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  • 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.

rwertz

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About rwertz

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    Distinguished Member
  • Birthday 07/26/1961

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    http://www.wertzweb.com/lights

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  • Location
    Dillsburg, PA
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  • Occupation
    Test Engineer
  • About my display
    Traditionally we

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  1. rwertz
    It sounds like the 1/2" PVC just isn't strong enough. I used 1" Gray Electrical PVC for our 20' arches and they've been fine for years. I'm sure you don't want to rewrap at this point. So the guy wire suggestion is probably your only good choice.
  2. rwertz
    Tim is still around. He’s just being a slacker
  3. rwertz started following So Much To Learn!
  4. rwertz
    I think the two adapters for seperate networks is worth trying. Also, you said you were "running the latest firmware on all my CTB16PCs". Did you actually send this firmware to the controllers or just verify the version? I had an issue with one of the first two controllers I purchased. I tried all the usual efforts and nothing worked. As a last resort I updated the firmware and the problem went away. There was no documented issue with the original firmware, and the other controller with the same version ran fine. I don't know if it's possible to get a bad firmware image loaded onto the processor. But that's what I suspect was wrong. Maybe you could download the same firmware version (using the hardware utility) and see if the problem goes away.
  5. rwertz
    Sooo, how's it going
  6. rwertz
    I think the limit is 50-100' to the first controller if you are using the SC485. But once you've connected to the first controller I believe you can go hundreds of feet to any controller after that. The USB485 does not have that initial limit. You should be fine. Maybe you have addresses set wrong, a bad CAT5 cable, or even a damaged connector on one of the LOR boards. Maybe try swapping some controllers and cables around.
  7. rwertz
    Glad to see you still have a sense of humor. Good luck!
  8. rwertz
    Have you tried Amazon music and the Beat Wizard?
  9. rwertz
    The manual refers you here: http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm Also, here's an "updated" driver on LOR's site: http://www.lightorama.com/SoftwareUpgrade.html
  10. rwertz
    That sounds fair. Also, it might be interesting to disconnect the phone service at the box and see if the show acts up.
  11. rwertz
    Do you have any devices that send signals through the power lines in your house? Maybe an intercom or spare phone or something that would typically require a wire to communicate between devices but they send the signal through the power line instead.
  12. rwertz
    That's typical. I don't think I'd move the service.
  13. rwertz
    I remember that Tim. Search the LOR forum for DSL. chuckd has several posts about the issue and others chimed in also. It sounds like the issue was related to the power lines related to LOR running close to the buried DSL lines. I believe his final fix was firmware. http://lightorama.mywowbb.com/view_topic.php?id=20557&forum_id=76
  14. rwertz
    The two things that come to mind are power issues (incorrect wiring) or interface. Are you running an FM transmitter? If so which transmitter, antenna, etc.
  15. rwertz
    Holly crap, you are having a rough time. This type of issue doesn't happen often. But if it makes you feel any better, you're not the first person to wake up in the middle of the night and find some of your lights on. What you just experienced shouldn't have been caused by a channel conflict within or between sequences. If I had to guess, I'm still thinking interference, controller firmware issue, etc. You didn't go back to running the CAT5 through the pipe alongside 70 amps did you? Did the issue last night only happen on one controller? If so I would update the firmware on that controller. Again shut down anything fluorescent that is anywhere near your PC, communication lines, controllers, or extension cords. That includes the curly shaped CFL bulbs. If the light is high efficiency, assume it is fluorescent. Any chance all the strings that came on were LED strings. LED strings can act pretty screwy due to the fact that they draw so little current. Sometimes people have to add loads to those circuits to get the LEDs to act normal. (Search the forum for "snubber".) You said you swapped out the USB485 adapter several times. Really? Those things aren't cheap. If you would happen to have a factory serial port on the PC and a SC485 adapter, you might want to try that. But that device definitely has a 50 - 100' limit to the first controller. Moving connections, trading out controllers, trading out cables, etc. are all good things to do in hopes that something will point to the problem. I hope you get the issue resolved soon. I know it can be frustrating.
  16. rwertz
    I'm just saying...
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