7/2007
7/24
I stripped down the NOEL sign, repainted it, then began to add new lights to it. I couldn't use the old rope light because I had it all connected together and threw away the plug ends. Also, I had painted some of it black to hide the connecting areas. So I bought a ton of new rope light. The rope light outlines the letters and then I used white twinkling lamps to fill in the letters. Since I am only using 4 channels this year for the NOEL sign I will join the twinklers and the rope lights together for each letter. Next year when I have more channels to play with, I'll be separating the two and filling the letters with a color. that way I can switch from a white outlined NOEL to a blue filled NOEL. It will be very cool. Here are some pics of the previous condition of my NOEL sign. (This has been a fixture on this house long before I owned it, in fact, I remember it from my childhood.)
7/19
Today I started sequencing Manheim Steamroller's version of "The Addams Family Theme." I had actually had this one partially done, but somehow corrupted the file so I am starting over.
7/16
Mostly housekeeping this month. I built a small shed this month to house my growing collection of Christmas and Halloween decorations. I found it at Home Depot for $180 with foundation kit included. It measures 8x6 ft. I wanted the 8x10 kit for $200 but I do not have the room for that monster so I settled with the smaller one. Turns out it is plenty big enough.
Re-furbished my lamppost in the front yard. I was leaning something awful. when I went to fix it, it fell apart. Had to buy a whole new unit. I got a post with an electrical outlet (Yay! one more circuit!) and the photo-sensitive eye. It's all ready for the Christmas season.
I actually began sequencing music last month. I've finished a few of the peices this month. Since I plan to roll out the LOR for Halloween and test it out, I decided to do some Halloween music and some Christmas music. I started with Manheim Steamrollers "Jingle Bells" for my first Christmas song and Disney's Grim Grinning Ghosts for Halloween. Those are now finished. I moved onto Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Wizards in Winter" which I fudged on and downloaded the LOR sequencing that went with this music. All I had to do was tweak the sequencing a bit to match my set-up and viola-- a completed peice.
7/13
Received my LOR controller. Awesome, can't wait to fire it up. New design evident. Safer with a guard to prevent accidental touching of components. I have plans to mount it on one side of my house. Most of the wiring has traditionally been delivered from that side anyway because of the convienent outlets. It will be behind a gate and out of sight from prying eyes. Here's the pic of it gracing my workshop.
6/2007
I ordered my Light-o-Rama 16 channel controller. I really wanted to buy more channels, but I held off for two reasons.
1. SAF (Spousal Approval Factor) While my wife is totally on board with the synchronization plans, I can really blow it by spending too much. Once she sees how cool this will end up being, I'll have an easier time convincing her that more is better.
2. Christmas Tree Ln. I already have most of the county driving by my house every December. Traffic is a problem. If I jam it up, then I'll be in trouble with the neighbors. My idea to keep the traffic moving is simple. I'll program only one song every 15 minutes. I've also nixed the radio transmitter idea. That way the pedestrians will enjoy the show and those sitting in their cars will only see flashing lights. I ran Christmas music through outdoor speakers last year and had no complaints from the neighbors, so I think that I am pretty safe there. Heck, I couldn't hear the music outside from inside my own house! I will have one bit of great fun this year. Opening night of Christmas Tree Ln. every year is a special time in which the street is closed off to auto traffic. Pedestrian only. So, I'll be running the songs back to back for six straight hours!