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Did you know?
  • The original Rudolph did not have a red nose. In that day and age, red noses were seen as an indicator of chronic alcoholism and Montgomery Ward didn’t want him to look like a drunkard. To complete the original picture, he was almost named Reginald or Rollo.
  • The Christmas wreath was originally hung as a symbol of Jesus. The holly represents his crown of thorns and the red berries the blood he shed.
  • The three traditional colors of most Christmas decorations are red, green and gold. Red symbolizes the blood of Christ, green symbolized life and rebirth, and gold represents light, royalty and wealth.
  • Tinsel was invented in 1610 in Germany and was once made of real silver.
  • The oldest artificial Christmas trees date back to the late 1800s and were made of green raffia (think grass hula skirts) or dyed goose feathers. Next the Addis Brush Company used their machinery that wove toilet brushes to create pine-like branches for artificial Christmas trees that were less flammable and could hold heavier decorations.
  • ‘Jingle Bells’ – the popular Christmas song was composed by James Pierpont in Massachusetts, America. It was, however, written for thanksgiving and not Christmas.
  • Coca-Cola was the first company that used Santa Claus during the winter season for promotion.
  • Hallmark introduced their first Christmas cards in 1915.
  • The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine. A few years later, Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on that day.
  • Santa Claus's sleigh is led by eight reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder (variously spelled Donder and Donner), and Blixem (variously spelled Blixen and Blitzen), with Rudolph being a 20th-century inclusion.
  • Outdoor Christmas lights on homes evolved from decorating the traditional Christmas tree and house with candles during the Christmas season. Lighting the tree with small candles dates back to the 17th century and originated in Germany before spreading to Eastern Europe.
  • That big, jolly man in the red suit with a white beard didn’t always look that way. Prior to 1931, Santa was depicted as everything from a tall gaunt man to a spooky-looking elf. He has donned a bishop's robe and a Norse huntsman's animal skin. When Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast drew Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly in 1862, Santa was a small elflike figure who supported the Union. Nast continued to draw Santa for 30 years, changing the color of his coat from tan to the red he’s known for today.
  • Christmas 2018 countdown has already begun. Will you be ready???
  • Why do we love Christmas? It's all about the traditions. In this chaotic world we can miss the "good old days." Christmas reminds us of that time.

Justin Smith

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Everything posted by Justin Smith

  1. Justin Smith
    I made a unit that runs an electronic wallwart, so I can use it off a dimmer pack.
  2. Justin Smith
    I'll provide a sketchup and a few pictures of the board I'm planning on using when I get home.
  3. Justin Smith
    Okay, so I got one of those chaser light controllers, which run the lights on rectified AC. The lights get connected to the negative, with the common being positive. I want to use the negative to control a transistor which powers up to 600W of lighting, so, will I need a NPN or PNP transistor?
  4. Justin Smith
    A cord wired "backwards" won't do any damage to any loads, other than being a shock hazard.
  5. Justin Smith
    Use a 12V security battery and feed the lights off a DC-DC power supply.
  6. Justin Smith
    How about laying the lights out on the ground, then ty-rapping some black nylon rope at the same space of the lights, to essentially make a giant string of net lights.
  7. Justin Smith
    Glad the only thing I have to fail is breakers and gfi's.
  8. Justin Smith
    Do you have any pictures?
  9. Justin Smith
    You need to use an analog timer, the electronics don't like the triac in the digital timer.
  10. Justin Smith
    Run 2 runs in paralell of Sch.40 ENT under everything you can think of One for 120/208 circuits, one for lovo and data/com.
  11. Justin Smith
    Me neither, saved my life too.
  12. Justin Smith
    Also, keep in mind, that although the power supply may be gfi protected, that protection is lost on the load side of the power supply.
  13. Justin Smith
    Nice job!!!
  14. Justin Smith
    I have not had a single GFCI trip this year. I spent about $1,000 on electrical, including extension cords.
  15. Justin Smith
    Here's a deal: You can all pitch in $5,000, and buy me the decorations.
  16. Justin Smith
    Gfi's are a requirement on every square inch in this country and Canada. No Exceptions.
  17. Justin Smith
    You need them because of NEC requirements, as well as common sense. Also, one has perhaps, saved my life this holiday season.
  18. Justin Smith
    I third this. It makes it easy to see how much you're plugging in. Another helpful too is a clamp-on ammeter. Although expensive, it allows you to clamp around individual conductors to measure current usage.
  19. Justin Smith
    I'd just leave the show running off a laptop or a computer with a UPS/Standby gennie combination.
  20. Justin Smith
    Yes. All current-carrying conductors must be in the same sheath. Mettalic conduits must be grounded.
  21. Justin Smith
    SPT and SOOW are two totally different things. Why do you want to split it for 30''?
  22. Justin Smith
    I too use LED C9 retrofits. I use "minleon" purple lamps. I got mine from 1000bulbs.com.
  23. Justin Smith
    I wouldn't. Leave them up till after St. Patty's. Heck, I put up lights for Easter then Red/White/Blue for Summer.
  24. Justin Smith
    I'd use #18 SOOW.
  25. Justin Smith
    That's wonderful! I need to start doing this.
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