a different channel. Thermo wire is great with LED's because you are hardly using any amps to power the lights, where a big 12 gauge Ext. cord is overkill. And thanks for the videos! Very informative.
WOW, great job and you still get the cars in the garage.. LOL One suggestion, since you mostly use LED, think about using some SPT1 wires and vampire plugs, it made it so much more easier for me to run wires and get the right lengths. I purely use the regular extensions now for powering the controllers and roof lights. Ray
@sam12321able Good. So far its been very reliable for us. Lots of bells and whistles. I don't care for their Nav interface, but wife drives it most of the time.
@bubthegreat1 I go with what is cheapest. Got a bunch of green 30' on sale this year. I have looked to make my own, but my wife is worried that I'd burn the house down. The yard slopes down so you don't see them too much.
6 controllers at 16 channels each. Thats 96 channels. Each controller runs about $300 so thats $1800 not including cords, lights, the xmas light guys, and rigging. That IS a lot. and one day I to will have a set up like this!
Instead of piles of incandescent lights, have you considered using an in-line resistor instead? They are available in a variety of wattages so you can dial in exactly what you need. Nice work and thanks for posting!
so you plug your controllers into power surges or they just power strips? since the leds draw such few amps you can get away with plugging 2 into 1 outlet right?
if your 20 ft snowman has a hard time wind its cause you didnt stake him down enough, huge inflatables need alot of teathers staked down so they dont fly away
How many strands of LED does one channel handle without failing? Also did you ever have the need to have an electrician come out to setup your own panel for the display alone?
So, I'm a haunter, we do all things Halloween/ haunted houses. We have whats called home haunts, which are small haunted houses or displays in our yards, similar to your Christmas displays. I was wondering if there was a huge Christmas community on CZcams and Facebook like ours, and if you guys have names, like ours is Haunters, what would yours be? Also, I'd like to clarify that isn't the only reason I'm commenting, or watching your videos, I'm trying to learn more about light-o-rama for my haunt.
Do the cheap led lights from Home Depot or Target last very long? I'm reading that the cheap big box store lights don't last more than a year or so. I'm considering purchase more commercial grade lights online. Just wondering what your experience is. thanks
Led lights are much cheaper to run, last longer, are brighter, and can run more on one line then incandescent. In saying all that l don't have the time for that much work!
Have you ever had the problem of inflatables beeing stolen? You really should tie up the fans to the nearest trees with security cords. Thats what we do after we had 6 of our inflatables stolen in 2005 and 2010
Thank you for sharing this. I am always a behind the scenes guy and was curious to see the set up of these shows.
ive started to program my display which consists of 15,000 lights ( give or take) and 48 channels.my display went viral on the NBC news networks across america and now that i live in Vancouver i get to show it to another wonderful city! good luck on yours!
Thanks for the video. It is really nice you responded to the questions people asked . Look forward to more behind the scenes videos in the future.
I plug my controllers into power surges. I live in Texas and thunderstorms do happen in the fall and winter. My entire show pulls less than 15 AMPs so putting 2 into one outlet works fine. You have to keep an eye on how much load you're putting on the circuit as a whole though. This year I may go over 15 AMPs so I'm getting another circuit put on the front of the house to balance it out.
I am sooooo happy you made this video! Since I would love to one day be able to have a lights show of my own!
to avoid all the cords, one thing i used was thermostat wire. Its a single overall jacket, 16 or 18 Ga., solid wire, and you can get it up to 15 conductors or so. I used 1 wire (they all marked) as the neutral, and then spliced into the jacket and hooked up a single female receptacle every few feet as needed, using a different wire as the Hot at each recp. Takes a little time to do it, but it really cuts down on all the extension cords everywhere. Another idea is to use the Thermo wire as the main feed, then take apart and outlet strip, and wire each color from the thermo wire, to an individual recp. in the strip. That way you have one "wire" running to it, but each recp is a different channel. Thermo wire is great with LED's because you are hardly using any amps to power the lights, where a big 12 gauge Ext. cord is overkill.
And thanks for the videos! Very informative.
@fpsisfun Last year, 2010, was our first computerized show. We doubled it for 2011. We'll have to see what 2012 gives us.
Nice informative video. I really like your 3/4 coverage on your posts. Well done.
We love decorating for xmas. We live in San antonio TX. Most of our display is inflatables tho!!
WOW, great job and you still get the cars in the garage.. LOL
One suggestion, since you mostly use LED, think about using some SPT1 wires and vampire plugs, it made it so much more easier for me to run wires and get the right lengths. I purely use the regular extensions now for powering the controllers and roof lights.
Ray
@sam12321able Good. So far its been very reliable for us. Lots of bells and whistles. I don't care for their Nav interface, but wife drives it most of the time.
I love your shows. Especially the Korean ones ((Mostly snsd)) ....out of curiosity, what do your neighbors think about your light shows?
@bubthegreat1 I go with what is cheapest. Got a bunch of green 30' on sale this year. I have looked to make my own, but my wife is worried that I'd burn the house down. The yard slopes down so you don't see them too much.
Never had any problems with vandalism, but its only a matter of time. I have all my inflatables, controllers, trees, etc. on security cables.
@Shawooook My neighbors are wonderful people that demonstrate alot of patience with our lights.
6 controllers at 16 channels each. Thats 96 channels. Each controller runs about $300 so thats $1800 not including cords, lights, the xmas light guys, and rigging. That IS a lot. and one day I to will have a set up like this!
Instead of piles of incandescent lights, have you considered using an in-line resistor instead? They are available in a variety of wattages so you can dial in exactly what you need.
Nice work and thanks for posting!
Sorry HEB is our local grocery store based out of San Antonio. I think it stands for "Hairy E-something Butts" after a family name :)
Great work. Can you please tell us how much cost your whole set? Light, controls, ie.
so you plug your controllers into power surges or they just power strips? since the leds draw such few amps you can get away with plugging 2 into 1 outlet right?
Lighting hardware and software purchased from LightORama dot com
Love your display!! Just a quick question, to hide your cords, why don't you get green power cords for the lawn lines ?
when do you start puting up lights
Who is here after 8 years and is in 2020?
It reminds me of something... oh yes ! My own garden...
if your 20 ft snowman has a hard time wind its cause you didnt stake him down enough, huge inflatables need alot of teathers staked down so they dont fly away
How many strands of LED does one channel handle without failing? Also did you ever have the need to have an electrician come out to setup your own panel for the display alone?
its a shame the dont sell those RGB lights in the netherlands I LOVE THEM
So, I'm a haunter, we do all things Halloween/ haunted houses. We have whats called home haunts, which are small haunted houses or displays in our yards, similar to your Christmas displays. I was wondering if there was a huge Christmas community on CZcams and Facebook like ours, and if you guys have names, like ours is Haunters, what would yours be? Also, I'd like to clarify that isn't the only reason I'm commenting, or watching your videos, I'm trying to learn more about light-o-rama for my haunt.
You referred to getting stuff at agb. Is that a local store or a website?
Cost to run this entire setup for Christmas and how many days/hours a week ?
Do you leave the lights up year round?
Where did you get the Phillips snowflakes at and how much were they
How does the snow man do with snow weight when blowing up
How many channels and lights , I dont believe I saw or heard this ?
How much would you say u spend on lights?? thanks
Cheers John well done
Do you need led lights?
How much would all that cost to make?
is the new honda oddesy good or bad? i herd it was not recommended?
Do the cheap led lights from Home Depot or Target last very long? I'm reading that the cheap big box store lights don't last more than a year or so. I'm considering purchase more commercial grade lights online. Just wondering what your experience is. thanks
+StevesVids I've had WalMart lights that have lasted a long time. The Phillips brand from Target are also very good.
Thanks for the reply! Nice light show by the way - would love to see it in person.
All of mine still work after 3 years. You just have to triuble shoot when they stop working and fix the priblem.
Santo dios , cuantos cables! 😱
How big is your light show In 2019
how much was your energy bill? seriously..
Led lights are much cheaper to run, last longer, are brighter, and can run more on one line then incandescent. In saying all that l don't have the time for that much work!
Wow your rich that's my dream to have that much Christmas decorations but it will never happen 😭😢😵😷
Where did u get all of ur Christmas light and other Decor
I used to get it from post holiday sales at box stores. Now I order mostly direct from China and US manufacturers.
Almost the same controller as DMX512
;]
How do I stop my breaker from tripping
by not use that much watts
I was ready for the light show at the end :{ ?
just how to build build a whole light show
Have you ever had the problem of inflatables beeing stolen? You really should tie up the fans to the nearest trees with security cords. Thats what we do after we had 6 of our inflatables stolen in 2005 and 2010
Why don't you show us them working as well?
...because he has to call the guys and pay them another $300 to turn them on....doh! :P
4:05
Anyone can do it? Ha Ha I don't think so.. Thanks for the walk behind.
Think about how fast the power meter spins lol
It actually depends on how many amps it draws. So 13A for the entire show actually isn't too bad.
Very informative! Please see my Christmas video on youtube: Extreme Christmas Display with Music" by Holidaydecoratorguy
how much do controllers cost?
+Daniel Bogar Depends on the controller. LOR controllers start at about $250/ea with 16 channels.
+listentoourlights Where the City you by
Fire Hasard??
0:11 he needs braces
That sucks
Where did you get your stuff
Pixel lights are from China. Snowflakes are from Louisiana. Controllers are Falcon F16v3's