KneelandLights

Nice! That would be fun! I wish I could afford to do that every year.

2018 is my 3rd year with smart lights and 4th year sequencing lights overall. Every year, as much as I love hanging from the roof to put clips up and then lights, I think there has got to be an easier and quicker method of hanging this many Christmas lights!! I think I found the answer, but I want to run it by you all before I head off to Menards or Homedepot to get what I need. BTW I think I can get most of it done for less than $150. Here's the method I found, though I would modify it for my smart lights setup. Let me know if you have a better option or feedback:

I'm doing three new songs this year: Born Is the King It's Christmas - Phillips, Craig and Dean Jesus Is Alive - Josh Wilson Lift up Your Eyes - Danny Gokey Sequencing gets EXHAUSTING! I'm wondering, does anyone have any good links for smart light sequencing theory? So many of the videos are about how to use the software, I'm just looking for a good discussion thread or video on the method of light effect and color changes... Yes, I know it's a highly subjective topic, and yes I understand we've just got to find our nitch in how to do it... but there has got to be some basic theory discussion out there. Anyone come across some?

Slankard, we just put ours out in a mailbox and then light it up with smart lights at one point of a sequence when we invite people to come get one. We do empty it when the show gets done though. If we forget to, the neighboorhood kids empty it for us on the way to the bus in the morning. The community loves that we do it so much they have left money and even donate bags of candy canes to help replenish supplies. On the main topic, like many of you, I receive comments about the radio broadcast. My neighbor told his kids I must be friends with the radio station owner or something. HA HA!! His kid didn't understand when I tried to explain what was really happening.

Wow! Love the flamethrowers!!! This is one elaborate display! Thanks for sharing.

Okay, so we have a sign from our FM station at our old house, but now that frequency has a broadcast on it. Can I get in trouble for using the same frequency? I've read the FCC legal stuff and I can't find anything that says I can't. However, they do say: These devices must accept any interference caused by any other operation, which may further limit the effective service range. AND On FM frequencies, these devices are limited to an effective service range of approximately 200 feet (61 meters) Here's the link: https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/low-power-radio-general-information#PROHIBITED Here's more documentation: https://transition.fcc.gov/bureaus/oet/info/documents/bulletins/oet63/oet63rev.pdf

Those look like smart pixel strips! I wonder if you could purchase it and hook up a REAL controller instead of their pre-programmed stuff. It's to rich for me too, but if a guy was loaded it sure would make this hobby a lot less time-consuming.

NEW QUESTION: I just realized a new issue. My last house had siding close enough to white that white connecting cables blend in. My new house has green siding!! White is going to stand out while the show is running. I'm going to have to watch some video's online and see if I can pick out other people's signal and power cables. How do you hide your connecting cables? Here are the options I can think of. Paint the connecting cables close to the same color of your siding Tuck them into your siding the best you can Let them stand out, it's not that bad Oh, that's a good idea! 20 amps up and down. I didn't look too hard, but the GFI outlets I bought couldn't do that. Are those standard outlets then, or is it possible with GFIs?

Thanks for the advice! I decided to just do two 20AMP outlets instead of one because of your feedback. And yes, each outlet is on its own 20AMP breaker and each is GFI. I only needed one this year but figured at least now I'm thinking a little ahead. Now to start re-creating the Christmas strings to fit the new house...

No way HOA was gonna happen. We are in the clear, just gotta care for our neighbors now. Wow, you've got a TON of AMPS to work with. Maybe I should add more....

Okay, I've got my bro-in-law coming to install a 20 AMP outlet with me this weekend. I did find that I have a 15 AMP breaker for the garage and an outside outlet I can use from that too. Last year I pulled 18 AMPs max when full white on 100% brightness. I may drop down my brightness on the controller this year, I've heard it looks good a little dimmer. So my next question with moving: Should I remap my strings in xlights so my previous sequences still work? Or should I start over with the new layout completely?

Thanks for the compliments on the house. We are excited! We backed out of a Purchase Agreement because they didn't disclose the HOA. It was a beautiful house too and would have been a much better layout for the light show. However, they had way too many restrictions in the HOA. This house has no HOA so no restrictions!! My only concern is staying in good graces with my new neighbors. Thanks for all the tips on power! It actually is an issue for me too. There are ZERO outlets outside on the front of the house. I have an electrician in the family, so I'll have to try to get him to the house ASAP and see what we can do. Hopefully, there is an open breaker location in the panel so I can setup a 50amp like Ralph. I am going with the CFIs too, good call 'Christmas on the Farm!'

Oh, we are moving from a population 200 town with no other major town for 45 minutes, to a 17,500 population suburb! I may have to learn to manage traffic and how to sweet talk my neighbors so they don't get upset. Power requirements? As far as making sure I'm not overloading one breaker? That's a good point, because I know I'm over 15 AMPs. Thanks!

We are moving into a new house next week! Yay and YIKES! Any advice from my fellow smart light guys?? Should I get to work rebuilding my smart light strings first or re-programming? I think us synchronized Christmas Lights people should stick to moving in the early spring so Thanksgiving isn't looming over us Here is my display from last year. Smart lights are all green. Some static lights are off. Here is our new house. I'm really bumming that the garage sticks out so much. We almost didn't get the home because of the impact on my Christmas lights hobby. The positives out weighed the negatives though. Plus, the view in this pic is mostly visible for a few blocks because of the location.

Hey Stosh, I wasn't concerned about keeping them nice and straight, but here's what I used: HORIZONTAL VINYL SIDING CABLE CLEAR SNAP CLIPS - I pre-drilled a hole carefully in these, then used screws for the wood siding on our house. They work great in vinyl in my display too. Adams Christmas Mighty Light Clip - I used these on my gutters and around window frames. Maybe that's not what you are looking for, but they are options. Keep us posted on how your projects are coming. I'm looking forward to seeing what your display looks like in 8 months!